Slow, sedate, and lovely. Not a lot of things happen, especially in the first half of the book, unless you count eating ice cream and studying. This is a slow exploration of two characters and their relationship. Each has doubts and fears and each works to improve themselves and to help each other. I think I could have used a bit more drama in the first half, but the second half had me crying a few times.
Interesting world, I'm going to have a look at other series in this universe after this one. ( )

I've been wanting more cozy speculative fiction, and this totally hit the spot. It's a beautiful slice-of-life story about culture and learning and friendship and belonging. ( )

Well written. Mankind has now expanded to other stars and has modified several life forms to become sentient. True alien forms also exist and the alliance of species has found a unity and acceptance among the stars. Some beings have forms of telepathic abilities which vary by species and individual. A friendship story about how 2 different people from different species develop a very profound friendship link. First in a series, worth looking into to follow the story. ( )

I don't think it's bad for what it is, but I hate the slice of life genre.

There was some semblance of conflict near the end. ( )

Reading this book feels like curling up under a warm, soft blanket.

It plays like a romance, but instead of actually being one, it's a deep and committed friendship. Jahir and Vasith't meet cute and grow close, they come to love each other and may or may not be in love despite the fact that they have no interest in ever having sex with each other (or, in Vasith't's case, with anyone). I'm not certain, but I think this is a good example of what people in our society would call a queerplatonic/quasiplatonic relationship.

It's also set in a space university that features medical school, alien psychology students and a paediatric hospital for children of various sapient species, so I was pretty much guaranteed to love it. ( )