3 Bells – breathing space (S.J. Higbee) Book 3 – It’s Sci-Fi Month!

Ahoy me mateys!  Grab your grog!  Here be book 3 of the eighth installment of the 3 Bells trilogy showcase featuring the crew’s very own Matey Sarah.  While I try to post no spoilers, ye have been forewarned and continue at yer own peril . . .

breathing space (S.J. Higbee)

Well, all ye scalawags should be familiar with Matey Sarah’s blog and wonderful book reviews.  But some of ye may not be aware that she also be a writer.  (What be wrong with ye wretches?)  When the first book was published years ago in 2017, I bought me a copy.  And then bought the next two in the trilogy as each was released.  But shame on me, I didn’t read them right away.  So with this Sci-Fi Month celebration, I thought I would finally give Matey’s Sarah’s work the time it deserves in return for all those sparkly treasures she be constantly adding to me ports for plunder list.

I was thrilled with how book two ended (spoilers!) and so jumped into the last book with gleeful anticipation.  I have to admit that the beginning threw me for a loop.  I did not expect either the time jump or the circumstances that Lizzy be in.  I seriously thought I had picked up the wrong book for a second.  I can’t say I loved that choice but knowing how I was unable to predict the plot for the first two, I decided to go with the flow and find out the reasons.  Glad I did.

Because ultimately, after a mental adjustment, I had a fun time and the book flew by.  The twisty turns of book one and two continue here.  Lizzy doesn’t want to be in her current predicament of responsibility and stress.  Yet again, her strong moral code won’t just let her abandon her station.  Plus she might die if she does.  I really wanted to know how Lizzy was gonna get out of this mess.  Luck, hard work, and a bigger foe on the loose.  Plus aliens!

Lizzy be worth readin’ about and cheerin’ for.  She makes mistakes, has a wicked temper, and is naive at times but ye can’t help but want her to succeed.  Lizzy cares about others and so ye end up caring about her.  Part of what I like about Lizzy, is that she is strong steel underneath her insecurities.  I liked that she seemed realistic.  Pain, headaches, and self-doubt do exist.  She also grows to understand her own limitations but does push past them at times.  She works her butt off but can delegate when necessary.

Seriously I would love to talk more about the plot but can’t because all three books are filled with spoilery type events that were unexpected, fun, and need to read to be believed (and understood).  I feel a bit like a broken record for talking about plot twists but that was one of the highlights of the series.  Hence the vagueness.  This trilogy ends with an excellent wrap up and could satisfactorily end here.  But there are hints that Lizzy (or others) could have more tales in the works.  I am not adverse.  And I want more of the aliens!

While this be the end of the trilogy, there be one more treat in store.  Check in tomorrow for an interview with the author.  Arrrr!

Side note: Sci-Fi Month is hosted by Matey Lisa of Dear Geek Place and Matey Imyril of One More.  Check out their blog links for more info and join the fun!

Goodreads has this to say about the first novel:

Lizzy Wright has yearned to serve on the space merchant ship Shooting Star for as long as she can remember – until one rash act changes everything…

Lizzy and her friends weren’t looking for trouble – all they’d wanted was to prove that fertile English girls could handle themselves when on shore leave without being accompanied by a sour-faced chaperone and armed guard. Looking back, maybe taking a jaunt off-limits on Space Station Hawking wasn’t the best idea – but no one could have foreseen the outcome. Or that the consequences of that single expedition would change the lives of all four girls, as well as that of the stranger who stepped in to save them.

Now Lizzy has more excitement and danger than she can handle, while confronting lethal shipboard politics, kidnapping, betrayal. And murder.

To visit the author’s website go to:

S.J. Higbee – Author

To buy the book go to:

breathing space – Book

To add to Goodreads go to:

Yer Ports for Plunder List

Previous Log Entries for this Author

running out of space – book 1 (3 Bells – Sci-Fi)

dying for space – Book 2 (3 Bells – Sci-Fi)