Full review at Smart Bitches, Trashy Books 
 Ascension features a protagonist (named Alana) who is a black woman who is also a lesbian, and who struggles with chronic pain. She also a spaceship engineer who dreams of sailing the stars. I truly could not ask for more from life than a heroine with these specific characteristics. By page 18, I was in love. The rest of the book was something of a disappointment, but boy did I adore Alana. 
 I love that this romance features women, not just in a romantic way, but also as crewmates and family members. There's only one man on the ship and he's part wolf, so that's a thing. I actually got all the way through the book before I realized that in the entire book there are only two male characters, and one barely shows up. I appreciated that this felt so natural - as common as if I read a book entirely populated by guys but with one token chick. I especially enjoyed the portrayal of a contentious yet ultimately loving relationship between sisters. Incidentally, the book is also unusual in that it is accepting of a poly relationship and presents that as a viable Happy Ever After option. 
 Unfortunately, neither the plot nor the characters, other than Alana and her sister, Nova, gelled for me. This was especially a problem when it came to the romance between Tev and Alana. I liked the idea of Tev, the polyamorous lesbian ship captain with a prothetic leg, but she never became more than a cool idea. As much as I like the idea of this character, I need her to act like a person who happens to have all those characteristics, not a paper doll that says "Alana's Fantasy Woman. 
 Basically, this book has every possible idea that can appeal to me (including a Firefly vibe with the crew of misfits who tiptoe on the edge of the law), but it falls flat in the execution. I still have my eye on the next book, because I feel like if all these pieces were ever to come together in artistic harmony I'd be the happiest woman on earth. But at the moment, this book has great representation in a lot of ways - of women, of people with disabilities, of people who are lesbian or bisexual, of open relationships, of people of color - but it doesn't pull them together into something that feels like an organic story with organic characters. I want to give this an A for effort, a diverse cast, and a great cover, but I have to give it a C+ for the final product. 
 - Carrie S.