Synopsis (Goodreads): While she sleeps, the whole universe changes. Princess Talia Starchaser has it all. Wealth. Status. Adoring citizens. But on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, she’s forced to publicly betray her best friend, a companion mock she’s had since birth, setting events into motion that lead to the destruction of the humans, and the princess floating through space, a remnant of a time when humans ruled over droids. One hundred years later, half-mock captain Will Perrault and his ragtag crew discover a device floating in space. When a very human Talia emerges from its depths, Will suspects she’s the key to buying his way back into the regiment he once commanded against the last remaining rebel humans—and the ruling mock queen’s good graces. Both Talia and Will would rather get space-tossed than trust one another, but with the queen’s forces chasing them across the galaxy and the fate of both worlds hanging in the balance, they’ll forge the unlikeliest of alliances to survive.
My Review: This was a really fun read for me. I read quite a bit of science fiction but I don’t read many books that are based in space. The authors incorporated a really great adventure through space with just enough detail to understand the basic mechanisms of things without bogging the reader down with inane facts. This story is told from 2 perspectives: Talia’s and Will’s. I really liked that the first part of Talia’s perspective took place 100 years prior to the present (which is where Will’s perspective takes place) because it allows the reader to understand what Talia was going through at that time and how she ended up where she was. It also allowed the reader to see the stark contrast in the political climate from the past versus the present. I liked both Will and Talia’s character and appreciated the fact that the authors didn’t spend too much time developing the romance between them. However, I did have certain issues with the story. While the story went along at a fast pace, I didn’t necessarily think there was enough development of character and plot for the story to really cement itself; there was a lot of jumping around without enough grounding to let the reader believe in the direction of the plot. I also had an issue with the romance, which I know sounds hypocritical but hear me out: the novel is sold as a science fiction and romance, and yet the romance barely develops; I really didn’t feel a romantic connection between Will and Talia so when they suddenly express their feelings for each other after such a short period of time, I was quite taken aback. Maybe the romance should have been left out of the story. I also thought that the ending was a bit too convenient and positive. After such a struggle in the beginning, things were resolved way too easily.
Overall, this was a fun read with a good amount of action and good characters. However, I think the story and romance could have benefited from some depth, which could have been accomplished if the authors had made the story longer and taken the time to allow for some development. I’m giving this a 3/5 stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and Blaze Publishing for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Happy reading ~
Good job homie
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