by Emily Gray
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.
A princess in danger is whisked off planet by a handsome rogue smuggler. Is this Star Wars coded? These days you can’t tell if this was a Princess Leia/ Han Solo fan fic originally, or just a writer who liked the idea of well born aristocracy who is swept off her feet by the handsome rebel.
There are more than a few similarities to Star Wars symbolism but considering that the original storyline is adapted from a Kurasawa film and the visuals heavily borrowed from the Nazi filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl any references to imperialist forces in space will be reminiscent of the original trilogy. But, that is not necessarily a bad thing, there are no limits to the amount of stories that can be told about humans rebelling against oppressive regimes in space. It just makes good space opera.
At the core, this is more of a romance in space, with the majority of the book is about the relationship between the princess Lyrii Thana and the handsome Kade Maxwell. Lyrii is the second daughter of the Empress Thanii of the planet Boaterra, who is betrothed by treaty to the Commander Vega of Chinov. These are the two planets that exist in this system, having been populated hundreds of years earlier by people fleeing their home planet. Both planets are starkly different – Boaterrans celebrate art and music and beauty, while Chinov is militaristic, technocratic and severe, their nearly inhospitable planet made rich by being the only place that mines the crystals that powers the ships and all technology produced by these people. Both planets are populated by proud, aristocratic families that can trace their lineage through hundreds of years, marriages on both planets are arranged for the most advantageous genetic progeny. While the Boaterrans are free with their love and the Chinovs are traditional and paternalistic when it comes to relationships and sexuality, when it comes to who can have children among the noble classes, they are carefully planned. Unplanned children among the non aristocratic households are given away to families who would actually appreciate the children. And the number of children among the worker families are limited.
In fact a lot of freedoms among the worker and servent classes are limited. These are some of the truths that Lyrii is confronted with on her impromptu escape off planet. After her second assassination attempt and ensuing riot, she is saved by this irritating but handsome man, in his spaceship, that is barely holding together. (remember how the Millenium Falcon kept breaking down ? it’s kind of like that, although Kade doesn’t brag about making the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs) While it was not safe for Lyrii on her home planet, she feels that she must fulfill the marriage contract on Chinov, so a ransom is made in order for Kade to deliver Lyrii to her future husband.
On the way the ship dies and they are forced to make a stop at a secret colony, housed on a life ship that Lyrii had no idea existed. She was not in line to be Empress so she was only taught the things she needed to know to live her life as a wife under contract.
Once her eyes have been opened, she learns a few more things, her attraction to Kade grows and she dreads having to fulfill her contract, but she also believes that if she does not, the lives of many people she has met and those that she cares for on Boaterra would be in danger. She believes that she can help from a position of power, working from the inside. And so, she must be delivered to the austere, colourless and racist planet of Chinov. (the Chinov’s think the Boaterrans are ugly people who grow their hair out and look for beauty and growing things everywhere)
So that is the premise of the first half of this novel, the first of a series. Things do not go as planned on Chinov. Lyrii has seen too much and learned too many secrets to play the part of a docile and agreeable partner.
What I really appreciate in this book one of a series is that while there is a bit of a surprise at the end of this book it actually gets tied up and we are left literally floating in space, with the story complete only to reveal a much larger story to move on towards. And this is how a multi book series should be written, action completed but the overall storyline unresolved. It makes me want to read on, but I won’t have to worry about will I remember where we were when the last book ended. And it’s quite satisfying even when the next book has not been released.
This is a debut novel and lets be real, space stories in this genre are far fewer than the fantasy settings. Even sci fi based romance books set on new worlds are generally focused on the flora and fauna of the new world, not so much on the ships, asteroids and off planet activities that occur out in space. I think for romantasy readers looking for something a bit different, but not wanting to stray too far from your favourite tropes this is a good start.
I gave this a 4.25 in storygraph rounded down to 4 in applications that do not have partial marks.
