Rating: ☆☆☆ 1/2
Audience: Sci-Fi/Fantasy Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: Jessie Mihalik
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Release Date: February 1st, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The critically acclaimed author of Polaris Rising takes readers on an exciting journey with the start of her brand-new series about a female bounty hunter and the man who is her sworn enemy.

Octavia Zarola would do anything to keep her tiny, close-knit bounty hunting crew together—even if it means accepting a job from Torran Fletcher, a ruthless former general and her sworn enemy. When Torran offers her enough credits to not only keep her crew afloat but also hire someone to fix her ship, Tavi knows that she can’t refuse—no matter how much she’d like to.

With so much money on the line, Torran and his crew insist on joining the hunt. Tavi reluctantly agrees because while the handsome, stoic leader pushes all of her buttons—for both anger and desire—she’s endured worse, and the massive bonus payment he’s promised for a completed job is reason enough to shut up and deal.

But when they uncover a deeper plot that threatens the delicate peace between humans and Valoffs, Tavi suspects that Torran has been using her as the impetus for a new war. With the fate of her crew balanced on a knife’s edge, Tavi must decide where her loyalties lie—with the quiet Valoff who’s been lying to her, or with the human leaders who left her squad to die on the battlefield. And this time, she’s put her heart on the line.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC.

PROGRESSIVELY BETTER.

A new to me author with an enjoyable first read from them! I liked the progression of this story and how the second half of it really leaned in well to the plot and romance aspects.

I liked Tavi as the main character. A heroine with a past who fiercely loves her crew and wants to protect them at all costs. Having to join up with her enemy to make some much needed credits (money) wasn’t in her plans, but sparks ignited between the two. At first I wasn’t that into Torran. He was too quiet. I wasn’t getting much background or interaction with him. As the story moved along I liked that he took a larger role and after some silly plot defects were out of the way he could speak more freely. I liked the chemistry between Torran and Tavi. I think there’s a higher chance of me loving them even more in book two.

One of the things I didn’t love was the weird obsession with food? Practically every meal was specifically covered. Preparation, cooking and eating. If it really played into the plot, cool. This was not the case and I skipped over many paragraphs of filler about their meals. I didn’t need that.

The second half was much faster and actually discussed (with action scenes at last) the true reason Torran needed Tavi and her crews help. I was happy to finally see some of the antagonists and what the larger viewpoint is regarding the series. I’m curious what the second book will hold. It wasn’t a bad start to a new series.

Overall audience notes:

• Sci-Fi/Fantasy Romance
• Language: some strong
• Romance: two brief open door
• Violence: gun/weaponry violence, magical and physical altercations
• Trigger/Content Warnings: a kidnapped child, loss of loved ones, war themes

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