Title: Eclipse the Moon (Starlight's Shadow #2)

Author: Jessie Mihalik

Publication Date: 12 July 2022

Genres: Sci-Fi Romance

Author's links: Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

My rating: 3 Stars

This second installment of the series gives us space adventures galore but I was underwhelmed by the romance.

The romance conflict hinges on the heroine lusting after hero but thinking he is avoiding her while he is avoiding her because her is attracted to her but feels he can't protect her the way he has too. It is messy and based on a very antiquated sense of chivalry and obligation which was difficult for me to reconcile with the hyper modern space world the story is set in.

I feel the Valovians with all there psychic powers and paranormal abilities are similar to Nalini Singh's psys which I don't mind in principle but the similarity did stand out to me.

I liked Varro for the most part though his sense of guilt and failure over impossible tasks he set to himself became too much. It made sense initially but then it became annoying as it happened over and over again.

Kee was nice enough, a bit your stereotypical hacker girl - a bit wild, a bit loner, smart but not as physically strong as her teammates which made her insecure. In her personal relationship she felt she was too much to her lover - too forward, too emotional (things she has been told by previous partners) and that made her guarded and worried that it would be the same for him.

They kept getting to try to be together only to be pulled apart either by cuircustmace (they are amid a wild chase with the bad guys in space) or by their own feelings of guilt / sense of obligation.

While I enjoyed and was fully invested in the suspense and adventure elements of the story, I felt the romantic arc was unevenly paced. It is not closed door romance but the sex scene (explicit) only happens after 90% mark. I would not describe it as slow burn but rather as a kind of delayed gratification and didn't work for me. Out of the blue we get some domination/submission dynamic thrown in - it honestly felt like Kee and Varro became different people, not the characters I have followed along in the story so far. The romance didn't flow smoothly for me, too many elements in it didn't fit with each other. Of course, this is all subjective interpretation but it's how I read it and why I didn't enjoy it as much as I wanted to.

I have come to realize that Jessie Mihalik's book are more about the space adventures than the romance but when I find the romance unevenly paced and not convincing, I don't know if I will continue with this series. Depends on the MCs, I still might give the next book a go.

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Title: Hunt the Stars (Starlight's Shadow #1)

Author: Jessie Mihalik

Publication Date: 1 Feb 2022

Genres: Sci-Fi Romance

Author's links: Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

My rating: 4 Stars

This is an fun, engaging space adventure romance and enjoyed it a lot. After reading the previous space romance series by this author I have come to expect the balance to be in favour of the adventure/thriller aspect rather than the romance and going in with this knowledge I was able to enjoy this story in full measure.

It's an enemies to lovers romance. There is a new race involved, reminiscent of Nalini Singh's psy characters - humans but with psychic and telekinetic abilities who came into existence on another planet.

There is a lot that I liked in this story. The thriller/solving a kidnapping aspect was well done and complex and we will be seeing more of this big conspiracy plot in the future books in the series. The MCs were both great, similar in so many ways - both are ex-soldiers, leader who took care of their people. I absolutely loved the way they built their own families with those closest to them. Especially with Tavi and her crew, it was a beautiful found family and I loved seeing the support, the loyalty and care between. Something that really stood out to me in the way Tavi care for her people was the way she fed them, the care she took with making food everyone liked, it extended to Torran's crew when she took them on board. The routing task of cooking was shown as a sign of care, kindness, basic respect for other people and it really spoke to me because feeding my people is basically my own love languages.

We saw that with Torran as well, he didn't shy away from cooking for his crew and guests and it wasa brilliant subversion of toxic masculinity.

Slow-burn romance and lots of secrets Torran kept which I was not a big fan of. He was guided by a complicated moral code of promises/obligations and I felt it need more elaboration/better explanation. It added a layer of forbidden desire to the attraction between Tavi and Torran. It made sense in the world of the story and also put focus on consent and honesty in all relationships, not just when it comes to physical intimacy.

It is a solid 4-star read for me, fast-paced, action-packed with a slow-burn romance.

CW: child abduction, violence, injuries

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Title: Chaos Reigning (Consortium Rebellion #3)

Author: Jessie Mihalik

Publication Date: 19 May 2020

Genres: Sci-Fi with Romance Elements

Author's links: Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads

My rating: 4 Stars

This is the final book in a series of SF stories. The series is billed SF romance but in my opinion all three books are rather SF with romantic elements. There is a HEA in every book but the romance comes second to the futuristic world and the suspense plot. I was unpleasantly surprised by this in the first book but I took up the next books with adjusted expectations with regard to the romance and I enjoyed them much more. 

This is the story of the youngest sibling, Cat, and it started with a rather unusual trope for SF, fake relationship and it did work well to create romantic tension, but it was over all too brief to add real depth to the romance. We moved to the the chase and fighting and travelling through space, trying to save the world and it was an amazing adventure till the very end. I loved how strong Cat was, how she masked her true self behind a bubbly socialite persona. She had to take the lead, to reveal her physical strength and sharp mind and was plagued by doubts and insecurities.

Alex was a great hero too. He loved Cat, saw through her mask and appreciated her strength, boosting her self-confidence, absolutely loving her for who she was. 

Ultimately this is an action-packed, fast moving story with many twists and turns galore. I liked the well drawn side characters and the cameo of the Cat's siblings. The world building worked well for me, there might be gaps here and there but overall I found it consistent and developed enough to make it easy and fun for me to follow the characters’ adventures. 

I would recommend the series with the caveat that it’s more of SF adventure with a bit of romance than proper SFR. 

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A space princess on the run and a notorious outlaw soldier become unlikely allies in this imaginative, sexy space opera adventure—the first in an exciting science fiction trilogy.

In the far distant future, the universe is officially ruled by the Royal Consortium, but the High Councillors, the heads of the three High Houses, wield the true power. As the fifth of six children, Ada von Hasenberg has no authority; her only value to her High House is as a pawn in a political marriage. When her father arranges for her to wed a noble from House Rockhurst, a man she neither wants nor loves, Ada seizes control of her own destiny. The spirited princess flees before the betrothal ceremony and disappears among the stars.

Ada eluded her father’s forces for two years, but now her luck has run out. To ensure she cannot escape again, the fiery princess is thrown into a prison cell with Marcus Loch. Known as the Devil of Fornax Zero, Loch is rumored to have killed his entire chain of command during the Fornax Rebellion, and the Consortium wants his head.

When the ship returning them to Earth is attacked by a battle cruiser from rival House Rockhurst, Ada realizes that if her jilted fiancé captures her, she’ll become a political prisoner and a liability to her House. Her only hope is to strike a deal with the dangerous fugitive: a fortune if he helps her escape.

But when you make a deal with an irresistibly attractive Devil, you may lose more than you bargained for . . .

I read those sci-fi romance one right after the other and decided to do a joint review.

I loved the sci-fi element, the world building was elaborate and intriguing, there was lots of court politics and drama and backstabbing. MCs had grweat chemistry and I absolutely bought their HEA but overall I felt the romance took a backseat to the suspense/adventure plot.

Loch is big silent hero, Ada is a strong independent heroine and they started as adversaries if not outright enemies but had to work together and initial lust between them gradually turned into a hard-earned trust and true intimacy. I appreciate how they were equal in many way despite how their different background and social position. They helped each other, rescued each other.

Loch had the best qualities of an alpha hero - loyal, protective but also respecting his partner and openly admiring her strength.

Ada is no damsel in distress waiting to be saved. She is very much her own saviour. Both were guarding their hearts and falling in love and opening up to each other was a pleasure to read.

This is a fun and exciting story, full of twists and turns, fast-paced, unpredictable.

There were great supporting characters, a lovely second romance plot. It provided a great set up fo rth next book.

I can recommend it to fans of sci-fi and romance readers who don't mind the love story coming second to the suspense for most of the book.

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Bianca von Hasenberg did her duty for High House von Hasenberg and ended up trapped in a terrible marriage. When her husband dies unexpectedly and leaves her a happy widow, she vows never to marry again. Instead, she uses her connections to save other young women. Information is power and Bianca has a network that would be the envy of the ’verse—if anyone knew about it. Bianca von Hasenberg did her duty for High House von Hasenberg and ended up trapped in a terrible marriage. When her husband dies unexpectedly and leaves her a happy widow, she vows never to marry again. Instead, she uses her connections to save other young women. Information is power and Bianca has a network that would be the envy of the ’verse—if anyone knew about it.

After an attack, Bianca’s oldest brother, the House von Hasenberg heir, disappears from Earth without a trace. Determined to find him, Bianca leaves against orders. When she refuses to return, her father sends Ian Bishop, the director of House von Hasenberg security, to haul her home like a recalcitrant child.

Bianca leads Ian on a merry chase across the universe, but when their paths finally collide, she persuades him that they would be far more successful at finding her brother if they worked together. She will do anything to save her sibling, even if it means spending time alone on a small ship with the handsome, infuriating man who once broke her heart.

As clues lead them deep into rival House Rockhurst territory, Bianca must decide if she can trust Ian with the one piece of information that could destroy her completely. . .

Book 1 made me super excited for Bianca's story and it indeed started great but just like with Ada's story, the romance plot lost track somewhere around the middle and the suspense/adventure took too much center stage for my liking. It's sort of enemies to lovers romance, again slow burn like the previous book in the series and while not as developed as I wanted it to be, I believed in the romance and their HEA.

On the good side, Bianca reminded me of Nalini Singh's psy characters but more human. My heart broke for her and the secret she had to keep from everyone and at the same time I was in absolute awe of her strength and resilience (very much like Ian when he allowed himself to admit it).

They had a complicated history between them - he rejected her once and her pride didn't let her seek his attentions again. At the same time his position as head of security for her family added further stress to their interactions. He felt responsible for keeping her safe but she hated that he saw her (only) as a damsel in distress. They bonded over their mission to save her brother and the walls they had built up around their hearts started crumbling down. I loved how their relationship showed a lot care for each other and also mutual respect for the abilities of the other person.

The suspense/adventure plot was brilliant and enjoyed it a lot. It was fast-paced, the tension was even higher than in book 1. We got deeper into the Houses politics, and I enjoyed the focus on the issues of trust - how to earn one's trust, how to keep it, a promise is a promise, a sense of duty and not letting down the people who trust and rely on you.

Sadly, I was disappointed by the ending. It felt rushed and left too many plot lines unresolved. I hope we will get our answers in the next book (about the third sister) but I still was completely satisfied with the ending here.