Review by Booklist Review
Mihalik's debut kicks off a fast-paced space-opera trilogy. Royal Consortium princess Ada von Hasenberg fled home to avoid an arranged marriage to the scion of a rival house. After two years moving between space ports to avoid her father's minions, Ada is captured by mercenaries intent on collecting a vast bounty. She puts up quite a fight and is summarily thrown into a cell with Marcus Loch, the other most wanted individual in the universe. Ada is intrigued by him but learned from an early age never to trust anyone, not even family, and certainly not a rogue soldier convicted of mass murder. When her rejected suitor suddenly shows up with a warship to escort her home, Ada wonders why but knows she must escape immediately. Her best hope is to free Marcus and draw him into her plans. They will have to work together to break out, but how can either of them trust the other? Fans of sf with a strong romantic element will look forward to the rest of the trilogy.--Lucy Lockley Copyright 2018 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The opener to Mihalik's debut trilogy, a simplistic space opera with a side of erotica, starts far too slowly and fails to build dramatic tension even in its most frantic escape scenes, while both character and plot development lean toward the bland and stereotyped. Ada von Hasenberg, fifth child of one of the three High Houses of the Consortium, has spent two years running from her father's forces in order to avoid a political marriage. As she eludes pursuit by her undesired betrothed, Richard Rockhurst, she finds an unlikely ally: fugitive Marcus Loch, considered one of the universe's most dangerous criminals. After a bit of hopping planets, manipulating connections, and killing people who are in the way, Ada and Marcus end up with a stolen House Rockhurst ship with a new kind of faster-than-light travel technology, an understanding that the failure of Ada and Richard's union means inter-House war, and a sexual connection too strong to ignore. Mihalik's storytelling leaves an impression of having checked off plot requirements and never draws readers into Ada's world, leaving them bored well before the end. Agent: Sarah Younger, Nancy Yost Literary. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
As the fifth child of a family of six, 23-year-old Ada von Hasenberg is not particularly valuable to her wealthy family. Her marital alliance and subsequent espionage on behalf of House von Hasenberg (one of the three High Houses that wield power in this universe) are her assets in this carefully plotted novel that blends science fiction and political intrigue. Ada's strength is tempered by her vulnerability. No political plot is complete without a completely unsuitable love interest, and Marcus Loch plays that role well. Initially brought together out of self-preservation, the pair heat up the story with barely restrained sexual tension. Ada and Loch are joined by two unlikely accomplices in their effort to uncover the machinations of House Rockhurst (technology is decidedly on the side of House Rockhurst). Will their discoveries avert a war between the High Houses? The characters and romances are deliciously predictable, and the action is nonstop, though the writing gets slightly repetitive. VERDICT A series starter for those who enjoyed Melissa Landers's "Staflight" series or Sharon Shinn's Shattered Warrior. Purchase for teens who prefer more mature themes and off-planet action.-Jodeana Kruse, R.A. Long High School, Longview, WA © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Mihalik debuts with the first book of a science-fiction trilogy filled with high-tech action, political intrigue, and steamy romance.Two years ago, Ada von Hasenberg, fifth daughter of the powerful von Hasenberg House, fled the life her father arranged for her: a political engagement to a rival House in order to spy on her husband-to-be. Using all her von Hasenberg traininga skill set that includes hacking, combat, and social manipulationAda ran. But when she's captured by bounty hunters eager to claim her father's reward, Ada meets their other prisoner: a dangerous murderer named Loch. Loch's personal magnetism draws Ada even as his violent reputation makes her wary. But when her jilted fiance, Richard Rockhurst, intercepts the bounty hunters' ship, Ada must ally with Loch whether she trusts him or not. Together, they escape Richard and make it to a frozen backwater planet, but Richard pursues. As they evade his men and plan a way to get off-world, Loch and Ada start to trust each othersomething that comes naturally to neither of them. When Loch is captured, Ada rescues him with the help of her new ally, a fence named Veronica. The three of them pull off an audacious theft of Richard's shipand discover that it has technological secrets that could change the balance of power for everyone. The ship isn't the only thing with secrets: Loch's mysterious past threatens the highest levels of government. To save her new (and old) friends, as well as her House, Ada will need to exercise all her ingenuity and ruthlessness and play the political game like the thing she least wants to be: a von Hasenberg.Fast-paced space opera, filled with daring rescues and blaster fire, thrown into high gear by the passionate romance between the lead characters. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
