The stars between us

This lavish space opera by Terrill (Here Lies Daniel Tate) combines classic romance and sci-fi tropes to deliver a tale of greed, love, and skullduggery. While 18-year-old Viktoria Hale's unknown benefactor provides some necessities, she and her family, who live on the planet Philomenus, still struggle to make do, until she's visited by attorney Archer Sheratan. He informs Vika that her benefactor, billionaire Rigel Chapin from neighboring Ploutos, has died, and that his will stipulates that his son, Leo, must marry her to claim his inheritance. But then Leo dies in a bombing, apparently a target of a group rebelling against the aristocracy. Fearing for Vika's safety, Chapin's new heirs invite her to stay with them and, on Ploutos, she enjoys the high life and gradually grows closer to prickly Sky Foster, the heir's assistant. But as the attacks increase in frequency, Vika and Sky worry that the rebels will stop at nothing to secure their deaths. Though descriptions of the opulent setting eventually peter out, disrupting narrative immersion, Terrill handily utilizes a mysterious heir, a secret antagonist, and a mystifying crime for a potent rags-to-riches romance. Characters cue as white. Ages 14--up. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Aug.)

A teenage girl desperately tries to take control of her life even when choices seem to be ripped from her grasp. Viktoria Hale and her family struggle to get by on the poverty-stricken planet Philomenus. Even with Vika's mysterious benefactor helping to provide some favors, money is always tight. Then one day, young solicitor Archer Sheratan appears at her family's flat and informs them that her benefactor is the recently deceased Rigel Chapin, a multibillionaire tycoon from neighboring planet Ploutos. Vika was named as a key figure in his will: Provided Chapin's estranged son, Leo, agrees to marry her, he will inherit his father's fortune. Although the ship carrying Leo to meet her explodes, killing him, Vika is whisked into the rich, glamorous society of Ploutos, where she continues to enjoy the company of Archer and tries her best to avoid a suspicious, bespectacled young man who is employed by her hosts. Vika is determined to do whatever it takes to ensure financial security for herself and her family, no matter the personal stakes. With a futuristic space setting that is underutilized in the story, this narrative relies heavily on descriptions of refined luxuries that lend a Victorian air. There is a fair amount of intrigue to keep readers invested, but too many tangents fail to coalesce into a rounded whole. Main characters seem to be White; secondary characters have a range of skin tones. Muted opulence forms the backdrop to this slightly disjointed space drama. (Science fiction. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.