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 …
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 . . .
This is an excellent female power fantasy. The main character is rich and tough and smart but also vulnerable enough to just barely not be perfect. Her love interest is similar except he's not rich. If you like steamy love scenes along with your space opera, this is perfect for you. I will, however, note that it could just as easily be a fantasy story with faster-than-light travel replaced by spell-driven teleportation and it would work equally as well. Including the element of "high courts" and stuff like that. That was a bit of a turnoff, but the action was driving enough that I could forgive it.
I enjoyed this space-opera! Lots of adventures: boarding ships, cracking security codes and locks, dealing with smugglers, discussing ship layouts, sending encrypted messages and blending in a crowded port to avoid being recognized. The two main characters, Lady Ada and Loch, were equally strong and I liked that they were both highly skilled at their areas of expertise.
And rescues! It happens a lot and for the most part the rescuing is done by Lady Ada (as opposed to the male hero always rescuing the damsel in distress).
It had that old Star Wars feel but without aliens. Fun!
Enjoyable political action thriller set in the future. I enjoyed the adventure, action, and the tech in this world. In this future, the patriarchy and Euro-dominance seem to be thriving, just as they do in the modern world. The book contained way too many cliché sex scenes for my taste.
Oh yeah, a space-opera and romance, with political intrigue. I've been wondering/looking for a book that mixed elements of science fiction and elements of romance, and this delivered.
Ada is a kick-ass heroine. Marcus is scary, but thankfully not to the point where I gave up on the book. I appreciate that Mihalik draws you into Marcus by providing mystery regarding his background.
I look forward to the other books in the series, and I'm curious how the larger story will play out.
Okay, I really liked this one. It's a mix of space op with romance, the space op is engaging, the romance is fairly decent, and the world building makes me want to read the next one. Pretty cool :)
Good story, good SciFi, Intermingled with eye rolling page skipping infatuated with love junk. Of course this Old Guy was not the demographic for the latter
