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A review by tallangryplanet
Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"Very happy to—to—” He stuttered to a halt. To forcibly marry someone whose life partner just died. What a great idea. Long live the Empire.
Prince Kiem is not exactly the Emperor's favorite relative. He's rowdy, appears in too many news scandals, and couldn't even make himself join the military. So when she tasks him with marrying Count Jainan, a representative from another of the Empire's planet and his cousin's widower, Kiem is at a complete loss. After the rushed marriage he is faced with a new partner who seems much more competent than he could ever hope to be, politics he couldn't even begin to understand, and a conspiracy that threatens to end life as he knows it.
I had so much fun reading this book! The first third or so was incredibly frustrating as Kiem as Jainan seemed incapable of communication, but once they started actually talking to each other it was all smooth sailing (or at least the bumps weren't all caused by them). I loved following along with the mystery and discovering how messed up the Empire actually was at the same time as the characters. The romance aspect was also really cute, though I could've done with some more one-on-one scenes once they figured out the communication aspect. However, my favorite part was the character development: the way Kiem and Jainan helped better each other, and the huge increase in self-esteem they both had.
All in all, I would recommend this book if you like science fiction with complicated politics and a generous dash of romance (for the genre, this is not specifically a romance book so it's not that heavy either). It was engaging and easy to read, and I can't wait to see what Maxwell does next with this world.
Prince Kiem is not exactly the Emperor's favorite relative. He's rowdy, appears in too many news scandals, and couldn't even make himself join the military. So when she tasks him with marrying Count Jainan, a representative from another of the Empire's planet and his cousin's widower, Kiem is at a complete loss. After the rushed marriage he is faced with a new partner who seems much more competent than he could ever hope to be, politics he couldn't even begin to understand, and a conspiracy that threatens to end life as he knows it.
I had so much fun reading this book! The first third or so was incredibly frustrating as Kiem as Jainan seemed incapable of communication, but once they started actually talking to each other it was all smooth sailing (or at least the bumps weren't all caused by them). I loved following along with the mystery and discovering how messed up the Empire actually was at the same time as the characters. The romance aspect was also really cute, though I could've done with some more one-on-one scenes once they figured out the communication aspect. However, my favorite part was the character development: the way Kiem and Jainan helped better each other, and the huge increase in self-esteem they both had.
All in all, I would recommend this book if you like science fiction with complicated politics and a generous dash of romance (for the genre, this is not specifically a romance book so it's not that heavy either). It was engaging and easy to read, and I can't wait to see what Maxwell does next with this world.