frantic_vampire's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This was such a good book! I don’t really have the words for all the feelings that this book gave me. It was comforting, it was adventurous, it was political, and so many other things. I just loved this so, so much.
I loved the dynamic between Kiem and Jainan once they got past all the awkward miscommunications (and lack of communication). I loved that Kiem was so bubbly and talked with literally everyone, and that Jainan was almost the complete opposite. I loved all the political drama, the murder mystery, and everything else that this had going for it! Somehow this world felt familiar and yet not at all, if that makes sense. Winter’s Orbit was just so good and I’m giving it five stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Gaslighting, Grief, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Car accident, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
All tags are in relation to Taam and Aren and the shitty things they did before/during the story.lunarexorcist's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book was so obviously written by someone who grew up on AO3. That has so much potential to be an embarrassing mess for everyone involved. But it works, and I want to read more of it yesterday.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Car accident, Xenophobia, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Gun violence and Rape
discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book was utterly delightful. It had been floating around the edges of my literary radar for some time, but I honestly wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I did. I knew by the end of the first chapter that I was going to enjoy this book and it never let me down.
Did I kind of skim over some of the parts that delved more into the political or technical aspects of the story… ok, yeah. Sure. But I do that with most of the books I read involving intricate politics or technology, because I have trouble following. Yet I never lost the thread of the story here, and my attachment to the characters kept me glued to the page.
Granted, I did want to literally throw my phone (I read this on the Kindle app) across the room because of the miscommunication that persists in the first half, but the eventual resolution was so satisfying.
Did I kind of skim over some of the parts that delved more into the political or technical aspects of the story… ok, yeah. Sure. But I do that with most of the books I read involving intricate politics or technology, because I have trouble following. Yet I never lost the thread of the story here, and my attachment to the characters kept me glued to the page.
Granted, I did want to literally throw my phone (I read this on the Kindle app) across the room because of the miscommunication that persists in the first half, but the eventual resolution was so satisfying.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Car accident and Drug use
scenic92's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Car accident
aleshamiller's review against another edition
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Death, and Domestic abuse
kathigh86's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was my first sci-fi book in many months, it was like a cool refresher for my reading palate. I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of this book. The romance, the mystery, the politics, the world building. I appreciated the fact that everything builds as the book goes on, that there isn’t 80 pages of pure description of the world. There were two main reasons for my 4 star rating over a 5 star. The pacing of this book is SLOW (at least for me), so it was a lot harder for me to get into it and finish it. The stakes of the plot were high, however I didn’t necessarily feel like the stakes were high. Even for this review I find it difficult to tell you how I felt while I was reading. Regardless, I liked this book and look forward to reading the second one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Car accident, and Grief
Minor: Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Blood, War, Kidnapping, and Sexual content
tinyjude's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Setting, characters, world-building and the intrinsics between them were very interesting and well-developed. Despite what it may look like, it was easy to follow and engaging. I think it was well paced both in terms of political intrigue and personal relationships among the characters. I also appreciated Kiem and Jainan's relationship so much as they were mature, understanding and brilliant together. Also props for the representation of domestic abuse, gaslighting and trauma.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, and Death
Moderate: Murder, Car accident, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Violence, Torture, and Sexual assault
wilybooklover's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
5.0
This is a tough one to categorise. Ostensibly, it’s sci-fi romance, but it’s a lot heavier on the actual sci-fi than most sci-fi romance is. Or maybe space opera, but it’s a lot heavier on the romance than most space opera. In my opinion, it’s pretty equally space opera/romance/suspense (all three of which are interwoven), but whatever it is I loved it.
The book starts off with our two heroes, Kiem and Jainan, marrying for political alliance reasons. Now, this is how you do a miscommunication trope. It makes sense that Kiem and Jainan would have trouble communicating properly. Not only are they complete strangers, with very different styles of communication, they’re from entirely different cultures and Jainan has been kept isolated and deliberately in the dark about a lot of things. They’re both so considerate of the other that they overthink and misinterpret and get in their own heads about it. It’s kind of endearing, actually, and the slow unfolding of their thoughts and feelings to each other was such a delight to read. They really complemented each other well, despite being charming-extrovert/anxious-introvert opposites.
Besides the romance, which was lovely and gentle and soft, the worldbuilding and plot were complex and interesting. Kiem and Jainan get dragged into a murder conspiracy upon which the fate of the Empire hinges, and it soon becomes apparent that their lives are also at stake. On top of that, you have a potential rebellion brewing back on Jainan’s home world. It’s a lot, and I do think there was maybe a little too much going on at times (or, perhaps, not paced correctly). But I very much enjoyed this story of political intrigue. Once facet of the worldbuilding that I really enjoyed was the queernorm world. It was so refreshing to see queer people of all kinds just existing without being a statement or facing hardship because of it. The secondary characters were all fleshed out and interesting as well, although I did think that one of the antagonists was a bit obvious
Spoiler
(it’s always suspicious when someone is a bit too friendly and helpful).Ultimately I think this was a well-balanced story of romance and space politics, and would recommend this to people who enjoy both of those things. There are some heavy topics in this, so do check content warnings first.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Confinement, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Colonisation, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Xenophobia, and Violence
Minor: Alcoholism
skrulls's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Torture, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Confinement
Minor: Medical content, Sexual content, and Violence
breadbees's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death, Violence, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, and Torture
Minor: Car accident, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, War, Sexual violence, and Medical content