Format: e-ARC, 304 pages
Publisher: Running Press
Published: December 8, 2015
ISBN: 9780762458400
Genre: Teens & YA
Back cover blurb: Three royal houses ruling three interplanetary systems are on the brink of collapse, and they must either ally together or tear each other apart in order for their people to survive.
Asa is the youngest daughter of the house of Fane, which has been fighting a devastating food and energy crisis for far too long. She thinks she can save her family’s livelihood by posing as her oldest sister in an arranged marriage with Eagle, the heir to the throne of the house of Westlet. The appearance of her mother, a traitor who defected to the house of Galton, adds fuel to the fire, while Asa also tries to save her sister Wren’s life . . . possibly from the hands of their own father.
But as Asa and Eagle forge a genuine bond, will secrets from the past and the urgent needs of their people in the present keep them divided?
Author Tessa Elwood’s debut series is an epic romance at heart, set against a mine field of political machinations, space adventure, and deep-seeded family loyalties.
My review: The premise was good but there just wasn’t enough world-building or characterization to flesh everything out enough. Because I didn’t feel invested in the setting, I found I didn’t really care about the characters. Asa’s dialogue was hard to read because she was always being interrupted, and I didn’t really get a sense of the depth of feeling she and Eagle professed to each other at the end. Also, may I say that cover makes me think of a school trip to a planetarium. She looks like she has a backpack on, but I think it’s just a stripe on her dress. Anyway, this was just okay. I don’t feel a great need to read the sequel.
***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***
My rating: 3/5
Books, Baking & Other Objects of Beauty 
Leave a Reply