Summary:
While the Iskat Empire has long dominated the system through treaties and political alliances, several planets, including Thea, have begun to chafe under Iskat’s rule. When tragedy befalls Imperial Prince Taam, his Thean widower, Jainan, is rushed into an arranged marriage with Taam’s cousin, the disreputable Kiem, in a bid to keep the rising hostilities between the two worlds under control.
But when it comes to light that Prince Taam’s death may not have been an accident, and that Jainan himself may be a suspect, the unlikely pair must overcome their misgivings and learn to trust one another as they navigate the perils of the Iskat court, try to solve a murder, and prevent an interplanetary war… all while dealing with their growing feelings for each other.
Thanks much to the publisher for providing a copy of this for review purposes. This did not affect the content of my review in any way.
Thoughts:
I expected to love this and I did but I didn’t expect to have so much fun with all of the political intrigue and mysteries to be solved. Oh, and I do want to give one CW for domestic violence.
First off let me say how much I loved these characters. Prince Kiem is kind of a reformed rake in that he’s trying to be taken a bit more seriously but is having trouble escaping his past as a rebellious youth. At heart he’s a bit of a softy and maybe a bit naïve about how politics work but he’s also savvy enough to know how to work a room and is full of personality and swagger. He’s like a lively little cinnamon roll–I love him. To contrast, Count Jainan is subdued and would probably blend into the background if you let him. Kiem isn’t quite sure what to make of Jainan and vice versa. Of course, as the story goes on you start to get a sense that there’s a lot that Jainan isn’t saying about his past with his previous partner, Taam. His actions speak louder than words and to me it was obvious that something was very, very wrong. Overall, I loved the way that Kiem and Jainan’s relationship progressed. Kiem always tried to be thoughtful and considerate of Jainan’s feelings. Of course because there’s a huge misunderstanding between them his actions are often lost on Jainan or misinterpreted. If there’s one thing that did annoy me a bit was just how long the misunderstanding was drawn out between them. For one, as savvy Kiem is about some things he’s completely dense about others. For two, although I totally understand why Jainan wouldn’t want to talk about his past and why he assumed certain things regarding Kiem, I feel like it would have been better for Jainan’s character growth if this had all come to light earlier in the story. As it is, his courage at the end feels like it has come on rather suddenly.
As a romance reader I was really happy with the romance tropes utilized in this book as they’re some of my favorites. Arranged marriage, only one bed (or tent in this case), having to huddle together for warmth, etc. One thing romance readers look for (because we read so much of it) is not only that sense of comfort from the familiar but also new takes on those tropes. Somehow Winter’s Orbit made these tropes feel fresh. I don’t know if it was the setting or the way the characters navigated the relationship between each other, but something about this really worked for me. For instance, early on the ‘only one bed’ trope is avoided but then later it comes up again and by that point in the story you’re rooting for it.
And now for my favorite least expected part of the book–political intrigue! I was fairly impressed with the world building here (although I would LOVE to learn more because I still have a lot of questions about the greater universe) and especially enjoyed the set up of an empire ruling over a set of planets and the friction that causes when one of the planets takes exception to the empire utilizing their resources. First of all, love a ‘death to the empire’ story. LOVE. THEM. I am happy to see these type of systems criticized. I also love that there’s some criticism here of an act of rebellion because I think that was warranted, however I also think it’s a bit naïve to think that massive issues can be solved by talking them out. Of course, it also helps when you have a huge bargaining chip. I thought all the political intrigue in this was fascinating. I also love how there were so many red herrings, so many times the evidence led them down the wrong path. I was really kept guessing who was on whose side for a lot of the story. I never knew who was going to wind up being the one that had betrayed them. Of course, it also helped that there were enough components to lead the investigation in different directions. Anyway, this aspect of the story was really fun for me. Love a good mystery.
Overall, I had a really good time reading this one. I think if you’re looking for a romance in space or some fun planetary politics, this would be a good one to check out. 4/5 stars.
Way Too Fantasy 
This is on my TBR list. Glad to see you enjoyed it!
It was a lot of fun!
I can’t wait to read it! Glad you loved it. Now I’m even more excited to dive in.
~ Corina | thebrowneyedbookworm.com
I feel like there was a lot to love about this one. I don’t know if it will hit everyone the way that it did me, but I enjoyed it a lot. 🙂
I had an eye on it for a couple months now, but seeing reviews like yours makes it even more exciting. But I get it, we all experience books differently.
I hope you love it!
YAY!!! I’m so glad you love it!! I agree about the world-building – there are so many unanswered questions!! I hope the writer decides to expand this universe in other stories.
Yeah, I would love to see more of the world, especially beyond that gate. Like…I’m super curious about wherever the Auditor is from.
I’m glad to see your positive rating! I’m going to start this soon and I knew there was a heavy romance element, but it sounds like its balanced well against the other elements😁
Yeah, it’s very much a romance because it has all those tropes but it also has a lot of other stuff going on. I loved all the mystery and politics!
Brilliant review! I was 50/50 over picking this one up, but you’ve definitely convinced me to give it a go ☺️
Thanks! I hope you enjoy it. 🙂
Wow, this looks so cool! I’m picky about sci-fi but this seems like fun. Great review!💜
It was a lot of fun. Thanks! 🙂
The political intrigue angle would be the main point of interest for me in this book, while your description of the romance elements (which would usually make me run for the hills at high speed…) did a great job about easing my misgivings about this particular theme 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
I didn’t expect all the mystery and planetary political intrigue so that was a fun surprise! It still has a strong romance to it, I think it’s primarily a romance, but there’s enough of a balance that it easily fits into sci-fi category. 🙂
This must have completely missed me somehow or not registered in my poor little brain. Glad to see you enjoyed it though.
Lynn 😀
Hah, totally get it. 🙂 Thanks, it was a lot of fun!
Looks like I need to flag this one to check out later!!
It was a lot of fun. I enjoyed all the space politics! 🙂
I am so glad you enjoyed this one!! I am not a huge fan of misunderstanding, to be honest I hate them! But all the rest seems pretty great and I am sooooo looking forward to it!!
I liked a lot of things about this one. The misunderstanding was annoying but there was also a reason written in for it, at least. I hope you enjoy it!
Awesome review! I feel like this romance and these characters are gonna have me swooning and awwing a lot and I’m here for it! 😂 I actually just got this on my Kindle not 10-mins ago and I think I’m gonna read the first chapter to see how I feel about reading it right now. Love this cover too 😍
It’s a bit of a slow build up to the romance too, which i liked. I think you’ll enjoy this one, it has plenty of things going for it!