[Diane’s Review] Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell

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.

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Red, White & Royal Blue In Space!!

I seriously LOVED this book! It was so cute and so sweet and filled my heart. But also, a bit like a murder mystery which I found quite fun!

At some points I found myself getting frustrated with the lack of communication between Kiem and Jainan. I mean I completely understand where each is coming from by bottling up their feeling and not wanting to step on the others toes, but AAHHHH JUST SAY I LOVE YOU!

Also, fair warning. This book has all the tropes! For me, as a lover of tropey books this was a wonderful take on so many of them. My personal favorite ‘there’s only one bed’ makes an appearance and I’m not disappointed.

The world building was simply done, not a whole lot of description was given so it left quite a bit to the imagination. Which is fine, I pretty much envisioned the plants into those from Star Wars.

One final note on a thing I truly appreciate is the author normalizing LGBTQ+ content. No one in the book bats an eye that someone is queer or that gender may not be easily identifiable, and I really enjoyed that. It’s not often I read a queer book that doesn’t have some form of homophobia laced through it. Because of this I’ll definitely read whatever Everina puts out next!

Diane

Hi there!

I’m Diane, I suffer from wanderlust and am from Toronto, Ontario.

Since I was a wee bairn I was obsessed with reading and the fantastical worlds books would sweep my away in. Flash forward 28 years, I can now be seen running through the trees in hopes of being carried to a world far far away, but mostly just tripping over tree roots.

When I’m not reading or watching What We Do In The Shadows on repeat, I can be found tracing my lineage to the ancient Vikings and Scots. Oh! And making organic dog treats for my high-maintenance pets.