[ Malia’s Review ]: Hunt the Stars (Starlight’s Shadow #1) by Jessie Mihalik

Hunt the Stars (Starlight's Shadow #1)
by Jessie Mihalik
Series: Starlight's Shadow #1
Pages: 400
Published by Harper Voyager
Release Date: February 1, 2022
Genres: Adult, Romance, Sci-Fi
Source: Publisher
Format Read: ARC
Goodreads
Buy on Amazon

The critically acclaimed author of Polaris Rising takes readers on an exciting journey with the start of her brand-new series about a female bounty hunter and the man who is her sworn enemy.
Octavia Zarola would do anything to keep her tiny, close-knit bounty hunting crew together—even if it means accepting a job from Torran Fletcher, a ruthless former general and her sworn enemy. When Torran offers her enough credits to not only keep her crew afloat but also hire someone to fix her ship, Tavi knows that she can’t refuse—no matter how much she’d like to.
With so much money on the line, Torran and his crew insist on joining the hunt. Tavi reluctantly agrees because while the handsome, stoic leader pushes all of her buttons—for both anger and desire—she’s endured worse, and the massive bonus payment he’s promised for a completed job is reason enough to shut up and deal.
But when they uncover a deeper plot that threatens the delicate peace between humans and Valoffs, Tavi suspects that Torran has been using her as the impetus for a new war. With the fate of her crew balanced on a knife’s edge, Tavi must decide where her loyalties lie—with the quiet Valoff who’s been lying to her, or with the human leaders who left her squad to die on the battlefield. And this time, she’s put her heart on the line.

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.

Where do I even begin with Hunt the Stars? I was instantly a fan of Jessie’s Consortium Rebellion series. I don’t usually gravitate towards sci-fi romance or space opera reads, but if Jessie’s writing them, I’ll read all of it.

We’re set on a new adventure with two teams that have to put their differences aside to reach a common goal. However, there’s a ton of hesitancy and secrets along the way, which definitely add some suspense to the story.

Octavia and Torran, oh these two! Their slow-burn love story with just a little bit of enemies to lovers. The enemies part to me wasn’t significant mainly because of simply not knowing all of the truth. Slow burns haven’t been my thing to pick up in the past year, but theirs worked so much for me. From the heated glances, subtle flirting, I simply couldn’t wait for more.

They’re both well respected and absolutely loyal to their teams. And the transition for everyone to work together was effortless, they all fit perfectly together. They’d be the team to look out for if they remain working together.

If you’re not new to Jessie’s books, they’re not full steam ahead, but for the story, it’s just the right amount.

Another aspect of this story that I loved in the found family! Octavia has found her family with her crew and I can’t wait to learn even more about every one of them. It’s pretty easy to make assumptions of who the next pairs will be.

The Starlight’s Shadow is a the series to add to your list, Hunt the Stars was a great start to this series and I’m so ready for more!

Hunt the Stars is a standalone in Jessie Mihalik’s new series, Starlight’s Shadow.