Review Detail

All Solara Brooks wanted was passage to the outer realm but to get that, she must become the indentured servant yo spoiled Doran Spaulding for the duration of the trip. Circumstances land them on a vessel named the Banshee instead of their spaceliner, the Zenith, and Solara and Doran are forced to work together, and with the crew of the Banshee, in order to avoid the people suddenly pursuing them. If they can avoid prosecution, they have a chance at learning the truth and exposing the people who set them up, and maybe changing the lives of everyone in the universe.

I was really excited for this book because I love sci-fi, especially when it involves a group of misfits becoming like a family. It was an entertaining read with a lot of action, growth, and characters I really enjoyed reading about. I can see why it was pitched as “Overboard” meets “Firefly”.

The book was told in the two POVs of Solara and Doran. The contrast between the two main characters was interesting. Solara was an orphan who had to beg for passage in order to get to the outer realm and find a job to survive while Doran was the spoiled, rich kid who loved tormenting her as her sole means of getting that passage. Solara was easy to like. She was dealt lousy circumstances in life but she was determined to do whatever she had to do to make a life for herself. She could be ruthless if she needed to be but she also cared about other people, especially those she considered friends. Doran, on the other hand, was extremely easy to dislike at first. Not only was he spoiled but he was a bully and seemed to have no concern for those he deemed unworthy of his time. It took time and growth for him to turn into someone I could root for as a character but I ended up really liking his development.

There were so many great side characters in this book that made it such a great read. The whole crew of the Banshee was amazing and I would have read an entire book of just them sitting around the dinner table playing their games and teasing each other. It was highly entertaining.

The plot was a little slow at first, mostly to set up for what would happen later. It wasn’t boring and I did enjoy it. It gave me a good idea of just how brutal the world was and why characters would have to go through such lengths to protect themselves. The romance was definitely slow burn. There was a lot of hurt feelings and trust issues between Solara and Doran that it seemed impossible for them to become anything more than allies at some points, but there was always chemistry even when they wanted to deny it. The last third of the book was extremely action packed that it was impossible to even think of setting the book down and there may have been a few times when I stopped breathing for a few seconds.

Overall, I really enjoyed it and I’m glad I don’t have to say goodbye to these characters yet because there is a companion novel coming out.