Rating: 4.25⭐️

Ada von Hasenberg, middle daughter of the powerful main House of Hasenburg, is the best reason to read this book.  Mihalik has created in Ada a main character who’s versatile, highly intelligent, skilled in manipulating people and spacecraft, layered emotionally and physically adaptable. The reader automatically understands and connects with her.  We’re on her side every step of her journey. 

And what a dangerous journey it is. She’s escaping an arranged marriage, typical of the Houses that marriages are political contracts of ownership and exchanges of money and property (this is better explained in book 2).  She’s using every single bit of knowledge and experience to make her escape. Unfortunately, both her father and fiancée have offered a substantial bounty for her return. 

Marcus Loch, a notorious criminal has been arrested and is in chains in his cell in a space ship when he gets a new cell companion, Ada von Hasenberg. She’s a prisoner to be released back into the custody of her family. 

The dramatic story that picks up shortly afterwards is fast paced, action packed with well written suspense filled sequences and high intrigue. 

As Ada and Marcus flee across the galaxy, they fill us in on their own stories and current lives. While hiding truths from each other. No instant love, although they appear to appreciate each other’s physical appearance. All good things. 

And Ada gets better with every event and disaster that passes. Marcus is not as multidimensional as Ada. He’s more formulated along the lines of many other similar MMC without the author expanding on the traits she’s hinting about. Missed opportunity unfortunately. 

And for ADA and her siblings, a big part of the problem with the series is the lack of background and childhood experiences. We get only one memory in Book 2 but with their own respective resources and brilliance, it’s their own House they should be turning on here given how it’s treated them. Such loyalty makes little sense. 

Really, you’d think all the younger people in all the Houses would be training to take their own Houses out given how disposable they are to them.  Where’s that rebellion?

Among the items that struck me as I read were:

Universal Time as a galactic time zone reference for the characters to keep readjusting to just wasn’t credible imo. As though there wasn’t, with all the other future incredible technology available, a way for everyone to have the time adjustment made automatically? Made no sense whatsoever. 

Side characters arm runner Rhys and stolen goods fence Veronica are both interesting people, with Veronica having the most intriguing backstory. However she’s also the one with the most under explored or dropped storylines in her thread. She’s got a small child , an extremely important one. Who disappeared from this book and the next book with no real explanation. SMH 

Earth was depleted of resources (but now looks amazingly good and is the headquarters of the Houses),  so humans took to space. Instead of governments, humans created royal Houses, main and lesser houses of families with similar social structures. The Houses formed a Consortium to rule and regulate their respective countries and planets. 

That’s the basis of the universe building. Three main ‘power is mine’ Houses and a bunch of ‘scrambling for power’ lesser ones. Contracts are everything, including marriage. But other than that? Knowledge is only slowly filled in, in certain circumstances where an absence in the narrative for lack of foundation is felt by the reader. 

The story is a power house of a space opera! It rocks right along, with action, bloodshed, space fights, prison cell battles, and intense conflict between families. 

The science fiction doesn’t always science. There’s holes in the fiction. But the relationship between the main characters works and there’s a resolution at the end that’s satisfying. 

The next story picks up with another sister and a hunt for a missing brother.  It’s an excellent story. 

A definite pleasure to read. If space opera is your thing, here’s a series to connect with. 

The Consortium Rebellion (3 book series)

Polaris Rising #1

Aurora Blazing #2

Chaos Reigning #3

Buy link

 Book 1 of 3: The Consortium Rebellion 

Blurb 

Polaris Rising is space opera at its best, intense and addictive, a story of honor, courage, betrayal, and love. Jessie Mihalik is an author to watch.”–Ilona Andrews, #1 New York Times bestselling author

A space princess on the run and a notorious outlaw soldier become unlikely allies in this imaginative, sexy space opera adventure—the first in an exciting science fiction trilogy.

In the far distant future, the universe is officially ruled by the Royal Consortium, but the High Councillors, the heads of the three High Houses, wield the true power. As the fifth of six children, Ada von Hasenberg has no authority; her only value to her High House is as a pawn in a political marriage. When her father arranges for her to wed a noble from House Rockhurst, a man she neither wants nor loves, Ada seizes control of her own destiny. The spirited princess flees before the betrothal ceremony and disappears among the stars. 

Ada eluded her father’s forces for two years, but now her luck has run out. To ensure she cannot escape again, the fiery princess is thrown into a prison cell with Marcus Loch. Known as the Devil of Fornax Zero, Loch is rumored to have killed his entire chain of command during the Fornax Rebellion, and the Consortium wants his head.

When the ship returning them to Earth is attacked by a battle cruiser from rival House Rockhurst, Ada realizes that if her jilted fiancé captures her, she’ll become a political prisoner and a liability to her House. Her only hope is to strike a deal with the dangerous fugitive: a fortune if he helps her escape.

But when you make a deal with an irresistibly attractive Devil, you may lose more than you bargained for . . .

Harper Voyager

Publication date

February 5, 2019

Language

‎English

Print length

451 pages

Book 1 of 3

The Consortium Rebellion