#everina maxwell

you bring a war tank into your house and the first thing she says is 'bitch you live like this' and then starts building chairs and shelves

Official 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.

My Thoughts:

I've had Winter's Orbit on my TBR for a very long time. It's a book that I was so certain I would love that I've been saving it for the exact right moment. After reading Princeweaver recently, I've been craving another good queer SFF with political intrigue, so after years of anticipation, I finally settled in to start it. I was hooked from the very beginning! 

I loved both main characters in this from very early on. Kiem is sort of the black sheep of the royal family, but he's thoughtful and kind. Jainan is being used as a chess piece in a complicated political situation, so I felt a lot of sympathy for him from the start. 

The romance is a good slow burn. It takes some time for these two to really get to know and trust each other, but when they do, it is so sweet and fulfilling. I especially loved seeing how they supported each other and helped each other grow. I love when romances are shown to make both characters better, and this is a great example of this done well. 

The politics and murder mystery are very exciting! It was so difficult for me to put this book down. I've been reading fairly slowly lately, but I flew through this because the plot completely hooked me! 

Completely unsurprisingly, this was a 5-star read for me and is a new all-time favorite. I'm truly so glad I finally read this, and I'm genuinely looking forward to reading Ocean's Echo as soon as I can! 

My Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 (5/5 stars)

Pages: 430 (Hardcover Edition)

Tropes/Tags: Queer, Achillean, Slow Burn, Science Fiction, Arranged Marriage, Fake Relationship

Contains Depictions Of: Death, Murder, Abuse, Torture, Violence

Other Notes: Everina Maxwell has a slowburn Sapphic fantasy coming out late this year, Call Me Traitor!

Links: Storygraph | GoodReads | Pagebound | EverinaMaxwell.com

I went into this with high expectations and it delivered. I cried. I loved this so much. The blurb sounded incredible, so I knew I had to read it and requested the ARC on a whim, I could not believe my luck when I saw I actually got approved for it! 

Call Me Traitor is about En and Tamol. En is a war tank, a magically modified super soldier, with runes carved all over her skin, whose only purpose in life is to follow her superior’s commands. She is sent to a remote, desolate peninsula to assist two inept junior mages in apprehending a group of exiled traitors, but soon finds everything going awry when she runs into Tamol. Tamol is one of the traitors En was sent to find, exiled to this hostile landscape at the edge of the world for something she and her friends did years ago, back when they were still students. En and Tamol’s paths never should have crossed, yet they did. Chaos ensues.

This was just a wonderful read all around. I loved how gorgeously atmospheric the setting was and I especially loved the characters in all their chaotic glory. The narrative is definitely more towards the character-driven side, which might not be for everyone, but is one of the reasons I enjoyed this book so much. The characters and their relationships are just so well done and expertly deliver some devastating emotional gut punches throughout the story. The world-building wasn’t the most extensive or detailed, and some questions do go unanswered by the end, but I personally didn’t mind that, because it felt very organic and worked perfectly with the story.

I’m so happy I got to read this early and I already know I’m gonna reread this when my physical copy arrives in December cause my god this was delicious and I want to spend more time with these chaotic queer dumbasses.

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Tropes for those who are interested:

slow-burn enemies-to-lovers, kind of

found (queer) family

memory loss & brainwashing

queernormative world

assassin falls for their target

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