ARC Review--Hunt the Stars by Jessie Mihalik

 

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 ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest and voluntary review. I was in no way compensated for this review.

 

Jessie Mihalik's newest series starts with Hunt the Stars and is a read that will take readers on a galactic thrill ride in deep space while bounty hunters race to track down a stolen object from one of their enemies. The premise of this book was just so promising, I was more than excited to dive into the pages here and the story did not disappoint!

The book starts quite literally in the middle of a negotiation. I will admit, this totally threw me a bit. There's no steady intro or toe dipping into this world, and for me, the results were jarring. I guess with new series and new worlds, I like that sort of slow dip into the pool. Here, we're thrown into the deep end and it's sink or swim. Luckily, I'm a determined reader and I kept at it, and after awhile I was able to adapt to this new world. As mentioned, Tavi and her crew are bounty hunters and when Torran Fletcher, a Valoff and the enemy in the great war that Tavi and her friends fought in and barely survived. But when the money is too good to be true to simply retrieve a stolen ring, they all agree to take on the job.

One of the stipulations is that Torran and his crew must stay on Tavi's ship while theirs followed, mainly for security precautions on both their ends. There is definitely a lot of tension between these groups. I mean, they did go to war with one another. And yet, as the days go by as they aim to reach Valoff territory, they all slowly begin to get along with one another. They almost become friends...until Tavi learns that Torran hasn't been entirely truthful.

When Torran's lies come out, Tavi is livid. Yet despite the circumstances changing, she is determined to see the mission through and not just for a sizable payoff. But she's about to get more trouble than she bargained for and the secrets will just keep on coming.

This book was without a doubt one of the most exciting ones I've read in awhile that was set in space! Space books have always been so hit or miss for me, but I was happy that this one was one of the former ones. True, there was a bit of confusion in the beginning with the "world order" and the important events that took place in the past that shaped the future, especially for Tavi and her friends. I guess if this information could've been presented in a smoother way, earlier on, this would've been an even better book for me. It was just hard to pass over the history that was clearly so important to the story and have to wait for better explanations. I was almost afraid that this series was more related to Mihalik's previous one, but as far as I could tell, it's not. I still need to read that one, so I can't say for sure.

I did enjoy the tension between Tavi and Torran. Even without the helpful description, you can easily tell that these two have a connection forming. There's lingering looks and just this heat that burns between them. I wouldn't quite call their romance a Romeo/Juliet variety because of the whole "sworn enemies" thing. Not only is their ending different, there's just a different vibe between them too. Plus, theirs is definitely a slow-burn, a slow building one too, which just made it all the more intense! You gotta love those types of romances!

While things were definitely intense in this one, things did wrap-up nicely. Yes, this is the first in a trilogy, so there's still more to come and with different couples taking the lead. I might have peeked at what the next book was about and was excited for this new development, plus it fits the pattern from her last series too! So there's that as well! While this story ties things up with Tavi and Torren, their adventures in space are far from over. In fact, they are just beginning!

If you're looking to start a brand new series with a galactic setting, Mihalik's Starlight's Shadow is trilogy for you! It's an action packed read filled with endearing and likeable characters, plus a wonderfully slow-burning romance with a slight enemies to lovers vibe! It's a book rich with tension of all kinds and made for a fast read! Hunt the Stars starts a new space-age adventure that sci-fi/fantasy readers will take to heart!

 

Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars

 

Hunt the Stars releases February 1, 2022