Winter's Orbit
Ancillary Justice meets Red, White & Royal Blue in Everina Maxwell's exciting debut.
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 Review
An arranged romance between two royals? Check. A gay relationship? Check. Another planet as the major setting? Check. Winter's Orbit seems to have everything my geeky heart would want in a sci-fi romance book. But unfortunately, I was disappointed in this one. I think I was simply expecting something different.
Winter's Orbit has been compared to Red, White, and Royal Blue, one of the best new adult romance books to release in the past couple of years, which meant I had the (possibly unfair) expectation that Winter's Orbit would be a light-hearted romance with a small dosing of political backdrop. Alas, this book was more of a political sci-fi thriller with a bit of a romance. I typically expect more kissing-feelings-angstiness from my arranged marriage stories, especially ones that are advertised with a one-bed trope and cinnamon roll protagonists.
The book's arranged marriage took place between our two main characters, Kiem, the Iskat Emperor's grandson, and Jainan, the representative from Thean who was married to Kiem's late cousin. Kiem definitely fit the cinnamon roll description. He was cute and funny and kind of a mess at times. I easily fell for his charm. Sadly, Jainan was a little bland. His chapter POVs often read like articles discussing the political state of the planets. He barely had any emotions for the first half of the book. I understand Jainan's history contributed to this, but some sort of emotional connection between the reader and his character just seemed to be missing for far too much of the story. Romantic tension was missing somewhere as well, perhaps in the lack of physical cues between the leads. That last main-character nitpick brings me to the additional characters. The diversity in Winter's Orbit is fantastic. However, it's easy to forget who is who because of the name-dropping, so some of that diversity may be lost in the first read-through.
Now, as for the actual plot of the book, it was an interesting story. The first half was a lot of political discussion, while the second half had a bit more action. Not a crazy amount, but there was some action. There was quite a bit of info-dumping at first, however. It was really difficult to get the names and places straight in my head. I'm still not 100% sure what a remnant is or what it does or what exactly everyone's jobs are. Perhaps a re-read would help and provide me with more enjoyment now that I know the world better. Despite this initial confusion, the final half did get more entertaining. The two characters are put into situations where they're forced to be alone and not talk politics 24/7, though it's still not enough to satisfy me, someone who was anticipating angst and pining.
All in all, if you are looking for a romance book that simply takes place in space, Winter's Orbit might not be for you. On the other hand, if you're looking for a political sci-fi with a smidge of romance and a cast of diverse characters, you'll probably like this one. And who knows, I may have liked it more had my expectations not been set on reading what I anticipated to be more of a romance book.
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