WINTER’S ORBIT by Everina Maxwell – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

WINTER’S ORBIT by Everina Maxwell – ReviewWinter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell
Published by Tor Books on February 2 2021
Genres: Adult, Science fiction, LGBTQ+
Pages: 432
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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four-half-stars

The nitty-gritty: Romance, intrigue and mystery collide in this sparkling science fiction debut.

Winter’s Orbit was such a nice surprise! From some of the publisher’s descriptions and comparisons, I was expecting a much more romance-heavy story, but for those of you who shy away when the word “romance” comes up, fear not. The relationship between Kiem and Jainan is cute and sweet and extremely awkward at times, but it’s only one element in this very well rounded story. Maxwell’s debut is an interesting blend of science fiction and politics, set in a world filled with strict protocols and traditions and royalty. It’s also a murder mystery, which I wasn’t expecting, and this gave the story an added element of excitement and tension.

Prince Kiem, “least favorite grandson” to the Emperor of Iskat, has just had a bombshell dropped on him. In order to secure an important treaty between the Empire and the Resolution, a marriage link between Iskat and Thea—recently broken by the death of Prince Taam—must be fixed immediately. The Emperor has chosen Kiem to marry Count Jainan, the widower of Taam, thus ensuring that the treaty will be renewed and the peaceful trade agreements of the Empire will continue.

Kiem isn’t too thrilled with this plan, as he’s now expected to give up his carefree, playboy lifestyle to marry a man who clearly wants nothing to do with him. But things get even more complicated when the events surrounding Taam’s death seem to suggest that it wasn’t an accident. As Kiem and Jainan start digging deeper, they begin to uncover a plot that could put the treaty—and the future of the Empire itself—in jeopardy.

One of the reasons I loved this book is that it felt fresh and unique. I’ve read sci-fi/royalty mash-ups before, but Winter’s Orbit had such a good balance of all its elements—characters, action, intrigue, mystery, humor and romance—that it felt nearly seamless for a debut novel. The plot is fairly slow paced in the beginning, an intricate tangle of royal politics, clan traditions and rules, and relationships between planets, but when Kiem and Jainan become caught up in the mystery of Taam’s death, the story’s pace picks up considerably as the two main characters find themselves in a boatload of trouble and danger. When you hit the halfway mark, the tension really ramps up as Unification Day—the deadline for signing the treaty—draws closer.

While I did enjoy the political machinations and intricacies, what really made this book work for me were the characters. I absolutely loved Kiem. He’s clumsy but lovable, great in social situations but bored stiff by politics, and has a reputation for doing crazy stunts, getting drunk, and sleeping around. But he wouldn’t hurt a fly, and I thought he was adorable. On the opposite end of the spectrum is Jainan, soft-spoken, self-disciplined and duty bound. He follows protocol, does what he’s told and doesn’t make waves. It took me a while to warm up to Jainan, but later in the story a big secret about him is revealed, one that relates to his awkwardness when he’s around Kiem, and my whole attitude about him changed. As for the romance, it’s definitely the slow burn variety, full of uncomfortable moments and misunderstandings. Maxwell does a great job of drawing out the tension between Kiem and Jainan—and yes that includes sexual tension—but eventually the two get beyond their hang-ups and connect emotionally, and it was sweet and delightful and heartwarming. There’s one particular scene where the two are stranded in the snow and have to figure out how to stay warm, and well you can guess how that goes. I loved every word!

I also enjoyed many of the side characters, particularly Kiem’s personal aid, a woman named Bel who has her own sordid backstory. Bel becomes good friends with Jainan along the way, and by the end of the story, there was a sort of found family established that included Kiem, Jainan, Bel and a couple of other characters, which made turning that last page rather bittersweet.

I also loved all the sexual and gender diversity of Winter’s Orbit. Although the author never uses the words “bisexual,” “trans” or “non binary,” all types of sexual preferences are accepted without question. On Iskat, an individual can show their gender by the materials they wear—males wear wood accessories, and females wear adornments made out of flint—and no one bats an eye over Kiem’s relationships with both male and female partners.

The only real negative for me was the lack of worldbuilding details, although some readers might even consider this a plus because the author focuses more on her plot and characters. Maxwell is very good at “showing not telling,” which means she integrated those worldbuilding elements into the story without any info dumps whatsoever. While this was refreshing, especially for a science fiction novel, I have to admit I wanted more information on the Empire and its planets, creatures and mysteries. For example we are told that some birds in Iskat are deadly and attack humans, but we never find out why. Maxwell also drops hints about the strange artifacts called “remnants,” which I believe are alien artifacts. Any remnants that are found must be turned over to the Auditor, and we do get a few scenes with the remnants themselves, which cause headaches and hallucinations if you spend too much time with them. But Maxwell never delves any further into their significance and why they are so dangerous, and I really wanted to know more about them. Finally, the story takes place solely on Iskat, but Maxwell’s Empire is vast. I’m not sure if a sequel for Winter’s Orbit is planned, but I sincerely hope it is, because there seems to be so much potential to expand on the worldbuilding.

The feel-good ending was simply perfect, in my opinion. I would not mind returning to these characters, if indeed the author is thinking about a sequel (hint hint). Kiem, Jainan and their friends wormed their way into my heart, and I just want to give them all a big hug. Highly recommended!

Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.

Posted February 2, 2021 by Tammy in 4 1/2 stars, Reviews / 41 Comments

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41 responses to “WINTER’S ORBIT by Everina Maxwell – Review

  1. I’ve been very keen on this title since its first appearance on the blogosphere, and I was ready to “endure” what I feared was an intrusive romance presence just because the core concept sounded fascinating, with an intriguing combination of thriller and politics. So thank you for removing that shade of doubt from the equation: learning that the romance is only one aspect of the story, and not the central one, turn this book into a “must read” even more than before 🙂
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    • Tammy

      It was handled very well. And I didn’t mention the sex scene, but it was well done too, one of those “fade to black” scenes that I love:-)

  2. Found family stories can be really appealing when done well. And I love how you enjoyed it enough you’re already craving a sequel to delve further into the world and characters. This one has a fascinating cover.

    • Tammy

      It definitely left me feeling like there were more stories to tell in this world, I’m glad there will be a sequel:-)

  3. Brilliant review, Tammy:)). I, too, loved this one and will be posting my own review later this week – I’d forgotten I’ve other books queued up before it! There is clearly plenty of scope for another book in the world and like you – my first response by the end of the book was to hope that there’s another one in the works!

    • Tammy

      And I’m happy to report the publicist I work with said there will be another book, but with different characters in another part of the Empire. So a companion novel, yay!

  4. Glad to see a positive review for this one! I’ve been interested in, but some of the points mentioned in the premise were ones I don’t always love, so I’ve been feeling hesitant. I’m glad to hear the romance wasn’t too heavy, I definitely expected it to be, also! This sounds like a fun read.

  5. Margo

    Great review! Glad to hear the romance element is muted. Like others in these comments, I was concerned it would be a distraction. I think ill bump this one up a bit on my TBR 🙂

  6. Ahh wonderful review Tammy! I was also expecting it to be a bit more romance heavy, but I think that was mostly because I knew it had been a web novel on AO3, and heavy romance is kind of the running theme there. And gosh, I ADORED Kiem. He’s such a teddy bear of a character ❤❤

  7. So glad you loved this one! I think you rated it even higher than I did! I loved all the side characters as well–so many were fleshed out with their own motivations and stories which really kept you guessing about them until you learned more about them. 🙂

  8. Will

    Glad you liked it, Tammy! I saw a lot of hype for this one and was kinda thinking it’d be overblown, particularly as I heard it was more heavily romantic. But after seeing yours and Holly’s review I’ll have to reconsider! Great review!

  9. Now I am even more excited to read it! I got that one yesterday in my Illumicrate box and while doing a live unboxing, I read an excerpt of the book and …the humor!!!

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