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.
Hunt the Stars by Jessie Mihalik Series: Starlight's Shadow #1
Published by Harper Voyager on February 1 2022
Genres: Adult, Romance, Science fiction
Pages: 400
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: A solid series opener, Hunt the Stars focuses on character development rather than world building and pacing, but I still had a good time.
I was a big fan of Jessie Mihalik’s Consortium Rebellion series, and I’ve been excited for this new series for months. I enjoyed this first installment, but I have to admit I didn’t like it as much. If I had to describe Hunt the Stars in a few words, I would call it “Sci fi light.” For me, it lacked the action and suspense I was hoping for, and maybe because the author focuses on the romantic aspects of her story, the world building was a little on the sparse side. Still, there’s certainly lots of potential for growth, and I am going to keep reading the series.
The story takes place after a war between humans and an alien race called Valoffs. The war ended with a tentative peace between the two races, but both agreed to keep to their own sectors of space and not bother each other. Lieutenant Octavia “Tavi” Zarola now works as a bounty hunter, piloting her ship Starlight’s Shadow with her fellow war veterans Kee and Eli. But when Tavi is approached by a tall, handsome Valoff named Torran, who wants to hire her to find a stolen family heirloom, Tavi hesitates, even though Torran has offered her a huge amount of money if she completes the job. But her ship needs critical repairs, and Kee and Eli convince her to take the job. The catch, however, is that they must travel to Valovia in order to find the heirloom, and Tavi just happens to have a bounty on her head and isn’t welcome there.
With a contract finally in place, Torran and his crew join Tavi on Starlight’s Shadow for the trip to Valovia. But tensions are high as former enemies attempt to coexist on the ship, not to mention the fact that Tavi’s heart beats faster whenever Torran is around. Tavi has just one goal: to find the heirloom and get out of Valovia and away from Torran as fast as possible.
I want to start with the things I really enjoyed. First, there’s a fantastic found family vibe going on in Hunt the Stars. If you’re a Firefly fan, you’ll love the crew of Starlight’s Shadow. Tavi is a firm but likable ship’s captain who is dedicated to keeping her crew safe. She, Kee and Eli went through hell during the war, nearly dying in a botched attack that ended with several civilian deaths. They have a strong bond because of this, and I loved their easy banter and caring attitude toward each other. I also loved the individual characters. Kee is the ship’s bright spot, always happy and smiling, and if I had to make a comparison, I would say she reminded me of Kaylee from Firefly. Eli is described as extremely handsome (Tavi isn’t interested in him romantically but even she makes a point of commenting on his looks now and then, lol). I also loved the way Mihalik added a cooking element to her story. Tavi loves to cook for her crew, and she’s surprised when Torran turns out to be a good cook as well.
A new crew member named Anja joins them, and I really liked her as well. She’s running from her past and desperate to get away from the authorities who are looking for her, and Tavi is happy to help her. When the Valoffs join the crew, they create quite a bit of tension at first. Torran has the ability to move objects with his mind and can actually kill that way too, so Tavi treats him as a threat to her crew at first, until they develop some trust. Torran’s fellow officers aren’t developed as much, although there is some nice tension between Kee and Varro, Torran’s first officer. Mostly though, I was surprised how quickly the two crews became friendly with each other.
And I can’t forget Tavi’s pet burbu Luna, a small, fox-like creature that she adopted from Valovia and who is devoted to her and her crew. Burbus are rare and they have the ability to communicate telepathically in emotions and images. For example, when Luna is hungry, she sends an image of her empty food dish to Tavi. So cute!
The romance between Tavi and Torran is mostly slow burn, with bursts of sexual tension. Readers who appreciate couples that discuss consent will love the romance, because despite the heat between them, they are very respectful of each other. For me personally, it sort of made it feel more like a “clean” romance, and while obviously I know that consent is important, I thought it was a little overdone here. There’s a bit of “we can’t have sex until we’re married” going on, which I have to admit made me roll my eyes. Also, I didn’t like all the sexual descriptions Mihalik used, phrases like “the proof of his desire” to describe, well, you know. It just felt so old fashioned and out of place in a futuristic story.
I think the biggest negative for me, though, was the pacing. The plot sounds exciting, but most of the action doesn’t kick in until the last twenty percent or so. Up until then, there’s a lot of relationship development and laying the groundwork for the job Tavi’s crew has been hired for, but their trip through space to get to the distant planet of Volaria felt long. I kept waiting for something exciting to happen, or some conflict to arise, but it never did. There is some relationship drama, but for a space opera I was hoping for more nail-biting action.
Once the Starlight’s Shadow finally gets to Volaria, though, the action picks up considerably and the story finally becomes the page turner I was hoping for. Mihalik throws all her characters into dangerous situations, and she also answers some of the questions I had about Tavi’s past and her volatile relationship with the Voloffs. We also get some political intrigue that will most likely carry over into the next book in the series, and of course, because this is romance, there’s a nice, happy ending. It looks like the sequel, Eclipse the Moon, will feature Kee and Varro as a romantic couple, and despite some of my issues with Hunt the Stars, I’m looking forward to spending more time with these characters.
Big thanks to the publisher for supplying a review copy.
I am a Firefly fan, so that helps me relate to what you’re describing. Too bad about the pacing, though. It sounds like a good book, but maybe it would have been better if it were shorter.
Yes, it might have. The middle section really dragged, unfortunately.
I’m intrigued by your comparison with Firefly, which will always hold a special place in my heart, but I’m a little worried about this author whose “Polaris Rising” did not work so well with me, given the heavy accent on romance and forays in purple prose that to me sounded wrong in a SF adventure. How would the two compare in that respect? Inquiring minds need to know… 🙂
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Hmm well there is definitely an emphasis on the romance. Since I didn’t enjoy this as much as Polaris Rising, I would probably recommend you pass:-)
Thank you! 🙂
Glad to hear you mostly enjoyed it. I do very much enjoy stories that incorporate found family elements. They feel very comfortable in a way.
Exactly. There’s a cozy feel to their interactions, I really enjoyed that.
I love Firefly too…
It really had a nice Firefly vibe:-)
I can definitely see how the pacing would be frustrating. I think if the action doesn’t kick in until the last 20 precent I’d be too tempted to DNF it before reaching that. And we don’t wanna be DNF’ing books, do we? NO!
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Ha ha we don’t! But sometimes you have to…
I have this one and haven’t read it yet so I skimmed.
I’m curious to read your review!
I enjoyed the first book that I read by this author but didn’t continue with the series. I think overall they’re possibly a little too romance-centric for me although I do enjoy the odd one every now and again.
Hope the next one in series works out better.
Lynn 😀
Yes, these are definitely marketed as “romance” so it’s not really a surprise. I think her last series felt more up to date, while this had a weird old fashioned feel to it.
I am glad that in the end you enjoyed it!! I have started the other series by this author but then I let myself get distracted by all the other shiny books and I have yet to continue it, but I am looking forward to them! And now I will add this to my TBR too, even if I will keep in mind tour review!! It may become handy when I am in need of something to just take a break!!
Also, the found family vibes are always welcome!!
I really love found families, one of my favorite tropes:-)
It sounds pretty good, but that’s kind of a bummer about the lack of action. When I think of space operas, action is the first word that comes to mind.
There was action, just not in the right places, lol. Or at least that’s how I felt.
I still haven’t finished the Consortium Rebellion series, despite loving the first book and immediately buying the others, but I really want to read this one! I will have to remember to keep my expectations a bit lower, though. I don’t always mind if a book has a slower pace, but I don’t want a total lack of action of course. Glad that it was at least decent for you, and that you still plan to read the next one!
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I really did love the characters, and that alone makes me want to continue:-)
Loved your review, Tammy. Glad to know despite the lack of action, you liked the book.
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Thanks Debjani, it was fun:-)
Great review Tammy! It does seem lighter with the romantic elements being so strong. The beginning is a bit like a mystery or police investigation where info is being collected and analyzed but there isn’t action yet. But I agree the action was packed at the end and the crews became friendly faster and easier than expected.