Content warnings: discussion of spousal abuse, both physical and emotional, and recovery from it (which I will discuss in some detail in this review); secondary character death; minor violence and injury.

God, I loved this book. These are always the hardest reviews to write – it’s so hard to distill your feelings into words when every single aspect of a book is brilliant. I’m going to try to be slightly more articulate than screaming AHHHH at you, but please know that’s really what I’d like to do. This is exactly the kind of sci-fi that I like – plenty of space flavouring and clever worldbuilding, but ultimately a novel about people being people.

I adored both main characters. Kiem is wonderfully drawn, the emperor’s least favourite grandson and the kind of rebellious playboy who’s trying a little too hard to pretend he doesn’t care about his reputation. I loved him and his awkwardly charming voice instantly, to the point where I was a little disappointed the first time the perspective switched to Jainan. But I shouldn’t have been! I actually ended up loving Jainan even more – he’s a serious man, very loyal and with a strong sense of his duty as the face of Thea, but as you get to know him, it becomes clear there is way more going on beneath the surface. The characters are one of the best parts of this already brilliant book, and I cared so much about their development – they will stay with me for a long time. There are so many brilliant side characters too, all of whom feel like real people. This world just feels alive!

A mildly spoilery paragraph now, so skip ahead if you want to go in completely cold, or if you don’t want to read about the depiction of abuse in this book…. My spidey senses were set off early on, and it was very clear to me from the way Jainan behaved around Kiem that there was a deep trauma that had crushed a lot of his sense of self. There are such accurately observed, tiny behaviours of someone who’s spent time living under the thumb of a controlling partner, and they are acutely well-described, to the point that I found some of Jainan’s chapters far more intense and claustrophobic than the actual on-page action felt like it warranted. It’s exquisitely well done as a character study, but I would be careful going into this one if it’s a subject you find difficult. Jainan’s development is extraordinarily rewarding, so it’s well worth pushing through, but before I read the book, I saw a lot of people gushing over the cuteness of it and really neglecting to talk about the sharpness of the depiction of domestic abuse, which I think is doing a disservice both to the book and to readers; while it is, ultimately, a hopeful and comforting story, that happiness comes from building on darkness, and to ignore that would be wrong.

What I loved about this book was that blend of wholesome and dark, of quiet character work and intense politicking. If I had to describe it to two different friends, I think I’d end up highlighting totally different elements of the story, but it’s so deftly blended that it works beautifully. It’s simultaneously a really sweet tale of two idiots falling in love, and a searingly honest look at recovery from abuse and the dangers of rulership. The intrigue and political manoeuvring is just *chef’s kiss* good – it’s one of my favourite genres of fantasy, and I never thought to see it done so well in science-fiction! The dualities of the action and the character development, and the dark themes and the fluffy love story, are magnificently done, and make this book even more than the sum of its parts. Imagine if Becky Chambers wrote an outline of a novel, then handed her notebook to Elizabeth Bear to actually write the thing. It is fluffy and uplifting, but somehow simultaneously dark and intense, like a marshmallow full of emotions.

Obviously the fact that there’s an arranged marriage between two men here speaks to the queer-norm worldbuilding, but I thought that this was cleverly woven into the story through other ways. Gender isn’t binary, and the customs of Iskat reflect this beautifully, with people signalling their gender through specific use of materials in their outfits, which is clever and leads to much less ambiguity than trying to guess from appearance. However, what really elevated this to the next level for me was seeing this custom through Jainan’s eyes, as well as Kiems; as a Thean, Jainan wasn’t raised with this Iskan custom, and has to remind himself this is how it works here (though he’s no less accepting of any gender). This diversity between cultures adds so much realism to the setting, and also takes the queer-normity to another level – of course, different cultures would deal with it differently. The issue isn’t painted over as simply sorted in this world, but it’s shown to be a living, breathing part of the world. I’m only highlighting this one tiny aspect of the worldbuilding here, but this is repeated throughout lots of different aspects, and it helps to create the feeling of a really realistic and diverse empire.

Fans of Becky Chambers should immediately read this book, but I also think those who loved Ancestral Night by Elizabeth Bear (review here), or A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine will enjoy this too. It would also be a great first sci-fi for romance readers, or for those who love political fantasy like The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison or Queen of Coin and Whispers by Helen Corcoran (review here), or for those who love fun and fluffy queer arranged marriage fantasies like A Deceptive Alliance by Sydney Blackburn (review here), or Of Fire and Stars by Audrey Coulthurst. It’s kind of not really like any of these, but I think if you enjoyed any one of them you’ll find something to love here – it’s just a wonderful, wonderful mix of all the things I love in a book. I’ll be surprised if this isn’t in my top few books of the year, and even though it’s early in the year, I’m giving it ten out of five stars!

enjoyed this book. I thought that the marketing focused a lot on the romance, and while the romance was great, there was a lot more of the political intrigue than I would have thought. But i really enjoyed all of it, just had different expectations.

I had a hard time with this one. It was just missing some spark for me-- the political situation just didn't hold my interest, and the two sides were similar enough that I had a hard time remembering the details that separated them. I did like the romance and the development between Jainan and Kiem, but it wasn't enough yo keep me going. I think it's a perfectly good book, maybe just not for me.

Kiem is one of the many princes of the Iskat Empire, and his life has been one of freedom, until he is roped into a political marriage with a Thean representative.
It's a rushed affair to satisfy the peace treaty of the Resolution, but things are not as straight-forward as they seem.

I received a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Kiem is one of those minor princes in the Emperor's vast family. He's gotten away with a lifetime of providing plenty of scandal for the media. He has improved with age, but still has a reputation and his adoring fans.
All that changes when his cousin Prince Taam is killed in a shuttle 'accident', and for the sake of a political alliance Kiem has to marry Taam's widower.
When he meets Jainan, he feels a complete fool in comparison. Jainan is very reserved, and intelligent. He's quiet and careful in everything he says and does.

Jainan was married to Prince Taam for five years, and at first he's portrayed as a grieving widower, quietly doing his duty to keep peace between Thea and Iskat.
Slowly you learn that his life with Taam was far from perfect, and the only emotional impact it has are the scars of dealing with an abusive man.

I thought Jainan's story was very strong. It's a realistic portrayal of an unhealthy relationship, and all the little things that Jainan does, as a consequence of having lived with Taam's abuse.
It's upsettingly sweet how he struggles to process Kiem's open friendship. He's trying to work out what he's supposed to say and do to keep his new husband happy; but struggles to come to terms with the fact that Kiem's words don't have a double-meaning and there isn't a hidden threat in everything he says.

This is not a romance. Yes, there is the slow-building connection between Jainan and Kiem; but that romance is not always central to the story.
And I liked that.
This has a solid plot. The marriage is what pulls Kiem in, and between the two of them they uncover a lot about the empire, the actions of the army, and the Resolution.
It turns out that Prince Taam's death may not have been an accident, and there may have been a cover-up.
There are plenty of suspects, as the Empire is not as stable as one would hope. It does keep you guessing throughout.

Sometimes I thought there were too many elements in play, and I lost track of some of the sides and their motivations.
I personally felt that it seemed to hit a natural climax about 80% of the way in, when they discovered who was behind everything and why. What happened next could have been exciting, but I felt disconnected from this part of the story.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this adventure and look forward to more of this author's work.

From the very first page, I knew i was going to love this book, and it never disappointed. I don’t read very much sci-fi/space set books, just because I find the explanations of alien cultures/the science parts can be a bit slow and take the reader out of the Story, but the world building of Winter’s Orbit was fantastic. It was woven through wonderfully, in a way that felt rich and real. But the character dynamics of this book are what made it truly fantastic. The push and pull, the yearning, was all just deliciously present, and utterly perfect.

I’ve always been adamant that I don’t enjoy scifi books. I hadn’t liked reading a single scifi book in all the years I’ve been a reader … that is, until I read Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell. And after I devoured this book in a day and a half, I came to the realisation that I actually love scifi books; I just hadn’t been reading any soft, queer, tropetastic books like this.

Winter’s Orbit follows Count Jainan who, after the sudden death of his partner, Prince Taam, suddenly finds himself hastily married to Taam’s cousin, the reformed partier and playboy, Prince Kiem. Together, the two men have about two weeks to convince an interplanetary organisation that their partnership is real and lasting to ensure that their home planets resign a longstanding treaty. But Jainan can’t shake the feeling that Taam’s death was not natural and before they know it, Jainan and Keim find themselves in the middle of a secret murder investigation, a smuggling operation, and the threat of war between their planets, all while dealing with their growing feelings for one another.

For a book with such a large range, Winter’s Orbit has become a comfort read to me. I’ve already read it twice within the space of three months and fully intend to reread it again at some point. I have now discovered that the types of scifi books I really enjoy are queer romances with light scifi in the background. Everything about this book just resonated with me, especially the wonderful main characters, Jainan and Keim.

Jainan has now become one of my all-time favourite characters. I connected to him on a deeply personal level, primarily due to how intense his anxiety is and how he spends so much of the novel trying to please people at the expense of himself. Jainan is so successful at hiding behind a mask that he comes across as cold and unfeeling, when he actually feels so much and so intently but he’s terrified of showing it. Kiem, on the other hand, is the star of the show: he’s incredibly likeable, a ridiculous flirt, and makes friends wherever he goes. He has a cheeky, loveable personality that everyone is drawn to, even Jainan. But Kiem tries to hold himself back from Jainan, careful to be respectful of Jainan’s grieving and give him as much space as possible. But as this book is ripe with my favourite tropes, one of them being miscommunication, of course neither Kiem nor Jainan realise the scope of their feelings for each other. While Kiem believes he is being respectful of Jainan’s grief, he’s missing some pretty obvious clues that all was not right in Jainan and Taam’s relationship.

The worldbuilding was fascinating, even as it took some time for me to wrap my head around. This is not a heavy scifi novel: you’re not gong to find an unnecessarily long and boring battle between humans and aliens here. What you will find is a captivating world full of deadly, overly large animals, complex clan systems, gender expression free from the binary, and interplanetary politics. All mixed in with a beautiful, soft queer relationship between two achingly human characters.

Winter’s Orbit is a novel I can’t recommend enough. It’s full of my favourite tropes — arranged marriage, miscommunication, yearning — with absolutely fantastic character development and a beautiful relationship at the heart of it. I’m crossing my fingers that Maxwell decides to return to this world — even if it’s an epilogue — because I would buy that story in a heartbeat!

Winter’s Orbit
By. Everina Maxwell
P. 432
Format: Paper
Rating: ****1/2
***********************
Winter’s Orbit is half political science fiction and half romance. Prince Kiem is a playboy prince that has recently tried to change his image by involving himself with charity organizations. Count Jainan represents a distant planet that the empire is trying to keep under control as negotiations for a multi-universe treaty is coming up for renewal. When Count Jainan’s husband unexpectedly dies shortly before the renewal, the Empress commands Kiem to step in and marry.

The marriage starts as a political necessity. Both men bring their assumptions and history, causing a plot mainly driven by miscommunication. Yet, given the circumstances, it works. The first half of the book is entirely character building. You get to know both the Prince and the Count as they dance around each other. However, halfway through, you find that you know nothing. Thankfully the plot kicks in at the right moment.

Everything that didn’t happen in the first half of the book occurs in the second. The two characters work together to solve the mystery of Count Jainan’s first husband's death, which leads to unexpected consequences and startling realizations. It also puts the couple in intimate situations. By the end, you are left loving the book every bit as much as you wanted to.

I am not much for romance, but this worked for me. I enjoyed that it wasn’t a story of instant love. I also appreciate the depth of the characters. Nothing was forced, and you cannot help but swoon a little. The plot and world were highly political. While nothing in the plot came as a surprise, it was still fun reaching the end. When you analyze the story, it seems so lopsided with so many different pieces coming together. Yet, it all worked to create one fantastic story.

4,5 stars

At its core Winter's Orbit is a romance set in a sci-fi setting with the mystery plot as a secondary addition. It is a character driven book that focuses entirely on the characters and uses the settting and plot to explore them. Just the way I like my books.

I fell straight in love with Kiem, the desirable but problematic prince of the kingdom that they just don't know what to do with. Who can blame them. Kiem doesn't even know what to do with himself 9 times out of 10. He is an endearing and loving young man who is trying to make up for the mistakes in his past. Unfortunately they aren't letting him forget any of it. And then he gets thrown a curveball by way of his arranged marriage to one Jainan, recent widower to prince Taam. A relative of Kiem. An important person to keep in the family to keep the peace. Despite his misgivings, Kiem goes all in. I love him for it. He wants to make the best of it, wanting to at least befriend his partner who he has to spend the rest of his life with. Jainan doesn't make it easy for him.

Jainan is not as easily likable as Kiem. He has his walls up very high after his first marriage and does not trust easily. But he can't keep Kiem at a distance for long and as he warmed up to Kiem he warmed up to my heart as well. Because a long the way we discover what he had to go through. What an abusive relationship he was really in. When he opens up, he opens up completely and the romantic clash between him and Kiem is unstoppable.

I will say that I found the secondary plot of Jainan being seen as the potential murder of Taam and the mystery of what was really going on, not that interesting. But I understand why it was part of the story. They needed something to be pushed together.

This was just not a book for me. While I didn't personally love this book, I know many others will. I think the most important thing is how well the author handled trauma from abuse. I'm not a romance or mystery reader which is why this didn't work for me.

THIS WAS AMAZING OHMYGOD. Hi hello I loved this, I loved everything about this.

This was a deeply emotional but also a charming love story, murder mystery set in a sci fi world. It ticks off every romance trope that I love; the pining and miscommunication, arranged marriage, one bed, forced proximity, hypothermia time lets take off all our clothes. Witty banter. I fell completely and absolutely in love with these characters.

The world was also so interesting! Though the story did wrap up in this standalone book, I feel like theres plenty of potential to explore new characters and stories in this world. I am very very intrigued by everything about this.

The writing was masterful. The prose so so good, I felt a clear difference in the two main characters voices. It was also effortlessly witty - it was wit and banter without being all about wit and banter. Expertly achieved, funny, but reasonably so. And I liked how it was mostly Kiem and Bel who brought the wit. Jainan's humor was a lot dryer, so I appreciated that the author can do it all. I am so impressed.

Content warnings for previous abusive relationship. This was explored with a lot of depth I felt, and empathy. It didn't feel gratuitous or over the top at all, and the effect of being in that relationship was so clear and heartbreaking to see in the character who experienced it. This was a big part of the story, so if thats a trigger for anyone, they should know going in.
I thought it was so so emotional. It hit me so hard in my feels and the growth and the arc and everything...was just perfect.

This was a perfect book with romance, and emotional depth, and witty banter, and pining and angst, and a murder mystery, set in a sci fi world. I loved it. Am in love. Will be buying my own copy soon.

Unexpectedly, this book took so long for me to make my way through because it was just too good. A lot of the time if I have a hard time finishing a book fast, it's not a good book or I haven't managed to click with the plot or characters. Winter's Orbit was the exact opposite, I adored this book from opening line to last page and while finding myself absolutely engrossed, also found that I needed to take breaks which aided my enjoyment of this masterpiece.

THAT’S HOW IT ENDS? The ending is sweet enough and we could’ve definitely had more of those moments. KIEM. JAINAN. I love these two even if I was very confused for a good portion of this book.

Trigger warnings include domestic abuse (from a relationship that takes place before the book starts but is heavily alluded to and experienced in detail later in the book), blackmail, vehicular crash, brainwashing/attempted brainwashing, kidnapping, and violence.

On the surface, this book has an awesome premise. Space gays!! An arranged marriage! This was once an Ao3 original story that got published! However, this was a LOT darker than it’s been marketed and I would definitely had been taken by surprise if I didn’t see comments about this book beforehand.

We first meet Kiem, a prince of Iskat in his mid-twenties. His grandmother, referred to only as the Emperor, has decided he’s going to get married. His betrothed is Count Jainan of Thea, a man who was previously married to one of Kiem’s cousins only a month ago before said cousin died.

Kiem is super social amd charming. He’s a reformed bad boy who does charity events and gets along seemingly with everyone. He’s immediately intimated by his new fiancé because Jainan is (very slightly) older but also very intelligent. On paper, they have nothing in common, but they wind up fitting together perfectly.

What’s interesting to note is that both characters are POC? Kiem is described as having deep brown skin and Jainan as having brown skin a shade lighter than Kiem’s. Did not know that going into this book, and I actually like that we have two POC leads for once! Both the US and UK covers are ambiguous about this and I don’t like that they did the covers in a way that would to hide it.

Kiem is bi (or maybe pan) and even though they don’t have the words for that in this world, I liked that this book effortlessly lets the reader know this from the start. There are also nonbinary characters in the story, where one character plays a notable role.

And so we get to the confusing bit. The plot.

I highly recommend paying attention to the first chapter where you’re getting a bit of an info dump? What I think I got from it is that Iskat is a big planet who has smaller vassal planets (one being Thea) and there’s something called a Resolution that’s like a contract everyone agrees to about how these planets decide to govern themselves and work together. They sign this agreement, a treaty if you will, every 20 years and signing day is known as Unification Day? And then there’s the Auditor who oversees the treaty and makes sure everything is in order. Without the signed treaty by the deadline, everything is thrown into chaos (for whatever reason) and sets all their planets being at war from those outside their planetary “link”. There’s also something to do with “remnants” that’s super important, but please don’t ask me what any of that means or what it has to do with anything because I have nothing.

That’s the politics piece of it. I don’t actually understand any of it? I was reading all this Resolution stuff with a “no thoughts, just vibes” mentality to be honest. It’s not like I don’t read books with complex story points, but this book was very weird on this front. It has the appearance of complex worldbuilding and political intrigue, but without actually going in-depth enough to make it easy to understand what’s going on or enough to show me how anything works. It’s very strange.

There’s also a whole colonizer aspect of things where Iskat has literally taken over all these vassal planets and forced them to bend to Islat’s rule? That’s hinted at but it made me wonder if we’re supposed to even like Iskat enough to care about the treaty, and by extension, Kiem? This book doesn’t dive into the greater implications of what and how Iskat controls these “lesser” planets and what that means for their people. I think we get a very clumsy resolution and an attempt at airily tying everything into a neat bow. This involved apologies being made to Jainan for their mistreatment towards him, and both Jainan and Kiem having to force Iskat’s hand at negotiations in order for all the other planets in their link to get a seat at the table.

Well. That’s my understanding of the plot anyways. Like I said, the worldbuilding left a bit to be desired when you try to wrap your brain around it all. If you put all the confusing political intrigue aside, there’s actually a really slow burn relationship between Kiem and Jainan (and if you, um, ignore the colonizer stuff).

I knew before getting into this book that the domestic abuse storyline was going to play a huge part in this book, but I didn’t realize how long and drawn out it was going to be.

*****A LITTLE SPOILER, SO LOOK AWAY*****

It’s HARD to read about how awful Taan (Jainan’s ex-husband) is, but what’s worse is seeing a lot of this from Kiem’s perspective where you SEE the little things that Jainan does (flinching away, always being on high alert of Kiem’s moods, etc.) and Kiem IS NOT PUTTING IT TOGETHER and all I wanted to do was wrap Jainan in a hug.

*****END OF SPOILERS*****

I appreciated how this was a slow burn romance where Kiem and Jainan actually got to know each other little by little and have a chance to fall in love even if they’re already married. Anything earlier between them wouldn’t have worked. If I had one thing that left me baffled, it’s that this book has one(!) sex scene and it’s…closed door?? Wasn’t expecting that at all and I am disappointed? I’m not saying books NEED sex scenes, because they certainly don’t, but a notice that there wouldn’t be one would’ve been nice.

THE bear scene though? *chef’s kiss* That scene is my FAVORITE.

The last…oh, 25% of this book, went over my head. I don’t understand the reasoning behind remnants and what it has to do with the Resolution or the importance of the Auditor really. So from that side of the story, I never felt the tense situation the characters were explaining about the upcoming Unification Day or why the Auditors are so intimidating or even why they wear their swirly color helmets.

The story is left open ended but with a presumed HEA. I wish there was more scenes after where this book chose to end though, so we could see and experience the happy moments between Kiem and Jainan after they took so long to get here.

Overall, though, the story was enjoyable in the parts just between Kiem and Jainan and their friends, but everything else was a bit of a wash for me. That’s why this book gets a 3 out of 5 stars for me. There’s definitely a very messy part of Iskat and their place in the galaxy that is conveniently glossed over in this book that should’ve been addressed or reworked. The worldbuilding felt underdeveloped and only complex in all the wrong ways.

***Thanks to the publisher for approving me for this ARC on NetGalley.***

OH MY GOSH!! This book was simply wonderful. It took a few chapters to get into the world but once I was there I didn't want to leave. The romance is sweet, there's adventure, and political intrigue. I honestly didn't want it to end!

I absolutely loved this MM romance.

Such a great book with a solid storyline and great characters.

I eagerly look forward to reading more from this author.

A definite recommend!

This was what I have been looking for in science fiction. A fun trope that turns into a deeply nuanced story where each character grows and changes. The plot keeps everyone on their toes and second guessing who is on their side and how everything will get resolved. I enjoyed it immensely and I cannot wait to see more from this author.

A sunshine extrovert and a grumpy introvert have to make an arranged marriage work or risk destroying the peace treaty that keeps their planets safe from the rest of the universe. Political, twisty, and romantic!

3.5 stars to this really sweet yet dramatic scifi political romance. I really liked the characters and the story was good but it really did rely on a lack of communication between the lead characters. Both of them are smart and capable so the fact that the big reveal was a surprise was a little annoying. But I enjoyed it none the less and am looking forward to more from the author.

This is quite literally RED WHITE AND ROYAL BLUE or BOYFRIEND MATERIAL but in space. I loved it. The slow-burning romance was delicious, and I want to just jump into this world!!

Winter's Orbit had a promising start. It's focused around an unwanted political romance/marriage. The characters are great. Prince Kiem is the guy always getting into trouble with his hijinks and the media. Jainan is a cinnamon roll. The romance, which should've been the main focus, is surrounded by political drama that was complicated and unenjoyable.

I received an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Having read the very cozy-feeling fantasy novel The Goblin Emperor last year, I got similar warm-fuzzy-comfort vibes from this story, and it was exactly what I needed right now.

I especially enjoyed the way tropes like the arranged marriage were used but still felt fresh and not overdone. I was impressed with how gender and sexuality were expressed in a variety of ways in several different cultures and yet was never the focus or the obstacle of the story; it felt very natural and never forced for the sake of diversity and was also not the source of conflict nor the only personality/identity any character had, it was just an aspect of each character.

If you like (softer) sci-fi, don't let the romance deter you, this has enough interplanetary intrigue, empire and colonization and trade and smugglers and sci-fi Macguffins to keep you happy. If you like romance, don't let the sci-fi elements deter you, this is a sweet story with strong characters.