ARC Review : Hunt The Stars by Jessie Mihalik

Hunt The Stars by Jessie Mihalik
Series : Starlight's Shadow #1
Genre : Sci-fi Romance
Publisher : Harper Voyager
Publication Date : February 1st, 2022
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.

B&N
One of my favorite reads comes out tomorrow so I'm here to urge you all to read it!😆 Hunt The Stars by Jessie Mihalik is a sci-fi romance that has almost all of my favorite elements in it! I totally loved her Consortium Rebellion books, but I think this one has topped that for me! I'm a huge fan of sci-fi romance set in space(or space opera) and this one was brilliant!⁣
Set in the aftermath of a war between the humans and Valoffs(similar to humans but with special abilities), the book follows Tavi, a bounty hunter who gets a new job from Torran, a Valoff general who agrees to pay her a lot of money💰 Things don't start off well as they're enemies(quite literally) as they were on the opposite sides of the war for so long. Torran and his crew end up joining her team on their spaceship as they travel to Valovia, which is quite risky for them as there's still lots of resentment and bad blood between the two races. It doesn't help that Torran isn't very forthcoming about some details and as the attraction between them builds up, so does the tension regarding the mission. What will happen when they uncover some secrets that show signs of someone wanting to restart the war?👀 You'll have to read it to find out!⁣
I've got to say that Tavi was a favorite of mine! I adored how strong and intelligent she was. At the same time, she's fiercely protective of her friends and soft-hearted too! I loved the close-knit bonds between her and her crew - Eli, Kee and Lexi. And when Torran and his team join, it creates some wonderful tension and newfound friendships!⁣

"I sighed quietly. I swear, sometimes my job was half therapist, half mediator, and half de facto ship parent, with a few other halves left over for captaining, negotiating, and bounty hunting."

The romance between Tavi and Torran was slow-burn, which was right up my alley! I loved how they slowly discovered things about each other and there was mutual admiration along with attraction. Bonus - Telekinetic fondling too!🔥😉⁣ We get to find out more about the Valoffs and their customs along with Tavi and it's amazing to see the different abilities that they have. They're also very serious about their oaths and quite honorable(reminded me of the Tuann from the Firebird Chronicles by T.A.White!).

We also learn that Tavi has some abilities too as she can see auras, but it didn't have any role when it comes to the overall plot. So, I wish that had been explored as it'd have definitely made her more kick-ass! I was also curious to know why Tavi has better mental shields than other humans, though it's very weak when compared to the Valoffs! And how can I forget to mention - Luna, our favorite telepathic burbu(arctic fox+furret like creature?) who is super cute and lethal! I loved her in all the scenes and it definitely made me want to have a Luna of my own!

Additionally, there's lots of action and the world-building was amazing as well. I'd love to find out more about the history behind the war and why it started, so I hope we get to see that in the next few books! Looks like the next one is going to be Kee and Varro's story(Yay!).
 Do check this one out if you're in the mood for a slowburn sci-fi romance with lots of action and suspense! You'll definitely love it!❣️✨⁣

You can also find my review on my bookstagram here


*I was provided with an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

You can also find my reviews of the author's other books here


Jessie Mihalik has a degree in Computer Science and a love of all things geeky. A software engineer by trade, Jessie now writes full time from her home in Texas. When she’s not writing, she can be found playing co-op video games with her husband, trying out new board games, or reading books pulled from her overflowing bookshelves.

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