This is another LGBTQ+ novel that has been on my TBR for a while. I am always on the lookout for good LGBTQ+ romance novels, especially.
Arranged marriages aren't really a trop that I'm fond of, so when this one started out, I was already on the meh side. However, since I am trying to expand my reading horizons, I kept with it.
Winter's Orbit is a sci-fi story set in the future on a planet that isn't in any way, shape, or form connected to earth. I'll admit that I'm not a huge sci-fi fan. I do enjoy a good space tale, but mainly if the characters are super intriguing. This was a plot-driven story, not character driven.
Even still, I felt for Jainan, who was being married off to one of the other many princes in order to maintain a galactic treaty. Kiem was pretty great from the start. He's the prince. Anyway, Jainan's first partner died in an accident. To maintain the treaty, they had to reestablish the connection through the use of Jainan.
It was an interesting premise. I really liked Jainan. He was smart, but you could absolutely tell he'd been through some stuff. He had trauma response written all over him.
Kiem, on the other hand, was charming. He was the one who got away with doing lots of stuff that was bad for his image (think Prince Harry), but managed to turn it around and at least appear more responsible.
The two get off to a rocky start. Because they don't communicate.
I feel like a lot of the issues in this novel might have been resolved if the characters acted like the adults they were supposed to be and discussed things. This really felt more YA in that the characters just skirted around everything. Look, I get that you don't know what you're doing in your twenties, but it just felt a little childish to me.
This was not a romance. There was no heat whatsoever, so that kind of made me sad.
All in all, it felt like the plot was forced for me. I didn't really enjoy it. I liked Jainan's development and how he and Kiem were with each other toward the end, but this isn't something that I would give a glowing recommendation to.
Consider that sci-fi is not my normal genre. If it is for you, you might like it.
Abbie