Hunt the Stars

"Hunt the Stars is the first book in a trilogy of space opera romances. It takes place in a future where we’ve colonized the stars, and we zip through wormholes to get from one place to the next. The book sets up a galaxy where you have two factions: humans and Valoffs. Valoffs are predominantly human but have some key differences. The two groups were at war and now they’re at peace, but there’s still hostility between them. The humans fear the Valoffs because they have psychic powers, including telepathy, telekinesis, healing, and teleportation. The humans think, ‘If this person can lift me into the air and crush my bones with his mind, this is very intimidating and scary.’ The power dynamics come into play right from the start. The main character, Octavia ‘Tavi’ Zarola, is a soldier—technically, a captain—turned bounty hunter. Her crew is made up of former squadmates of hers from the military. When Torran Fletcher, a former Valoff general, offers Tavi a significant sum of money to find a stolen family heirloom, she wants to decline, but her crew reminds her that ships and food cost money. After some grumpy negotiations, she accepts the job. Everything is way more complicated than what I’ve described, and it doesn’t resolve quickly. I will not get into deep spoilers here, but Tavi and Torran are in close quarters on the ship with their respective crews for a long time. They cook together, spar together, and get to know each other. Eventually, they fight together. Even though their power levels never become equal, Tavi still holds her own. She has the military skills of a soldier, including hand-to-hand combat, and guns. This couple’s arc is enemies to lovers. Before they can act on their mutual attraction, they must earn each other’s respect, resolve their cultural issues, and deal with their respective baggage from the war in which they fought on opposing sides. I like that they are both former military and that they both were officers. Even though they had different ranks in their respective militaries and different scopes of responsibility, they both understand command and strategy, and can relate to each other on the level of being responsible for other people. I like it when opposites attract and it’s a super fun pairing, like the cinnamon roll sunshine character and the grumpy guy. But I also love it when two people may not be identical, but their priorities, values, and personalities have a substantial overlap that allows for deep connection and trust, which are essential components of a good battle couple. I love the dynamic between two people who may be slightly too similar. This, too, is a space opera that takes place after a war. The main character, Kel, is a refugee who has holed up on a planet, like Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars . She’s a hermit, and she doesn’t want to deal with anything. The love interest in this book is Dare. He is a former soldier, and eventually she discovers this. The two of them are very similar, in terms of having a stoic personality and a wry sense of humor that emerges at unexpected times. They tend to be very quiet, but in a fight, they will go all out. They both are sword fighters, but Dare is a brute-force, giant sword guy while Kel has a more sword-and-board technique using a shield. She is more of a bodyguard; he is more of a whirlwind. Unbeknownst to each other, they are enemies from opposite sides of the previous war. They do have to overcome their distrust and that underlying enmity while acknowledging their mutual attraction. And they have to fight back to back, because that’s what battle couples do!"