This review may contain spoilers, so fair warning, upon reading the review.
About The Book
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.
My life is mine, but my heart is yours.
My Review
First Impressions
Hunt The Stars is the first book in the newest series by Jessie Mihalik. I have been meaning to read this book since early this year when it was first released. As many of you know, I have a weakness for science fiction romance, and especially in trad published, it’s just not common as it used to be. I have really loved to see how popular this author has become and her books are such fun! There is always a level of angst, but the angst is so well written. I can be picky about angst at times, but this author handles it with care so it balances out with the story and isn’t dragged all the way through the book. You also get a fascinating world that she creates that will suck you right into the story. Every time I have picked up this author I have been highly entertained and “Hunt The Stars” is no different. It had so much well built slow-burn chemistry, plenty of adventure, some sassy characters and lots of delicious alphamellow vibes and completely balanced on both ends in the romance, you can’t go wrong with this author
It was incredibly adorable. I hardened my heart against all the soft emotions that tried to rise. No. He’d threatened me earlier. He was not adorable; he was a stone-cold killer wrapped in a pretty package.
Summary
Octavia Zarola is determined to protect her crew, they work as bounty hunters and their galaxy is recovering from a war and Octavia is a person of interest that many would like to get a hold of. But they are desperate for a job, and even though she hates having to accept a job, she can’t resist the offer from Torran Fletcher, who is her enemy and a elite general whom she fought so hard against. But she knows that she will have to give and let her feelings not cloud her judgment knowing how much her family needs the funds from this job. She is hired on when Torran has a missing jewel that is needed to be found. Torran and his crew join forces with Tavi and her crew, and even though there is mistrust between all parties, there is also a joint effort to discover the thief involved. But through their journey, Torran and Tavi discover a love worth fighting for, but when it matters most will Tavis be able to trust Torran or will her past cloud what they have built?
Family is important, and even if they’re not your family by blood, they’re still family.
What I Loved
Hunt The Stars was such a superb read and I absolutely adored every single moment. I just couldn’t get enough of these two and their sassy moments. This was such a entertaining sci fi romance and I had such fun with it. It was less heat than I was expecting, but it was a really really slow burn haha so that comes with the territory of that type of set up. I did love the way the chemistry is slowly built between Torran and Tavi though. I adored both of them individually. Seeing them work around their issue while being respectful despite the fact that they are enemies was such perfection. Jessie Mihalik is one of those authors that can pull you in so quickly and you become so invested in the characters. There is also a level of healthy consent on both sides that I really admired. I love how her writing just shows how relationships can and should be in how men and women should treat each other. So fi you have certain consensual sensibilities than this will also work for you. I found the plot to be stimulating and keeps you on your toes, and when the reveal happens, yeah I didn’t see that coming and I do respect the writing style of this author, that delivers such a solid story.
“I apologize,” he said. “I am trying.” He dipped his head, until his mouth was near my ear. “And I am not having an affair with anyone.” He slid back and slanted a heated glance at me. “At the moment.”
What I Struggled With
There wasn’t much that I struggled with, I just wanted more steam in this book, it just felt like there needed to be more moments between our couple and the ending was a bit too abrupt for my liking so would have liked to see more couple page time.
The Narration
The narration was done so well, and this narrator really handled the personalities so well. Her voice is also so lovely to listen to.
Overall View
Hunt the Stars was a sensational read that really evoked so many adventures that will knock you out of the world, It’s an space-filled adventure that will immediately pull you in and endear you to this beautiful world this author has crafted!
Book Details
Title: Hunt The Stars
Author: Jessie Mihalik
Genre: Sci Fi Romance
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
Length: 12 Hours
About the Narrators
Frankie Corzo is an actor and voice-over artist who has appeared on film and in television, as well as on stage. Her work in audiobook narration has garnered her several accolades, including an AudioFile Earphones Award.
Book Links
Amazon| Barnes & Noble| Kobo| Goodreads| LibraryThing| Storygraph| Literal Club| Audible| Anyplay
Book Evaluation
Storytelling Quality: 4.25
Story Itself: 4
Character Development: 4.25
Writing Style: 5
World Building 5
Feels + The Romantic Heart 4
Pacing 4
Plot 4.5
Narration= 5
Cover Art 5
Ending 5
Book Ratings
Rating of the Book
Steam Level
Simmering cup of tea—soft warm touches and light intimacy
Warmin’ by the fire- a medium level of sexual tension, a balance of sexual and emotional intimacy, lighter on the details in the sexual moments.
Steamin’ up the room -the sexual content is more explicit in the language and tone, heavier amount of sexual scenes.
Blazing fire to the building-The prime focus is the sex scenes, scorching hot, and could burn one. Less focus on the emotional intimacy to the relationship.
Series Order
Starlight’s Shadow
Honor and Shadows-Pub 2022 #0.5 in the Series
Hunt the Stars-Pub 2022 #1 in the Series
Eclipse the Moon-Pub 2022 #2 in the Series
About Jessie
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.
Sample chapters of all of my books are available on my website!
The Consortium Rebellion trilogy: Polaris Rising, Aurora Blazing, Chaos Reigning.
The Rogue Queen novellas: The Queen’s Gambit, The Queen’s Advantage, The Queen’s Triumph.
I’d never heard of this till reading your review; I really wanna read this book now!
I loved her earlier series in audiobook. I need to pick this one up and get it on my schedule. So glad it’s another great story from this author.
Yes!! If you enjoyed her previous series you will definitely love this book, we need more sci fi romance like this.