Eclipse the Moon by Jessie Mihalik Series: Starlight's Shadow #2
Published by HarperCollins on July 12, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Science Fiction, Fiction / Science Fiction / Action & Adventure, Fiction / Science Fiction / Space Opera
Pages: 448
Format: eBook
Source: ARC
Acclaimed author Jessie Mihalik returns with an exciting new novel about a rainbow-haired female bounty hunter tasked with preventing an interstellar war.
Kee Ildez has been many things: hacker, soldier, bounty hunter. She never expected to be a hero, but when a shadowy group of traitors starts trying to goad the galaxy’s two superpowers into instigating an interstellar war, Kee throws herself into the search to find out who is responsible—and stop them.
Digging up hidden information is her job, so hunting traitors should be a piece of cake, but the primary suspect spent years in the military, and someone powerful is still covering his tracks. Disrupting their plans will require the help of her entire team, including Varro Runkow, a Valovian weapons expert who makes her pulse race.
Quiet, grumpy, and incredibly handsome, Varro watches her with hot eyes but ignores all of her flirting, so Kee silently vows to keep her feelings strictly platonic. But that vow will be put to the test when she and Varro are forced to leave the safety of their ship and venture into enemy territory alone.
Cut off from the rest of their team, they must figure out how to work together—and fast—because a single misstep will cost thousands of lives.
So, it’s confession time. I ADORE Jessie Mihalik’s writing! From Polaris Rising, to her Rogue Queen series, I have devoured every book and stalked every release.
Eclipse the Moon is the second book in the Starlight’s Shadow series and it follows tech specialist Kee Ildez, hacker extraordinaire. We are treated to another delicious brooding Valorian, Varro, whom we saw a bit of in Hunt the Stars. Peace is… precarious to say the least and the Starlight’s crew is working overtime to prevent shady attempts to bring about another war from both sides.
Kee is a vibrant, relatable character that had me cheering throughout the story! She wicked smart, wears her heart on her sleeve, openly loving the crew, and being an all around empathetic badass. She truly is the spark in this story. Varro is a strong telepath, to the point where other Valorians fear him. He is stoic with a molten, protective center and I am absolutely here for it! Their romance isn’t as central to main plot of Eclipse the Moon, but I think the pacing was spot on both for the action and ratcheting up that delicious tension between Kee and Varro on the side.
The sexual tension between these two is unreal. The slow burn of this romance nearly killed me. Their inability to communicate also almost killed me but that wasn’t nearly as enjoyable. Varro’s refusal to budge on the honor/promise nonsense added to that. I do wish we had more couple time (no sexy times until 90%!) but I did thoroughly enjoy some dream walking shenanigans.
I’m really looking forward to the next book and I’m hoping that we get to spend some time with the mysterious Lexie! Honestly, I need books for all of the crew members of Starlight’s Shadow because each of them deserves the very best HEA.
If you are looking for some: forced proximity, sunshine/grumpy, sort-of friends to lovers surrounded by space, rescue missions, espionage, and a fair amount of hacking then this is your jam. It’s the second book in the series and while you could technically read it as a stand-alone, I recommend starting with Hunt the Stars for maximum enjoyment and world building.
*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.