Winter's Orbit
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4.4 • 146 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A Sunday Times Bestseller!
A 2022 Alex Award Winner!
“Sparks fly” (NPR) in Everina Maxwell’s gut-wrenching and romantic space opera debut.
Prince Kiem, a famously disappointing minor royal and the Emperor's least favorite grandchild, has been called upon to be useful for once. He's commanded to fulfill an obligation of marriage to the representative of the Empire's newest and most rebellious vassal planet. His future husband, Count Jainan, is a widower and murder suspect.
Neither wants to be wed, but with a conspiracy unfolding around them and the fate of the empire at stake they will have to navigate the thorns and barbs of court intrigue, the machinations of war, and the long shadows of Jainan's past, and they'll have to do it together.
So begins a legendary love story amid the stars.
Like Ancillary Justice meets Red, White and Royal Blue, Winter’s Orbit is perfect for fans of Lois McMaster Bujold.
“High-pitched noises escaped me; I shouted, more than once, 'Now kiss!' ... in a world so relentlessly uncertain, there’s a powerfully simple pleasure in the experience of a promise kept.” —The New York Times Book Review
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The intricate royal protocol of The Crown intertwines with the adventure of Louis McMasters Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga series in Maxwell's gorgeously plotted LGBTQ space opera debut. After Prince Taam of icy planet Iskan V dies, his wayward, charismatic cousin Prince Kiem is drafted into a political marriage to Taam's flinchingly self-effacing widower, Thean Count Jainan. Through their marriage, Kiem and Jainan hope to salvage Iskan's imperial treaty with Thea and satisfy a visiting galactic superpower that Iskan is stable enough to continue accessing the faster-than-light link network and through it the wider universe. But when Taam's death proves suspicious and secrets about his past come to light, Jainan and Kiem must navigate both their budding mutual attraction and the political minefield surrounding the treaties binding worlds. Maxwell's plot elegantly combines clan politics, galactic power struggles, and marriage dynamics, though the delicate handling of abuse and trauma enabled by Kiem's un-self-conscious sweetness in his relationship with the skittish Jainan gives way to heavy-handed melodrama in the story's climax. Despite the soapy conclusion, this exciting adventure is sure to win Maxwell many fans.
Customer Reviews
You’ve gotta give this one a shot
I wish they’d write more of this story. I wish they had given into more of the hefty, emotional conversations. Because all of this book was so, so good. I couldn’t pull myself away. Read it in two days.
I’ll miss seeing Kiem fight for Janin and show him how incredible he is… They both deserved someone that was going to see them at their best, not their worst.
Loved this book. I think you’ll love it, too.
SO GOOD
Automatically one of my favorite books ever! Right from the very first page I was so intrigued in the characters and the scenario. I love the way Kiem and Jainan were written and how I got to see both point of views through the story. Their development and the way they were fleshed out felt so real, I was immediately attached to both of them. The story was amazing, there was never a part where I felt bored or like it dragged. I would recommend this to anyone! I’m going to miss these characters and I’m excited to read the author’s second book.
YES
Beautiful representation of casual gender fluidity and non-binary life in an action-space setting. Absolutely loved it.