Starlight’s Shadow by Jessie Mihalik

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

The Starlight's Shadow trilogy reminds me of the TV show Firefly, but with more romance. It's found family, it's deep space travel, it's a crew of misfits with hearts of gold. Overall a really fun read.

The first book in the trilogy was my favourite, as we follow the captain of Starlight's Shadow, Octavia, as she accepts a job from a General who was on the opposite side of the war she fought in. This is a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers story set on the backdrop of a high-paced adventure with lots of fighting both within the crew and outside of it. This book was rightfully nominated for the GoodReads Choice Award for Science Fiction in 2022.

In the first book we see the two crews build trust and work together. The second book follows two different members of the crew who are present during an attack at an intergalactic fashion show. Amazing, right?! Fighting, fashion and political feuds, this book is equally fast-paced and includes a romance between two other members of this newly formed crew.

The last book follows a morally-flexible thief, who occasionally consults with Starlight's Shadow when her special skills are required. In this case the entire crew of Starlight's Shadow has gone missing, except for one. The two of them team up to find the where the ship and crew have gone and how to get them back safely. Jessie Mihalik doubles down on the romance here, which I appreciated, but the action scenes dragged a bit for me. We follow every single twist and turn down a hallway, and painstakingly discuss every aspect of a plan. It feels like this book could have down with some pairing down in a few chapters.

Overall this is a fun, sci-fi series, perfect for people who loved the Firefly TV show or the new Star Trek films.