Polaris Rising: A Novel (The Consortium Rebellion, #1)

by Jessie Mihalik

“Polaris Rising is space opera at its best, intense and addictive, a story of honor, courage, betrayal, and love. Jessie Mihalik is  an author to watch.”--Ilona Andrews, #1 New York Times bestselling author

A space princess on the run and a notorious outlaw soldier become unlikely allies in this imaginative, sexy space opera adventure—the first in an exciting science fiction trilogy.

In the far distant future, the universe is officially ruled by the Royal Consortium, but the High Councillors, the heads of the three High Houses, wield the true power. As the fifth of six children, Ada von Hasenberg has no authority; her only value to her High House is as a pawn in a political marriage. When her father arranges for her to wed a noble from House Rockhurst, a man she neither wants nor loves, Ada seizes control of her own destiny. The spirited princess flees before the betrothal ceremony and disappears among the stars.

Ada eluded her father’s forces for two years, but now her luck has run out. To ensure she cannot escape again, the fiery princess is thrown into a prison cell with Marcus Loch. Known as the Devil of Fornax Zero, Loch is rumored to have killed his entire chain of command during the Fornax Rebellion, and the Consortium wants his head.

When the ship returning them to Earth is attacked by a battle cruiser from rival House Rockhurst, Ada realizes that if her jilted fiancé captures her, she’ll become a political prisoner and a liability to her House. Her only hope is to strike a deal with the dangerous fugitive: a fortune if he helps her escape.

But when you make a deal with an irresistibly attractive Devil, you may lose more than you bargained for . . .

• ISBN10: 0062802380
• ISBN13: 9780062802385
• Publish Date: 21 March 2019 (first published 5 February 2019)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Harper Voyager
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 448
• Language: English

Reviews

[EBookObsessed]

I was looking for a space adventure and Polaris Rising has everything I wanted.

There are three High Houses that run the Galaxy, House von Hassenberg, House Rockhurst and House Yamado.    Ada von Hassenberg is a princess on the run.   As the fifth of six children, she knew that her place in life would be to eventually marry into a rival house in order to spy for House von Hassenberg.   Yet she has spent the last two years hiding to avoid a wedding to Richard Rockhurst.   As a teen, Ada might have seriously admired Richard's charm and good looks but he has hardened over the last few years.   Ada isn't willing to tie her future to his, especially since House marriages don't end in divorce.

But it seems that her father has had enough of her running, especially since he hasn't been able to capture her himself, and has put a rather large bounty on her head and even Ada's luck eventually runs out.  She is captured by mercs and she knows she only has a short window to escape before they turn her over to her father.   Just for giggles, the mercs toss her into a cell with their other high profile bounty, Marcus Loch, a murder also known as the Devil of Fornax Zero.   If Loch doesn't try to kill her right away, he might just be what Ada needs to escape before she is handed over, except time runs out when her "fiance" intercepts the message to her father, and runs to intercept his wayward bride.

Ada warns the mercs that handing her over to a rival House is not in their best interest but they are too interested in getting their reward up front from Richard and run to let in his boarding crew.  Now Ada has minutes rather than days to come up with a plan and currently her only option is the one emergency shuttle.  She just needs to get back to her cell to free Loch first.

They end up crash landing on a plant abandoned by House Yamado and they are pretty much sitting ducks while Richard and his men search the city closest to the crash.  And it seems the only way off this rock is on the shuttle Richard landed in.  Ada and Loch take a big risk making a grab for that shuttle, but it is when they take off that Ada finally understands why Richard is so desperate to marry her, or more particularly, why he is so desperate to get his hands on her dowry.

With no other choice, Ada needs to get this ship to her father and his scientists because House Rochhurst is ready to declare war on House von Hassenberg and if they have the technology that Ada believes they have created, House von Hassenberg doesn't have a chance against House Rockhurst and neither will the galaxy.

I read this book when it came out last year but for whatever reason, never wrote my review.  This is surprising since I remembered that I really enjoy it.  With the recent release of Chaos Reigning (Book 3), Aurora Blazing *(Book 2) was put on sale so I grabbed a copy and decided I needed a quick re-read on Polaris Rising.  I enjoyed it just as much with the second reading, and maybe more since I knew what was going to happen.  You like both Ada and Loch from the start.  While they don't trust each other much at the beginning, each waiting to be betrayed at the first opportunity,  but even with that lack of trust, they quickly become a solid team.   We also have a few others join Ada and Loch to help them escape and they become part of the team.

This has everything you want from a SciFi adventure:   space ships, foreign worlds, laser battles, prison escapes, cool technology, add in great humor and a really great romance, and you have the beginning of an amazing series.

While Ada hates her father, she loves her siblings.  I am looking forward to big sister, Bianca's story as we are on the brink of war of House Rockhurst.   Very exciting, and I hope we see Ada and Loch and their team pop up  to help her out.

[llamareads]

TL:DR – OMG THIS IS SO GOOD! GO BUY IT NOW! I’ve mentioned before that I love scifi romance, and this is exactly everything about that genre that I adore – a tropetastic scifi wonderland. Hi-tech hi jinx, space travel, multiple planets, galaxy-wide suspense… plus a kickass heroine and a hero who loves her for that. I first heard of Jessie Mihalik through Ilona Andrews’ blog, and became a fan of her writing from reading a serial she posted on her blog, and seriously could not contain my excitement when I got an ARC of this book. I’ve now read it three times (!!!) and honestly, it’s still as good on the third read as it was on the first.

“Marcus Loch was a deserter, a killer, and a traitor to the Consortium. And he was just the man I needed.”

Ada von Hasenburg has been on the run from her father for two years. As the fifth of the six children from one of the prominent Consortium families, she was expected to marry the son of one of their rivals (all the better to spy on them, of course). Captured by a small-time mercenary crew, she ends up in a cell with Marcus Loch, a notorious criminal wanted for slaughtering his military squad. Left with few options, she bargains with him to escape – but of course nothing goes according to plan, least of all their attraction to each other.

“Picking my battles was a skill I’d learned the hard way while growing up, but one that I had eventually learned.
It took until my early teens for me to realize that banging my head against Father’s will got me nowhere. Feigning compliance while ultimately working toward my own goals worked much better. All of my siblings had learned to be crafty in their own way because the other option was to become a slave to Father’s will, and we were all too stubborn to let that happen.”

A lot of my enjoyment of the book comes from how much I loved Ada. I loved her voice and her practical worldview. While you’d think her upbringing would have made her more cynical, she’s instead quite warm and cares deeply about others, to the point of constantly trying to pay off Marcus in order to get him out of her (possibly dangerous) orbit. In her travels, she picks up a ragtag band of friends, new and old, all of whom Ada wants to protect, even at the cost of her own life. Despite her estrangement with her father, she still cares about (and keeps in touch with) her brothers and sisters, and when war threatens, she views it as her duty to go home and help the House fight. Luckily her family and her friends are there for her when she gets in too far over her head, though she’s certainly not one of those TSTL heroines – she knows her limits and is usually willing to make use of her friends’ expertise.

Loch is a bit more of a cypher, due in part to the story being told solely from Ada’s first-person POV. While I thought it worked exceptionally well, there were times I really wished I could’ve known what Loch was thinking. He’s almost the perfect sort of alpha male archetype, with the added bonus that he fully recognizes Ada’s competence and lets her take the lead when needed, though he does tend towards the alpha male overprotectiveness. While this can be off-putting for me, in this case, Ms. Mihalik seemed to strike a good balance between using the protectiveness to show his growing feelings for Ada while still allowing her agency. I think this was my favorite part of the relationship – that they did seem to have some sort of innate trust that let them depend on the other and understood that it didn’t make either of them lesser. A lot of the bumps in their relationship happen due to Ada’s inexperience with relationships and her desire to keep any harm from coming to Loch, while Loch is too ready to believe that he’s not “enough” for her.

The plot was action-packed, with crash landings, hijacked ships, and enough intrigue to satisfy me. There were a few lulls in the action, but for the most part, it skips along at a brisk pace. The side characters are lovely and well-formed, and I loved watching Ada’s interactions with them. There’s also a sort of winking-eye fan service in the book, as well. Loch’s a well-built specimen of a man, and neither Ada (nor Ms. Mihalik) hesitate to let the reader know exactly how hot he is, or to bypass an opportunity to describe him without his shirt off. I think some of this could’ve come off as weird or tedious, but instead I found it unbelievably delightful and charming. Nothing like giving the reader exactly what they want, right?

“Ian stared at me for a few more seconds as if judging my seriousness, then he smiled. Bianca’s eyes widened before she regained her icy control. She had it bad, but he was incredibly gorgeous when he smiled. I wondered what would happen if I accidentally locked them in a closet together.”

I’m very much looking forward to reading about Ada’s sister, Bianca, and the mysterious Ian, the couple of the next book, which is due out this fall. I guarantee I’m counting down the days until I can beg for an ARC!

Overall, if you like scifi romance, smart and tough heroines, and alpha male heroes, just go buy this book already!

I received this book for free from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This is really not my usual fare. I'm not a huge scifi fan at all. But this book caught my attention so much that between the cover and the blurb I preordered it.

And it was really good. The action was fast paced and intense. The plot was interesting enough to keep my attention. I liked all the characters and I loved Ada and Loch. The setting is usually not really my thing but I enjoyed the space opera with the futuristic tech. Nanobots to heal, identity chips embedded into arms. It was fascinating and I loved it. Especially stealing a spaceship. Total badass.

Ada was awesome. She was a strong female protagonist - likable, competent and fierce. But she also knew her limits and was able to stand back and say I can't go further, I need help. The relationship between her and Loch is intense, but aside from a small miscommunication they are probably one of the most straightforward and honest couples I've seen. While Ada is a shark when it comes to playing the political game she is very open and willing to express her thoughts. Loch is reluctant to speak but he also doesn't tend to hold back when he does open up. I liked the way their relationship developed and how they backed one another. Although it was definitely a romantic suspense relationship development than contemporary. And he was so sweet to her. The dress. Aww.

I loved how Ada manoeuvres and manipulates the figures in the political arena. That was definitely one of the best bits. Blackmail and revenge at its finest. I also really loved Veronica and her own circumstances. She was very creative and self sufficient and it was fun to read. I liked Bianca but I don't know that I'm invested enough to read the next one in the series. I've never really been a fan of the he broke my heart and now he's back type stories. But if it comes up cheap, who knows.

So overall, great strong story with creative tech and interesting characters. Loved it. 4 stars.

[kimbacaffeinate]

Ada von Hasenberg is the seventh child of the House von Hasenberg. Ada was to be offered into an arranged marriage with House Rockhurst but after witnessing her sister's horrible marriages, this strong-willed, kickass Hasenberg flees home and now has a bounty on her head. When she is captured on the boarding docks of another planet and taken aboard a merc ship, they place her in a cell with Marcus Loch, the Devil of Fornax Zero. His bounty rivals hers. There are rumors he murdered every commanding officer who issued orders during the Fornax Rebellion. All Ada knows for certain is that the Royal Consortium wants him dead.

From the first chapter, Mihalik held me spellbound. This story is for fans of space operas with strong romantic elements, lots of snark and plenty of chemistry. The world was interesting with twists on familiar themes. It focuses on the Merc Houses living on Earth who run a monopoly on space commerce.  There were spaceships, cool gadgets, whole freaking' planets to explore and a kickass female lead who reminds me of Kate Daniels. Hells yes!

Ada from outward appearances is strong, unyielding and has the qualities one expects from royalty, but on the inside she struggles, misses her siblings and has baggage from her first romance. The girl is smart, knows her weapons and her training as a Hasenberg means she can navigate and repair ships. I loved her sharp mind, quick wit and loyalty.

Marcus Loch is our space Curran. Aside from being a one man killing machine who grunts and protects he is also cunning and noble. The more Mihalik peeled back his layers and shared his story the more I loved him.

When Richard, the man Ada's father wants her to marry appears on the merc ship, Ada comes up with a plan to escape but she will have to trust Marcus and the tale that unfolds was intense with twists, turns and new friends. While I loved meeting people, learning more about the world, the Consortium and plants, it was Ada and Marcus who stole the show whenever they were on the page together. Snark and sexual chemistry melted my eardrums. It was so genuine it had me squealing with delight.

The story ended in a good place but set us up for the series and I for one cannot wait! If you haven't already devoured this, I recommend listening. Emily Woo Zeller narrates, and she did such a stellar job. While I wasn't a fan of some of her male voices, she nailed Ada and Marcus in my humble opinion. I thought she did well enhancing the tone, emotions and action scenes as they unfolded. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[Romance Schmomance]

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And BOOM, my first new to me author read of 2019 and I'm an absolute fan after reading Polaris Rising. This book had everything that I look for in a sci-fi romance; a strong heroine, a sexy (yet stubborn) hero, and suspense that keeps you engaged the entire time. OH, and we can't forget the love! Jessie Mihalik, I'm your newest fan and can't wait to add this amazing book to my shelf for all to see!

I'm not sure when my last sci-fi book was, and a non-YA one might I add. When it comes to sci-fi, if they don't start of strong, it tends to my lose my interest pretty quickly. I was so thankful that it wasn't the case at all. Mihalik woven such an engaging tale that I was pretty lost in Ada's story. I couldn't put this one down.

Like I mentioned earlier, I love when we have a strong heroine and Ada is just that. My connection to her was instant and I was eager to learn more about her and the world and life she was born into. Being such a high status and on the run, she's forced to cover all of her tracks and to trust no one. She's clearly no damsel in the distress, but being on the run for so long will eventually go it's course. She's definitely not the life that she was born into and I really loved that about her. It really shone in her personality and I held onto to all the scenes with her siblings. And I'm hoping that we see/hear more about them in the rest of the series. With all of that being said, she's a badass and definitely perfectly matched for Loch.

I'll quickly comment on Loch because he is truly a treasure for you to discover on your own. I connected with him as soon as he was introduced. I don't know how she did it, but Jessie was able to write a hero and had me rooting for the guy before we even knew his story. How does that even happen?! Little by little, his past is revealed and that just added to the suspense a bit of Ada's journey. Many are commenting on his alpha-ness, it's definitely there, but to me it was just the right amount to the point where he wasn't overbearing. He knew and recognized Ada's strength, and didn't want to hold her back, even though I'm sure he would have just loved if she stayed put indefinitely.

These two had to learn to trust each other quickly, Ada has her obvious barriers holding her back from doing so. But with being together on this insane venture, they're forced into working together, which eventually brings them closer and has them questioning their feelings for one another. But that's just the least of their worries since they have so much to face going forward.

I truly loved everything about the both of them, the story and the world-building. Jessie did a phenomenal job with writing enough of details about this world, it's like you're walking alongside them shadowing everything. And I'm dying to know what's to come of the Consortium, a storm is definitely on the horizon.

Polaris Rising is such a solid foundation to this new series and I'm excited for Book 2, I'll definitely be counting down the days until I can get my hands on that book!

Major thank you to Harper Voyager for the reader's copy!

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FIRST THOUGHTS

Oh wow, I am soooooo invested in this series, I could read about Ada and Loch forever! Loved the bit of suspense and adventure, plus you can't forget about the sexy relationship that these two have.

Full review to come!

🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 ½ / 5 #RSFAVE