A Symphony of Starlight Delirium Empire Trilogy, #1
Science fiction, urban fantasy, space opera
Amy Zed
January 1st, 2025
Kindle
465
Amazon
Amazon Link: amazon
A runaway princess. A high stakes love triangle. A deadly secret.
In a world where the talents of the wealthy are enhanced with cyborg modifications, Gemma is a musical prodigy on the run from the family that rules the planet. She’s hiding in an off-grid city of gangs, traffickers, and outcasts, working the electronic rave scene and supplementing her income with small-time hit jobs.
But when her boss is murdered and her pursuers close in, Gemma takes a risky bounty that lands her stranded on a poisonous planet with a cocky hitman, a mysterious space captain, and a misfit crew, racing to fix a broken ship while keeping her identity hidden.
And when Gemma discovers that both captain and hitman are hiding deadly secrets of their own, the struggle to survive becomes a dangerous game of who to trust with her life.
Review By Xanthe
Member of the Paranormal Romance Guild Review Team
Amazon Link: amazon
This was a completely unexpected read for me. I’m not really big on space opera but I love urban fantasy so thought we should give it a go and I am so glad I did! I never would have guessed that this was the author’s first book, something I didn’t find out until I reached the end.
Gemma’s character is one tough nut. It’s clear that she is running from something big in regards to her family, a secret that she keeps even from her best friend, someone who she is currently working as an assassin with. A new job offers them the chance to get off-planet, something they have been working towards but it doesn’t come out of the best of circumstances. Vince is definitely not to be trusted but is also very easy on the eye. To get off-planet, they come into contact with Mitchell, captain of his own ships who helps refugees escape. Unfortunately, another man that’s easy on the eye, a huge weakness of Gemma’s.
Within the first few chapters of this book, we’ve already been on a roller-coaster ride of emotion whilst going from assassination to escaping kidnappers to hiding from border patrol. A few tense moments also come from Gemma’s own making. With the two men and her in close quarters, something is bound to go wrong somewhere down the line but there are secrets involved regarding all of the people involved and so it’s a job to work out the mystery of who you can trust, what the actual job is and whether Gemma can trust herself.
The author has created a vast world that is only going to expand as we continue through the series but everything is established here. The universe that is controlled by the rich and unruled, something Gemma has a vested interest in. There are people and creatures in every place they visit that I’ve never heard of and have to take a moment to imagine. Humans can be modified using technology, as can those from other planets but, true to real life, there are those out there for their own gain and those are the ones who need stopping.
The story culminates with a climax that leaves things in the balance for several characters and a decision made about how to move forward. I cannot wait to see what happens and how things work out in regards to a possible relationship but also with the possibility of working towards change for the whole universe.