Explore Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik —a thrilling blend of space adventure and romance, perfect for fans looking for sizzling chemistry and a strong, strategic heroine.

Disclosure: I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. This post contains affiliate links. That means we receive a small commission at no cost to you from any purchases you make through these links.

Once in a while I come across a book and I decide to pick it up on a total whim.  POLARIS RISING was that book.  I’m going to be a total cover whore and admit my first impulse to read it was the beautiful cover.  And on closer inspection, the fact that it’s blurbed by Ilona Andrews.  Yes, I look at stuff like that.  I have actually found some of my favorite authors because I’ve seen another favorite author blurbed on the cover of a book.  So even though I’m not the biggest sci fi reader, I couldn’t pass this up.  I should also preface this by saying I generally do much better with this type of sci fi than ones involving aliens.  So another point in the favor of this book.

From the moment I started POLARIS RISING I knew this would be a winner for me.  There is something about the main protagonist, Ada, that I was immediately drawn to.  Strength.  She comes from a “royal” family in this world and she’s not even the eldest set to rule it.  But we first meet her while she’s on the run from her family because she didn’t want to be forced into a political arranged marriage.  She’s not cowering in the corner, she’s taking charge of her future and she’s fighting tooth and nail for what she wants for herself.  If that involves being a bit conniving to get what she wants, then she’ll use whoever or whatever she needs to.  Basically, by the end of this book, I really loved Ada and she’s one of my favorite heroines I’ve read so far this year.  Kickass with a heart of gold.

The story is basically her trying to escape from the clutches of said arranged marriage as her family and her fiance chase her around the Universe and while she’s doing that she discovers there’s more to what the Consortium is doing and she needs to be the one to bring those issues to light.  Along the way she picks up a few allies, among them is one of the Universe’s most wanted, Loch.  Believed to have killed his men during a military mission, he’s now got one of the biggest bounties on his head.  These two together are explosive.  Talk about an action packed ride!

I think the author has done a really nice job at blending romance and a solid plot.  At the same time, this book needed a lot of world building and she’s also done this extremely well without dumping a bunch of information and making this book suffer from First Book Syndrome.  It had everything I needed to feel as if I was immersed into this world, I could see it come alive just as well as if I was watching this on a screen.  Which by the way, this could totally be made into a movie and I would be there for it!

If you’re looking for something fun that will have you turning the pages faster as you go on, then look no further.  Even if you’re not a sci fi reader you should check this book out.  With pulse pounding action and sizzling chemistry, POLARIS RISING has me hooked and wanting for more.  Bring on AURORA BLAZING because I am ready for Bianca’s story!

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