To See the Sun
Kelly Jensen, 2018
New Release! I received a copy of this book from NetGalley for the purpose of review.
Premise: Outer colonies are the rough frontier, which might be why Bram never seems to meet anyone special. That is, until he sees Gael's profile on the interstellar matchmaking service. Gael would do anything to leave his planet; he knows it's foolish to also hope for love.
It's good even. Enjoyable, well-written, two main characters who fit around each other's quirks and grow to care for each other. The complications of the sci-fi setting are decently described and fun.
But, it's also a trope-riddled cliche from top to bottom. We've got your mail-order bride, your fake relationship to escape possible slavery, your instant found family, your fake relationship that turns into a real relationship, your city-planet of endless corruption, your past sexual trauma that a character has to overcome, your dual perspectives that mean the reader knows the characters' relationship would be fine if they would just talk to each other, your space is really just the wild west with different shading, your unreasonably jealous ex for a villain...
None of these are bad. They're all fairly well-handled. But all together, it's a bit much for me. There just wasn't anything new. The sci-fi skin allowed for a few environmental hazards and an sexually flexible society, but it didn't feel different enough from the westerns it was mimicking. I liked the characters, but I didn't have any reason to love them.
3 Stars - A Good Book
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