An independent woman with powerful self-knowledge, Ada’s story is free of 'rescued princess' tropes that can diminish a space opera. In a refreshing turn, Mihalik doesn’t compromise the action with a constant sexual undercurrent, but rather allows Ada and Loch to revel together in singular moments that perfectly punctuate the novel’s high energy pacing. The erotic elements are written with an economy that lets sex be sex, without an excess of emotional angst or contrived foreplay. The romance is raw, spare and more powerful for it ... Along with her remarkable world building, Mihalik introduces rich supporting characters that are deftly drawn into both the running battles as well as the layered political intrigue. With Ada and Loch’s future unclear and the fate of worlds hanging in the balance, Polaris Rising sets a magnificent stage for Mihalik’s next installment in the Consortium Rebellion trilogy.
Everything I ever hoped and dreamed I could find in this subgenre ... Because the book is firmly from Ada’s perspective, there are lulls in the action. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing, it did create some pauses that were longer than I wanted ... exciting. It’s funny. It’s fan-fucking-tastic. My quibbles are minor in comparison to the joyful Good Book Noises I made while reading this.
High-tech action, political intrigue, and steamy romance ... Fast-paced space opera, filled with daring rescues and blaster fire, thrown into high gear by the passionate romance between the lead characters.
The opener to Mihalik’s debut trilogy, a simplistic space opera with a side of erotica, starts far too slowly and fails to build dramatic tension even in its most frantic escape scenes, while both character and plot development lean toward the bland and stereotyped ... Mihalik‘s storytelling leaves an impression of having checked off plot requirements and never draws readers into Ada’s world, leaving them bored well before the end.
