BLOG TOUR - A MOST UNUSUAL DUKE BY SUSANNA ALLEN - ADULT FICTION [REVIEW + GIVEAWAY]

Check out my review below for A Most Unusual Duke by Susanna Allen, a Regency romance with a fantasy-edge, sure to delight romance and fantasy readers alike!  There's also a giveaway to enter, so keep scrolling!

Book Information

Title: A Most Unusal Duke

Authors(s): susanna Allen
Publication Date: December 28, 2021
Edition: Paperback, eBook, audiobook; 288 pgs
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Source: Rockstar Book Tours
Purchase: Amazon - Kindle - Audible - B&N - BAM! - iBooks - Kobo - TBD - 

Bookshop.org
Disclaimer: I received a copy from the publisher as part of a blog tour in exchange for an honest review.  My thoughts and opinions are my own.  Please note the purchase links above are affiliate links.

Tour Schedule

Week One

4/4/2022 - Books a Plenty Book Reviews - Review

4/4/2022 - Fyrekatz Blog - Review

4/5/2022 - The Reading Devil - Guest Post/IG Post

4/5/2022 - More Books Please blog - Review/IG Post

4/6/2022 - @theheavycrownreads - Review

4/6/2022 - BookHounds - Guest Post/IG Post

4/7/2022 - A Court of Coffee and Books - Review/IG Post

4/7/2022 - Sadie's Spotlight - Excerpt/IG Post

4/8/2022 - Owl Abridged - Review/IG Post

4/8/2022 - Angel's Guilty Pleasures - Excerpt/IG Post

Week Two

4/11/2022 - Quill Tree Fox - Review/IG Post

4/11/2022 - #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog - Excerpt/IG Post

4/12/2022 - Nagma | TakeALookAtMyBookshelf - Review

4/12/2022 - Fire and Ice - Review

4/13/2022 - Eli to the nth - Review/IG Post

4/13/2022 - Two Points of Interest - Review

4/14/2022 - The Momma Spot - Review/IG Post

4/14/2022 - @jypsylynn - Review

4/15/2022 - onemused - Review/IG Post

4/15/2022 - Rajiv's Reviews - Review

The Summary

Bridgerton meets Werewolves Within in this sparkling shapeshifter Regency romance mixed with humor, steamy chemistry, and fantasy.

The Duke said he'd never get married...

The Prince Regent insists his cousin and fellow bear shifter, Arthur Humphries, the Duke of Osborn, take a mate to ensure the continuation of their species. After all, Arthur is an Alpha, so he must set a good example. The duke would very much prefer to continue his comfortable bachelor lifestyle, but the Prince Regent is not a bear to be poked.

Beatrice, the widowed Marchioness of Castleton, is in possession of a powerful secret. She knows all about Shifters, her horrible late husband being one of them. At any moment, Beatrice could reveal the secrets of the Prince and those like him—unless the Prince can make sure she marries another Shifter.

A marriage between the Duke of Osborn and Beatrice is far from ideal for either one, but at least they won't fall in love...right?

Witty, fantastical, and entirely unique, A Most Unusual Duke is perfect for readers looking for:

• A delicious Regency romp with a paranormal twist

• A devilishly handsome Alpha hero

• A marriage of convenience

• A magical world to sink your teeth into

Reviews:

"Allen continues to make this unusual genre mash-up sing." ― Publishers Weekly

"Susanna Allen Writer's writing is SO GOOD. It sucked me right in. I think you'll love it, too."- Julia Quinn, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Bridgerton series.

(Goodreads)

You can grab all three books in the Shapeshifters of the Beau Monde series!

My Review

I definitely grew up reading Regency romances that I squirreled away in the corner of the library.  Of course when I grew up, I no longer had to hide them, but they still held a fond place in my heart.  I also am a big fan of fantasy/supernatural stories, so having the two mixed, as in A Most Unusual Duke by Susanna Allen, had me hooked into the story.

If you're looking for some classic romance tropes, then look no further.  We got arranged marriage, marriage of convenience, fated mates, and slow burn all in one book.  But we also have really strong female characters, especially in the form of Beatrice of main love interest.  While many a Regency romance I've read has a stronger than usual female lead, Beatrice really stood out to me in terms of her competency.  Then our leading man, Arthur, is the best mix of "alpha male" (both literally and figuratively) and gentle, caring husband.  They butt heads and their romance is a very slow burn, but that makes the ending that much sweeter.

The supernatural elements are mixed well within the Regency-era.  Of course most of the upper crust are all shifters of some sort, which made it a little unrealistic that it was an actual secret, rather than an open-secret, but not uncommon in books like this.  I liked the different glimpses in the shifter cultures, and this is the first bear shifter romance I've read, so that was a fresh take.

I think overall this was an enjoyable read; it gives fantasy lovers a good romance to sink into and romance lovers a good fantasy to sink into.  Also, there are two other books in the series (see above) that connect slightly, but also stand alone. So if you enjoy A Most Unusual Duke, be sure to check out Susanna Allen's other books, A Wolf in Duke's Clothing and A Duke at the Door. 

Final Rating

About the Author

Susanna Allen...

... moved to Ireland for twelve months — in 1998. Having gained a Master of Philosophy in Irish Theatre Studies from the Samuel Beckett Centre, Trinity College, she embarked on a career in theatre criticism, eventually moving into feature writing on all things cultural, as well as lifestyle-oriented subjects for major Irish titles across newsprint and magazines. 

Writing as Susan Conley, she is the author of Drama Queen and The Fidelity Project, both published by Headline UK, and the soon-to-be republished That

Magic Mischief. Her memoir, Many Brave Fools: A Story of Addiction, Dysfunction, Codependency… and Horses is published by Trafalgar Square Books and recounts the growth and insights she acquired after having taken up horse riding as an adult, post-divorce.

Susan is living her life by the three Rs: reading, writing and horseback riding, and can generally be found on her sofa with her e-reader; gazing out a window and thinking about made-up people; or cantering around in circles. She loves every minute of it!

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

Giveaway

2 winners will receive a finished copy of A MOST UNUSUAL DUKE, US Only.

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BOOK REVIEW - SHE GETS THE GIRL BY RACHAEL LIPPINCOTT & ALYSON DERRICK (YOUNG ADULT)

Title: She Gets the Girl

Authors(s): Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick
Publication Date: April 5, 2022
Edition: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook; 384 pgs
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher
Purchase: Amazon - B&N - BAM! - TBD - Bookshop.org
Disclaimer: I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  My thoughts and opinions are my own.  Please note the purchase links above are affiliate links.

The Summary

She’s All That meets What If It’s Us in this swoon-worthy hate-to-love YA romantic comedy from #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of Five Feet Apart Rachael Lippincott and debut writer Alyson Derrick.

Alex Blackwood is a little bit headstrong, with a dash of chaos and a whole lot of flirt. She knows how to get the girl. Keeping her on the other hand…not so much. Molly Parker has everything in her life totally in control, except for her complete awkwardness with just about anyone besides her mom. She knows she’s in love with the impossibly cool Cora Myers. She just…hasn’t actually talked to her yet.

Alex and Molly don’t belong on the same planet, let alone the same college campus. But when Alex, fresh off a bad (but hopefully not permanent) breakup, discovers Molly’s hidden crush as their paths cross the night before classes start, they realize they might have a common interest after all. Because maybe if Alex volunteers to help Molly learn how to get her dream girl to fall for her, she can prove to her ex that she’s not a selfish flirt. That she’s ready for an actual commitment. And while Alex is the last person Molly would ever think she could trust, she can’t deny Alex knows what she’s doing with girls, unlike her.

As the two embark on their five-step plans to get their girls to fall for them, though, they both begin to wonder if maybe they’re the ones falling…for each other.

(Goodreads)

My Review

I was very excited to get the chance to read a new book from Rachael Lippincott.  I love her books, and this one, which she co-authored with her wife, Alyson Derrick, sounded right up my alley.  Hitting some of my favorite romance tropes, She Gets the Girl is an adorable sapphic romance, set at the beginning of college: a place where people can find their true selves, and perhaps their true loves.

Molly and Alex were great characters, and really complimented each other.  They both have girl problems: Molly has a hopeless crush on a former classmate and Alex was hit with a rough break-up.  Alex, finding out about Molly's crush, devises a plan to help her win the girl and to prove to Alex's ex that Alex can be genuine friends with someone.  And this is the start of it all.  Like I said, Molly and Alex compliment each other, but that's not obvious at first because there is major friction between the two.  Hot-headed Alex and painfully-shy Molly clash, but through Alex's plan, they learn more and more about each other.  As the girls learn about each other, they also learn about themselves.

While this is sapphic romance, it is not a coming out story.  That was a big draw while I was reading.  Both Molly and Alex are out to friends and family alike, so the reader really gets to dive into the development of the relationships, both romantic and friendly.  The setting of freshman year of college is also a great time because it is an often pivotal moment in transition from a teenager to adult.  This aspect of the book was so impactful, as the reader got to experience both Molly and Alex develop into different, and in some ways better, versions of their old selves.  Then the relationship development was sweet to read as well.  So the more intense personal growth and more light-hearted (but just as important) romantic growth created a nice harmony.

The writing was funny with poignant aspects.  Each character's voice was distinct, and I enjoyed the changing point of view.  I don't think that the story would be as round as it is if the reader only heard from one of the characters.  This book moved fast, even if the romance was a slow burn (I do love a good slow burn).  I was engaged throughout, and felt the ending was perfect, even though I could've always had more.  My only note with the writing was the pop culture references used could date the book in the future and not make as much of an impact.  But that really doesn't detract from the story for me personally. 

She Gets the Girl by Rachael Lippincott & Alyson Derrick is a must-add to your YA contemporary romance pile.  Sweet, funny, and emotional, this romcom will hit all the best parts of a feel-good story.  I would 100% read anything these two come up with next! 

CW: alcoholism, parental neglect and abandonment, internalized racism, toxic relationship

Final Rating

About the Authors

Rachael Lippincott is the coauthor of All This Time, #1 New York Times bestseller Five Feet Apart, and She Gets the Girl and the author of The Lucky List. She holds a BA in English writing from the University of Pittsburgh. Originally from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, she currently resides in Pennsylvania with her wife and their dog, Hank.

Website | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok | Goodreads

Alyson Derrick was born and raised in Greenville, Pennsylvania, a town where burn barrels take the place of recycling bins. After making her great escape to Pittsburgh, where she earned her bachelor’s in English writing, Alyson started her own food truck, but soon realized she much prefers telling stories over slinging cheesesteaks. Alyson currently resides in Pennsylvania with her wife and their dog, Hank.

Instagram | Goodreads

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BLOG TOUR - LOVELESS BY ALICE OSEMAN - YOUNG ADULT FICTION [REVIEW + GIVEAWAY]

 

Book Information

Title: Loveless

Authors(s): Alice Oseman
Publication Date: March 1, 2022
Edition: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook; 432 pgs
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Source: Rockstar Book Tours
Purchase: Amazon - Kindle - Audible - B&N - BAM! - iBooks - Kobo - TBD - Bookshop.org
Disclaimer: I received a copy from the publisher as part of a blog tour in exchange for an honest review.  My thoughts and opinions are my own.  Please note the purchase links above are affiliate links.

Tour Schedule

Week One

2/28/2022 - Nonbinary Knight Reads - Review/IG Post/TikTok Post

2/28/2022 - BookHounds YA - Excerpt

2/28/2022 - Rajiv's Reviews - Review/IG Post

3/1/2022 - @badlandsbooks_ - Review

3/1/2022 - Nerdophiles - Review

3/1/2022 - @booksaremagictoo - Review/IG Post/TikTok Post

3/1/2022 - Kait Plus Books - Excerpt

3/2/2022 - Dana's Book Garden - Review

3/2/2022 - Reading Wordsmith - Review/IG Post

3/2/2022 - @thebookishfoxwitch - Review

3/3/2022 - popthebutterfly - Review/IG Post/TikTok Post

3/3/2022 - Emelie's Books - Review

3/3/2022 - patrickfromperks - TikTok Review or Spotlight

3/4/2022 - @emmreadsbooks - Review/IG Post

3/4/2022 - onemused - Review/IG Post

3/4/2022 - A Bookish Dream - Review/IG Post

Week Two

3/7/2022 - Midnightbooklover - Review

3/7/2022 - Eli to the nth - Review

3/7/2022 - The Bookwyrm's Den - Review

3/8/2022 - YABooksCentral - Excerpt

3/8/2022 - Utopia State of Mind - Review/IG Post

3/8/2022 - Two Points of Interest - Review

3/9/2022 - Not In Jersey - Review/IG Post

3/9/2022 - More Books Please blog - Review/IG Post

3/9/2022 - @drewsim12 - Review/IG Post/TikTok Post

3/10/2022 - Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers  - Review/IG Post

3/10/2022 - Celia's Reads-blog - Review/IG Post

3/10/2022 - @coffeesipsandreads - Review/IG Post/TikTok Post

3/11/2022 - Zainey Laney in all 3 - Review/IG Post/TikTok Post

3/11/2022 - My Fictional Oasis - Review

The Summary

For fans of Love, Simon and I Wish You All the Best, a funny, honest, messy, completely relatable story of a girl who realizes that love can be found in many ways that don't involve sex or romance.

From the marvelous author of Heartstopper comes an exceptional YA novel about discovering that it's okay if you don't have sexual or romantic feelings for anyone . . . since there are plenty of other ways to find love and connection.

This is the funny, honest, messy, completely relatable story of Georgia, who doesn't understand why she can't crush and kiss and make out like her friends do. She's surrounded by the narrative that dating + sex = love. It's not until she gets to college that she discovers the A range of the LGBTQIA+ spectrum -- coming to understand herself as asexual/aromantic. Disrupting the narrative that she's been told since birth isn't easy -- there are many mistakes along the way to inviting people into a newly found articulation of an always-known part of your identity. But Georgia's determined to get her life right, with the help of (and despite the major drama of) her friends.

(Goodreads)

My Review

Loveless by Alice Oseman, unlike what the title suggests, is a book all about love: self-love, platonic love, romantic love, and familial love.  At the forefront is a focus on queer love, and the multidimensional experience young adults, especially those who do not fit the societal "norm", move through as they grow into adulthood.

The main character, Georgia, is going away to university with her two best friends, Pip and Jason. With the impending move to university, Georgia is faced with the fact that she has never fallen in love, never kissed anyone, or even had a "real" crush on someone; something that is found odd by both her peers and society-at-large.  Even in Georgia's own mind, as someone who loves romcoms and fanfiction, her lack of experience and feelings are an oddity.  So university is where she is determined to change her status, and find someone to experience a relationship with.

Along the way, Georgia makes some poor decisions based on internalized expectations and societal expectations.  But she also finds herself, with this journey being hard but ultimately not surprising, in a way I think many queer people experience.  This is the part of the book that I loved the most.  Oseman shows the confusion and heartache and relief that comes from a personal discovery such as what Georgia goes through. Throughout Georgia's trials to start a relationship you always see a tiny hint that she knows this isn't for her; that sex/romance aren't what she wants.  And that hint, as Georgia keeps moving forward in her journey, only grows.  I felt that this was very truthful in it's complexity and messiness.  Georgia internalizes much of the stereotypical expectations for love and relationships, which I think is summarized in the book description very well: dating + sex = love.  In her mind, to love someone is to be "in love" with them, wanting sex and all that entails. But discovering that other people actually experience love without sex or romance wrapped up in it, finding the term aromantic asexual, opens Georgia's eyes to who she is and that her identity is valid.

There isn't enough mainstream depictions of aro/ace people that aren't the butt of some joke.  And while the experience Oseman writes about in Loveless is a particular experience and does not speak to all aro/ace people, I found myself relating to many of the thoughts and feelings Georgia experiences.  Reading this in my 30s, and never really seeing my own experiences reflected in media I consumed, made me revert back to being a teenager and how confusing (and still confusing) love can be.  I really appreciate that a book like this was published, even if it is not quite the experience that the individual reader has, because it highlights that love can exist in all forms, and sometimes the "love" that people think of as typical can be toxic depending on the situation.

As I said at the beginning, Loveless is about love in all its forms.  Not only Georgia's journey of self-love, but her journey of platonic love involving Pip, Jason, and her new roommate Rooney.  The realization and actualization that friends can be as important in someone's life as a romantic partner.  Friends can support you, friends can comfort you, friends can accept you.  Having a platonic relationship does not make that relationship less than simply because there is no sex or "romance" involved.  

I will say that some people may find some of the situations and thoughts expressed in the book triggering.  Life is messy, and the aro- and ace-phobia that is shown on page, not only internalized by Georgia, but by a white cis gay man side character, could be harmful for some.  But it is also realistic, as even in queer spaces there is bigotry and discrimination.  Also, some of the depictions of sex, characterized through Rooney, who is identified as a pansexual woman (not explicitly on page), can be triggering, with the notes of self-harm these  experiences invoke.  But overall, I found that Oseman wrote each character as realistically and with as much truth to them as possible.

Loveless by Alice Oseman is a heartfelt, realistic, much-needed portrayal of queer love and discovering who you are and the mess that can happen along the way.  I think everyone will see themselves in some capacity, even if you don't identify as queer, which makes this book perfect for all.  Pick it up at your local bookstore (both the U.S. edition, which was just published, and the U.K. edition are beautiful covers).

 

Final Rating

About the Author

Alice Oseman was born in 1994 in Kent, England. She graduated from Durham University and is the author of YA contemporaries Solitaire, Radio Silence, and I Was Born for This. Visit Alice online at aliceoseman.com or on Twitter @AliceOseman.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

Giveaway

3 winners will receive a finished copy of LOVELESS, US Only.

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BLOG TOUR - STAR WARS THE HIGH REPUBLIC: MIDNIGHT HORIZONS BY DANIEL JOSE OLDER - YOUNG ADULT FICTION [REVIEW + GIVEAWAY]

Book Information

Title: Star Wars The High Republic: Midnight Horizons

Authors(s): Daniel José Older
Publication Date: February 1, 2022
Edition: Hardcover, eBook; 496 pgs
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Source: Rockstar Book Tours
Purchase: Amazon - Kindle - B&N - BAM! - iBooks - Kobo - TBD - Bookshop.org
Disclaimer: I received a copy from the publisher as part of a blog tour in exchange for an honest review.  My thoughts and opinions are my own.  Please note the purchase links above are affiliate links.

Tour Schedule

Week One

2/1/2022 - Mythical Books - Excerpt/IG Post

2/2/2022 - Daily Waffle - Excerpt

2/3/2022 - Living in a Bookworld - Excerpt

2/4/2022 - Sadie's Spotlight - Excerpt/IG Post

2/5/2022 - Writer of Wrongs - Excerpt

Week Two

2/6/2022 - YABooksCentral - Excerpt

2/7/2022 - #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog - Excerpt

2/8/2022 - Rajiv's Reviews - Review/IG Post

2/9/2022 - Lifestyle of Me - Review

2/10/2022 - @lexijava  - Review/IG Post

2/11/2022 - Wishful Endings -Review/IG Post

2/12/2022 - Kait Plus Books - Review/IG Post

Week Three

2/13/2022 - Nerdophiles  - Review

2/14/2022 - Eli to the nth - Review/IG Post

2/15/2022 - The Desert Bibliophile - Review/IG Post

2/16/2022 - Dr Roha Tahir - Review/IG Post

2/17/2022 - A Bookish Dream - Review/IG Post

2/18/2022 - @coffeesipsandreads - Review/IG Post

2/19/2022 - BookHounds YA - Review

Week Four

2/20/2022 - Karen Dee's Book Reviews - IG Spotlight

2/21/2022 - Two Chicks on Books - Excerpt

2/22/2022 - @jypsylynn - Review/IG Post

2/23/2022 - @thebookishfoxwitch - Review/IG Post

2/24/2022 - The Momma Spot - Review/IG Post

2/25/2022 - Eye-Rolling Demigod's Book Blog - Review/IG Post

2/26/2022 - @drewsim12 - Review/IG Post

Week Five

2/27/2022 - Two Points of Interest - Review

2/28/2022 - onemused - IG Spotlight

The Summary

Centuries before the events of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, in the era of the glorious High Republic, the Jedi are the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy!

After a series of staggering losses, the Republic seems to finally have the villainous Nihil marauders on the run, and it looks like there’s light at the end of the tunnel. Until word comes of a suspected Nihil attack on the industrial cosmopolitan world of Corellia, right in the Galactic Core.

Sent to investigate are Jedi Masters Cohmac Vitus and Kantam Sy, along with Padawans Reath Silas and Ram Jomaram, all fighting their own private battles after months of unrelenting danger. On Corellia, Reath and Ram encounter a brazen young security specialist named Crash, whose friend was one of the victims of the Nihil attack, and they team up with her to infiltrate Corellia’s elite while the Masters pursue more diplomatic avenues. But going undercover with Crash is more dangerous than anyone expected, even as Ram pulls in his friend Zeen to help with an elaborate ruse involving a galactic pop star.

But what they uncover on Corellia turns out to be just one part of a greater plan, one that could lead the Jedi to their most stunning defeat yet….

(Goodreads)

My Review

In true Daniel José Older fashion, Star Wars The High Republic: Midnight Horizons is action-packed with a lot of nuanced emotions set throughout.  It is important to mention that this is the 3rd book in an interconnected series, and part of a large overarching arc focused on the High Republic, a time of the Jedi, set a few hundred years before The Phantom Menace.  Due to that, I think it is important that you have read the first two books (Star Wars The High Republic: Into the Dark by Claudia Gray and Star Wars The High Republic: Out of the Shadows by Justina Ireland) before diving into this one.  Luckily, all three authors do a great job of both connecting each story and setting them apart.  Midnight Horizons is where things are getting very serious.

This is a page-turner, with great pacing, pushing you through the story with high stakes surrounding all of the characters, both familiar and new.  Set on Corellia, which many Star Wars fans will be familiar with, the Nihil, this time period's Jedi enemy, have made an appearance hitting a Core world, which doesn't sit well with anyone in the Republic. Jedi Masters and Padawans are dispatched to deal with this threat.  

Those Padawans are who really shine in Older's story.  While the Jedi Masters are very reminiscent of what fans are familiar with, having to pursue more diplomatic, old-fashioned avenues of protection and investigation, the Padawans are free to diverge from this path and delve into subterfuge.  The reason I enjoy the YA series set during this time is because of these Padawans.  Not yet completely beholden to the Jedi way quite yet.  As such we get some surprising insight and hole-poking into the way things are/should be that make for an interesting story.

I loved the newest character introduced, Crash.  I think she really added an interesting outside perspective, especially from a non-Jedi point-of-view who is trying to figure out who really is benefiting from the Nihil presence on Corellia.  The main protagonists are Reath and Ram, my two favorite Padawans.  These two have popped up in the previous books, so this story really helps their character arc come full-circle, especially Reath.

This is a solid conclusion to Phase I (yep, there are Phases here with The High Republic series) of the YA books, and drop some really interesting plot points for set-up in the next Phase, and the rest of the overall series.  Daniel José Older can write a Star Wars book any day, and it will be such a fun read, just as Star Wars The High Republic: Midnight Horizons was highly enjoyable.

 

Final Rating

Excerpt

Chapter 6

Zeen Mrala and Lula Talisola sat across from each other in meditation position, like they had so many times before.

Zeen wasn’t sure when they’d stopped sitting side by side during these sessions and started sitting face to face. She just knew that it felt more intimate this way, more right.

As always, an infinite skyscape seemed to open up between them, like the whole wild galaxy came to life in their connected minds, from its giant spinning planets to the tiniest drops of dew on each trembling leaf.

“Do you feel me?” Lula asked, and Zeen knew she was smiling. They both were.

“Always,” she said. It was true. Even those rare times when they were far away from each other—like during the Republic Fair, when all hell was breaking loose and thousands of people cried out in fear and pain—Lula’s presence still felt like a beacon amid the chaos. It wasn’t that Zeen knew exactly where her friend was, just that she could feel her, her warmth, and it had calmed her, guided her through the carnage until their physical bodies actually found each other.

But Zeen felt something else, too—it had been growing inside her for months, and she had no idea what to do with it, even what to name it.

Fear maybe. Or perhaps love.

Whatever it was, she was pretty sure it was about to explode. She was about to explode.

Lula had been put in charge of the task force. For a Padawan, that was an incredible honor. It meant she’d probably be knighted soon. She didn’t look happy about it, though. Lula was the most ambitious person Zeen had ever met, but it didn’t seem to come from ego—she wasn’t trying to get ahead of everyone else; she just loved learning, loved challenging herself, loved the thrill of forward motion. Zeen knew Lula had been trying to slow down, let each step of the journey be what it had to be, but this kind of honor would’ve lit her up a few weeks ago.

In the briefing room, she just looked sad. And Zeen’s own first thought had been a selfish one: Lula would be knighted, and then what? What room would there be for a random girl from nowhere in the life of a Jedi Knight? The Jedi weren’t supposed to form attachments; they didn’t marry and settle down. They had more important things to do.

Zeen hated the bitter tone in her own thoughts; she should’ve been happy for her best friend in that moment. And what did it mean that Lula didn’t seem happy, either? Only that Zeen was trouble, pure trouble, in her favorite person’s life. A distraction.

That was when Zeen had decided to go to Corellia with Ram and Master Sy. She would get away for a bit, and maybe things would make sense when she got back.

She had instantly regretted the decision, but it was too late.

“Leaving will be good,” Lula said a few minutes later, when they’d both opened their eyes. This was what they did, almost every day: They sat. They let the universe reveal its shimmering secrets around them through meditation, and then they spoke, quietly, gently, being as true as they knew how to be, about whatever was going on that day.

“I’m not sure,” Zeen admitted. “I’m . . .” Was it fear she still felt? Not exactly. Just a discomfort. Uncertainty. But then . . . maybe that wasn’t hers. “Are you?”

“I . . .” Lula didn’t usually come up at a loss for words, but now she trailed off. “I don’t want our hunt for Krix to become who you are.”

Zeen flinched a little. She knew her friend was voicing a very real danger. Still, it hurt. “What will you be when we catch him?”

“I . . .”

“Where will you go?”

“I figured I’d stay here,” Zeen said, because the truth was, After Krix didn’t seem like a real thing, and it wouldn’t until he was caught. She hadn’t given it much thought because it was possible they wouldn’t catch him for years, and it was possible they’d catch him the next day. What point was there in planning when so much was uncertain?

Lula smiled in that way she had that made her look like a little kid. “That would be amazing.”

Zeen returned the smile, but the sadness and uncertainty remained, and she still didn’t know if it belonged to her or to Lula. “I don’t know what it will be like, when the chase is over,” Zeen admitted. “I don’t know who I’ll be.”

“We can find out together,” Lula said. “The galaxy’s changing as fast as we are. I’ve been”—her face darkened— “trying to figure out who I’ll be, too.”

“You got put in charge of a task force, Lula. That’s practically unheard of for a Padawan. What’s wrong?”

An alert dinged over the speaker system, then Ram’s voice came through, breathy with nervousness and restrained giggles. “Um, Zeen Mrala we’re about to leave for Corellia without yo—”

Reath cut him off. “No, we’re not! Don’t listen to him, Zeen. He’s still practicing his jokes. But we are packing up the shuttle, so hurry up, please!”

Lula and Zeen rolled their eyes at each other, and then simultaneously got serious again.

Zeen didn’t want to go anywhere where Lula’s face wasn’t going to be across from her, ready with a thoughtful answer or calm silence. But Zeen was also desperate to get as far away from all this confusion and turmoil as possible.

“I don’t know,” Lula said. “To answer your question. It’s been on me the past few weeks. You’ve seen it. I still don’t have an answer.” She met Zeen’s eyes with that determined gaze, the one that meant victory was imminent. “But I will figure it out, I promise.”

Zeen smiled. She believed her. What else could she do?

Lula smiled too, and it looked real. “Now let’s get you sent off to Corellia.”

About the Author

Daniel José Older, a lead story architect for Star Wars: The High Republic, is the New York Times best-selling author of the upcoming Young Adult fantasy novel Ballad & Dagger (book 1 of the Outlaw Saints series), the sci-fi adventure Flood City, and the monthly comic series The High Republic Adventures. His other books include the historical fantasy series Dactyl Hill Squad, The Book of Lost Saints, the Bone Street Rumba urban fantasy series, Star Wars: Last Shot, and the Young Adult series the Shadowshaper Cypher, including Shadowshaper, which was named one of the best fantasy books of all time by TIME magazine and one of Esquire’s 80 Books Every Person Should Read. He won the International Latino Book Award and has been nominated for the Kirkus Prize, The World Fantasy Award, the Andre Norton Award, the Locus, and the Mythopoeic Award. He co-wrote the upcoming graphic novel Death’s Day. You can find more info and read about his decade long career as an NYC paramedic at http://danieljoseolder.net/

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Giveaway

3 winners will receive a finished copy of STAR WARS THE HIGH REPUBLIC: MIDNIGHT HORIZON, US Only.

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