Nineteen-year-old Princess Kalinda is the Heir to the Senestra Empire and the nine planets of the solar system. She’s on her first royal mission on her way to the Celeastia, the gigantic space craft and lab where Dr. Vegelan and the Corporation are working on a way to prevent the sun from dying and destroying the entire system. But when multiple explosions occur on board, she and others in the group barely survive by escaping on an ancient spaceship. Now stranded and on board with strangers, she has to find a way back to her planet. But her fellow passengers have their own agendas. Star Bringer by Tracy Wolff and Nina Croft is a fast-paced, high-risk space adventure in which an unlikely mix of characters must work together to survive, figure out who keeps hunting them down, and apparently stop the galaxy from being destroyed.  

On board the mysterious ancient ship they call the Starlight, Kali’s fellow passengers include ruthless mercenary and self-appointed captain Ian and his more approachable brother Max. And she can’t deny the chemistry between her and Ian. There’s also the members of the Sisterhood of the Dying Sun, High Priestess Rain and her bodyguard priest Merrick. The controversial religion entails that they actually let the sun die so that the High Priestess, the same soul reincarnated through the millennia, can help save their system from destruction. Also on board are the paid-off Corporation employee Gage and escaped prisoner/Rebellion member Beckett. Given that the passengers are from all parts of the solar system and have many enemies, it could be nearly impossible to figure out who is after them. 

Even though our group of escapees are on the run, Ian and Max have a very specific and highly urgent mission. While not everyone sees eye-to-eye on the highest priorities, Ian ends up running the show. The result is a whirl-wind, galaxy-wide mandatory scavenger hunt in which they find danger at every turn. Meanwhile, the Starlight seems to have a mind of her own. And with each day that passes, they learn more about her and each other. Oh, and the revelation that they might be the only ones who can save humanity. 

Star Bringer is well-paced, full of adventure, and doesn’t hold back on the juicy political drama. Wolff and Croft deserve all the credit for their world-building talents and creating distinct characters and entertaining interactions among them. You can’t have a group of seven strangers fighting for their lives without some steamy connections happening. And once the characters give in, readers will enjoy the intimate scenes that follow. 

Readers beware that Star Bringer includes sensitive content such as death, torture, human trafficking, sexual activity, hand-to-hand combat, kidnapping, and more. However, those who can endure such subject matters will enjoy the ride – and the characters joining them. Readers get four POVs – Kali, Ian, Rain, and Beckett. The author-duo expertly creates distinct voices and personalities among them. All characters are realistic, authentic, flawed, yet have room for growth. And grow they do. In any case, whether you’re interested in sci-fi or romance, action or drama, plot-driven or character-driven, Star Bringer has something for everyone.  

Tracy Wolff joins us on The Nerd Cantina Show podcast for a Cantina Conversation. She talks about co-authoring a book and her process for creating such an amazing page-turner. Keep an ear out for the interview on an upcoming episode and preorder Star Bringer, available July 11.