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tessisreading2's review
3.0
This book was like reading badly-edited fanfic of space opera novels I'd never gotten around to reading. It has that strangely addictive quality some fanfiction has, where the author cares so aggressively about these characters that the reader cares, too. That said, the editing was really terrible - the prologue slips between past and present tense, there are a lot of grammatical errors, and for a book that places so much emphasis on ages ("cycles" rather than "years" - there are a lot of space-isms which felt awkward and unnecessary) those seemed to have difficulty staying consistent. There is a lot of telling rather than showing and a ton of very complex backstory, which luckily is gone over so comprehensively that I'm left a little confused as to whether there actually were prior novels or this is all just backstory. (ETA: Okay, looks like this is the third of a series.)
Okay, on to actual plot: the heroine, who is alas too perfect for words (everyone loves her, and I do mean everyone), is a sixty-something widow, vaguely acquainted with the also-widowed king, who is one year ("cycle") her junior. The king is incredibly depressed over some complex backstory stuff, while the heroine is a well-adjusted mother of three. They randomly run into each other, the heroine starts fixing all the problems in the king's life with such excellent advice as "maybe don't drink caffeine at 11 PM if you want to get to sleep tonight," and they fall wildly in love and have lots of explicit sex. There are other backstory reasons why Their Love Is Going To Be Difficult, but despite the fact that both of them had previous "life mates" with whom they had loving and fulfilling relationships, they decide that they love each other and are willing to try to make it work.
The book itself had that weirdly compelling quality which is hard to explain: the editing was bad, the writing was so-so, and the plot was silly, but everyone was pretty pleasant and understandable and it was an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon. I really wish that someone had taken this book, edited it fiercely, and had some long conversations with the author about where she was going and what she wanted to get at. The result could have been something really good. As it was, this was readable but very long and pretty much devoid of tension. I discovered that I was totally happy to spend a lot of time reading Pleasant Sixty-Somethings Find Love - In Space! but it's not really a headline-grabber, you know?
Okay, on to actual plot: the heroine, who is alas too perfect for words (everyone loves her, and I do mean everyone), is a sixty-something widow, vaguely acquainted with the also-widowed king, who is one year ("cycle") her junior. The king is incredibly depressed over some complex backstory stuff, while the heroine is a well-adjusted mother of three. They randomly run into each other, the heroine starts fixing all the problems in the king's life with such excellent advice as "maybe don't drink caffeine at 11 PM if you want to get to sleep tonight," and they fall wildly in love and have lots of explicit sex. There are other backstory reasons why Their Love Is Going To Be Difficult, but despite the fact that both of them had previous "life mates" with whom they had loving and fulfilling relationships, they decide that they love each other and are willing to try to make it work.
The book itself had that weirdly compelling quality which is hard to explain: the editing was bad, the writing was so-so, and the plot was silly, but everyone was pretty pleasant and understandable and it was an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon. I really wish that someone had taken this book, edited it fiercely, and had some long conversations with the author about where she was going and what she wanted to get at. The result could have been something really good. As it was, this was readable but very long and pretty much devoid of tension. I discovered that I was totally happy to spend a lot of time reading Pleasant Sixty-Somethings Find Love - In Space! but it's not really a headline-grabber, you know?
cooeeaus's review
5.0
Jotham and Jacinda's story was really nice and the relationships they have with their children was nice. There are many possible future plots that come from this novel, so I can't wait for future books. I enjoyed Jacinda's interactions with Brett and hope Brett can have a book of his own in the series soon.
redhairedashreads's review
4.0
3.5 stars
Jacinda is a widow of an Assemblyman from the House of Protection. She has lived a quiet life since the death of her husband. When she receives a summons from King Jotham she is surprised, then furious when she realizes the reason behind it. After that meeting circumstances keep pushing them together and make them realize that there is more between them than just a King and a subject.
I enjoyed seeing Jotham find love again. He lost his Life Mate, Lata, too early and has spent years alone raising Barek. Seeing him open his heart again after so long was perfect. Jacinda teaches him how to live again. She sees him as a man, not a king. Jacinda was a smart, beautiful, and determined woman. She wasn’t going to watch another man she loved work himself to death. She wasn’t afraid to stand up to Jotham and tell him when he was wrong or when he needed to back down.
The ending was a cliffhanger, not for Jotham and Jacinda’s relationship, but for the corruption investigation going on. So it seemed a bit abrupt but I felt it just pushed me to want to read the next book as soon as possible.
This review was originally posted at Red-Haired Ash Reads.
Jacinda is a widow of an Assemblyman from the House of Protection. She has lived a quiet life since the death of her husband. When she receives a summons from King Jotham she is surprised, then furious when she realizes the reason behind it. After that meeting circumstances keep pushing them together and make them realize that there is more between them than just a King and a subject.
I enjoyed seeing Jotham find love again. He lost his Life Mate, Lata, too early and has spent years alone raising Barek. Seeing him open his heart again after so long was perfect. Jacinda teaches him how to live again. She sees him as a man, not a king. Jacinda was a smart, beautiful, and determined woman. She wasn’t going to watch another man she loved work himself to death. She wasn’t afraid to stand up to Jotham and tell him when he was wrong or when he needed to back down.
The ending was a cliffhanger, not for Jotham and Jacinda’s relationship, but for the corruption investigation going on. So it seemed a bit abrupt but I felt it just pushed me to want to read the next book as soon as possible.
This review was originally posted at Red-Haired Ash Reads.
mountainblue's review
4.0
3.5 stars
I love M.K. Eidem ability to conjure up another universe, full of aliens or human looking aliens with interesting religion and culture but one thing is always the same...Politics and love! I'm a huge fan of her Tornians and Kaliszians series but I not the Imperial series though, except Jacinda's Challenge. It's the best in the Imperial trilogy.
One of the reasons I didn't like this series is because the plot is full of tedious everyday details (at least in the first book) and the aliens were too human. Just take a look at the book cover and there you have it. They are physically human but culturally alien. There is also a magical/fantasy element wrapped up in the religion and culture of this alien society and I really enjoyed that aspect.
There were a few issues in the book like how Jacinda, the heroine, was practically perfect in every way and that was just a bit much for me. I like my heroine with a little imperfection, something to help her grow and overcome obstacles. The hero was occasionally overbearing and rude. Not my favourite couple in M.K. Eidem book world but they were an older couple with life experience, both previously married (and widowed) with grown kids before getting together and I liked that. I don't usually see that in romance books (especially in alien romance) and I appreciated it.
I love M.K. Eidem ability to conjure up another universe, full of aliens or human looking aliens with interesting religion and culture but one thing is always the same...Politics and love! I'm a huge fan of her Tornians and Kaliszians series but I not the Imperial series though, except Jacinda's Challenge. It's the best in the Imperial trilogy.
One of the reasons I didn't like this series is because the plot is full of tedious everyday details (at least in the first book) and the aliens were too human. Just take a look at the book cover and there you have it. They are physically human but culturally alien. There is also a magical/fantasy element wrapped up in the religion and culture of this alien society and I really enjoyed that aspect.
There were a few issues in the book like how Jacinda, the heroine, was practically perfect in every way and that was just a bit much for me. I like my heroine with a little imperfection, something to help her grow and overcome obstacles. The hero was occasionally overbearing and rude. Not my favourite couple in M.K. Eidem book world but they were an older couple with life experience, both previously married (and widowed) with grown kids before getting together and I liked that. I don't usually see that in romance books (especially in alien romance) and I appreciated it.
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