Loved Jainan and Kiem as characters, but I struggled to really feel very interested in the political-space plot. The beginning was a bit of a slow start, in terms of world-building. The development between Kiem and Jainan was lovely, even with the miscommunication trope: I feel like it worked because they were both trying to be respectful of each other. I was rooting for them the whole time!

The audiobook is well-narrated but it needs some serious audio-balancing.. it was almost TOO dynamic? I had to keep turning the volume up and down, which is troublesome when listening with headphones. Parts were much too quiet and sometimes the narrator would suddenly speak VERY loudly which was off-putting; you can demonstrate loudness without being LOUD, if that makes sense?

I liked this book, and I will read Ocean's Echo in the future (same universe, different characters), but I don't have an urgent need. This book was sweet, but at times I struggled to keep reading/ listening. Again, the political parts were just kinda.. meh for me? I know it's a ME thing, but I just kept wanting to get to more of the developing relationship. I couldn't help but compare it to one of my favorite reads of last year, The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer.