Captain Tavi Zarola does her best to keep her crew fed and her ship in working condition, but sometimes jobs are thin on the ground. Which means she’s not in a position to turn down an extremely lucrative job, even it comes from General Torran Fletcher, who was on the opposite side of the war. It certainly doesn’t help that Fletcher insists on accompanying Tavi’s crew along with his own team. The war might be over, but it left scars on both sides. But as the mission continues, all is not as it seems, and depending on how things shake out, a new war might be brewing. Tavi will have to decide if she can put her trust in the enemy she’s come to like and respect, who also might be lying to her.
This book has everything I want from a space opera: found family, action, romance, and adorable alien pets. I really love the dynamic of two found families learning to work together in this. While we get to know Tavi’s crew a bit better than Torran’s (given that she’s the pov character for the story), the crew dynamics are great. As are the leads. Tavi was a strong character from the start, and while Torran came off as mysterious, the reader gets to know him a bit better as the plot progressed. There’s a depth to both of them that is nice, and they compliment one another very well. The way the romance builds in the story is fantastic and feels really natural to the characters. Enemies to lovers is a trope that can be really hit or miss for me depending on how it’s done, and this was a hit. The plot was great and set things up for future books which I will definitely be picking up. Four out of five stars.