First off: I see a lot of people comparing this to Finn/Poe. Ettian and Gal have some of the same physical characteristics as Finn and Poe (Ettian has dark skin and full lips and Gal's skin is described as "golden"), and they're pilots, in the stars, during wars. That's about where the similarities end, in terms of character-to-character analogues. Just a heads-up to manage people's expectations.

Whew, this book. The plot moves at a zippy pace, and Ms. Skrutskie really excels at writing action, in both the second-to-second action sequences and in larger plot machinations. Her prose in general is effective and punchy, and I'm still reeling from the final plot twist (almost TOO late in the book) that sets up book #2. Ettian and Gal are written as both competent and boyish, both too young for this and literally born for this. It's very humanizing, especially given said final twist, and I will definitely be picking up book #2 to see what happens next.

My main reason for deducting a star is that I wasn't entirely sold on the romantic pairing, and the bloated cast of friends at their military school. I hope said friends will be appearing in the next books, because frankly it seemed like some of the time spent talking about their friends could have been spent furthering the backstory of exactly <i>why</i> Gal and Ettian are so in love. Maybe there could have been some more flashbacks? Like I said, the action moves quickly, so much so that it feels like the readers have less time to dwell on their relationship.

Finally: it took me a second to warm up to Wen, as her introduction was a little... manic pixie dream girl-esque. However, the more time we spent with her, her radical honesty and reckless nature served as a great foil to Ettian's tendency to get caught in his head.

(Note: An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks, NetGalley!)

This book was sold to me on Twitter as the book perfect for fans of Star Wars, in particular the romance that could have been between the characters of Finn and Poe. This book delivered what those movies failed to, and then some!

Bonds of Brass is a smooth sailing sci-fi, easy enough to dive into even if your extent of sci-fi doesn’t reach far beyond movies and tv shows. The plot is easy to follow, and the author doesn’t overwhelm you with too many integral characters and alien species to remember (major deterrents for some when it comes to the genre). The story follows Gal and Ettian, two students at a military accademy, whose educations are derailed when Gal is targeted by other students due to his royal ties. Ettian helps his friend and roommate find safety, but at what cost. And since when did Wen become part of their previously two-man crew?

The story plays like a space opera from start to finish, full of exciting fights in space and daring escapes by our two protagonists (no spoilers I promise!). Wen steals hearts as the plucky young stowaway that grows on Ettian. She’ll grow on you too. While other characters play key roles in different acts of the story, these three make up the motley crew that demand the most attention.

Bonds of Brass keeps you flipping the pages up until the very last scene, which made my heart skip a beat more than once. The twists and turns are as thrilling as I imagine it would be flying in a ship with Ettian.

I am so excited to see where the two subsequent sequels take us!

SPOILERS IN REVIEW
I'll admit, this book was a complicated read for me in a lot of ways.
The plot was tight and well-crafted, with no extra fluff and a breakneck speed from the first chapter. In fact, I think the story would make an incredibly compelling action/sci-fi movie, if Hollywood would give us some proper (not blink-and-you-miss-it) space gays for once.
That being said, while I went in fueled by the hype about the romance plot, in the end, the romance ended up being the least interesting part of the book, and I almost wished they were either straightforward best friends or that the romance had been amped up a bit sooner. I didn't feel any of the momentum building in their relationship lended to a romantic arc. All of their difficulties and the distance building between them felt detached from their romantic feelings for each other, so I was skeptical that everything could be resolved by affirming their feelings and fixing it all with a kiss and some I love yous.
What added to my skepticism was that in the context of the rest of the story, their focus on their own relationship is *incredibly selfish*. Ettian is constantly justifying his decision to betray thousands upon thousands of his own people by saying that he can't live in a world without Gal, etc. etc. So essentially, this teenage boy is so completely out-of-his-mind in love with this boy (who, quite frankly, I didn't care for) that he is willing to basically commit genocide against his own people and side with a brutal regime that killed his own parents.
I kept waiting for the moment when Ettian would figure out what a completely batshit crazy trade-off that is, and I really thought that moment would come, because it's what the entire plot seemed to be leading up to. And when it seemed like it wasn't going to happen, I thought maybe Gal would be the one to pull the plug and realize he couldn't follow through with his plan.
Neither of those things happened, and it completely threw me, especially when the final twist came at the end and Ettian's parentage was revealed. That reveal made it even more shocking to me that he was completely ready to lead all of those people to their deaths, just so he could help his boyfriend get home. (And it wasn't even so they could be together, which would still be a ridiculous justification! He literally was taking direct responsibility for the deaths of thousands of his own people, and at the end all he was getting in return was being able to wave goodbye to Gal as he went back home and married some rich space princess and maybe sent Ettian an intergalactic postcard once a year.)
Whether or not he thought it was the lesser of two evil evils, the choice was indicative of a drastic shift in mindset, and quite honestly, I can't imagine he'll make much of a king in the sequel if he was so willing to lead his own citizens to the slaughter all to help Gal, who didn't seem to even understand the magnitude of the choice he was making.
All of that to say, I still really enjoyed the read, and while the above is a glaring eyesore for me and will definitely make me wary going into the sequel, the great pacing and the fantastic twist at the end improve significantly on what would otherwise be a 3-star read for me.

this book was so unbelievably incredible. i suspected about Ettian's past, and when my assumption was correct, I was THRILLED. Plus the way this book ended??? Wow, a literal power move.

LGBT+ sci-fi? Be still my beating heart.
***
Bonds of Brass is a crazy ride, and with that ending? I can’t wait to see how the rest of this trilogy goes from here. Just, wow.
Ettian’s life was turned upside down when the Umber Empire invaded his home. Seven years down the line he is now training to be a pilot for the Umber military. His life is turned upside down once again when some of his classmates attempt to assassinate his roommate, and BFF/giant crush Gal, who turns out to be the heir to the Umber Empire.
With Gal’s life at stake Ettian does his best to keep the boy/man he thought he knew alive all while wrestling with his own wants, needs, ideologies, etc.
***
What I love. I love Gal and Ettian, these two disaster bi-boys need to work on their communication so much. Wen! All hail sneaky Wen. If I have to declare loyalty to anyone here, it’s this beautiful scarred soul that will probably blow herself up someday, but cackle all the while.
I love that you see outside of what the Umber empire has declared, and Ettian’s struggle with himself and his loyalty as he sees more of the world, because Gal has always had it but with the secrets building up between them maybe Gal isn’t necessarily enough anymore?
What I hate? Nothing, except knowing there is a long wait between now and book 2.
***
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I was able to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

★★☆☆☆

I hate writing bad reviews for books that I didn't hate. That's something important to be clear about. I don't hate this book! Yes, I gave it 2 stars. Which in my rating system means it was ok!

I want to go ahead and address the Poe/Finn marketing that surrounds this book. I see why they emphasized that -- it's m/m in space and there're warring empires but that's more or less where the similarities end. The power imbalance between an heir of an empire and the citizen of a planet that empire conquered gave me some strong hmmm... Captive Prince vibes.

This was resolved by the end of the book but still made me much more hesitant to get invested in the pairing, and I wouldn't compare it to Finn (an ex-member of the conquering empire) and Poe (your average hotshot rebel pilot) and the 'co-generals' attitude of their relationship.

The book started off on the wrong foot for me - the ex-citizen of a conquered planet/empire (main character) saves the conquering empire's heir (love interest) from a rebel attack. The rebels being citizens of the main character's conquered empire. Granted, at the time, the MC only knew that the person he rescued was a native of the conquering empire. I understand that alliances shift and obviously citizens can renounce their old alliances but... it just struck me as odd.



And then I stopped reading for a week and a half because quarantine has shortened my attention considerably and I wasn't hooked into the story yet.

Eventually, the guilt of possibly DNFing got to me and I picked it up again, forcing myself to get at least 25% of the way through. There was enough of a hook in between where I started and 25% that I kept going until 50% where set-up finished and the plot finally picked up pace.



We're just going to ignore the sci-fi plot holes (like the fact that space is 3 dimensional and you can approach things from almost infinite direction and I'm not sure how possible it is to have true "territories" that completely block you from somewhere).

There were some good parts and overall enough to keep me interested, but I think it's an indicator of... something... when my favorite characters are secondary or background characters.



Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Bonds of Brass was the first book that I read by the author. While its was enjoyable, and I am looking forward to reading the next two books, I'm sad that I had to knock the story down two stars.

Because this book just recently came out, I'm going to focus more so on the problems I had with the book than the good things.

Problem 1:

The fact that there is paragraph after paragraph of info dumps from this kid (Ettian). That's not a way to write exposition nor is it a way to write a story about a galactic war. Maybe you can get away with info dumps if, say, this was some kind of memoir. (Maybe it is a memoir and I don't know, since sometimes chapters end with some weird foreshadowing about what is yet to come.) I know the book is meant for YA's, but the fact the author does not let you experience the turmoil, the anger, the pain the main characters face is sad. This 'empire' is terrifying? Okay, show me, make me feel the terror. Don't just have this kid info-dump it in multiple paragraphs. Right now, this empire is lame compared to the empire in Star Wars.

Problem 2: When the romance is hyped more than the sci-fi. I have no problem with romance in this book, I think the romance was great, natural. However, it is a problem if we already have problems with the lack of setting (again, see Problem 1) and you are forced to lean on the romance. You really don't get to learn much about the characters and who they are as people besides from their endless pining over one another.

These two issues knocked the book down. I'm curious after that crazy ending where the book will go, and I'll be monitoring its release. I just felt upset that what sounded like a really promising read (hello Finn/Poe fans) ended up lacking in the bits that make a story exciting for me.

I wanted to like this a lot more than I actually did. I'm a huge Finn/Poe fan so I was excited to see a story that was fleshed out with elements similar to their story. Unfortunately, it gets in its own way quite a bit. The world building feels a little too mechanic and I didn't really care about the greater conflict that the characters were facing. Also, the chemistry between the two characters seemed a little too forced, like we were just being told they were in love not actually feeling it.

Wow, that was quite the ending!!

Bonds of Brass started as an exciting space opera romp with two best friends from a space academy. The stakes get high when it turns out that Gal is the secret heir to the “empire” and fellow students try to kill him.

Ettian is Gal’s best friend but is secretly in love with Gal and does everything in his power to save Gal and get him back to his family so that he can inherit his throne.

I really loved the friendship and eventual love story between Gal and Ettian. But I think the story really picked up for me when Wen, the orphan thief, joined the two guys and helps them join the resistance. (Yes, the resistance who are fighting for the downfall of Gal’s family.)

There were some really great twists and turns in this story and I didn’t see most of them coming!

This story felt similar to a Star Wars plot and was a fun read.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for the advance copy!*

You may know this as the cleverly marketed book that stormed social media with it's delightful list of tropes, or as the serial numbers filed off Finn/Poe space romance book, but BONDS OF BRASS exceeds expectations to become a barnstormer entry into an exciting new world. Intrigue, romance, space opera shenanigans, and more cleverly utilized tropes than you can shake a lightsaber at, BONDS OF BRASS is a surefire hit with the Star Wars/YA/space romance set.

I was hooked on this story from the first couple of pages. Ettian is just so darn loveable, and it is so easy to fall for him, and to want to see him succeed. And from the beginning you can see that he is a talented pilot and that he definitely has a strong bond with his friend and roommate Gal. From the beginning the story just felt cute. But also serious and action-packed and potentially dangerous. But even with all the chaos that ensued, I could not help but just be eternally happy while reading this.

Friends-to-lovers y’all. Plus add in the whole secret royal concept, plus pilot/military/officer school/training. Empires. Rebellion. Plotting. Daring flight sequences. Cute almost kisses. The whole falling into water/clothing clinging to bodies/staring and sexual tension…oh yeah. This book just has so much going for it.

Honestly this is probably a hot mess of a review, because my brain still doesn’t want to completely formulate coherent sentences to talk about just how much I enjoyed this reading experience.

Ettian is from an area conquered by the Empire, and could easily have turned against his friend after he discovered the truth. The fact that he stood up against his own people to protect Gal, it just warmed my heart, and got my pulse racing all at the same time.

Some of the forced closeness of the travel because of their situation was just incredibly well-done as well. I felt their connection, and the struggles to be together or not, what it would mean, what it would change, if it could last. There was just so much thought and emotion and tension and I was on board for it all.

This was just an incredibly easy to fall into, face paced, action-adventure story that was highly entertaining with lovable main characters, and an addictive storyline and pace. It just kept you wanting to turn the page, over and over and over. And then it was over and I was ready to dive into book two.

What’s going to happen next? I don’t know. We have a while to go before we get that book. So I’ll just recommend this book. Ettian and Gal are great. You should pick up this book and meet them for yourself.

*Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.*

Representation: Bisexual MC, bisexual side character, m/m romance.

Bonds of Brass is the first book in the Bloodright trilogy. It features- one tired pilot, a hidden prince, lots of mutual pinning, and a girl whose biggest weapon is her lethal Rainbow... umbrella.

In other words this book should have been everything to me. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case.

Like I do with all of my three star reviews, let’s start with the positives: First and foremost- WEN FREAKING IFFAN!

Wen Iffan was the HIGHLIGHT of the whole novel. The story isn’t even about her but from the moment she steps on page I was blown away. Literally- she likes to blow things up! Her friendship with Ettian was one I didn’t expect but want to see more of in the sequel.

“ I get Wen Iffan, a rainbow umbrella, and a swing so mean that the man’s head snaps back like an elastic band.”

Emily Skrutskie just has a way of writing badass women that makes me both terrified and enraptured by them. I mean she is the writer of one of my all time favourite female villains- the glorious Santa Elena- Wen is nothing short of a badass- a live wire through and through- but one I’m excited to see grow.

The world building was phenomenal- I adored all the descriptions of the different planets and the story behind both Gal and Ettian’s home worlds had me hooked.

Ettian is our main protagonist and I loved him. However, I do think his inner monologues became a little repetitive as the book continued- this for me brought down the middle- if it was different monologues each time, I probably could have got behind it- alas is was the same one. Throughout the book he’s thorn between loyalty to his best friend and loyalty to his lost home world.

Gal was my biggest problem with this book. I just hated his character. I am fully aware that my opinions are coloured by the betrayal and anger Ethain felt towards him throughout the novel. However, it was justified- Gal is manipulative- which would usually intrigue me but I just don’t have time for annoying male characters anymore.

Due to my immense dislike of one side of this OTP- I wasn’t here for either their romance or friendship. I will say, the romance has a slow build up and I haven’t completely lost hope. I mean upon reading Captive Prince for the first time I despised Laurent, so maybe Gal will surprise me in book two.

Overall: It wasn’t my favourite book- The plot started off action packed but the middle dragged it down. However the ending was brilliant, and I do think, Bonds of Brass was a good introduction to the trilogy. If sci-fi is your genre and you’re interested in reading about some morally grey space gays- you might just enjoy this more than me.

A fun story of empire, survival and how far one is willing to go to achieve a goal. It was just fairly typical and nothing really stood out as being that new. The surprise reveal at the end was expected and I was hoping for more nuance with the characterization. Also, the turn at the ending by the MC felt rushed and a little unbelievable. Also, it felt like what is was which is Star Wars inspired and while that is and of itself not an issue, it does make it feel unoriginal and with the characterization and prior actions being unbelievable, considering the ending, I am not sure I will read the next book. Also, surprise reveals feel very forced when the reader spends the whole time in the MC’s head.

I both really liked some and really struggled with other parts of this book, but what I think it comes down to is that the impressions and expectations I got from the way Bonds of Brass was advertized did not match with what it delivered.

Content warnings include: violence, war, invasion and oppression, what essentially boils down to attempted genocide, hostage/being taken prisoner situations, homelessness; mentions of torture, death of parents, execution, electrocution, child abuse.

Bonds of Brass starts off diving straight into the action with Ettian, the protagonist, and Gal, his best friend, already being best friends and classmates, roomates and pining for each other, and involved into what quickly turns out to be plot that puts the future of several Empires at stake. I get why so many books, including this one, chose to start with characters already knowing each other and having established relationships, and it works, but I will never get as good a grip on the character dynamics and relationships as when they are gradually introduced and develop on-page. So, yeah, I’m not a fan of this particular storytelling device.
It also didn’t help that the romantic (sub-)plot was lukewarm at best when they did get closer.

I didn’t miss a slow introduction of the characters while reading for the most part, but in retrospect and particularly towards the end of the book I realized I have absolutely no grasp on any of the main characters’ personalities. Gal felt like a contradiction several times by inconsistent behaviour on-page, and Ettian… I had no idea about his true motivations. I do not know why he did some of the things he did, and even the ones where I do know… his only motivation in any of his actions was to keep Gal safe or to stay with Gal. To me it felt like he has no agency on his own, and only ever acts on Gal’s behalf. Several of the absolute key turns did not happen because of him having a change of mind or some character development, but due to something completely unrelated to him.

The key theme of the book was putting Ettian (and Gal) into the horrible position of having to make impossible decisions. It brings up questions of loyalty, morality, legacy, what’s right and what you are willing to do for those you love. Which I found intriguing in concept, except… in execution I found the decisions Ettian (and Gal) finally came to were extremely questionable. Which, okay, fine, that happens, except several of the worst plans they came up with also came completely out of nowhere and were wholly unecessary and needlessly cruel in my opinion?!
I’m all for morally ambiguous characters, but it just didn’t make any sense to me in this case, and worse, it made me feel miserable while reading.
(It also undermined the way the characters were described – Gal in particular. He was repeatedly said to be almost pacifistic, always wanting to talk things out and antagonizing his war-tactics teachers with violence-free solutions, and yet he repeatedly condems others to certain death, sometimes for no other reason than that he is annoyed my them. Part of this might be explained away by him being blinded or ignorant due to his upbringing and propaganda, except he’s barely ever called out for it and never admits or realizes he’s wrong.)

There are some conversations about conscience and moral and guilt, but not in any ways close to the scope of Ettian and Gal’s actions. The one big scene where they talk it out ends with them kissing and then never bringing it up again. It just didn’t feel appropriate. I also didn’t like that there was no character development or changed minds.

Another issue I found with the setup of this universe. There’s two empires, one inhabited primarily by black people and the other inhabited primarily by slightly lighter skinned (though still brown, I think, possibly latinx?) people. The former is on the outskirts and in supposedly barren planets that are, however, full of precious metals, the latter is on prosperous worlds and home to a conquering power hungry propaganda machine, that in the past invaded and took over the former. Now the former has fallen, the people and their culture are being oppressed, governors of the invading empire have taken over and “reformed” everything “for the better.”
Now put in such a setting a plot about morally-grey decisions and rebellion, and make the protagonist someone from the invaded fallen empire who cares about nothing but his best friend, who happens to be the prince of the invading empire, and combine that with the decisions the main characters make… and remember it was all written by a white author…. Hm. Yeah. I’m not so sure about all that.

Another big thing that bothered me was that so many things just didn’t make sense, weren’t explained, or ended up going nowhere. The drums were introduced as something that seemed almost magical, just to then apparently being simple drums. The bloodright thing I was wary about from the start (it’s a concept I dislike in general) and even in the book it’s mentioned to be superstitious, except then later apparently there really is something magical with it??? I don’t know??? It wasn’t explained. The Knights were mentioned so often and played such a big role in Ettian’s mind just to then also have no part in anything. And how did the rebellion not find out about Gal’s identity sooner? I feel like there were countless times were they should have found out but… simply didn’t. How was the General able to do what Ettian wanted after he knew what Ettian did before?? Why didn’t Ettian and Gal just talk at the 3487583294 times in the book and spare the drama?
Granted, some of these things might get resolved/explained/play a bigger role in the sequels.

Despite all of that, I didn’t actually have a bad time reading this, aside from the couple times where the character’s choices and their refusal to change them made me feel physically sick. Things always turned around for the better, though not because of the protagonists’ doing. The book was well written and engaging, and for the most part it was a four star read for me – it was only when it came towards the end that there was little to no character development and the things that bothered me started to add up so much I couldn’t get them out of my mind.

I think the biggest problem for my reading experience was that I expect something way happier, fluffier and funnier from the way the book was marketed with ao3-style cute ship tags and tropes. Those things all do still happen, and there are a couple fun and cute moments, but they are always short or of close to no significance.
Instead Bonds of Brass plays with impossible decisions and pits loyalty against morality, love against legacy, and dabbles heavily in the how-far-is-too-far direction. For me, the execution of that wasn’t entirely successful, but that might be because I prefer unambiguously happy endings. This very much is the beginning of a trilogy. As such, there is still much to come, character development I hope among them. Even knowing that, there was too little of that for me in Bonds of Brass.
That said, I would still pick up the sequel – I want Gal and Ettian to have a happy ending, and I want to see what happens next.

This book was so completely My Shit. 'm a huge sci-fi fan and this had honestly been my most anticipated read of 2020 for months. I was NOT disappointed! The book itself isn't very long, but I was in the world, and in there with the characters from the first chapter. I felt like I was watching a movie. They were real and relatable and funny and charming and fearless and brave. I could literally feel the mutual pining through the pages just as I could feel Ettian's conflict about their situation. I would literally die for Wen, the trash girl of my dreams. I can't wait to see where this trilogy goes, but I am ride or die with these boys until the end.

this book was everything i needed!!! it was full of action from the get-go! the characters were so well written and the author made me love them from the first mention of gal's name and that's impressive <3

i had to put down everything i'm reading to finish this, that's how much i loved it <3

i know it just came out but after that amazing ending, I REALLY NEED BOOK 2 NOW!!!!!

i'm gonna miss Ettian, Gal and Wen so much:'(

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for providing me with an advanced e-copy for an honest review.


"A young pilot risks everything to save his best friend–the man he trust the most and might even love–only to learn that he's secretly the heir to a brutal galactic empire." –Goodreads

I have to admit that when I first read this I was interested, but it wasn't until the author pitched it as alike to StormPilot, this was when I was hooked. The book, however, is a bit different, but very interesting just the same.

We get thrown quickly into action and it keeps going on at a fast pace throughout most of the book. I was enthralled by this world and by Ettian, who is such an awesome main character. He's grown with trauma and lived feeling like a traitor for most of his youth, his only two loves are flying and Gal (Bff). This last character is such a mystery to us readers because all we know about him comes from Ettian, so it's difficult to know where his head at most of the book and, honestly, I loved that because there was this uneasy feeling I couldn't shake. As for Wen, I love her with all my heart and I want to protect her from all evil

I believe that the book's strength lays in the writing. Its descriptions are vivid and clear, even during the action scenes. The characters are compelling and the plot it's interesting to the point that you can't put it down. My only criticism is for the romance, ironically what I was looking forward to the most. It felt rushed and forced, maybe because we don't get to see them falling or maybe because of that uneasiness the author creates with Gal's character.

Overall, this was a very entertaining read, perfect for the times we are living.

This book is already out! So make sure to get your copy.
#NetGalley #BondsofBrass #EmilySkrutskie

“[T]he worlds are cruel and friends are fleeting and you’ve got to hold on to the good things as tight as you can.”


Ah yes, the angst, the pining, the PTSD from watching your world burn and being rescued by the conquerors! This first came on to my radar as being, well, basically Fin/Poe fanfic, but it’s ever so much more than that. It’s a feels-laden, trope heavy (fake dating! only one bed! best friends to lovers!) exploration of colonialism through one teen’s relationships. It’s about trauma, about meeting your heroes (and enemies), and about resurrecting dead dreams – and nightmares.

“Archon is dead. It’s gone. I can’t carry it with me. The only productive thing I can do is latch on to the opportunities that rise out of the postwar reconstruction. That’s what’s kept me alive for the past seven years.”


While there’s plenty of action (wiretram fight! fancy space battles! umbrellas!), the complex characters and their relationships are what made me fall in love with this book. Ettian is stuck in a no-man’s-land between the Archon rubble and the Umber scaffolding he’s build himself back up with. Even still, he’s convinced that his only worth is in protecting Gal – Gal, who he believes will change the course of the empire when he inherits the throne. A survivor of the bombardment of Trost, Rana’s capital city and the heart of the Archon empire, Ettian spent several years on the streets before ending up in foster care. He stopped caring about what happened and excelled at being the perfect soldier – following orders and parroting back the Umber party line. While he trusts Gal – even has feelings for him – he’s never told him about what happened before the string of foster homes, never told him about the first few years after Umber defeated Archon or anything that happened before. The only Ettian Gal has ever known is the Ettian that’s been cobbled back together from the ashes, and the worst part is that he doesn’t even realize there was a before and after. Gal, after all, still believes the Umber imperial propaganda – that they were rescuing the starving Archons from mismanagement, not that what the empress really wanted was their mines to build more ships.

“It’s just the two of us. No titles. No bloodrights. Nothing but what we carry.”


And that part of the relationship is what really kept drawing me back to the book. It’s obvious how much Ettian loves Gal, and Ettian’s pining is a core piece of the book, but Ettian is such a kindhearted person that he literally feels protective of people he just met. From the first page of the book, Ettian’s covering for Gal, from remembering his lost helmet to helping him with his half-assed assignments to rescuing him (again). Gal knows that he’s asking a lot of Ettian since he drug him into this whole mess, though Ettian disagrees, and Gal does try to shield him from the consequences of their actions. But their relationship is still uneven, and maybe it’s just because we lacked Gal’s viewpoint, but I had a hard time not viewing his actions with suspicion. Does he have the strength to stand up against his parents? Is he just saying whatever Ettian wants to hear in order to secure his help? So while I had so many feels from this relationship, I’m reserving judgement on it until we get Gal’s viewpoint in the next book.

“I swear, Wen. You know what? Every person in every system is going to know your name someday. I’ll make it my personal mission. No one’s going to forget Wen Iffan again.”


And now switching gears to a character I’m not ambivalent about! Wen is my absolute favorite part of the book – my terrifying genius rainbow chaos girl. Ettian is initially baffled by her, partly due to the degree of chaos she creates around herself and partly because he recognizes she’s his mirror. Wen’s mom was originally a crime boss in the Delos slums, and when she was murdered, Wen got a job working for her mom’s replacement – and murderer. But despite doing what she needs to survive, Wen’s held on to her vengeance, and it both shames and fascinates Ettian. There’s a recurring theme through the book about what you can’t carry with you – in terms of Ettian having to let the Archon empire go because it’s too large of a trauma for him to conceptualize, in terms of how Gal and Ettian’s relationship works. Wen is the one relationship that shows that having someone who understands you, like Wen understands Ettian, makes the burden lighter and turns it into something that you can carry.

“At least I actually fight my battles,” I snap. It’s harsh, given our current situation, but Gal knows what’s in my head better than anyone, and he gives me exactly what I expect.
“And I talk my way out of them like a rational human being.”
“Couldn’t talk your way out of this?”
“That’s what I have you for.”


Besides the characters, the plot is also excellent, tightly plotted and quickly paced. I adored the world building, from the Archon Knights to the different stone/metal/gems associated with each empire to the idea of bloodright. There’s a degree of fanfic silliness to the book through lots of Easter eggs, including several Star Wars jokes (Ettian telling another pilot to “cut the chatter” being one of them), and the banter between the characters is excellent. The one place I had concerns was the rep. I’m neither a person of color nor a bisexual man, and neither is the author. I, personally, think the story and its exploration of colonialism was done well, but I do have some discomfort around that, though it’s lessened a lot by the fact that this is obviously science fiction and not wholly appropriative of a real-life culture. I don’t necessarily believe that a white person can never write a person of color, but, as American Dirt showed, there is definitely a lot more conversation needed around whose stories we’re telling and who gets to tell them.

“She’s trouble.”
“Undoubtedly.”
“A junker girl.”
“A waypoint.”
“A distraction.”
“Chaos incarnate, more like.” I pause. “But she’s smart. Terrifyingly, brilliantly smart one second, and then the next she’s blowing up a ship. And somehow that was smart too.”


Overall, complicated relationships and ambivalent feelings about characters and silliness and all, I loved this book, and I’m eagerly awaiting the next book!

I received this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

An empire spreads when another one falls. One cadet from the fallen empire and one from the conquering have forged an unlikely friendship that is tested when treachery, rebellion, and secrets hurl them into an intense, sci-fi romantic adventure.

Bonds of Brass is the first in the Bloodright Trilogy and opens at an Umber Imperial Academy on the fallen Archon Empire’s homeworld of Rana. Ettian is one of the top cadet pilots and pushes hard to overcome his origins as an Archon street urchan fostered into the Umber Empire. His roommate and best friend, Gal, makes it all worthwhile and fun. Then, some fellow cadets stage an uprising and force Ettian to learn who Gal truly is even as he has saved his life and put them on the run. A shot at throwing off an oppressive regime and good to return to his people has Ettian hoping that Gal is the best hope of everyone and they just need to get him into the heart of the Empire past treacherous, power-mad people wanting to use Gal for their own gain.

Bonds of Brass began with some exciting, action-packed sci-fi adventure scenes before pulling back to properly introduce the characters, the backdrop of the story, and set up for what is to come. It can plod along slowly, but steadily through this part though this is interspersed with blips of breath-taking excitement and harrowing adventures for Gal and Ettian especially when they are joined by a young street rogue.

I was excited to see all the special attention to the development of this early book including the inter-relationships. I could feel the story building as it progressed leading toward a big climax action scene and a twist.

I saw the big twist coming from the beginning and I saw a few other surprises before they happened. Knowing what was coming didn’t ruin my interest. I was riveted for the entire last quarter and flipped pages rapidly. It ended on what might seem like a high note, but things are ominously only at the end of the first leg and there is a great deal of story still to be revealed.

The attraction and romance is there, but it is mostly simmering in the background to the action suspense side of the story. There is already a solid friendship, but both shied away from taking things to the next level for their own reasons. Ettian knows that Gal is destined for something big where he cannot go. Naturally, things end up pretty dire for this pair by the end and I can’t wait to get my hands on the next series installment to see what comes next.

So, this first book in the trilogy did its job well and hooked me in and left me wanting the next book ASAP. This book has rapidly paced rushes and introspective moments in turn while in a carefully developed sci-fi world that I think other m/m sci-fi romance fans will really appreciate.

I rec’d this book via Net Galley to read in exchange for an honest review.

Bonds of Brass
Bonds of Brass is an LGBT space opera by Emily Skrutskie. As the book opens young pilot Ettian Nassun saves his friend Gal Veres’ life from an assassination attempt at their military academy. After this daring rescue, Ettian discovers that his dear friend is actually the heir to the empire that destroyed Ettian’s homeland. No longer safe where they are, Gal and Ettian escape, Ettian’s only goal keeping his friend alive. Along the way, they meet Wen Iffan, a scrappy young woman with nothing to lose and everything to gain. Ettian sees his past in her, and insists she join their little band. However, Gal isn’t so trusting. The narrative follows Ettian in close first person as he struggles to sort out his priorities: how can he protect Gal without betraying his ideals or his homeland?

Plot Development
Emily Skrutskie - Bonds of BrassBonds of Brass hits the ground running with a dramatic assassination attempt, and keeps that quick pace going throughout. There’s a lot of drama, but not in an overwrought way. That is to say that it never felt like Skrutskie was stalling for time in either the political or personal plotlines. The plot had a few twists throughout its course that kept me turning the digital pages. Even considering the twists along the way, the ending (no spoilers here!) really knocked me out.

Conclusion: Bonds of Brass Will Leave You Wanting More (In a Good Way)
Bonds of Brass is the first of a trilogy. While its ending is not exactly a cliffhanger, it’s surprising and changes the expected course of the trilogy. That ending will also remind you just how long it seems between intra-trilogy book releases, unfortunately.

I thought that Bonds of Brass was a really fun introduction to this world. The space battles were really dazzling, and the three characters were extremely likable, even when they weren’t doing particularly likable things. (Don’t look to this book for a chill read, even though it is a fun one.) I also found Ettian’s major conundrum really intriguing.

I received this title from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.