Decent read. I can’t remember the plot of the story but I can remember the feelings I felt while reading. I was decently entertained throughout reading this. Nothing spectacular by any means but decent nonetheless.

The good
+ No real jealousy
+ Rosali making time for all her lovers
+ Prince Ambrose (and Prince Henry)
+ Princess Roxane
+ The different cultures of Rosali and Lucia, and the way they managed to make it fit together

The neutral
o I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. My review remains honest and unbiased
o The book had a slow start until about 70%, where it finally took off. It took me months to finish, because the first part was such a chore
o All the fuss about freezing their eggs in case something happened to Rosali or Lucia seemed outdated to me. In a setting where everything is so advanced, how can there still be so much focus on biological inheritance?

The bad
- It was pretty obvious who the bad guy was, and I can't suspend disbelief enough to accept that the security team in the palace, including Alexis, didn't figure it out sooner. If nothing else, Beatrice should have known
- The book left a lot of plotlines unresolved, but everything points to this being a standalone. Other plotlines were just dropped altogether
- Many things happened for 'political reasons', which was very unsatisfying for the reader. I just wanted proper punishment for the bad guys, and proper recognition for Rosali's paramours. This is fiction, Rosali was in a very powerful position, and I just wanted my closure
- Rosali and her paramours expressed dismay when talking about planets and governments where men inherited titles, instead of women. Not once did anyone think that maybe any gender should be allowed to rule


The story had a lot of good going for it, but unfortunately, it was not enough to hold my attention. More than half of the book was used for setting up the last 30%, and that's too long to be able to hold my attention. Then, the result of that last part was pretty underwhelming. I had just expected and hoped for more. Unfortuntely, I do not recommend this book.



This is a copy of my original Goodreads review (found here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5192652037). Any spoilers have been removed.

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was fun. Not anything particularly groundbreaking but still an enjoyable read.

3.5

This book was definitely a surprise to me! It was exactly what the synopsis claimed it would, but I expected a completely different execution. I ended up really enjoying the book for different reasons than I expected.

Love and Duty follows Princess Roseli, the heir to Delphian throne. She always knew her marriages would have to be for alliances and the planet's good, not for love, but that doesn't lessen her disappointment when her mother declares Roseli will marry Princess Lucia, Calliopean admiral. As is normal on Delphi, Roseli has multiple lovers - General Tate, Senator Veritas, and Lady Swann, and she wishes she could marry them over Lucia. But, as war with another planet is looming over her, she knows her duty is to secure the political alliance with the marriage. Still, she worries about how it will affect her other relationships, and the impending war threatens all of their lives.

This was an interesting book to read, I think I didn't really know what to expect from it. The people of Roseli's world are descendants of Earth, but it is not really established how far into the future this is, or why exactly people moved to these planets. I wish there was more on that, I wish we got some more worldbuilding in that regard. This is not a real criticism, I think it's clear that humanity is far moved on, but with some of the names sounding perfectly 'normal' it would've been interesting to know more.

Plot-wise, my biggest issue was pacing. The first two-thirds of the novel are pretty slow, with preparations for the royal wedding, interactions between Roseli and her lovers, and her future wife. Of course, there is a build-up for what's to come, but at times it felt repetitive (there were several assassination attempts that played out pretty much the same). When all of the secrets unfold, all of the sudden it is so many things happening, in a very short time span. I did enjoy the political aspect that was interwoven with the story but I wish it was explored more. The first two-thirds read more like a slice-of-life while the last third reads more like political sci-fi. Neither of these is wrong, mind you, it just felt like two separate stories. And like this, the last part of the book felt a bit underdeveloped, everything happened a bit too fast. All of this said, the story is still interesting, and I still cared about both aspects of it, it just felt a bit disjointed at times.

As for the characters, I quite enjoyed all of them. I especially enjoyed their interactions, and it's really what made the first part of the book feel like a slice-of-life story, a lot of it is just Roseli and her lovers and how they all fit together with the addition of her new fiance. I thought the characters were pretty interesting, they all had their own distinct personalities and they all were quite different from each other. My favorite character was probably Lucia, she is the 'outsider' here, and she needs to adapt to a whole new country and culture, and she already comes from a complicated family (her parents' cultures being vastly different being the cause of much conflict). I really enjoyed seeing the dynamics of Roseli's relationship, I loved how much love and understanding everyone had for each other. My only complaint regarding the characters is that I feel like Lucia gets super close to everyone really fast. Everyone (by which I mean Roseli and her lovers) goes from distrusting Lucia to trusting her and liking her immediately. And sure, I don't think they should've hated her, but they were so against the idea of liking her, and then all of the sudden they all did. I would've liked some more development there.

All in all, I did enjoy this book. I thought it was entertaining, and I really enjoyed reading about healthy polyam relationships, I love how that aspect was done. I would recommend this book if you're into more character-driven books especially!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Action packed romance!

Princess Roseli learns she has to marry Princess Lucia, rather than one of her lovers, in the interest of a military treaty being made between their planets. They both know this is what is best for their planets and have to learn to navigate what their new relationship means and make it work, but that isn’t easy when the threat of attack, assassination, and war are looming.

This was so exciting! The instant tension radiating from Princess Roseli at learning what she must do and then when she met Princess Lucia made for an exciting premise. It really was Roseli in the spotlight as we waited and wondered whether she could adapt and do what her planet needed or if she was going to fight it all the way, even when she and Lucia managed to form a connection.

What I loved most was the flexibility and modern take on how open Roseli was with her emotions and relations with her lovers, and for Lucia how accepting and adaptable she was willing to be to meet Roseli part way and be loyal and faithful to the needs of her planet and people. They both ended up making such personal sacrifices but gaining so much in terms of companionship, love, and a happiness that meant everyone benefited. They were both strong leaders, great role models, and their determination was infectious.

The cast of characters to help them find their way, and the influences of family and past experiences really help to shape and develop both Roseli and Lucia. They had an amazing connection when things became more intense and they needed to put their personal preferences aside to become a strong team and serve their united planets against threats.

I really hope there will be more stories for Roseli and Lucia in future because I have no doubt their future is really exciting!

This is a story that’s part sci-fi and part fantasy with some very interesting romance. It takes place on the planet Delphi with Princess Roseli as the heir apparent to the throne. She has three women that she is in love with and has intimate moments with each. However she can’t marry any of them because none of them are of noble birth. So her mother the reining Queen arranged a politically advantageous marriage to Princess Lucia. Lucia is from the planet Calliope where she is an Admiral in their navy.

Lucia is forced to give up her citizenship and her military rank and titles in order to marry Roseli. Which she agrees to to advance the political arrangements the two countries have made with each other.

Each of Roseli’s three paramours are good women. Alexis is a General in the Delphian Army, Veritas is a Senator and Lady Swan is a former companion turned into a social adviser.

There are several assassination attempts and and all out war between Delphi and their sworn enemy. During the war each of the 3 lovers and finance Lucia step up to protect Roseli and help defend the planet Delphi and it’s citizens and other family members.

For a debut book this story has a good plot and some interesting twists and turns. The battle and action scenes were interesting and not overly drawn out. Lucia was my favorite character but she was way too accepting of Roseli’s three lovers and her new life style. I would have liked more dialogue between Roseli and Lucia and much more character development.

ARC received for a voluntary and honest review from the publisher and Net Galley.

A Polyamorous theme! Regardless I enjoyed this book very much. It's a well written fast paced action, adventure that feature a bunch of strong kick ass female! Don't be put off by the fact that it's a polyamorous theme book. Give it a chance and I'm sure you won't. be disappointed. I recommend 4.5 stars.

Thanks to the publisher Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

This was an amazing book for what is, I believe, the author's first published work. As a sci-fi book, there is of course a lot of world-building involved. The author handles this very well and you don't ever feel like you're having information dumped on you just for the sake of getting the information out there.

This book does include polyamory as the blurb makes clear, but honestly even if that may not be your thing I'd highly recommend giving this a try anyways as it's one of the most well-done instances of a polyamorous relationship I've seen in a book. It's well thought out and well explained.

A book that features romance and action/adventure needs to strike an interesting balance as you don't want things moving so fast that you don't get to experience enough of the romance, but at the same time you want the action moving fast enough that it's exciting but not fast enough that you feel like you're barely holding on or getting left behind. This book finds that balance really well.

The book doesn't leave you feeling like things are unfinished, but at the same time leaves enough things open that being the start of a series is totally possible and honestly I'm hoping that will be the case as I'd love to see more of the world that Catherine Young has built with this!

Love And Duty by Catherine Young.

Thank you Netgallery and Bold Stroke books for an arc copy for an unbiased review.

Lets get this out of the way first. This is a book that has polyamorous as a theme. I have absolutely no qualms about this, even if my marriage is monogamous. In fact, what I loved was seeing how it was introduced as a concept from the first page. It wasn't a plot device to try and titillate in an unbecoming manner. It wasn't done in a gratuitous manner. It was simply there, shown as normal for one culture. That alone was a huge plus for me, as all too often this aspect of life is attacked or misrepresented.
Yes, there are sex scenes, but again I felt none were gratuitous and felt right for the story.
If you feel you can't read a book with this in, I urge you to try, because this book helps take away some of the mystery and misrepresentation. It would be a shame if not read, as I thoroughly enjoyed the book as a whole.
Now that is out of the way, the rest of my thoughts.

The opening salvo grabbed my attention from almost the 1st words, and it then held me there for the rest of the story. This is a book that doesn't let go, and bad ass women are rightly the main characters here. From chapter 1 to chapter 27, it was a ride I was more than happy to take.
I felt it was engaging with all the main characters.
With General Tate, Senator Veritas, and Lady Swann already established as Princess Roseli lovers, we had the introduction of Princess Lucia as an unwanted marriage situation, it wasn't something that felt stale or floundered for me.

This book ended with a somewhat open theme, and it would easily allow for a sequel to it. I'm unsure if that is the plan as I always try to keep away from anything written about a book I've not already seen if reviewing, but it implies it will be the case. I'd definitely look to read more from this world and the characters within it. Although obviously not the same, the whole book had a Vattas War vibe to it that, as a fan of those books, I loved. The tone was great throughout.
I read this in one sitting, and that's always a great indication to me a book is doing something right.

This is a 5/5 star 🌟 rating from me. If you love Sci-Fi, don't want a dystopian read, but one full of kick ass women with a slow burn romance going on with LGBTQIA rep, this book is definitely for you.

One I've just pre-ordered for next weeks release, and looking forward to reading it again.

Interplanetary intrigue and swashbuckling space ships with female leads. Mega cool, and exactly what I wanted to read as a child. Adult me approves of the princess with an impressive approach to her many lovers and another princess who is also an admiral. It’s all great fun and a fabulous sci fi/romance mash up. There’s some sadness when reality bites, but that just adds to the overall wonderfulness of this book. I’m hoping there is going to be a sequel.

This book was far more erotic than I had anticipated which is 100% a me problem and not a book problem. The concepts were interesting but overall not the right book for me.

This book was interesting and I was on the fence about whether or not I would like it but I read the synopsis and figured that it was different so I would give it a try. I gotta say, the story was great and I loved the people. The only thing that drove me a little crazy was all of the points of views that the book took on. Every chapter had another person telling the story. I would have preferred that the POV was told by the 2 princesses. Other than that I am looking forward to the next book in this story.

This book has been a bit of a surprise, a pleasant surprise, and fortunately it seems that it will have continuity, although that means that now we are left with many unsolved unknowns and wanting more. Well done by the author, must be recognized.

It is a science fiction story, based on a future with civilizations that seem to descend from ours, interplanetary, but without a set date. The different civilizations that appear are several: Delphian, Calliopean, Terra Nuevan, Varcian, ... all descended from the inhabitants of Earth. The reason for that immigration is not indicated, it is not a dystopian story. But those civilizations established on different planets are not going through a peaceful situation between them.

The only pleasant thing, a priori, is the future wedding between Princess Roseli, heir to the Delphian throne, and Princess Lucia of Calliope. The wedding will seal a treaty between both planets against the imminent harassment of the Terra Nuevans.

But the really funny thing about this story is the level of polyamory between Roseli and her three official paramours. The four of them form a relationship that, despite everything they go through, shows no fissure. Only respect and enormous unconditional love. Even with the arrival of Princess Lucia, who is not at all used to multiple reactions in her culture, things flow nicely. Let's hope that in the next adventures things continue like this.

The adventures that take place in this story are sometimes frantic, but they keep you hooked and wanting to know more. There are many characters, many narrators, but that does not spoil the whole. The explanation of conflicts, civilizations, characters, is complex but not boring.

I want to know what happens next please don't make us wait too long.

ᴛʜᴇᴍᴇꜱ: ᴘᴏʟɪᴛɪᴄꜱ. ꜱᴘᴀᴄᴇ. ʀᴏᴍᴀɴᴄᴇ. ꜱᴘᴇᴄᴜʟᴀᴛɪᴠᴇ ꜰɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ. ʜᴇᴀ.

𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬:
Now this plot was thick and interesting and, very entertaining. Though, there seemed to be a little too many POVs for my brain to handle which usually means a few subplots as well, though you certainly couldn't miss the main plot. If the interest lingers. I will choose my main plot and that was the politics; which weren't deeply explored either but the women are the rulers theme was such a brain-gasm. I am a woman-warrior, fight me. But that theme gave me so much life. The empresses, the commanders, all positions of power were filled with women, even the villain (whatever happened to her, idk).

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗘𝗥:
Now, there is something that isn't an issue... having many lovers is cool, and then at the same time, that's also cool. When it comes to loving, that's when I am lagging, brain-wise. So I will say no more for I am all about that freedom. But I hated, absolutely loathed how Lucia's character was handled. She was a Commander Admiral or sth and fucking princess, to top that dammit. I loved her caring spirit, I expected more grit. She deserved as much respect and consideration as "princess madame and her bunch of lovers". So yes, I was mad and bitter. Though their sex-chemistry was fine, their love-chemistry was debatable given that there were not as many scenes to claim that.

𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣 𝘼𝙍𝘾 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝘽𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚 𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬.

This book follows the polygamous relationship of a princess whos now engaged in a peace treaty. While
definitely an engaging story this book was a lot more erotic than I was expecting. Don't get me wrong I still loved that!

I'm still very undecided about how I feel about this book, poly relationships have never been my thing but this author is one that I tend to keep an eye on and she did not disappoint.

Amazing writing! Amazing plot!

However, there are a lot of different perspectives and thought processes going on that sometimes felt just a tiny bit overwhelming.

SO while I loved the writing and plot, character building could use a bit more space to breathe

Not what I expected, with a romance plot that really crossed over into erotica; not what I was looking for. Nevertheless, capably written, with a decently engaging space opera plot. The romance itself didn’t seem entirely convincing. Not sure I would read the sequel which was clearly telegraphed at the end but I think that is my fault and not the author’s.

This is an exciting, heart stopping story with a lot of action and romance. Princess Roseli and Princess Lucia of two different planets have been told by their respective parents their will be married in order to bolster their resources, military presence and ensure future peace between the two.
But someone does not want that to happen. First Princess Lucia the admiral in charge and her crew are attacked and suffer damage as well as casualties. Then an assassination attempt is made against Roseli.
As the big day arrives a bomb goes off at the wedding. Someone does not want these two to be married but why?
Roseli's mother, the Empress has been injured and now Roseli must step into her role and take command of her planet and people to guide them as a war is about to break out.
Roseli has instructed Lucia to take command of the military and try to stop the coming battle while trying to find out who wants her dead.
This is an absolute must read story that is well written and packed with action and uncertainty for our Princesses.

This action adventure with a side of sci Fi opens with Princess Roseli getting engaged to Princess Lucia as part of an interplanetary treaty between their two governments. Roseli is worried she will have to give up her three lovers as Lucia's culture is not accepting of polyamory that is typical of Roseli's. Lucia is worried about her future life without the career she had planned on as a Naval Admiral. These worries are soon overshadowed by assassination attempts, wedding planning and attacks from old enemies on Roseli's home planet, Delphi.
This was a great debut novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. When it opened up with a very heavy dose of the poly life led by Roseli, and found the story being told in snippets from each of the (5!) main characters I was worried it was just too much for me. Each of them though has a very unique role in the storyline and once the action was underway everything flowed together very well, keeping the reader included through a very active plot. Roseli and Lucia are very engaging characters individually and have good chemistry together but do spend much of the book apart. The book builds up such a high crescendo that the end was a bit of a let down after the adrenaline high before that and the MCs reunion happening a month after action ends didn't feel quite right. I really liked all the political intrigue that Julia's character introduces, Beatrice was a very endearing mother hen for the group, and who doesn't like an overly protective, socially awkward butch like Alexis. The ending leaves enough mystery that I am wondering already when the sequel is coming out. If you are a fan of romantic action adventure with a backdrop of an interplanetary war you won't be disappointed in this.

I know the synopsis mentioned Roseli had 3 paramours but I, mistakenly, assumed that on her marriage she would be monogamous (regardless of the expectations of her country/planet). I am not a fan of polyamorous stories, so this put me off right away. However, I have to say I did enjoy the storyline in general i.e., the reason for the marriage and the military aspect of the story and the lead up to and involvement in the war with another planet.

Awesome scifi f/f-romance debut
Right from the start I was fascinated by the fluent story-telling, world-building and personal relationships which Catherine Young paints with confident strokes on the canvas of a new universe. The special mores of the Delphian empire of polyamorous relationships, the harsh realities of being the heir to an empire were captured in vivid clearness. And in minutes this novel masterfully changes tone from personal relationships to relentless war which taxes all and everyone. A breathtaking read which cost me a good night‘s sleep.
Caveats: The proofreading was lacking, the Pseudo-Greek names got on my nerves, there were plenty of sexual encounters (something to enjoy) with alas, too little variation.

Thanks to netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for the ARC. This is a voluntary review.