I've loved everything Jessie Mihalik has done. She's my favorite scifi romance writer and this was a good conclusion to the trilogy, though my least favorite. Lexi, the female main character, is the type that might cut off her nose to spite her face. Nilo felt undeveloped, but was likable enough. I will definitely follow up with anything Mihalik, but I'm glad this particular trilogy is done. Book one is fantastic, if anyone is on the fence about picking up the series.

Mihalik has a true gift. Her writing style is just so phenomenal. She makes absolutely everything seem larger than life and epically cool and yet so down-to-earth, entertaining, real and intimate that it feels like its just you and the world you are reading about and you can just lose yourself in the words and feel like you are right freaking there.

I really enjoy space opera and Capture the Sun is a fun conclusion to Mihalik’s Starlight’s Shadow trilogy. Lexi Blake is a recovery specialist and former military member who uses her skills to accomplish questionable jobs. Her history with Valovian Nilo Shoren complicates her current mission. When her former team goes missing, she must collaborate with Nilo to find and save her friends. This is a fast paced read with interesting characters. This was a lighter read than previous installments but still enjoyable and a good finish to the series. 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for an advanced readers copy of this book.

Capture the Sun is the third installment in the Starlight's Shadow series. A sci-fi romance series. Each book is set in the same universe but with different characters. Book 1 is fantastic and I really enjoyed book 2 as well. I couldn't wait to dive back into the world Jessie Mihalik has created. Capture the Sun follows Lexi's story. This story was a bit slower than the other two but I still really enjoyed it. I loved Lexi and Nilo together. Lexi is a thief and con woman. She returns to Valova for a high-paying job where she is trying to acquire items for her clients. I would have liked to have the POV from Nilo as well. I would recommend reading the books in order just because the characters do cross over a bit. If you enjoy sci-fi romances then give this one a go. I am honestly so sad that this was the conclusion of the series. I want more from this world!!
Thank you to NetGalley as well as Avon and Harper Voyager for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the last book in a sci-fi romance trilogy that follows two characters that we met in the first book, Lexi and Nilo. Despite having an immediate connection, Lexi wants nothing to do with Nilo until their crew goes missing and they must work together to save them.

Here’s what I loved:
✨ Second chance and forced proximity tropes
✨ A compelling space opera A-plot
✨ Getting to see all of the characters we’ve grown to love from the first two books
✨ Quick pacing with the perfect length for the amount of plot

If you’ve been following me for a while you’ll know I’ve raved about the first two books in this trilogy, and while this wasn’t my favorite of the three, I still really enjoyed being in this world again.

These books are fast paced and do a great job of including spicy romance elements while also having an actual tangible plot driving everything along. This is definitely a series that needs to be read in order to understand the non-romance parts of the plot because there is a lot of world building that happens in the earlier two.

One of the great things about a romance in space is that the characters are often stuck in small spaces that they literally can’t leave, like on a ship or a base that you can’t leave because the climate on the planet is not safe. It makes the transition from the battle scenes to the romance aspects feel seamless as they change their surroundings.

This would be a great series for someone who loves romance and wants to branch out into sci-fi!

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted copy!

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Omar

Capture the Sun takes place halfway through the events of Eclipse the Moon. This time we find Lexi in the capital city of Valovia where she is trying to go unnoticed while meeting with a client for whom she will steal something on his behalf. But life has other plans and as soon as she gets to the hotel, the Sun warriors of Empress Nepru are ready to apprehend her. At the last moment she is saved by none other than Nilo Shoren, the Valovian who stole a job from her and a teleporter.

As they run from the Empress’ warriors, Lexi, and Nilo learn of the events that happened in Eclipse the Moon and that Sura Fev, the Sun Guardian of the Empress, is on her way to Valovia space with Commodore Morten from Federated Human Planets (FHP), causing a new war start.

Now it’s the job of Lexi and Nilo to get to Sura Fev first and save Morten or kill him before they ignite another war.

I liked Capture the Sun. Here we are able to learn a bit more about Lexi and her past while seeing her in action taking the lead in this story. We also get another Valovian/human romance with Nilo entering the picture, saving Lexi, and defeating Sura Fev.

While the first book in the series takes place in Valovia, we only get to see the characters interact in Torran’s house. In this new story, Lexi is taking an assignment at the beginning of the book in Valovia that shows the reader that even though the governments have conflicts, there is still tourism and work from the FHP citizens and companies in Valovia. I liked that the author showed us this side and that it can lead to other stories in this series.

I continue to like the technology that author Jessie Mihalik creates when writing these Syfy romance series. I liked how the union of the Sun Warriors and Commodore Morten brought forth new artifacts that can help both parties (even though with evil purposes).

As the heroes save the day, we learn why some of the FHP higher-ups wanted to create another war, but I felt that we didn’t get closure to the reasoning behind the Valovians wanting to also re-start the war.

Hoping that there might be more books in this series, I would love to read a story between Prince Liang and Anja, and even more a story about the throuple of Eli, Havil, and Chira.

If you are a fan of the work of Jessie Mihalik, then I recommend you Capture the Sun.

Jessie Mihalik is an amazing author who blends science fiction and romance into a thrilling adventure in a book you can't put down. Capture the Sun is a great addition to the Starlight's Shadow series. I loved the dynamics between Lexi and Nilo. Their complicated past deepened the story and made the read a true delight.

3 stars

this continued in the same vein as the first two in the series. plot is secondary to the dialogue and romance and, for me - at least for this series - that is not a bad thing. The pacing moved quickly and it was easy to get sucked in!

This book grabbed my attention right away and never let go. I was completely entertained by this well-done story. Couldn’t put it down!!

This is the third book in the Starlight's Shadow trilogy. I enjoyed the previous books in the trilogy. While I believe this can be read as a stand-alone, I also think I enjoyed it more because I'd read the previous two, so I'd recommend starting with Hunt the Stars .

I love the action of a space opera's especially with a side of romance. This one was heavier on the romance in the beginning but picked up the paces as the story moved along. The first half of the book felt more like a traditional romance (set in space and on other planets) as it was just the two main characters, Lexi and Nilo, with a fair amount of backstory and character development. When they connected with the rest of the crew/characters from the previous books, the action picked up and complemented the romance well. I love the crew, their history and close friendships. Their personalities really shine through. I also love the story arc as the crew works to maintain peace in the universe (big goal, right? ). This was a fun summer read- action, romance, world building, and the imagination of being in outer space, traveling between worlds. I'm looking forward to whatever the author writes next.

Thanks to the publisher for a copy. All opinions are my own.

I’ve really loved making my way through the Starlight’s Shadow sci fi/romance series, and I’m so sad it’s over. This one didn’t quite live up to the first two books in the series for me, but I still really enjoyed it, and it was so satisfying to see how the crew wrapped up their overarching mission. I think I wanted more from the romance side of the story or maybe less romance and more action? I’m not sure what it was, but it’s a small complaint as I sped through the book in a few days. I’m excited to go back and read her previous series now!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this ARC! This was the conclusion to Mihalik's Starlight Trilogy, this time following the adventures of Lexi Bowen, an intergalactic thief! I loved the characterization of Lexi and her romance with Nilo, and I loved how the book balanced romance with sci-fi adventure! I'll definitely be reading anything else Mihalik writes!

For anyone looking for new adult, sci-fi romance, this series is for you! I've always struggled finding sci-fi romance so I appreciate that this series has that. This wasn't my favorite book of the series but it was good nonetheless. I found the first half a little boring but it definitely felt like it picked up near the end.

Lexi & Nilo!!! I loved the first two books so much and was so excited for this one!

GUY FALLS FIRST???? YES PLEASEEEE!!!

i loved how they were both soooo protective over each other.

the characters of this series are the best. I've missed them and CANNOT WAIT to read the next one!

Capture the Sun was one of my told read this year!! Undoubtedly!! It offers the perfect blend of action, adventure, romance, friendships , and so much more. For most of the time reading this book, I was on the edge of my seat, waiting to see what would happen next. I truly loved seeing all the pieces of the broader puzzle come together. And that ending had me shooketh

I am a big fan of this author, and this series. A very quick backstory is that this series is about a ragtag group of bounty hunters who work together with their enemies to retrieve a stolen thing which may or may not be a "thing," find out they aren't so different, they aren't enemies, and that they do have a common enemy (this is book 1 Hunt the Stars -link to ebook). Then we see them working together and furthering the cause, learning to live with the aftermath of the war that made them enemies, and learning to trust once more (book 2 Eclipse the Moon -link to ebook)

This book is about Lexi and Nilo who from the first scene together in the firs book had some intense chemistry. But to Lexi, Nilo betrayed her. My favorite trope is that betrayal/ enemies to lovers type trope. I had high hopes for this book.

Lexi is a thief. Nilo is a warrior. His race has powers, telekinesis, teleportation, telepathy, healing...you get the idea. Well Nilo can teleport. The original meeting, the original betrayal, came when Lexi was taking a job, she and Nilo flirted, had a moment, and he stole the job right from under her nose. He's spent two books trying to apologize, but Lexi isn't just mad. She's hurt. She doesn't want to listen. She hardens her heart and stays pleasantly cordial. Until this book.

Lexi has come to a hotel on Nilo's home planet, knowing the Sun Empress is looking for her (based on events from the last books), knowing that it's dangerous, but also, really wanting the job. She's just walked in to her hotel when she's made. She's walking quickly, reaching for a weapon, hoping to escape before the guards catch up to her, when it seems she'll have to fight her way out. And in the second, Nilo ports in, grabs her, and ports out. He saves her butt, and she's grumpy.

Nilo has been doing his own recon in this area, and he knew when Lexi got planetside. He knew she'd be a target, and he wants her safe...he knows she can take care of herself, but really, he wants to keep her safe. They make an uneasy truce, and it is super obvious that from the get-go Nilo is 100% all-in with Lexi. But Lexi is prickly, still hurt, and keeps her emotions out of all of her relationships at the best of times, let alone with Nilo. And she starts to realize that the reason she's so angry about his betrayal is because she liked him. And she wasn't really angry, just hurt. But Nilo is patient. And persistent. I love Nilo.

This book was a little different than the previous ones in the sense that the first half of this book really concentrates on the Lexi/Nilo relationship. The hiding out and forced proximity allows them to learn more about each other, to understand each other, and to let those sparks fly. And through it all, they're plotting. Neither of them can contact Starlight's Shadow, their friends' ship. That means one of two things: their friends have been captured/killed, or they're in hiding. But how do you hide a whole ship?

The second half of this book was the wild, zany, and harebrained ideas that ragtag teams in Space Operas are famous for. This author excels in that. At one point, Lexi is planning something crazy and it worries Nilo. He tells her she's running into danger She smiles and reminds him that she is dangerous. I loved that!

I liked seeing everyone together. I enjoyed the battles, the outsmarting, the romance, and the learning to trust again. It's a fabulous series, and a fantastic book. I'm not happy that this is the end, though I'd like to hold on to hope that there will be more stories to tell. There are some threads left untied, so maybe we'll get to visit this universe again some day. For now, though, I love this series, and highly recommend both this series and this author.

***ARC provided by the publisher

DYING! I ran to my nearest computer and screamed as it downloaded, I am still so happy to have received this book. THANK YOU! i loved the conclusion to this book trilogy. I was a heart warming scifi in ways I can't even describe beyond begging you to read these books. There's romance galore as well as found family, and beautiful examples of communication and understanding! 5 stars will be doing a reread whenever life gets me down

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for providing an advance copy of this title for review.

I loved finally getting to read Lexi and Nilo's story after their presence in the series' previous books, and I'm already sorry to say goodbye to this cast of characters (Am I the only one wishing for novellas for Eli/Chira/Havil and Anja/Liang?). Capture the Sun was a fantastic conclusion to one of my favorite romantic sci-fi series, featuring Mihalik's signature blend of political intrigue, inventive world-building, and compelling romance, and I will wholeheartedly recommend it to our patrons interested in sci-fi or romance (or both!).

I received a free copy from the publisher through Netgalley and I voluntarily reviewed it.

I really enjoyed this series and was excited to read the third and last book in the series. Unfortunately this book was a bit of a struggle, both due to the book itself and due to my reading mood and reading time. Which made me really sad. It is a great series, but this last book was the one I enjoyed least of the series.

Capture the Sun follows the point of view of Lexi, she's not quite part of the crew of Starlight and mostly works alone. When out on a job she encounters Nilo again, she has conflicted feelings about him due to the way he stood her up and stole her job the last time they met. They have to team up to make it off the planet alive and save the Starlight's crew.

It took me some time to warm up to Lexi, she's this prickly character, a type I often don't enjoy reading about. As I read more about her and grew to understand her a bit better I warmed up to her a bit, but she still didn't come close to how much I liked the character form the first two books. It bothered me sometimes how she acted or communicated, although I did appreciate the author gave her depth and it made sense why she was that way. I am impressed by Jessie Mihalik's ability to write all her main characters differently and with their own personality. Lexi is different from the main characters of the first two books and this book has it's own vibe due to that. I had wished we had seen more of Lexi's skills and thievery, she keeps saying how good she is, but we never quite see her actual thievery skills in action as much.

I liked the start of the book, especially once I had gotten used to Lexi a bit. The book quickly gets into the romance and I liked seeing Nilo and Lexi together. Nilo is great and I liked how he is there for Lexi, shows how much he cares, but also respects her boundaries. I was a bit confused and annoyed as we didn't know exactly what happened when they first meet and I felt like I was missing something, but those details slowly come to light and the last piece even quite late. There were some back and forth between them I didn't care as much about, but I liked seeing Lexi slowly open up and let Nilo in and how they actually attempt to communicate late in the book. I was sad we didn't get to see as much of the rest of the crew of the Starlight, but that increases later in the book. I also wished we would get a book about Eli as I am really curious about his romance with the two Valoffs.

While I liked the romance and that first part of the book, I struggled more with the plot and the rest of the book. I felt there was quite a lot to wrap up and the plot focused on planning and executing rescue missions. And for some reason the plot just didn't grab me, it feels like there are a lot of events and chapters, but not much happened in bigger lines. Or maybe that's just me and because I wasn't as invested and didn't read as much and the whole middle and late part of the book felt incredible slow to me. There was too much planning for my taste and then the dangerous parts weren't interesting either. It just wasn't as interesting to me and struggled through it, even fit in another book in between for variety before returning to this one and struggling through the rest as I did want to know how things ended. The wrap up felt a bit fast and rushed at the end with lots of summarizing what's going on. And it just felt off and didn't have that big finale vibe I was hoping for.

To summarize: I really like this series, but this was my least favorite book of the 3. I struggled with with this book due to a combination of factors; the actual book, my reading mood and my reading time. It took me some time to warm up to Lexi and I didn't like her as much as the previous two main character. I did warm up to her a bit as I got to understand her better. I liked her romance with Nilo and the first part of the book I enjoyed as she and Nilo grow closer. Nilo was great and I liked how he shows her he cares, but also respects her boundaries. I didn't really care for the plot of this book though and after they leave Valovia I struggled with the story even more. It just didn't grip me and it felt super slow but that might also be because I didn't read as much. The ending felt too fast for me and a bit rushed and I just wasn't as invested and didn't feel the wrap up was as interesting. All in this is a great series even though this last book didn't quite work for me.

I really didn’t want this series to end and I’m not so secretly holding out hope for another story. That said, Capture the Sun did tie up the loose ends in this series and took us on one final adventure. Initially Lexi and Nilo are separated from the crew as they end up on Valovia and things quickly go wrong. That time together though, allows for a deep bond to grow between Lexi and Nilo. Unlike the other books, this one was not a slow burn, which makes sense since Nilo and Lexi have a history and in the past, have acknowledged their attraction to each other. They agree to a physical relationship which quickly turns into something more. But while the chemistry is there, it takes a while for trust to form. I think this is Jessie Mihalik’s sexiest book and that makes sense with the couple. It’s the trust and love that takes a while to form. But even as it’s growing, we see both Nilo and Lexi take risks to protect the other. When events reunite them with Lexi’s crew, it is satisfying and at the same time, forces their to acknowledge their feelings. Their love story takes place in the midst of a lot of high stake events and the tension and danger is definitely present throughout the book. I found Capture the Sun to be a fulfilling end to this series but that doesn’t mean I want to leave these characters that I’ve grown to love.