What I liked: this book had an interesting setting: a swamp planet with a complex ecology and a culture of communal goods sharing. There was a lot of action.

What didn't work for me: I never felt any excitement about what would happen next or worry about what would happen to the characters. Kel is emotionally flat and we don't learn much about her other than surface thoughts for a long time. But she seemed incredibly competent and was never worried about herself, so I never worried for her either.

So great place to set a story but the story itself never set my heart racing.

First of all, this cover is gorgeous!! I liked my read of this one, but it felt a little bogged down at times. The characters felt one-dimensional, and there was a lot of action in which I got confused. Maybe it's too YA for me? Still a fun sci-fi read though.

The cover really drew me in on this book.. that and I want to read more sci-fi. A dangerous quest between 4 different characters is what intrigued me. But this was just ok. There is a lot of action in this book but at the same time I’m not sure how, or if, it’s important to the plot? If that makes sense. Like things are happening, but things aren’t really happening.. for me.
The romance was a miss for me unfortunately. The MMC was very bland. I didn’t believe the pacing of the relationship, nor did I find myself caring. Some characters felt very one dimensional. Like I said it was ok, I didn’t hate it, I didn’t love it.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers at Harper Voyager for a chance to read “Where Peace Is Lost.”

Kel is fleeing from a troubled past and settles reluctantly in a small village far from her home. When danger knocks on her doorstep, and two strangers appear to have all the answers, her friend volunteers (more like voluntells ) her to join them on a trip that unearths more of her past for the sake of saving her present home.

The premise sounds so cool but the lore and world building of the novel is pretty thick, and doesn’t offer much in the way of exposition. I know too much exposition can ruin the pacing, tone, and feel of a debut novel, especially one in a high fantasy/sci-fi setting, but I’d offer this book as an example of what happens when not enough exposition takes place.

I spent months getting through this only to feel locked out of key information that would make the story make more sense. If you have the patience for sci fi book that has constant action even if you’re not exactly sure how this is moving the plot forward or even what’s happening, this is the book for you.

To be clear, I really wanted to love this book because of its cool cast of characters, I just couldn’t get into it with how thick the sci-fi lore was.

I will never turn down a space, secretive past, reluctant found friendship book and Where Peace is Lost fits the bill. This is one of those books that snuck up on me. My initial thoughts were that I loved the friendship Kel has with the community she has found as a refugee. At the same time, I enjoyed the world. This idea that this small planet wouldn't be drawn into the galactic warfare because of its insignificance. It felt very much like a piece of SF worlds and stories I don't read too often about.

Where Peace is Lost by Valerie Valdes moves along smoothly and quickly, is peopled by engaging characters, and nods toward some serious themes of ethics, violence, and colonialism. I mostly enjoyed this fast read, though found myself wishing its themes were delved into more deeply.

The novel is set in a universe where the Pale Empire has been conquering/colonizing other planets or planetary systems/alliances. Some years back, one of their stiffest foes, whose military and altruistic institutions were known as “Orders”, signed a peace treaty and agreed to disband their military orders (led by “knights celestial”) and maintain only their assistance order. Since then the Empire has continued to expand. The narrower setting is on the planet Loth, which thanks to its lack of resources has managed to avoid being colonized fully by the Pale, who left some time ago but retain a small base on the planet. Now though, one of their deadliest war machines, a Demolisher, has been reactivated and is heading toward a number of populated areas.

The Pale say they don’t have the resources at the time to do anything about it, so the Loth are forced to turn to a pair of off-worlders — Savvy and Dare — who have learned of their situation and offered to deactivate the Demolisher for a relatively reasonable price. To ensure the strangers can travel quickly enough to the war machine, and also because the Loth are more than a little suspicious about the “luck” of two strangers showing up out of nowhere with a solution, they send two guides along with them: Lunna, a young native girl, and Kel, a refugee from the Empire’s wars who arrived on planet a few years ago and has kept to herself, though Lunna has tried to break down that isolation in the intervening years. To reach the machine they’ll have to deal with the planet’s animal dangers, bandits, the Pale themselves, and their own secrets and suspicions.

As mentioned, the book moves along smoothly and quickly, with the first half or so done in more episodic style as the four face off against various obstacles. The latter part is more focused into a single throughline of plot but has more than its share of battles and tense situations, with both the battles and the stakes becoming much bigger. There’s a lot of action, but it isn’t non-stop, with the action frequently paused for some quieter, more reflective moments of introspection from Kel or equally quiet scenes between two characters. Some of the plot trappings might seem a little familiar from other works, both books and other media, but that’s not unusual in genre (to say the least) and if it doesn’t all feel entirely fresh, nor does it feel derivative. Just familiar as noted.

Kel is a well-developed character. From the beginning, it’s obvious she’s keeping secrets about her past (a hidden sword, bad memories, concerns about drawing too much attention to herself), and most readers will probably predict the generalities of those secrets if not the specifics. Her fear of the truth about her coming out puts her into a series of ethical dilemmas, with the very first one being the question of if she should even join the mission. She knows she can help, she knows the stakes, but she fears the revelations that might ensue. She also fears other consequences, but I won’t detail those so as to avoid spoilers. Time and again Kel is forced therefore to weigh her obligation to others versus her obligation to herself, a calculation further complicated by how helping others may in the end bring more trouble upon them. More generally, she also wrestles with her long-embedded philosophy on when violence is justified or not, not just the moral or practical questions but also with regard to its impact on her state of mind/being. Finally, her last interior battle is whether or not she can overcome her years of forced isolation and allow herself open up to the possibility of friendship or possible even more than that (the potential romance was for me one of the weak points here: moving too quickly as they almost always do, feeling a bit forced as they nearly almost do, and not feeling particularly plausible in the surrounding context, as they nearly always do. YMMV).

The other characters are engaging as mentioned earlier, but not as fully developed, though three of the four change at least as little as they learn more about themselves or about the larger world. Lunna and Savvy in particular are relatively thinly constructed. Lunna is your typical young, overly energetic naïf who is bound to lose that innocence at some point to some extent. Savvy is your flirty-on-the-outside-mysteriously-secretive-on-the-inside character who the main character is unsure whether to trust or not. Dare, for reasons I again won’t detail so as to avoid spoilers, is more complex, but not much more. The thinness of characterization doesn’t so much detract from the novel as create a sense of missed opportunity.

The same I’d say holds true for the thematic explorations. I appreciate the serious, substantive questions raised in the novel: the aforementioned question about when violence is justified (if ever), about the obligations one has to help others (the refugee question is particularly topical), the lingering traumatic effects of war, the benefits and limits of restorative justice, environmentalism. But I confess to being disappointed in how deeply these were explored. Some were only briefly mentioned, and I wouldn’t have minded seeing much more exploration of how the populations on how their planet itself has rights or on restorative justice played out. And while the other questions of violence and trauma are much more prevalent, they seemed to mostly skate along the surface of those questions or handled them a little too easily (“glibly” would be too harsh), leaving me feeling a bit frustrated and unsatisfied, again more in a “bummer, this feels like a missed opportunity” mode than a “I’m not enjoying this story” mode.

In the end, I did enjoy Where Peace is Lost. While it stands wholly on its own, it also leaves clear room to continue with these characters, and I’d be happy to pick up a sequel if one is to come. And while I’m giving it 3.5 stars, I’d also say that while I wouldn’t label it YA, my guess is a YA reader will enjoy it more along a 4 or possibly even 4.5 level. Something to keep in my mind if you’re considering a gift or are in that demographic yourself.

I really enjoyed Valerie Valdes’ Chilling Effect trilogy, so I’ve been eager to check out her new novel,
Where Peace Is Lost, which debuts on Aug. 29. It was every bit as good as I had anticipated, but for
somewhat different reasons: Although the Chilling Effect books are basically tasty popcorn in the form of space opera, Where Peace Is Lost feels a little more chewy and substantial.

Don’t get me wrong; it’s still a breeze to read and feels much shorter than its 388 pages plus end matter
(trade size, large print). Its characters are well drawn, and the plot is a fairly direct adventure,
except for some memories and secrets that eventually get revealed. But the tone is more serious, often
wistful and haunted by trauma, as is the protagonist.

My full review is posted on the Skiffy and Fanty website, linked below.

I received an e-arc of Where Peace is Lost by Valerie Valdes via Netgalley and a physical copy of the finished book via Harper Voyager. Thank you to both for my early access. The opinions below are my own, and I have already bought a copy of this book.

Who are you when everything you live for is gone? How do you move on when your life has ended? How do you trust people when you know everyone is hiding something?

This book wrestles with these questions. This novel is tonally different than Valerie Valdes's earlier work, but the themes of found family, the development of the world and the characters, and the building of the relationships are similar. I loved it, and I hope to goodness there is more in the series.

Kel Garda is living life on a remote planet with minimal natural resources. It's a slow planet whose people dedicate themselves to living with nature and not exploiting it. Kel has a secret, and it is one that if it gets out will endanger the entire planet and its way of life.

One day, Kel gets word that a war machine has recently been reactivated. She knows she can stop it, but she doesn't know if she can stop without revealing her secret. As she decides what to do, she is wrapped up in a mission to escort to off-worlders and her friend to de-activate the war machine. They have to travel across the swamps. They face bandits and other complications, and as they do, three of the four party members reveal more than they intend to.

This story starts quiet. It's the quiet of grief, loss, and trauma, and it's the quiet of a wilderness world where humans co-exist with nature. It ends in a comfortable quiet of home. There is an homage to Firefly here, and I am here for it.

I will add tiktok and instagram reviews.

A big thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Yes! Yes! Yes! I love Valerie Valdes Chilling Effect series, and I'm over the moon to have gotten her newest sci-fy as an ARC.

Where Peace is Lost by Valerie Valdes is a science fiction novel about a refugee with a secret, a dangerous foe, and a road trip that could either save a planet or start a war. Five years ago, Kelana Gardavros lost everything in the war against the Pale empire. Now Kel Garda is just another refugee living on the edge of an isolated star system. No one knows she was once a member of an Order whose military arm was disbanded and scattered across the galaxy. And no one knows that if her enemies found her, they might destroy the entire world to get rid of her. Kel’s past intrudes in the form of a long-dormant Pale war machine, suddenly reactivated. If the massive automaton isn’t stopped, at best it will carve a swath of devastation that displaces thousands of people. At worst, it will kill every sentient creature on the planet.When two strangers offer to deactivate the machine for a price, Kel and a young friend agree to serve as their guides. The journey through swamps infested with predators and bandits is bad enough, but can they survive more nefarious dangers along the way? And will Kel’s fear of revealing her secrets doom the very people she’s trying to protect?

I JUST REALLY LOVE THIS BOOK! AND I NEED EVERYONE TO READ IT IMMEDIATELY. Trust me! You won't regret it!

A universe rich in planets, cultures, and languages, the world created in Where Peace Is Lost, is a troubled one. With the Pale trying to take over the known worlds and people fighting back, news that an old Pale war machine has been reactivated and a motley, and unlikely do, land on a hidden planet where the flora and fauna have rights of their own, startle a young mechanic and an old soldier with secrets, out of their complacency.

I immediately connected with our main character, and the nonbinary secondary character was a lovely touch, as was the description of the animals and the world that seems like one in which I'd like to live. The excellent storytelling pulled me into a far away world, where I wanted to stay, and I hope to look and see if the author has written other stories in this 'universe' and also look forward to these characters' adventures being furthered, should the author choose to do so.

With all of the world building, characterization and description that this science fiction fan loves, I greatly enjoyed this story.

Where Peace is Lost is described as a romantic space opera, and there are elements of that - there's a romance, an evil galactic empire, and rebels who are fighting against the evil galactic empire. But mostly, it's a story about Kel and the simple world she has escaped to, so much so that, when technology pops up, it feels intrusive.

Kel reluctantly volunteers to help disable a war machine that threatens the life she has built the last several years. She does this, knowing that it could cost her her refuge and possibly her life. It seems selfless, but as the story unfolds, we learn her motivations.

The romance moved a bit quickly, I thought, especially given the backgrounds of the characters. The ending left me with a "well, why didn't she just do that in the first place and save all this fuss" feeling., but it was still good. The worldbuilding to me was the star of the book. I want to know more about the war and the different worlds and how all this came to be. Hopefully, there will be a sequel where there will be more backstory.

Why you should read it: characters you want to spend time with and whose stories you'll care about; camaraderie, a romance that takes up a good chunk of the latter part of the book, and interesting abilities for some of the characters.

Why you might not want to read it: the villains are predictable and not really worth our heroes' time. There's not a lot of tech for a SF novel, and the speed and amount of romance in the book may put some readers off.

4 out of 5 stars. Recommended.

I received an advance copy from Harper Voyager via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This one took me a second to get into, but I ended up really enjoying this journey with an unlikely crew!

Valerie Valdes has captured my imagination since Chilling Effect and Where Peace Is Lost has proven her to be a favorite sci-fi author!

Where Peace Is Lost follows Kel, a format soldier who is hiding on an out of the way planet when a war machine wakes. The war ended years ago but equipment was deemed dispensable and left, but it poses a very real problem for the people who live on this world. It can and will destroy homes, cities, fields, and take people's lives. Kel, a friend, and two strangers take on the task of stopping the war machine.

This book is wonderfully imaginative with the inclusion of weird animals, interesting cultures, and wonderful relationships. Where Peach is Lost is a great example of how science fiction can be imaginative and inclusive!

A great adventure quest story! This book reads like a fantasy quest with a little sci-fi flavor. The tech is interesting but also lightweight and easy to understand. Great for those who enjoy fantasy!

I really enjoyed all of the characters. The FMC Kel is complex and well developed. An exiled warrior, she makes you think about the impact of action vs. inaction. What does it really mean to preserve peace? The MMC Dare is great, I don't know about anyone else but in my mind he is a tan bright green eyed whitcher. I enjoyed his stoic personality and the way his character interacts with Kel and Saveyy. There is some fun banter and plenty of action.

Valdes does a great job creating a rich universe for Where Peace is Lost. The story takes place entirely on the backwater world of Loth with some references to other worlds. I loved how well developed the world was with its own culture, ideology, ecosystem and unique creatures.

This was a really fun read that was hard to put down. I hope we get to come back to this Universe soon.

Tropes:
🗺️Quest
⚔️Reluctant Allies to Lovers
⛈️Grumpy X Grumpy

Spice: 🌶️🌶️

An enthusiastic 5 stars.

I pickup up Where Peace is Lost based on the title and the cover — I think both are beautiful. As it turns out, the story lives up to that initial impression.

There is plenty of action and romance to love, but the lyrical, meditative thoughts sprinkled throughout are what really stole my heart.

It’s one of those books where I knew it was a new favorite just 10% in. I truly hope we get to see more from this world in the future.

Thank you to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for providing an advanced copy for me to review.

If you’ve not been reading Valerie Valdes, you’ve been missing out. Valdes is queen of the bold, exciting space romp, and Where Peace is Lost is a new stand-alone novel, coming off of the back of her Chilling Effect series. Where Peace is Lost is the perfect combination of drama and adventure—we follow Kel, who has been living in recluse after a traumatic war experience. When an enemy war machine appears on the isolated outlier planet Kel has made home, she finds herself unable to stay out of it. At a town meeting, the mysterious (read: very sus) Captain Vyse and her partner proclaim they’ve got something to deactivate the war machine–for a fee—and Kel plus her young friend Lunna volunteer (sort of) to join them as local guides. But the further they go, the more it looks like Kel’s past is catching up with her, which might put everyone in danger. Kel’s “I’m too old for this shit” attitude pairs perfectly with Lunna’s naive go-getter spirit, and all of the characters come beautifully alive over the course of the novel. Where Peace is Lost is a high-octane story that you will absolutely fly through because you’re simply having too much fun to stop.

Romantic space opera isn’t a thing the way romantic fantasy is, to my unending frustration, but Valdes has nonetheless managed to execute the genre to perfection. A compelling blend of classic space opera and romance, Where Peace is Lost throws together an unlikely cast under less-than-ideal circumstances in a world that slowly reveals its depth and richness.

Kel has been living a mostly-solitary life, in hiding from her storied past, when a rogue war machine threatens her backwater planet’s safety. Out of the blue, two interstellar freelancers, glib, charismatic Savvy and stoic, mysterious Dare, promise they have a way to deal with the problem for a shockingly reasonable fee. Kel’s only real friend, Lunna, volunteers them both to accompany them as local guides, and Kel reluctantly agrees, even though she knows it may compromise her carefully guarded cover.

Their journey together involves overcoming many obstacles, but the primary draw is watching the four of them get to know each other and allowing us to get to know the universe Valdes has painted for us. The worldbuilding unfolds naturally, but at a much slower pace than the plot, which I found delightful. Kel has been out of the loop for years, and the initial mistrust between Kel and the offworlders prevents either of them from sharing everything they know at once. I thought this was done very skillfully, allowing the reader to get a solid foothold on the planet before being thrust into the complex galactic politics that shape everything that happens on the ground.

I grew really fond of all four of these characters very quickly! Taciturn Kel has more depth than her retired supersoldier archetype lets on at the onset, and Lunna’s cheerful naivety gives way to surprising strength of character when they’re tested. Dare’s dark secrets never veer too far into the melodramatic, and his struggles with communicating over the constant background hum of his trauma were really compelling. Savvy was the weakest of the four, ultimately, and a couple of her about-faces didn’t track well for me, but I still really appreciated her unique blend of pragmatism and flippancy.

The romance in Where Peace is Lost isn’t the driving force of the narrative, but I really enjoyed it! Dare and Kel are both playing the part of the tortured soul with a dangerous secret, and most of the tension comes from their respective struggles to communicate and their completely rational reasons not to trust each other. It was sweet and jagged in turns, remarkably slow and quiet, and just a lovely romance overall.

My only real complaint, which is more of a quibble, really, is that I felt like the end had a bit of a deus ex machina feel to it— we know that Dare and Kel have extraordinary abilities, but I would have liked the particulars of the finale to be a little more telegraphed.

I loved it, I can’t wait for more! This is my first Valdes novel and I’m absolutely going to read her earlier stuff.

Would I recommend Where Peace is Lost?

YES, especially if…
…you love space operas like the Sirantha Jax or Honor Harrington series
…you care more about the political than the technological underpinnings of your sci-fi

NO, if…
…you don’t like new terms and factions being introduced without definitions right away
…you’re looking for something that feels like a standalone (it’s not unpleasantly cliffhanger-y, but it left me wanting MORE)
…when you want sci-fi romance, you want aliens, fated mates, and explosive emotions

Thank you to Harper Collins and Netgalley for the eARC, provided in exchange for this review

I requested this one for two main reasons: It's Valerie Valdes and I loved the Chilling Effect trilogy AND I am a sucker for all books starting female Kels. I was absolutely 100% not only NOT disappointed but totally head over heels in love with the book. While it's not as overtly funny as Chilling Effect and sequels, it has a great quiet humor and Kel is fantastic. Plus, the family she finds along the way are all my favorites for different reasons. Valerie is also a master world builder. The fact she has built two whole UNIVERSES already that feel authentic and lived in and honestly pretty terrible to live in most of the time is mind-boggling to me but very impressive. I loved all the little details. I believe this has been pitched as a standalone but I would absolutely read more of this found family if given the opportunity.

"Where peace is broken, may we mend it. Where we go, may peace follow. Where we fall, may peace rise."

This is the story of Kel. The story of who she used to be, who she currently is, and who she decides to become. What on the surface looks like a group of travels going off to fix a machine, becomes a tale of strength and resilience.

This didn't have as many comedic moments as her previous series Chilling effect, however my favorite funny line was "You smell like you rolled in farts."

I really enjoyed the Chilling Effect series (trilogy?) by this author, so I was super excited for this next novel. I'm not really sure how to articulate my feelings about it, though. On one hand...I really liked it because I enjoy the way Valdes writes characters and dialogue, but on the other hand the plot itself wasn't really there. Like, most of the story is eaten up by this difficult journey through uncertain terrain which is both interesting and repetitive at the same time. The plot twists end up being a lot of the difficulties or issues you'd face while traversing an unknown area, but not....in a plot way? Like, plot-wise the book doesn't really feel like it truly starts until after the traveling through the difficult terrain part ends. After that, though, the book really flourishes and there's more plot-centric conflict and better pacing. I just don't really think the first half and second half of the book necessarily need to be part of the same story? Again, I am having a hard time articulating my feelings because I generally enjoyed this book but it feels a bit unfinished. I don't know, hah.