Serena’s Review: “Heavenbreaker”

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

Book: “Heavenbreaker” by Sara Wolf

Publishing Info: Entangled: Red Tower Books, May 2024

Where Did I Get this Book: ARC from the publisher!

Where Can You Get this Book: WorldCat.org | Amazon | IndieBound

Book Description: Bravery isn’t what you do. It’s what you endure.

The duke of the powerful House Hauteclare is the first to die. With my dagger in his back. He didn’t see it coming. Didn’t anticipate the bastard daughter who was supposed to die with her mother—on his order. He should have left us with the rest of the Station’s starving, commoner rubbish.

Now there’s nothing left. Just icy-white rage and a need to make House Hauteclare pay. Every damn one of them. Even if it means riding Heavenbreaker—one of the few enormous machines left over from the War—and jousting against the fiercest nobles in the system.

Each win means another one of my enemies dies. And here, in the cold terror of space, the machine and I move as one, intent on destroying each adversary—even if it’s someone I care about. Even if it’s someone I’m falling for.

Only I’m not alone. Not anymore. Because there’s something in the machine with me. Something horrifying. Something…more. And it won’t be stopped.

Review: I’ve been waiting and waiting for the romantasy buzz to shift to include more science fiction as well. We’ve had a few examples (“Calamity” and the upcoming sequel come to mind), but there still isn’t much out there. But I’ve had my eyes on this one for a few months, as it seems to promise to be just what I’ve been looking for! True, the romance seems secondary in the blurb, but it’s coming out from Red Tower, which is Entangled’s SFF imprint, so one imagines a love story will be prominent somehow. All of this to say, I was incredibly excited when I was approached to review this title, and here we are!

Let’s get two things out of the way from the start: 1.) the blurb is accurate as far as the balance between the romance and the rest of the story goes (which is to say, the romance is quite light) and 2.) man, I loved this book and have zero complaints about any of point #1! I’ll talk more about the romance a bit later, but this is one of those strange situations where I’m worried that this book might be missed by several readers who would love it simply because it’s coming from an imprint that is known to focus heavily (almost exclusively!) on steamy romance stories! And while I think those readers will still enjoy this one (though there really is no spice involved), this is also the kind of science fiction story that I think would appeal to many fans of the larger genre, particularly readers who enjoyed “Red Rising” or “The Will of the Many!” Rather than romance comparisons, these are the true read-alikes for this book and I so hope that it makes its way out into the broader SF reading crowd!

Like those two books, this one is heavy on action, full of blockbuster moments, features nobles and their political maneuverings, all told from the perspective of a hero who seeks to tear it all down, and uncovers even deeper truths while she’s at it! Seriously, the twists and turns, the reveals and surprises just kept coming from the start all the way to the end! There were perhaps a few things that I could guess, but the way that it all worked together was so well-thought out and interesting. The history and culture of the space station all perfectly align to create the systems that our heroes are trapped within, with recognizable power dynamics with regards to wealth and status, but new twists with regards to the history of humankind and a dangerous enemy that was fought centuries ago. Other than book read-alikes, this one was an intriguing combination of “Pacific Rim” and “A Knight’s Tale,” as well, two things I don’t think I’d ever have put together in my head, but somehow, here, it works!

I also really loved all of the characters we followed in this book. Yes, plural. But this is one of those examples that I always point to when I think of multiple POVs done right. There is still one, distinct leading character who is driving the story, whose personal arc is the foundation of the book, and who receives the vast majority of the page time. The other characters are all peppered in between, offering unique glimpses into other aspects of this world, brief windows into the mindsets of love interests, rivals, and unknown forces. All of this works together to broaden the perspective of the reader, while also allowing us to focus deeply on the main character arc at its heart.

I also think this approach worked well for the romance. As I said, the love story is definitely secondary to the main plot following Synali’s quest for revenge, her travails in the jousting competition, and her discovery of the truth of the station’s history and its technology. Even just listing it off there, it’s easy to see how the book had more than enough plot to go around without adding in a complicated romance. Instead, we have a fairly simple, reserved love story that is very much still at its beginning stages. Synali’s focus is largely elsewhere, but we feel the draw between these two characters. And, while we didn’t have many chapters from Jax’s perspective, what we did have was very important to more fully flesh out a character who could have come off as a bit of a himbo/playboy. Even with only a few chapters, we see the pain of his childhood and begin to understand the unique draw he feels towards Synali, helping to save the love story from feeling a bit like an “instalove” situation on his part.

As you can probably tell by now, I really loved this book! It was so fast-paced and fun, I stayed up way to late reading it several nights in a row! The only downside is that it ends on a fairly major cliffhanger (and there are still some questions, at least in my mind, about exactly what is going on and the choices of some characters from the past). But, at the same time, these are effective hooks to get me amped up to pick up the second book as soon as possible! If you’re here for just the romance, you might be disappointed. But on the other hand, I think this is an excellent book for a much broader group of science fiction readers, especially those who enjoy action-packed reads like “Red Rising!”

Rating 9: What a crowed-pleaser! Another blockbuster in the making, perfect for fans of “Red Rising” and “The Will of the Many.”

Reader’s Advisory:

“Heavenbreaker” can be found on this Goodreads list: Upcoming Romantasy Releases 2024