I read Adrift in Starlight for Trans Rights Readathon. The premise hooked me right away with a gender neutral courtesan being put on a job to seduce someone only to find out they were asexual, could have been a bad plot, but Briar turned it on it’s head and made it perfect with both Tai (the courtesan) and Aisha (the historian) complex and well defined characters who find themselves on a winding path that includes Fleeing from the Authorities, the two of them are dragged into one adventure after another: alien planets, pirate duels, and narrow escapes from the law. All the while the two of them both try and figure out what love means between the two of them and if their differences can really be worked out or if they are truly too different and have to go their separate ways.
The world building in this piece was superb. I felt like I could fall right into the story and everything made sense, which help with the slightly silly aliens. They made sense because the writing was so good and they had a emotional point in the story, otherwise they wouldn’t have worked. The characters were also very well defined. I loved how Tai and Aisha both spend a good amount of time trying to figure out what love means to each of them and how it can work for them together. It’s something you don’t see with asexual/non asexual romances from what I’ve read and it was portrayed very well. I love how the author just made everything about LGBTQ people fit within the society, it was well portrayed and very beautifully done.
I really enjoyed Adrift in Starlight and it got a solid 4.5 Stars from me. I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the Halcyon Universe, Petrichor Blooms
Amazon: Adrift in Starlight
Plaid Reader Reviews 