YA Space Opera Romance Book Review
“Peace is not something you wait for– it’s something you fight for.”
Suspended in the Stars uses first person narrative to reveal its protagonists and love interests’ secrets to us gradually.
Talie has grown up performing as a trapeze artist, the famous “Soaring Staress” in a travelling space circus. After another flawless performance, she’s confronted in her secret passageway by a desperate stowaway, a masked soldier fleeing his unit.
Renner, we discover, has a cover story of his own, a top secret mission to deliver information that will expose the High Queen’s murderer. After much persuasion, the self-assured, flirtatious soldier convinces Talie to hide him in the circus, and a turn of events force Renner to join Talie’s trapeze act as the Soaring Staress.
Mystery and suspicion only grow as Talie and Renner slowly unravel pieces of what the other is hiding amidst their forbidden, yet growing attraction for each other.
And once Renner discovers Talie’s true identity as the lost Gravless Princess, he is compelled to adopt her into his greater mission and protect her with his life.
Suspended in the Stars surprised me with its gravity, humor, and romance. One cannot deny how much Hendryx loves her characters and their world. Both Renner and Talie are beautifully depicted, compelling characters with distinct voice and perspectives. And while the story does include a moment where Talie is under threat of being trafficked to an underground fighting ring, the story stays well within YA readership appropriateness, while delivering wisdom and proposing questions for young and mature readers alike.
“You can disagree with the means to an end, but if you agree on the end, does that change things?”
“Before I realized that a system rife with corruption cannot be stopped by a specific bloodline or a girl with the ability to defy gravity.”
The story is easy to classify as Clean. There’s no real world vulgarity or swearing and no spice, but our love-smitten protagonists share quite a few very swoony kisses. There’s a dozen a least!
Due to the story’s romantic focus, the prominent antagonist is a remote yet present force. Renner’s former Captain of the Guard, Jas Uli-Tai battles Renner and Talie in two hand-to-hand stand offs, with most other moments requiring our heroes to have to evade him in populated space-ports & through the black in wild starship chases.
Renner and Talie are forced to seek transport with shady and cocky “Rim” smugglers like Leef DeBray and his adorable team of sentient “Free” robots. And the final act transports us to an ocean world and a civilization perfect for aquaphiles where I truly expected we’d see some mermaids.
The stakes never waver in this heart-pounding race through space as Talie and Renner must choose between each other or the fate of the Xerus Galaxy. For Talie, it’s the weight of her identity as Gravless Princess that will forever keep her from Renner’s embrace.
Favorite Side Character
It’s a hard toss up between the mysterious smuggler and tech-head, Leef DeBray, and his free-bot “Dot.” The description gave me an image of Dot being similar to Star Wars’ Sphero BB-8, but with little pincer hands that helped this character emote. Dot’s purity and drive to help made it entirely loveable and enhanced Leef’s likeability as well. Though the bot doesn’t enter scene until the three-quarter mark, it stands high on my list of reasons you should read this trilogy, as I know we will see more of Dot in future.
Criticisms
This is one of very few books I would be grasping at straws to have anything negative to say that’s worth saying. So instead, I will focus on how it evaded the red marks of shame.
Talie’s “magical” ability was unique, yet never explained. We aren’t told how humans with the ability to defy and manipulate gravity came to be, but there are precious few in existence. Those being: Talie and her missing “dark twin.” Hendryx employs the polar opposites trope here, describing Talie with fair skin and white blond hair and bright blue eyes, and her twin as having black hair, dark skin, and dark eyes. I’m not a fan of the light = good and dark features = evil, but I don’t know whether Hendryx will fall into this in later books. The Xerus trilogy is soon to be complete with Falling Through the Black available now and Rising Through the Galaxy releasing November 4th, 2025 and Available for preorder now. That said, the idea of Gravless royalty was fresh and interesting, and Talie really struggled to develop her ability.
Most space opera world building causes authors to diversify their star ship crews by making each character from a different alien race. These stories make star system melting pots look like New York City, and tend to ignore how ethnicities stick together in their own neighborhoods. Suspended in the Stars’ “aliens” were more than humanoid races with hybrid animal traits. There were alien fauna. And there were humans who had adapted to different worlds. One type had adapted to the dark and frigid climate of their planet. Another the humid, bright, warm ocean world. And yet one more character was able to phase through walls. And that was refreshing.
Overall, Suspended in the Stars is compelling enough to be remembered for years to come and be a keepsake for your shelf. I hope this series earns the attention and love it deserves and stays in circulation for many decades.
Religious Themes
Below it, my formal name in bold, flashing text: Lt. Byrenn Car-Tai, Wanted Criminal. The sickness swells. I was born Byrenn, but my mother never called me anything but Renner. Then, when I joined the service of the king, my last name was cut and pasted to that of the royal line like every other royal guard. It’s supposed to be a reminder of the debt we owe to the crown. To me, it felt more like losing my identity. (Ch. 13)
Talie was forced to reckon with her true, innate identity. She had a choice to accept her role as Gravless or create her identity in Renner. Conversely, Renner was compelled into the military much like Sable Commander Ambrosia from the “Birthright of Scars” duology, and had his family name altered to signify him being under headship of the crown. His statement that it felt like losing his identity struck me and I wondered if Hendryx would elaborate that theme further on.
Though I could not find any other religious themes, identity is one of those subtle Christians themes that few recognize, and I feel it worth point out because it was a theme that arose in my writing of the “Birthright of Scars” duology. And I chose to develop this theme thouroughly, with an adult audience in mind.
In Conclusion
I highly recommend Suspended In the Stars to YA readers and adults for its healthy, sweet romance, quality story telling, and immersive world.
“Suspended in the Stars” is also available in audio!
Support the author directly by purchasing the AUDIOBOOK here.
Or purchase Suspended in the Stars through Bookshop.org to support an independent bookstore of your choice. If you don’t have a local indie bookstore, I recommend choosing Cupboard Maker Books (Enola, PA) or The Book Bark (Palmyra, PA.)
About the Author
Laurisa Brandt writes speculative fiction with a dash of romance. Her award winning Birthright of Scars duology has appeared in the Susquehanna Style magazine.
When not writing emotional, thought provoking, high-action stories with deep spiritual themes, Laurisa can usually be found baking scrumptious sourdough bread or enjoying the outdoors.
She resides in south central Pennsylvania with her husband, her 1930’s Remington typewriter, and her adopted Timneh African Grey parrot, Hercules.
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