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3.5 

Bonds of Brass

By Emily Skrutskie
Bonds of Brass by Emily Skrutskie digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

A young pilot risks everything to save his best friend—the man he trusts most and might even love—only to learn that his friend is secretly the heir to a brutal galactic empire.
 
“An exciting space opera full of action and adventure that explores the bonds of loyalty and love, and what happens when they are stretched to their limits.”—Rebecca Roanhorse, Nebula and Hugo award–winning author of Trail of Lightning
 
Ettian’s life was shattered when the merciless Umber Empire invaded his world. He’s spent seven years putting himself back together under its rule, joining an Umber military academy and becoming the best pilot in his class. Even better, he’s met Gal—his exasperating and infuriatingly enticing roommate who’s made the academy feel like a new home.
 
But when dozens of classmates spring an assassination plot on Gal, a devastating secret comes to light: Gal is the heir to the Umber Empire. Ettian barely manages to save his best friend and flee the compromised academy unscathed, rattled that Gal stands to inherit the empire that broke him, and that there are still people willing to fight back against Umber rule. 
 
As they piece together a way to deliver Gal safely to his throne, Ettian finds himself torn in half by an impossible choice. Does he save the man who’s won his heart and trust that Gal’s goodness could transform the empire? Or does he throw his lot in with the brewing rebellion and fight to take back what’s rightfully theirs?

Praise for Bonds of Brass

“Skrutskie’s Bonds of Brass is a high-octane galactic adventure replete with heart, drama, and a keen edge of pain.”—Caitlin Starling, author of The Luminous Dead

“Full of breathless action and dazzling characters, Bonds of Brass is space opera at its most exciting.”—Adam Christopher, author of Stranger Things: Darkness on the Edge of Town

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371 Reviews

3.5
“This was poorly written, the pacing was off, it was front loaded with exposition and it was boring.  I never got to experience this sweeping, technological advanced empire, every location was small and insular and could have been anywhere.  It wasn't a space opera, or even really scifi, it was YA romance in space. The romance was awful. The characters had no chemistry and I didn't like Gal, I never understood what Ettian saw in him and why he was willing to sacrifice so much for him.  There's also the ‘he's the son and heir to the empire that colonised your home and killed your people’ angle which felt icky.”

About Emily Skrutskie

Emily Skrutskie was born in Massachusetts, raised in Virginia, and forged in the mountains above Boulder, Colorado. She attended Cornell University and now lives and works in Los Angeles. Skrutskie is the author of Hullmetal Girls, The Abyss Surrounds Us, and The Edge of the Abyss.

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