The Daughter Star

Humanity traded Earth to the alien Abrax in exchange for two new worlds: lovely Ad Astra (which over time becomes Adastre), commandeered by the wealthy nations, and inhospitable Nea, to which the poor were consigned. Three centuries later, Nean Marta Graylin’s professional and love lives are disrupted when the two planets stumble into needless war over Haven, the third habitable planet in the system. An ill-fated mission to Haven leaves Marta and her sister, Beth, drifting through space. Rescue entangles them with the mysterious Shadow Runners—including operations manager Janice Harp, who’s almost seductive enough to make Marta forget her Adastran girlfriend—and leads them to unwanted revelations about the Abrax’s true interest in humanity. Marta’s loyalties prove oddly mutable, her trusting nature leading her to align with whoever has spoken to her most recently. What could have been a pleasant star-cross’d lesbian romantic space opera is derailed by unconvincing world-building and endless revelations; no plot thread is given the chance to resolve and the focus wanders as widely as Marta herself. (May)