I liked this book more than I expected to when I got it for free with Kindle Unlimited. Very much in the style of the Honor Harrington books, but not a slavish imitation.

To begin with, the main character is an aristocrat, promoted beyond what she earned--but, we find out quickly enough, the reasons are not merely nepotism and corruption, there are valid reasons as well. So this is *not* just a pampered-aristocrat-make-good story, nor is it an egalitarian screed against aristocracy. Furthermore, the politics grows ever murkier, and something interesting is truly amiss which is not fully resolved by the end of this first book (nor by the end of the second; the third is not yet available as I write this).

I don't generally like the bombastic-space-battles science fiction books (what I liked about the Honor Harrington series was not the battles but the political intrigue). This book seemed to strike a pretty good balance here--enough battles to glue you to the page, but the characters and their quandaries are interesting enough that I wanted to see more of them. ( )

likable characters - good base syfy premise - plenty of room for further development of story - nothing that makes it stand out in a superior manner
will read more by author ( )

a new space opera!

Ok, I really enjoyed the beginnings of this space opera. A tad midshipman Honor Harrington meets a young Herris Serrano.
I know the plot is somewhat familiar but that didn't lessen my enjoyment one iota.
It's 2040 and war is on the horizon for those with eyes too see between two empires, the protectionist Commonwealth, a loosely democratic empire espousing free trade, and the Theocracy governed by religious fanatics whose main object is to convert the masses to their religious beliefs at any cost including of course mass death and destruction. (Nuttall's comments on social engineering were illuminating.)
Katherine 'Kat' Falcone, daughter of a powerful industry magnate has fled the family trappings to carve out her own destiny as a naval officer. Kat suddenly finds herself in command of the navy's latest warship 'Lightning' having been leap frogged over others higher up the rung by her father's machinations. Her command is being sent to Cadiz, a nation recently annexed by the Commomwealth for its own protection from the Theocracy. Before leaving Kat's father has secretly given her data about the situation at Cadiz. What she finds is chilling. The naval battalion stationed there is in virtual stand down and not at all battle ready thanks to incompetency or the deliberation of the assigned Admiral.
Kat has to lead her ship, convince her officers that she's capable of command, look for a way around the Admiral to bring the stationed battalion up to scratch, and investigate the battle readiness of the Theocracy's fleet. Of course things quickly go to 'hell in a hand basket' and Kat is faced with huge command decisions that might see her drummed out of the service--if she survives.
I am certainly wanting to see how things evolve and the forthcoming challenges that face Kat and her crew.

A NetGalley ARC ( )