Red-Haired Ash Reads

This book throws us into the middle of a war and the harried escape of Command Kai Yang who has been a POW for over a year. While I did enjoy Kai and Sasha’s story, the lack of information about the war between the UEF and CSS was a bit disappointing. I want to know why this war is so important to these two sides and how it happened. 

While we do get minimal world building, the romance between Sasha and Kai was very emotional. Kai is struggling with his return to the Knox and PTSD from his captivity. While Kai is an extremely strong and resilient man, his struggle to deal with his PTSD and panic attacks was heartbreaking. I just wanted to hug Kai and make it better. 

Sasha is determined to help Kai recover and work on his PTSD but she also wants to explore her feelings for him. Sasha’s struggle felt very real and I appreciated that she didn’t just fall completely in Kai’s arms or let him use her to ignore his PTSD. Sasha was a woman who is determined to help everyone around her but in the process hides herself too. Being around Kai makes her finally confront her grief over his supposed death and the death of her husband. While the best friend’s widow trope is not one I really enjoy, Anastasi does a great job at tackling the situation. 

Overall, this was an enjoyable space opera. My only real complaint was the lack of world building around this war. I am excited to read the next book and learn more about this world. 

Trigger Warnings: imprisonment and torture; death of a friend; PTSD; death of spouse referenced; grief;

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