It's just another sci-fi-themed romance and it doesn't try to pretend to be anything more.
But within that envelope, it does a surprisingly good job at political intrigue. The bit of world-building there is, is also pretty solid but the author makes it easy for herself by introducing a lot of psy-powers commonly labeled as magic which nobody really understands.
She also uses the well-known unobtanium, the "magic" element tightly linked to all that psychic magic which is apparently very rare.

It's not very original but it executes the common tropes it uses pretty well but at no point was I even a little bit surprised. It's like drawing by numbers.

The romance is a fairly slow burn but mostly because their issues get in the way big times and at the end of this book they are not even in a relationship (yet).

So I will probably check out the second book to see if the book can execute the fairly ambitious world and politics convincingly. I don't think much can go wrong with a run-of-the-mill romance like it is promising to be. ( )

This SFF Romance-lite Space Opera was a really fun (audio)book to listen to. Both narrators gave stellar (tee hee) performances and the male orator sounded very much like Steve West (yummmm). It was so much fun that I wanted to do extra chores just to keep listening.

Now, when I say it's SFF I'd like to be clear... This isn't hardcore SciFi, if that's what you're looking for you'll be pretty disappointed. In fact, it isn't fully a Space Opera either... yes it takes place in space and on other planets but there isn't much talk about said Space or said planets, just like there isn't much scientific jargon about how things work and why. BUT don't let that deter you! This skimpy SciFi/ quasi-Space Opera, makes up for those deficiencies by giving us a variety of Fantasy to mull over with Truebonding and various types of (psyonic) Magic.

Another plus was that this (burgeoning?) Romance (is there even a romance to speak of??) was not insta-lovey (I really loathe the insta-love trope) even though there was a magical bond tethering each to the other straight from the start. So there wasn't a slow burn so much as an instant hate--> begrudging respect--> slightly enamored/protective state on both sides therefore calling it a romance is a bit premature... let's just leave it at they are done with the murderous thoughts about one another and have moved on to respecting and wanting to protect one another... a big leap from - stabby stabby/ I'll throw you out of an airlock and never look back- type thoughts.

Overall:
This was a really enjoyable (audio)book!! The characters were dynamic, interesting and morally gray (as they damn well should be). The writing was solid and the world building kaleidoscopic. I loved that our FMC, Vesper, was a super smart, techno savvy tinkerer with understated beauty. She grows from a lab rat doormat to a bad ass revenge seeking, psyonic force wielding hero by the end of the book. Our MMC, Kyrion, was always physically (and magically) strong but, by the end, he has a few personal A-HA moments leading to a modicum of emotional growth. His tortured soul/ killer persona is valid... he was wronged wronged wronged by the Man calling all the shots and ruling over everyone. There were subtle hints about what's likely to come in future installments and those few breadcrumbs, along with my enjoyment of this first book, have me excited for book #2. I have enjoyed Jennifer Estep's writing, and her whole vibe (to be honest) with previous books and I am excited to see more of the Galactic Bonds series.

~ Enjoy ( )