So, it’s taken me a couple of weeks to finish this one because it’s longer than my usual reads. (Don’t get me wrong, Heavenbreaker’s no Sanderson brick, but the audiobook is fifteen hours and I generally go for twelve and under. Longer books take longer to build, and, what can I say, I’m impatient!)
Heavenbreaker did take some time to ratchet up, but I’m so glad I stuck with this book because it’s exceptionally well plotted, gorgeously visceral, and the ending twist is well worth the time investment.
For me as a new author about to launch a very similar sci-fi series, it’s also a great case study in sci-fi marketing. Heavenbreaker is 100% science fiction. But it’s not marketed as sci-fi. In Apple Books it’s categorized as romance. Which it’s not. In Amazon it’s categorized as ghost romance, which it’s not. Cover-wise, it’s clearly trying to disguise itself as fantasy, or at least sci-fi fantasy crossover. Which it’s not.
If I had to choose a category for Heavenbreaker, I’d place it squarely in New Adult science fiction without any lingering doubts about the matter. And I think that’s why marketers had a hard time. I’ve heard over and over that sci-fi doesn’t sell in the YA/NA age range. And my guess is this: the book’s marketing team knew Heavenbreaker would appeal to readers of fantasy romance books like ACOTR and Fourth Wing. But they also knew that if Heavenbreaker was released sporting your typical sci-fi cover, those readers wouldn’t pick it up and give this book the chance it deserves.
So they decided to go with strategic ambiguity.
Did it pay off? I’ve seen a lot of reviewers on goodreads feeling like they were duped, but a lot of others excited to finally get something that feels new and different.
Women in your twenties, take note: science fiction is for you, too! It’s not all middle aged white guys these days, I swear!
I’m kidding. Sort of.
Ultimately the question is, does this strategy sell? According to Publisher Rocket, Heavenbreaker is currently estimated to be making over $28,000 per month on Amazon alone. I don’t know how much the publisher invested up front. But to me, that sounds like a win!
So, if Heavenbreaker is not really a romantasy like the book’s marketing suggests, what is it actually about?
In a nutshell, it’s about space-mech jousting, revenge, and overthrowing a dystopian government.
Hundreds of years after a war that left humanity banished from earth, a remnant survives on an isolated space station, living in a feudal-style society ruled by a corrupt king.
Synali is the bastard daughter of a noble politician, living in poverty in the lower ward with her sick mother. But when her absentee father sends an assassin to eliminate Synali and her mother, Synali escapes, vowing to get revenge on every noble who had a hand in her mother’s murder.
She strikes a deal with Dravik, a mysterious former mech jouster who needs a young rider with noble blood to enter the Nova Cup, a prestigious space-mech jousting tournament. For every match Synali wins, Dravik will pay Synali by eliminating one of the seven noble leaders who had a hand in her mother’s death.
But as Synali learns to ride, she discovers the Noble’s world is even darker than she dreamed, and Dravik’s planning something far more sinister than simply winning the Nova Cup. And all of it–from the king’s dark rule to Dravik’s darker plans–is linked to the mysterious, incorporeal creature alive inside Synali’s mech.
Yes, there is a sexy, romantic element to this book, and the passion between Synali and her rival rider Rax is a definite draw. But if you’re looking for fluffy, straightforward HEA romance, this is not your book. It’s quite dark, with that bittersweet vibe that you get in something like the first ACOTR book.
SPOILER: There’s no sex and no happily ever after for these characters. At least not yet. So I’m only categorizing this read as a romance because that’s what it’s being marketed as, and I’m hopeful for it to grow in that direction for book two.
The strength of Heavenbreaker isn’t in the romance though. It’s in it’s full-force, feral, girl-out-to-destroy-the-world ferocity. Synali is one of the grittiest, most singularly determined characters I’ve read. No matter how much she suffers, she pushes through for the sake of revenge. As a reader, you might not like this angry, suicidal character at first, but she grows on you in the same way she claws her way through the ranks of the Supernova cup, match by match, wound by wound, through sheer determined willpower.
If you’re a fan of ACOTR style faery-court drama, you’ll also adore the mystery and political intrigue woven throughout Heavenbreaker. The side characters whose perspectives help reveal the mystery piece by piece are intriguing and have tons of depth. And even as you see the mystery unfold, you still won’t guess its full scope until the very end.
It’s a cliffhanger, by the way. But one that’s both satisfying enough and exciting enough that it has me on the edge of my seat waiting to hit preorder the moment the next book is revealed!
Thanks for the review! Appreciate the heads up about the cliffhanger but that it’s worth it. It’s been on my possible library hold list but just made it official!
That’s a good idea to get it from the library, that way if you don’t end up liking the cliffhanger then at least you didn’t spend money on it and you supported your local library <3 And if it becomes a fave you could always buy a book trophy later!