Firstly, I need to request that we, as a collective, stop comparing any book with a hint of a m/m relationship as "Red, White & Royal Blue meets X". Just stop it. 

This book seems to be very heavily marketed as a Sci Fi Romance. What it actually is: a Sci Fi/ Fantasy fraught with intergalactic politics, court drama, murder plots and espionage with a minor romantic subplot. There is a lot of mutual pining. 

So I went into this book expecting one thing and struggled to get through but not because it's a bad book. My expectations just severely overshadowed the actual story. 

All of that aside, I think there are some really great things about this book.

The author did some really incredible world building. It was a very compelling system of planets and  the politics that dictate these separate societies operating under the Empire. 

Super fascinated by the treatment of gender expression and gender identity and the common knowledge that one does not necessarily correlate with the other. 

Kiem and Jainan, as characters, are also very nuanced and thoughtfully constructed. (I could go into heavy detail but I don't have it in me currently 😅)

Overall, I am not sure how to rate this book just yet. Need some time to think on it and let go of my irritation of how this book was marketed.