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I'll be honest, "gender-swapped Alexander the Great retelling set in space" was all I needed to know about Unconquerable Sun -- it immediately got added to the "most anticipated books of the year" list. Having only read, but absolutely adored, one book by Kate Elliott before, I knew she'd be able to pull of a book with such an epic scope.

Unconquerable Sun is an ambitious start to an epic new sci-fi series. Filled with action, adventure, political intrigue, pop culture, and shifting allegiances, this book is an absolute thrill to read and was incredibly difficult to put down. Elliott doesn't hold your hand with the sprawling world building, so it takes a few pages to really dig into the story, however I was totally hooked.

There are numerous POVs in this book, however our main two are Princess Sun -- our Alexander the Great character -- and Persephone Lee -- the reluctant daughter of one of the core houses who is desperate to escape her family's conniving. Splitting up the points of view was the smartest thing Elliott did for this book -- I surprisingly found Sun the most difficult to relate to and sympathise with because she's all sharp edges with little softness (even her vulnerabilities have spikes). Persephone's point of view adds a wonderful and extremely sympathetic layer to the story -- she's easily one of my absolute new favourite characters ever. When paired with the POVs of enemy soldiers and allies alike, the shifting perspectives in this book are so well done and add such wonderful dimension to what could have been a flat story.

Unconquerable Sun wasn't a technically perfect book, it is easily one of best reading experiences I've had this year. A truly unputdownable tale, you'll be just as desperate as me to see what happens next!