The Principle of Moments promised to be an epic adventure through space and time with high stakes and great characters and I am pleased to say that it does not disappoint. I had no idea how all the various threads promised in the blurb could come together in a story that felt coherent but Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson shows a phenomenal mastery of craft and presents a story that not only manages to be cohesive but also juxtaposes those disparate ideas to build on the themes of the book.
I found the primary story of the book, that of heroes brought together by prophecy - to be harkening back to great science fiction and fantasy stories without feeling like a copycat. There is the sense that this book was intended to set up an even greater story so be prepared for some threads to feel a little untied by the end of the book but for the most part, I found the ebb and flow of the story to be just right.
If I had to make one small criticism I think the book was fractionally too long - I suspect this is because of the sheer amount of set up that is required but it did make some parts of the story feel a bit more of a slog. My overall feeling of the book was positive and I wouldn't say that is a reason not to pick this book up but I would suggest making sure you have enough time and brain space for what this world and this story will demand of you.
My favourite aspects of the story actually ended up being those moments set in the past which surprised me as I initially thought they might feel a little too fantastical for me (especially when compared to the more space-focused other side of the story). I think Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson clearly demonstrates the themes on which they want to write with just the right balance of show and tell. I cannot wait to read more of this series and I hope the wait will not be too long!
I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley - all opinions are my own.

I never would have believed that The Principle of Moments was a debut novel if I hadn’t been told – the concept, prose and execution of this book honestly feels incredibly polished, despite containing many elements that are hard to get right in Sci-Fi and fantasy.

First things first – THIS is how you write a ‘chosen one’ story! Asha is not your typical protagonist; her storyline takes place in the year 6066, and starts a human colony in a distant galaxy, that 100 years prior fell under the tyrannical rule of emperor Thracin. Here starts a refreshing take on the ‘chosen one’ trope. Asha is a competent, capable protagonist with all the skills needed to survive. She’d even planned her escape from her ‘prison’ by herself! The ‘prophecy’ in this book doesn’t need to make a warrior from an unlikely individual, but acts to give Asha the push she needed to act. Thracin by contrast is a wonderful antagonist in Principle of Moments, thanks mainly to the excellent setup and worldbuilding on the first few Asha chapters. The extremely Orwellian society that the human colony displays is wonderfully claustrophobic and overbearing, and I loved the flashes of Catch-22 with phrases such as ‘Peace will be maintained by any means necessary’.

A major part of the book also takes place in Regency London in the early 1800s, where our other major protagonist Obi is in a secret relationship with the regent Prince George (destined to become George IV). And yes, this does all happen in the same book, and yes, it does work well! Prince George IV is an inspired choice as main character for the novel (once I’d removed Hugh Laurie’s Blackadder rendition from my mind). A dash of forbidden romance elevated the tension of the book for me, as it can be inherently more relatable than the existential threats that often create the tension in Sci-Fi. Esme Jikiemi-Pearson has done a stellar job of casting underrepresented ethic and minority characters in lead roles in this novel, and it’s even reflected in the settings; A world that doesn’t look too kindly on minority races, and a different galaxy that doesn’t look too kindly on ANY humans.

The prophecy, along with time travel, are the glue that hold this novel together, and both were handled masterfully. I really enjoyed the snippets of prophecy exposition provided by the extracts from the ‘History of Chasca’ text, which felt very reminiscent of the snippets found in Brandon Sanderson’s Final Empire. Elements of time travel were of course necessary in a book spanning thousands of years, but I felt that it was handled with care, and the consequences of time travel were given sufficient weight to avoid potential plot holes undermining the whole story. I also love how the nature of the book opens up the potential of sequels to the Principle of Moments going in either direction in time.
This is a super impressive debut novel, and Jikiemi-Pearson is going straight on my ‘instant read’ list of authors for any future novels!

Oh my god. This book was everything I wanted and more. The blend of sci fi travel, fantasy and romance was perfect. It even had a little hint of regency with the Prince George scenes. I absolutely adored this. I cant wait to continue with the series and see how it fills out more. it has so much promise! Thank you so much for an eARC, this was such a great read!

I loved our main characters, and their flawed, courageous warmth. It was a genuine joy to see their character development throughout their building adventure. I'm not normally a fan of books with British royalty in, but I loved how many parts of this faced up to the most problematic elements of having a prince tied up in colonialism interact with a commoner. I look forward to seeing how this is developed in the sequel.

I don't read a lot of epic fantasy or sci-fi and at times I was a little lost in all the detail. However, the strong characterisation kept me invested and moving through the bits I was a bit unsure in.

I would echo another reviewer on Storygraph and raise a word of caution around characterising a ruling class as anything similar to a lizard. I felt like if they had been portrayed on screen, this could have been fleshed out more so it was clear they were not similar to antisemitic tropes. However with so much left to the reader's imagination and in the place they held in the society, I felt this might have benefitted from an amendment.

Overall, this was a satisfying and epic tale, and I can imagine myself picking it up again before the sequel comes out.

Because of the antisemitic trope, I don't feel comfortable reviewing this on Tik Tok, but I've added a review on Storygraph.

This was such an amazing and gripping time travelling space opera that had me on the edge of my seat! I enjoyed everything about this one and the adventure these characters went on.

Told in multiple POVs and timelines, I quickly grew to love these characters and the premise of this story as a whole. Asha life drastically changes in a blink of an eye and she's forced to fight for what she loves. She's an incredibly strong character who you cannot help but want to protect while also rooting for. The same actually goes for Obi who is ready to stop time-travelling but is thrown into the future with no way of getting back. His relationship with George was probably my favourite of the book.

I really liked the prophecy element of this book, especially with the excerpts about the legacy of the three heroes that we got at the end of every chapter! Whilst I'm always cautious with the 'chosen one' legacy I feel like it was really well done and had it's own spin to it! I cannot wait to see what happens next!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A space fantasy with guts, time travel and period romance – it’s bold and epic in every sense of the word!

I would describe this as a "Doctor Who meets Bridgerton" (Queen Charlotte’s Story) mash-up. The story follows two gloriously brown-skinned humans, Obe (who suffers a time-travel disease) and Asha (who is enslaved in an evil futuristic regime). It’s an ambitious novel for a debut, in my view, with three time periods and four POVs, but Jikiemi-Pearson rises to the challenge and delivers relatable characters, humour, plot twists/mystery and left me wanting more! I mean I don’t know if this is standalone but I would love to spend more time with the characters.

I’m not primarily a science fiction reader, so initially I was more drawn to the regency, historical fiction with a queer storyline, but once things fell into place – I enjoyed the sci-fi and action just as much, if not more. I love a mystery and surprises and this did not disappoint.

This novel has found family, love and rebellion. Asha is a gutsy heroine you can really root for and Obe, an amusing sidekick with soul and the queer romance is excellently written. More please! Jikiemi-Pearson has a rich imagination, great ideas and is definitely an author to watch.

I absolutely devoured this book! Everything i could possibly want with Star Wars / Doctor Who vibes mixed in with Pride and Prejudice elements. A sweeping plot of intrigue, action and romance with wonderfully diverse characters that you root for. Finished reading only hoping for more time in this world!

I had fun with the Principle of Moments, it's the sort of science fiction and fantasy blend I love with time travel, magic and prophecies. ⭐⭐⭐⭐

We have two main characters, Asha and Obi and I loved them both. Asha is incredibly smart, determined and a bit reckless. Obi is also reckless but he's also a bit more grounded and has more life experience. They are both swept along by the prophecy into situations they are completely unprepared for. There are three main heroes in the prophecy and I wish we had more time with the third who ends up feeling secondary and less well developed.

The scale of the story is huge and epic and I enjoyed how the prophecy was woven through the book even though it takes away a lot of agency from the characters. Unfortunately there's so much packed in that it feels a bit shallow in places. The magic in particular doesn't seem very cohesive and some of the things they were able to do with time travel magic in particular felt like they came out of nowhere, even if they were very cool.

Having said that, I was completely capable of suspending my disbelief and just enjoying the ride. I'm very much looking forward to the next book and I hope it can deliver a bit more depth on some of the interesting ideas this one introduced.

Writing: 4/5 Plot: 5/5 Characters: 4/5

I absolutely adored this book.

The alternative timelines were connected so well, usually alternative times tend to be clunky but the switch between the two was smooth and kept me interested. The archivists extracts at the end of each chapter, fantastic.

I absolutely adored the found family that Asha, Obi and Xavier made 🥹

This book will be a hit with fans of Dr Who and N K Jemisin.

I can't WAIT for book two 🥰.

My fave quotes:

✨"the cost of peace - who has to pay, and who gets to enjoy it?'

✨"Oftentimes, violence is a necessity when throwing off the chains of evil, through it pains many to admit it's true'

I would like to thank Netgalley and Gollancz for the advance E-book in exchange for my honest opinion and views.
OMG, this book was amazing. High praise to Esmie Jikiemi-pearson for creating such an immersive world that gripped me from beginning to end.
I wasn't a huge fan of sci-fi fantasy but when I saw this book with characters that look like me going to be on an epic journey I couldn't wait to read it and I wasn't disappointed.
From the opening prologue it was a epic experience I was completely lost in the words and the world; Esmie's writing is smooth and clear I didn't feel overwhelmed in her words and descriptions of the aliens and people.
Asha was a force of nature that I so much identified with how she wanted to break free of her subjugation.
Obi was well written and I was drawn to struggles as he fights to cure himself, I love the scene where he cornrows his hair these little details was what made the story so fulfilling, as a black reader.
Amazing space opera that will keep you turning the pages with beated breath, I couldn't put this book down and I will definitely be reading more from this author; book already ordered for our library and I was lucky to receive a special edition from a box subscription.
Fantastic book if you like N.K. Jemisin and Doctor Who this book will Keep you smiling. Well worth five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This book was an interesting read that I enjoyed.

At the start it is very info dumpy, but once Asha and Obi meet it picks up and I really enjoyed their relationship. So much happens over multiple time periods, I was never bored. I can't wait to read the next book in this series to see how the prophecy unfolds.

My favourite parts of this book are the world building and the characters. I can't wait to find out what they do next and where they end up.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an eARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Principle of Moments is an epic, time travel, space opera that traverses different centuries, timelines and planets. As well as being a sci-fi, it has some fantastical elements to it as well as two, seperate romantic sub plots.

I was so excited to read this and very grateful to have a review copy from Netgalley but I do feel as though this book was slightly mis-marketed. Similarly to what others have said, it definitely feels very YA which is a shame as it's marketed as adult sci-fi. I also felt as though the author tried to cram a lot of different elements into the book and subsequently none of them felt especially well fleshed out or contained any depth. I enjoyed Asha's character and found her background interesting and I almost wished she had been the sole POV character. Whilst Obi wasn't a bad character per say, the combination of his time travel storylines, romance plotline set in the 1800s and the fantastical elements of the novel just felt like A LOT. There was so much going on that it all felt shallow and under developed. Again, a massive shame because I loved the concept of this book so much.

Overall I would recommend this to a YA audience but not to an adult reader of Sci-Fi unfortunately.

This was a great debut!! It was also such a great book to get me out of a bit of a reading slump as there’s just so much going on it completely sucks you in.

There’s 2 main POVs - Asha and Obi. Asha is from the year 6066 and is set on a path to find her sister. Obi starts the book in 1812 where he’s fallen in love with probably the worst choice he could have (but I still love them together!). I enjoyed the journey both these characters went on and I can’t wait to see them again in the sequel.

There’s so many cool and original ideas going on in this book. I especially loved how time travel worked in this book - using sentimental items. This definitely is a blend of doctor who, Star Wars and a dash of Percy Jackson perhaps (in terms of a trio of heroes involved in a prophecy!). Watching the Doctor Who 60th anniversary episodes definitely set me in the mood for this book!

This also walks the line between fantasy and sci-fi so well. It is truly a blend of the both and wouldn’t be able to sit firmly in either genre (which I love!).

I also really enjoyed the writing of Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson. It was really well crafted and I could really picture in my head what was happening.

Overall, I really liked this fun, fast paced space-fantasy adventure and I need book 2 in my hands asap!!!!

The Principle of Moments is the first in what has all the promise of an epic sci fi series. It is full of action and adventure, crossing time and space. There is huge amounts of world building, all of which is really engaging and easy to sink into. The majority of the book takes place across two very different settings; London 1812 and across the galaxy in 6066, but in addition to this we also have memory flashbacks, archive entries and more which introduce the history and mythology of this universe.

The story is one of seriously high stakes, a prophecy with cosmic consequences, but this book is clearly just the beginning. It sets the scene and introduces us to our very likeable protagonists who at the beginning of the story are naive to their role in the prophecy, and living very different lives. They find each other and there is very much a sense of found family and loyal friendships developing. Despite this first book being a lot of set up for what is sure to be an epic saga, the pacing is still great and the characters were easy to root for.

Recommended for fans of sci fi, space opera and modern epic fantasy. This book uses elements of all three genres wonderfully. I will definitely read on in the series.

I've had a lot going on, so I've been working my way through ARCs and had to come back to review them later, as reading time seems to be easier to find than time to sit down and get my thoughts together. It's now a couple of weeks since I finished The Principle of Moments and, to be perfectly honest, I can barely remember any of it bar the broadest of strokes. Not a good sign.

There's something more than a little weird too about the love interest of one of our main characters being a literal prince (in this case, a Hanoverian, since part of our book involves said main character being in 1812 and apparently living in a palace with zero security given his main character boyfriend's ease of access). I mean, it's not as if there'd been multiple assassination attempts on various members of the British royal family in the 19th century... oh, wait...

Anyway, basic premise is that we're talking time travel here. One of our main characters is working as indentured labour in a factory on an alien planet while trying to figure out a way to escape. Midway through her escape plan, she bumps into our other main character, who is a time traveller. There's also a very convoluted prophecy where they (and maybe the prince, I don't really know?) are mythical heroes - this gives the author the excuse to stick pseudo-historic quotes in at the start of each chapter, that's for certain.

All in all, not the worst thing I've ever read but I do feel like it was mislabelled as being adult SF. I wasn't even slightly surprised to read the author's afterword that gushed about it being written in her A level computer science classes, as the main characters feel young and there's something a little two-dimensional about aspects of the world-building. Not a series I plan to continue and I really dislike seeing people compare it with something as brilliant as the Broken Earth trilogy.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher, via Netgalley. This is my honest review of the book in question.

This was such a pleasant surprise for me. I requested it because I had read a snippet of it from a festival promo leaflet and was curious to read more. It's quite a big book but it reads so quickly. It's so immersive and fast-paced. A breath of fresh air from my other recent reads.

The top highlights for me were the two main characters; I love that 'begrudging allies to friends' plot line and seeing their friendship blossom. I particularly enjoyed the London chapters as they showed the villain of the story in a different light.

My lowlight is the fact that the 'history' extract was located at the end of the chapter. Maybe I was used to reading the snippets before the chapter started so couldn't understand their positioning.

I have read quite a few debuts this year and this was easily in my top of the year. Can't wait for the next one!

Hugely enjoyable time travelling, space opera epic with a dash or regency romance.
A time traveller falls in love with a prince in 1812 London and long in the future a girl must escape the prison that humans are kept in.
In the past, a powerful demon-like man wants to be worshipped like a god, whilst in the future a tyrannical galactic emperor will crush any and all dissent.
And then there's the prophecy of heroes reborn, mysterious cults and a planet-destroying weapon.
Not to mention a brilliant collection of characters that have to navigate this dangerous path to try to save those they love, the universe and each other.
Hang on and enjoy the ride!
I can't wait for the sequel.

This was start to finish an absolute banger. It pressed all my buttons, ticked all my boxes. I loved this. The promise of the books to come is incredibly exciting, and I am so impatient to read them! Fans of NK Jemisin's broken earth trilogy will enjoy.

We follow three main characters across time and space (time travel? say less) in an epic space opera. The author makes you fall hard for the characters quickly and easily. I cannot recommend this book enough, hit that pre-order - you won't regret it. One of the best books I have read all year.

An enjoyable read throughout time and space! It's so much fun, but also got those high, nail-biting stakes that keep you turning every page.the characters are well written and in-depth, and make realistic decisions and choices. While it a common prophetic trope, the author really twisted it and made it all their own, and it brought new life to the tropes she used. The relationships between the characters are also really good, and show some excellent friendships (which is sometimes lacking in books in favour of romances). They work well as a team, and it was so interesting to see the parallels in the two different stories (one in Britain 1812,and je in space). It really played on the mirroring aspect and how history repeats itself, and led to a lot of interesting decisions. Really interested to see what the next book brings

The Principle of Moments was a fun ride through space and time. There’s high stakes action, which is nail biting at times and I was fully invested. The characters felt real and whole. Amongst the chaos of the cosmos there are tender and intimate moments between the found family that just felt wholesome. I want to also mention the epic scenes, they are vivid and certainly hold their own against other Sci Fi worlds. The way time travel is woven into the story is amazing, I loved the adventure and how the prophecy unfolds. I think so many people will enjoy this book even if science fiction isn’t their usual thing due to the focus on the people and their stories. This truly is a book about love. Thank you to NetGalley and Orion Publishing Group for an E-ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.