"Traitor Son" by Melissa J. Cave is a gripping tale of resilience, romance, and the complexities of rebuilding a legacy tarnished by betrayal. The narrative centers around Remin Grimjaw, the son of a traitor, who strives to restore his family's honor by marrying Ophele, the Emperor's daughter, and building a new city from the ground up. This novel masterfully intertwines themes of political intrigue, personal redemption, and the challenges of forging a new path in a world fraught with danger and deception.

Set in a richly imagined world, "Traitor Son" delves into the post-war realities that Remin faces. His quest to reclaim his family's honor and establish a duchy is marred by constant threats, both political and supernatural. The world-building is meticulous, with a focus on the nitty-gritty aspects of city-building and the socio-political dynamics at play. The introduction of monstrous threats adds an additional layer of suspense, ensuring the reader is constantly engaged.

Remin Grimjaw is a complex protagonist. His initial coldness and emotional barriers towards Ophele create tension, but his gradual growth and the unveiling of his motivations make him a compelling character. Ophele, the Emperor's unwanted daughter, is portrayed with a blend of vulnerability and strength. Her journey from a bookish, naive girl to someone striving to find her place in a harsh world is both relatable and inspiring.

The supporting characters, particularly Remin’s loyal knights and the witty Miche, add depth to the story. Wen's humorous outbursts, especially his rant about pastries, provide much-needed levity amidst the heavier themes.

The romance between Remin and Ophele is a central element of the story. Despite the initial friction, their relationship develops organically, with moments of tenderness and mutual understanding. However, the imbalance in their dynamic, with Remin often unintentionally hurting Ophele, can be frustrating. This tension is a double-edged sword, adding realism but also making Remin occasionally hard to empathize with.

"Traitor Son" explores themes of honor, loyalty, and the rebuilding of a tarnished legacy. The narrative underscores the importance of community and the challenges of leadership in a newly established settlement. The exploration of the supernatural elements, though not fully resolved in this installment, promises an intriguing subplot for future books.

While the book excels in character development and world-building, it occasionally falters in pacing. The romance, though well-crafted, sometimes overshadows the political and magical elements, which could benefit from further exploration in subsequent books. The lack of female perspectives, aside from Ophele, and the predominantly male cast in the settlement, could be addressed in future installments to provide a more balanced view.

"Traitor Son" is a promising start to the Empire of Stars series. Melissa J. Cave has crafted a compelling narrative that balances romance, politics, and the challenges of rebuilding from nothing. The unresolved subplots and the potential for further character growth make this a series worth following. Despite its minor flaws, "Traitor Son" is a captivating read that leaves the reader eagerly anticipating the next chapter in Remin and Ophele's journey.

Ugh, this was such a great book! I loved the knights, courtly love aspects, and the characters' reverence for their ancestors. The story and characters were so compelling and I found myself nearly crying for Ophele's troubles several times. Her character is so selfless and sweet! The main plotline of the book follows the relationship of Ophele and Remin, which does get resolved right at the end of the book. There is definitely a big tee up of the next book in the series, which I am now impatiently waiting for! No cliffhanger. Only critique is that the intimacy scenes were only in missionary, though the author managed to keep the scenes fresh and they didn't feel too repetitive, plus it makes sense with Remin and Ophele's naivety..

I read this book within a day, the author's writing is chef kiss. I knew from the very first page that I was going to enjoy this book.
A grumpy Duke who's a traitor's son and a forgotten princess, count me in.
I didn't like the way the Duke behaved to the FMC but after seeing his back story, I understood why.
I didn't think it was necessary to add the devil and stranglers part.
I enjoyed reading about the FMC and MMC interactions and how they fell in love.
I can't wait for book two

This was instantly a new favorite. Within the first few chapters I was sucked in, and next thing I knew I only had 10% left and was dreading it being over. I loved the relationships and development between characters, and the banter was great as well. The story was amazing and left me wanting more, so I really can't wait to see what happens next in this series. Melissa - I'm a fan :)

Remin is a ‘traitors’ son who rises to fame and glory to win back his birthright to ensure his family name is never destroyed. To do this he bargained to marry the Emperor‘s daughter

I absolutely loved this book!! There’s a good range of politics, world building and character development. Plus honestly, the romance was absolutely top tier! The whole story revolves around Remin and his Knights building a new city while overcoming threats

I will say that this felt more heavy on the romance and the politics/ magical elements were more on the back burner. I’m assuming now characters are established the next books will include more focus and details on those things.

I will absolutely be picking up the next one!

Wen had been in absolute stitches (especially his rant about pastry’s) I want to see more of his character for sure!

The is book deserves all the stars. I knew by Chapter 2 that I would love and by Chapter 4 I was already dreading the ending. I stayed up til 3am to finish this story and loved every single page.

This was a sweet little romance about trust and city planning. It's very cozy, which is not really what I expected from the description, and manages to be so in spite of literal devils besieging the city each night. If you want a fantasy romance where everyone's nice people trying their best, you'll probably have a good time.

I found it a little hard to get into, at first, because I was expecting a darker tone so I was waiting for another shoe when in fact all the shoes had already been laid before me. Additionally, the first sex scene was a mess of flipflopping povs, an issue that thankfully doesn't crop up anywhere else in the novel. The main couple is pretty clearly inspired by Daenerys and Drogo, which is fair enough, I also read Game of Thrones in high school and thought about that sex scene for years, but it's blunted somewhat by having the male pov, where we are constantly reassured that he's a good man and the tension is all a misunderstanding. It works well for cozy, but personally, I like tension, and I think there could have been more of it.

The webpage for the series asks, "Did you enjoy the Machiavellian politics and huge stakes of Game of Thrones, but wish that the heroes had been a bit more heroic?" And I'm not sure it delivers on that. The politics are very much background, the stakes are extremely localized, and the magical elements are puffed up at the beginning only to be occasionally trotted out and never resolved. The politics never tie into the personal aside from the initial setup: they don't trust each other because of their respective traumas related to the Emperor. I get the impression that some of the politics might matter in a later book, but it stubbornly refuses to matter in this one. I kept waiting for the demons or the magical nature of the land to impact our two protagonists and their relationship, but the most we get is him reassuring her that he's handling the devils problem and her agreeing yes it's your duty to be handling the devils problem. The danger is backdrop. It's there to contrast with how nice the city they're building is. Generally, with epic fantasy plots, you resolve some part of it in each volume so it feels like progress. I did not feel that progress here. All of the threads save the romance felt unresolved in a way that was unsatisfying. The heroes are, however, heroic, down to the last knight in the city, in a way that borders on saccharine at times.

I really liked the character of Ophele, and I felt like her shyness and anxieties were handled very well. I was lukewarm on Remin, not because there was really anything wrong with him, but because it's not an archetype I enjoy as much in my romance leads (I'm more of a Miche enjoyer, myself), and I didn't feel like he brought much new to the "big misunderstood gruff guy" space. But they were cute together, and the core misunderstanding keeping them apart made sense, which is what counts.

I get the impression that the rest of the series is also focused on Remin and Ophele, though. If that's the case, I will likely not pick it up. It was a good romance, but they hit their resolution. Because I didn't see any of the questions raised about the world ever get answered in this book, I'd be hesitant to pick up another out of fear that the politics will continue to be only hinted at or shunted off to the end, and four more books is a long time to be asking the same questions. But if you're here for the romance, I can happily say I had a good time with this book.

This is the first book I have ever received from @netgalley and let me tell you, I devoured this book in a day!

The story centres around Remin Grimjaw and Ophele. An unlikely match but a political win for Remin, despite her being the bastard daughter of an Emperor set out to kill him by any means necessary. I don’t want to put any spoilers in my review about what happens between the two of them but their journey was one that kept me turning those pages. Melissa has done a wonderful job carving out two central characters that you genuinely care about and also a story that keeps you completely hooked and entertained. Remin also has a found family who protect and care for him, in turn they also bring humour to the story too. There’s battles, friendship, love, and eerie creatures that I felt genuinely scared about!

I felt like the world building in the book was great too and I could picture exactly what Remin is building for him and his people in Tresingale.

It’s not too fantasy heavy but I would love to learn more about the Valleth, and origins of the stranglers! Very, very helpfully in the glossary Melissa not only explains the great houses but also how to pronounce the characters names!

After I finished this book I was happy to see that Stardust Child (Book two of Empire of the Stars) is out in April 2025! I can’t wait to read it! 👍👍

TRAITOR SON is a fantasy novel about what happens after the war is won. Remin Grimjaw is both a hero and the son of a traitor. After service to the emperor that wants him dead, he desires three things: land for his duchy, the river for his own, and the emperor's daughter for his wife. He's going to make something of the land he fought so hard for, and build a noble house no one will be able to tear down. Ophele is the emperor's unwanted, uncared for bastard daughter and they have to make the best of an uneasy marriage.

TRAITOR SON is the story of Remin and Ophele's marriage and the start of the building of their new home. In some ways this story is kind of cozy and exactly the kind of thing I like--the nitty gritty of how to carve out out a new home from nothing, and how to build a relationship from a lot of preconceived notions. And much of the book worked for me, which is why I managed to read it in the course of a day.

Two niggles I had problems with were Remin's attitude towards Ophele--for much of the book he is pretty cold to her and emotionally stunted in general, and he does a lot of things that end up hurting her. I could have bonked him on the head multiple times. He does eventually come around and we see his reasons for it, but I wanted to hit him over the head a lot. He'd better spend the next five books in this series walking over broken glass for Ophele. And he needs to learn to trust and have faith for other people, not just for Ophele. He's got some more growth to go through.

My second niggle was Ophele's general naiveté and her youth, I guess is the best word. She's seventeen and a bit of a bookish mouse and very easily crushed by unintentional cruelty, which is relatable, and we understand why over the course of the book. But I kept expecting and hoping for her to stand up to him, to insist on being treated as an equal, and making him talk to her, for goodness's sake, but she never does. I think this was so apparent because once we reach her new home in the valley, there are no other women in the story at all. It is literally a huge settlement full of men. And as the remnant of an army, it kind of makes sense, but I REALLY hope the next installments have more women to provide their perspective to her. Miche filled the councillor role for both Remin and Ophele (and I LOVED his character) but boy I hope we get more women. I really hope we get more community building in general. I love stories focused on community.

There is also a subplot about monsters that felt a little inconsistent but we've got five more books to flesh that out.

Anyways, I had a good time and it was very readable, four stars!

Heat level: 4

This was a strong start to the Empire of the Stars series, it had everything that I was hoping for from the description. The overall feel worked as a romance novel in this world. The overall story worked with the characters and their world perfectly and thought it was written well. I enjoyed the way Melissa J Cave was able to create a story and keep the reader entertained. I’m excited for the sequel in this book.