First, let me say how excited I was to get access to this ARC. I adored the Immortality Thief earlier this year and was so excited to see more from indigo, Tamara “lantern eyes”, and Sean. This absolutely did not disappoint. I will say, while the first book leaned more into the horrors of the nameless ship, the Unkillable Princess settles into a found family adventure across space as our trio bounces between Galactic governments, secret operatives, and real family dramas. I really love Taran’s writing style. I wish I could say more without spoiling anything but if you enjoyed Immortality Thief , you will enjoy the Unkillable Princess keep reading the series. I need a book 3!

Exactly what I wanted out of this sequel!

After the events of book one, Sean is on the run with Indigo and Tamara and has found out that his sister may be alive. However, he isn't sure if the message is really from her and doesn't want to get his companions involved in case there's danger lurking.

The second book has less of a horror vibe than the first and focuses more on political intrigue but still has the same quick pacing and adventure. I loved seeing more of the relationships between the main trio, and they really started to feel like a found family. There was also lots about Sean's actual family and trauma - and a bit about Tamara's as well. Still not too much about Indigo's past (although a little more) but this set up very well for a third book so I'm hoping we see more then!

Every year, at the end of December, I rank the top books that I have read and create for myself a best of the best. In 2022 I chose 'The Immortality Thief' as best book of the year (out of 201 read in total) so I was very enthusiastic when I saw a successor was finally upcoming.

'The Unkillable Princess', book two of 'The Kystrom Chronicles', takes off where 'The Immortality Thief' ended, almost starting with the same sentences that ended the first book. Sean Wren receives a message from Brigid, his younger sister who was killed eight years ago. The search for his sister becomes Sean's new goal in life. The scope of the first book was limited to the inside of a space ship, with only one last chapter introducing us to the planet Parnasse. Readers learned a great deal about the background of the human society, but didn't get to see any of it. 'The Unkillable Princess' is set on that same planet, and on a moon called Wentor. The scope of the story widens a little bit, but not too much yet. Space opera series sometimes tend to explode at a certain point, presenting an increasing number of intrigues and subplots. For now, 'The Kystrom Chronicles' is still under control. I read book one in June 2022 and started in the second without re-reading anything. I still remembered the gist of the first book, but not all the details. There is no 'what happened before' chapter, but it only took a few chapters before things started to come to memory again. Taran Hunt integrated the need-to-knows neatly into the new story without these awkward moments when protagonists start telling each other things they already know for the sake of the reader's flawed memory, and there is indeed really no need for a preface telling the reader about the story so far.

Entangled with the main story line, lots of flashbacks were added about Sean's childhood and teenage years, mostly with his sister. They explain events from the past that shaped his present, and give insight in the relationship between the siblings (speaking of which: make sure to read the afterword to find out how young Taran Hunt dealt with the coming of her baby sister -- so funny). Chapter titles, which are sometimes lengthy and funny, include hints about when these flashbacks occur. Because these hints are mostly relative compared to another event, it's basically one big chaos of "X years before event A happened, Y years after event B happened". It's only an apparent chaos though, and this style definitely adds value to the narrative. The flashback stories on themselves are entertaining (and a rare time poignant) and add a lot to the emotional depth of Sean.

The main story lines --the search for Sean's presumed sister and the parallel attempt of Sean, Indigo and Tamara to stay out of the hands of the authorities-- are not very complex. There is pursuit, there is some rather straightforward intrigue, and there is humour, the latter mostly the result of Sean's inability to think his actions through before diving into them. The end result of this combination is simply a very well written, fast-paced and entertaining book, difficult to put aside while reading, easy to pick back up if real life forced you to put it aside anyway. 'The Unkillable Princess' is a worthy successor to 'The Immortality Thief'. After having read it, I wasn't even close to becoming bored. I still want to know (a lot) more about Sean, Tamara and Indigo. Extrapolating the time between publishing dates though, a third episode is to be expected not sooner than around June ... 2027! That's a bummer. Someone should bribe Taran Hunt into becoming a full time writer because she's good at it.

(Thank you Netgalley and Rebellion Publishing for an early DRC in exchange for an honest review.)

I freaking LOVED this book.

I was honestly worried because I loved the first book so much; I didn't think a sequel could ever be as good. Boy was I wrong!

While The Immortality Thief was claustrophobic and spooky, The Unkillable Princess was more expansive, taking place in space and on various planets. The political intrigue was a little hard to follow in some places, but I still found it compelling.

I had somehow forgotten how much I loved Sean, Tamara, and Indigo, as individuals and as a group. The Unkillable Princess gives so much more of the relationships between these three, which was the main reason I loved it so much. I want so much more of this found family! (And since I high-key ship Sean and Indigo, I hoard every crumb of their affection for each other, of which there were several morsels).

I read The Unkillable Princess within two days and upon finishing I immediately reread it and enjoyed it just as much the second time. I'll be preordering this book so I can enjoy it again when it comes out officially.

TLDR: If you loved The Immortality Thief, you'll love this book too.

Taran Hunt’s excellent sequel to The Immortality Thief continues the adventure of POV character Sean, deserter Tamara, and quasi-alien Indigo, as they attempt to parlay the secrets they uncovered in the first book into a peace between Ministers and humans. The action starts quickly as they are pursued by minions of the corrupt human Senator who dispatched Sean on his mission in the first book. A message from, perhaps, Sean’s missing sister adds mystery to the plot. Well done, fast-paced, readable, and a great continuation to the Kystrom Chronicles.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this book.

This is the kind of book that you finish and immediately wish for the next one. This is the kind of book that tears you up emotionally. So where do I even start this review? The author has done it again, writing a complex and deserving sequel to their just as impressive debut. The characters feel even more real and well written as before.

I will absolutely be requesting an ARC of the third book.

Hello again dear reader or listener, I am here to tell you about the huge mistake I just made.

You see, while I very rarely do early reviews, this book has been my number one most anticipated sequel in the last two years. Which means the moment eArcs were up for grabs I went faster than light to request one, the MVPs at Solaris Books granted that request (thank you kindly, now whom do I address my therapy bill to?) and I, spectacularly stupid idea factory that I am, decided to read it right there and then. Instead of closer to release date this upcoming February. Which means I might need to wait even longer for the sequel! To add insult to injury, I actually binge reread book one and then jumped straight into the sequel.

So, if I die in the process, you’ll know this is what got me in the end. Just kidding, I shall be immortal if only to keep reading this perfect series. As you can probably already tell, I am indeed writing this review right after finishing this tiny marathon. Another ill-advised idea? Perhaps. The protagonist, Sean, and I share that trait.

Here is your official “ very mild spoilers for book one of the series ahead” warning and, if you’d like to read my happy rambles for that one first, this is where you’ll find them. Also, can we take a moment to once again drool at how awesome the cover art is?

Sophomore slump? Taran Hunt doesn’t know her.
The Unkillable Princess brashly kicks down the door in a swagtastic entrance, to announce to everyone that it is broader in scope, better in everything, and very ready to destroy your emotions. Every single one of them. And while it is very hard to say exactly what it is that makes this second entry in the Kystrom Chronicles so great, without any spoilers, I will do my very best, because this is everything you want in a sequel and more.

In The Immortality Thief, our wonderful chaotic trio of Sean, Tamara, and Indigo, followed the enemies, to reluctant allies, to found family pipeline, to perfection. It was done in the midst of claustrophobic action, high stakes, superb humor, and tons of emotional heft. Not to mention lots of monsters. It was a heist as much as it was a story about ethics, survival, and building trust. Now, with The Unkillable Princess, Hunt is treating the reader not only to the actual wider aftermath of the events that transpired at the end of book one, and their political ramifications, but also to the testing and tempering of that new bond between three characters that have found a family in one another when they least expected it. Torn between the family he found and the family he thought he had lost, Sean must make decisions that could mean far more than a broken heart. They could mean the begining of a war unlike any his universe has ever seen. Trough all that, Hunt also gets to truly show us all of that wonderfully rich worldbuilding she had only been able to hint at with book one and its restricted setting.

This sequel is as much a spy thriller as it is a story of revenge, resentment, and idealism. But, at its core, it’s about a love so deep it’s nearly impossible to explain. And the fraught road to navigating conflicting feelings of past hurts haunting present care and affection. Hunt tackles complex themes of trauma, atonement, and PTSD, in a way that not only rings true, but bypasses lesser tropes or clichés commonly found in such contexts. Not only that, but she delivers fragility, under its various forms, in such a manner that makes her characters so much more than just words on a page. Moreover, this may be a more complex and intricately crafted story, with the broadening of both the settings and character cast, but it doesn’t feel like a completely different novel to its predecessor. It is both new, yet a perfect continuation and evolution of everything that worked in book one and you’d hoped to see more of in a sequel. The author expertly scales up everything, from the action to the somber moments, to the character development. And, of course, the shenanigans and hilarious chapter titles.

Also, you know how any time there is a found family trope, you might see or read a passing reference to moments between characters outside of the main plot – the so-called fluff – and we all live for it and desperately hold onto any shred of it we can find? Those bonding moments between characters that aren’t dependent on high stakes or plot driven character development. Just pure and simple, small moments bonding. That is something Hunt graces us with in this book, in heaps. Never mind that because it is all delivered through Sean’s unreliable narrating pov, he often observes something that he doesn’t truly see/understand in the moment, unlike the reader that is left giggling or clutching their chest in a wave of feels. Naturally, this only triples the staggering emotional damage that the rest of the book will wreak on you, but that is beside the point really. I’m fine… Who am I kidding, I am unwell.

I truly don’t know how the author managed to maintain the fast narrative pace despite all of the emotional weight she needed to carry across, but in between breakneck action worthy of the Mission Impossible franchise, reckless yet efficient spaceship piloting, and badass hand-to-hand combat, Hunt delivers another truly excellent romp, across planets and moons this time, that is in no way lacking in tons of heart and hilarity. You just need this in your life.

With The Immortality Thief, she showed us she had the skills and imagination to deliver a truly great sci-fi novel, but with The Unkillable Princess, Taran Hunt has certainly cemented her place among the pantheon of master storytellers.

Now excuse me while I go nurse the mother of all book hangovers, and trust that you will find me shouting from the rooftops to anyone who will listen about this series as soon as I recover. I am truly dying to read the next installment because I need answers to very important questions and my chest still aches hours later from the tachycardia those last ten chapters had me in.

The Unkillable Princess comes out February 11th, 2025 and you can pre-order now! Run don’t walk. I mean it!

Until next time,
Eleni A.E.

While the first book was focused on claustrophobic hallways and a fight for survival, this book was much more about political intrigue and the relationships of the characters. While I enjoyed the book quite a bit the only criticism I would give is the constant flashbacks could be a little jarring. I enjoyed the uniqueness of the first book a lot and this one took the story in a whole new direction.

This was everything that I was hoping for in the sequel of the Kystrom Chronicles series. The overall feel works with the previous book in the series. The characters were everything that I wanted and enjoyed and thought they felt like they were supposed to in this world. Taran Hunt has a strong writing style and can’t wait to read more.