"Where have you been all my life?" Jaran by Kate Elliott

[helloladies]

We're excited to launch our Kate Elliott theme week with a review of Jaran by Mieneke, long time book blogger whose work you can find over at A Fantastical Librarian. Take it away, Mieneke!

In the future, Earth is just one of the planets ruled by the vast Chapalii empire. The volatility of these alien overlords is something with which Tess Soerensen is all too familiar. Her brother, Charles, rebelled against them at one time and was rewarded by being elevated into their interstellar system—yet there is reason to believe they murdered his and Tess's parents.

Struggling to find her place in the world and still mending a broken heart, Tess sneaks aboard a shuttle bound for Rhui, one of her brother's planets. On the ground, she joins up with the native jaran people, becoming immersed in their nomadic society and customs while also attempting to get to the bottom of a smuggling scheme she encountered on her journey there. As she grows ever closer to the charismatic jaran ruler, Ilya—who is inflamed by an urgent mission of his own—Tess must choose between her feelings for him and her loyalty to her brother.

The main question I was left with after reading Jaran, was simply why aren't more people talking about this book? WHY? There is so much to chew on in this book, so much that is still relevant to genre discussions today, why is it hardly mentioned in that context? Also, why hasn't Kate Elliott received a World Fantasy Life Achievement Award yet? She should be on the list from now until she gets it every year! But that is a wholly different discussion and one that we should have elsewhere not in my review here. So with that said:

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