No Shelter But the Stars by Virginia Black

I spent most of 2023 recommending Virginia Black’s debut novel, Consecrated Ground, and was extremely impatient to read her next book. Even more so when I found out it was set in space. And then I saw this magnificent cover—by Ann McMan—which did nothing to quell my excitement.

Second books are tricky because expectations have replaced the element of surprise, that delicious feeling of being taken aback by how good a book is. Since I had loved Black’s first novel so much, I expected a lot from this one. And she delivered.

I already mentioned the cover, I also want to take a second to acknowledge the beauty of the title. The meaning is revealed over the course of the book and it only adds to the poetry of the words.

On to the story now. I won’t get into details, how each is unveiled to the reader and made known to the characters is fundamental to the story and I won’t spoil. All I’ll say is that two women from warring nations—one, Kyran, the reluctant heir to the leadership of a people looking for a planet to settle back on; the other, Davia, a representative of the empire colonising the galaxy—end up stranded on an asteroid, the sole survivors of a lightning-fast battle that changes not only their own lives but the fate of their worlds.

Beyond the enemies to lovers romance, No Shelter but the Stars questions the difference between resistance and terrorism, the difficult and, at times, wrenching journey of letting go of what one has always known to be true. Both women are sincere in their beliefs, based on what they know, and both appear unreasonable to the other. In other circumstances, they might not have been able to see beyond the surface, the anger, the antagonism. The remarkable situation they’re in forces them to listen to each other. Once they’ve found a common language, that is.

Black begins her tale in a limited, closed-off setting (what we’d call in French a huis clos, even though a big part of it takes place outside) then expands it, from the inside out, first with Kyran’s explorations of the moon, then more widely into the galaxy. There are parallels between this journey and that of discovering the other, understanding one another.

Every detail of how the characters move forward is fascinating. Kyran learning Sifani but not wanting to teach Davia Ellodian. Davia sharing her philosophy, her way of life. The progressive understanding of who she is, how she is, not only her social status but her inner self. The use of the ritual circle, first as a physical place then as a state of mind.

No Shelter but the Stars is the kind of book that reveals more and more with each reread. I rarely find the time to get back to books I’ve already read, but audiobooks give me the perfect excuse. Fingers crossed this one will make it to my ears. 4.5⭐️