Parallax by Amber Toro

At a Glance: An Action Packed Second Installment

Parallax doesn’t waste any time throwing us into the action, the first chapter is written in a way to instantly pull you back into the Sentient Star universe and keeps you biting your nails from start to finish. This is fast paced, full of action, politics, internal conflicts, plot twist, and some well written spice that ticks all the boxes in what I consider a new genre being formed by Toro called SciMantasy.

We join our 3 protagonists 6 months after the end of Umbra, where the United Tribal Axis is fractured and the factions are actively at war, and the mysterious signal still looms above our protagonists heads as they have to deal with the war, the signal, and the realization that there may be even more happening that they don’t understand yet.

Parallax continues to be told through the 3 POVs of Hinata, Freyja, and Skyla who are each on their own path when we join them, adding different views of the conflict at large and the looming threats through engaging storytelling that kept me listening well past when I should have been sleeping, but the loss of sleep was worth consuming this amazing story.

A Fractured UTA: Tribal War

After the events of Umbra, the United Tribal Axis has fallen and each faction is now out for themselves, sparking a war across the universe as the 12 factions attempt to become the dominant power in the universe.

The use of the AI ships is still a sticking point culturally between the different factions, where some tribes see them only as tools for war, while others view the ships as fully sentient and create life longs bonds, adding to the feeling of connection for the ships that are full fledged characters similar to the dragons in something like Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Toro’s spin on this is really interesting and something I loved in the first book, and enjoyed just as much reading Parallax as she uses the ships to build strong character connections and add some much needed tension and comedic relief to scenes.

Parallax is also still so unique in the way the weapons and their use works in this world, projectile weapons such as guns are only used by the most seedy of criminal factions due to their risk in space combat of compromising the ships integrity if it’s pierced, so most default to fighting with swords and staffs giving Parallax a The Last Samurai in space kind of vibe due to the parallels of trying to still use the old ways while others are willing to use guns.

Characters Torn: Duty vs Personal Desires

Prallax sticks with our 3 main protagonists who all still have a lot of growth to achieve while navigating their duty to their clans, personal desires, and the pull of their found family. The core central theme of all of these characters is their deep seeded—albeit understandable—mommy issues.

Skyla is our sassy former captain who is so used to being a loner that she ventures forth abandoning the budding undertones of want for Hinata to pursue her father who she thought had abandoned her without another thought, hoping to find out more about what he was looking for and him. She finds herself knee deep in a bad situation with only Pele and Fenrir—the hybrid animal who is fiercely loyal—to keep her sane, all while realizing that maybe she made a mistake and she should have stayed for Hinata. She has spent her life running from her past, and is forced to finally face it and all that comes with that in this installment leading to some great moments for the character that feels like the true focus of the series.

Hinata is even more broody in Parallax after making the decision to stay and serve his clan in the faction wars unfolding, allowing his sense of Duty to outweigh his personal desires, which we see as he becomes increasingly irritable and lashes out at his crew because the underlying struggle. Hinata’s by the book style costs him again and again and we also get to see him war with the realization that if he continues to play by the rules, there is no way he can win.

Frejya if I’m being honest was the least likable and least notable character and POV in Umbra but in Parallax her growth and absolutely addictive POV scenes in this have redeemed her for me and made her one of my favorites to read. It doesn’t hurt that her last 2 berserkers are Kylian and Tristan are amazing additions to every scene they are in. Her struggle of leaving command and dealing with her mother’s faction war she has created in the shadows leave Frejya dealing with having feelings and trying to avoid connections due to the emotional abuse her mother has put her through in the past.

Side characters shine in this, specifically Tristan and Kylian, they are the highlight of every scene they are in, they add such a fun dynamic to everything and their interactions with one another and others are always hysterical. Tristan in particular is a player, who gets blacked out drunk, and his antics tend to cause several unexpected twists and drama to otherwise mundane scenarios.

Relentless Suspense: Jaw Dropping Scenes Throughout

Toro doesn’t wait to throw our characters into termoil, Parallax’s opening chapter left me shook seeing Skyla and Pele instantly thrust into a dire situation, and the pace and absolutely jaw dropping moments don’t stop coming. All of our protagonists find themselves in dire straits right from the rip, and that continues through most of the book. While we do get some quieter and more intimate moments, the pacing is fast throughout making this one a page turner that I couldn’t ever find a good place to pause.

Toro does multi-pov masterfully making transitions feel seamless, and never making it feel like I had to “get through” a chapter to continue on with the story that I cared about. She does a great job at individual voicing while keeping small character arcs flowing in line with the core arc of the book, while still making sure the reader is aware of the overarching series plot without feeling like one element overshadows the other. The book is character focused over plot which I always love, but both elements compliment each other perfectly.

This book is full of some of the most fun and real feeling dialogue, and even managed to make me audibly yell in my car in frustration during one of the scenes with Hinata, who at the moment annoyed me so much with his internal conflict that I wanted to shake him, and I mean this in the most complimentary way possible. I actually messaged Toro about it because my guy was being so stubborn when it came to him and Skyla—which is his main personality trait to be fair—and she said “Funny enough when I was drafting I just wanted them to get together at that point and I had to pause and think that’s what YOU want but is it actually what he would do? Nope.” Needless to say I needed to trust the process and Toro didn’t disappoint.

Between the Sheets: Well Placed Intimate Moments

In the space opera genre it’s almost expected that any type of physical intimacy is going to be a quick “fade-to-black” just as things start to heat up, but this is SciMantasy, the yearning and denial carries over from Umbra into Parallax but we finally get the connections that feel well earned and perfectly spicy, earning it a 🌶️🌶️ (2) on our spice scale.

"I should have. I should have realized. I should have at least talked with you. I was so angry. I thought you left…me. That you weren’t coming back. That none of it meant anything to you. That I was a fool…” His voice trailed off, barely more than a whisper. “Losing you, broke me. I couldn’t go through it again…I can’t go through it again."

There are only a handful of spicy moments, while the story mostly focuses on the yearning which is what makes for a great romance element anyways, but Toro shines when she writes spice. She’s not afraid to use anatomical terms over the typical “flowery” language we sometimes find, which is always appreciated and makes it feel more real personally. She also focuses much more on the emotion and internal feelings during the moment which is what—in my opinion—separates spice from smut.

Bro Reading Comfort: TSA Compliant

Parallax while it does have some on page spice, it’s not the focus or even more than a couple select chapters (listed below in the FAQ), and majority of this book are focused on the characters, found family, and action which means you won’t get any cocked heads in the airport waiting area when reading it, earning this a 😳 (1) on our comfort scale.

The cover art again is stunning on this one, beautiful colors depicting the ships of our world and screams sci-fi, so outside of the spicy chapters, you shouldn’t find yourself feeling uncomfortable reading this in a public setting.

Darkness Factor: Underlying Trauma

Toro does a good job at keeping the darkness serving the story and not in the forefront, while the battle scenes can be a little violent and descriptive in their gore, the core of the “dark” parts of Parallax reside with the inner struggles of the characters dealing with betrayals, abandonment, and the mental scars of absolutely shitty mothers earning this a (1.5) on our darkness scale.

I’m not one to go back and edit reviews, but having been in a lot of grimdark worlds since Umbra, I’d probably lower that darkness score to match this one, Toro isn’t ever diving into these themes without a purpose, and even when they are included, they aren’t anything that would be considered “triggering” in my opinion.

Book Battlefield: Carving Out a Genre Niche

Parallax and the Sentient Stars series as a whole is in my opinion carving out a deeper niche in the sci-fi and space opera space creating what I’ve dubbed as SciMantasy. I love space operas in general, I’m a huge fan of things like Red Rising and Sun Eater, and while they both have some amazing romances, they are very much a footnote at best, offering some amazing moments, but not really a focus. Parallax I think wouldn’t have the draw or story beats it does if you cut the romance and spice out of them, but manages to also ensure that fans of space opera aren’t left wanting either.

I think Toro is doing something bold here and is attempting to improve upon an established genre where this type of romance isn’t seen past fade-to-black moments and underlying character motivations, which I am a huge fan and supporter of. We need more authors willing to try new things, and in this case it lands and really works, adding a level of character work and connection for the reader to these characters that can’t be done in any other way.

Should You Bother?

Slow Burn Romance Fans: This book gives us the payoff of all the yearning from Umbra and the first 2/3 of Parallax and I’m like that friend who has watched 2 people skirt around their feelings for too long and now they’re finally together.

For Fans of a Little Bit of Spice: Toro writes beautifully tasteful spice, giving equal space to intimate descriptions and the emotional state of the character during them, while not having them dominate the book making the build up and pay off feel earned and not a main focus, but natural progression of the relationship.

For Space Opera Fans: This has all the politicking, space battles, cool new tech, and culture that any fan of the genre will love, while still keeping it accessible to those newer to the genre of space opera and sci-fi as a whole.

Final BroMantasy Verdict

Parallax dodges the “second book syndrome” by throwing you right into suspenseful scenes from the first chapter and keeping the pace fast, while not sacrificing on the intimate character movements that make you feel deeply connected and rooting for the characters. There is intense moments of action, jaw dropping twists, mind-blowing revelations, and a strong ending hook that avoids the typical cliff hanger frustrations earning Toro’s second book a 4.5/5 from me.

As I find myself becoming more of a “die hard” space opera fan, I appreciate what Toro is doing for the space even more now than I did when I read Umbra because she’s not afraid to mix in some spice and intimacy to make the connections between the characters feel more alive, while still hitting all the amazing tropes and plot points I’ve grown to appreciate and expect from the genre.

She also has managed to creatively weave in one of my favorite fantasy tropes into the genre on-top of that which is the “bonded rider” trope where a rider bonds with their dragon, think Fourth Wing but with sentient AI organic space crafts. Each ship has a unique personality, and feels like another character in the story, sometimes dripping with sarcasm, offering comedic relief, or playing “wingman” in their bonded flier’s relationship.

I can’t recommend this book and the Sentient Stars series as a whole enough, Amber Toro writes like someone who has been at this for a long time, and she isn’t just someone to look out for, she has arrived, and it’s not a matter of if, but of when the mainstream will pick up her work and propel her into the Sci-Fi and Romantasy mainstream.

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