Review: Only Hard Problems

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My name is Zane Zimmer. To most folks, I live a seemingly charmed life as a Regal lord and the heir apparent to the powerful, wealthy House Zimmer, and the gossipcasts breathlessly follow my every swaggering move across the Archipelago Galaxy. I’m also a powerful psion capable of telekinesis, telepathy, and telempathy, and my deadly skills and prowess with my stormsword have made me the golden boy of the Arrows, the Imperium’s elite fighting force.

But even golden boys have bad days, and the truth is I have more hard problems than I can solve.

The Techwave is building weapons to use against the Arrows in hopes of toppling the Imperium and taking over the galaxy. But even more worrisome is the fact that my old rival Kyrion Caldaren has a powerful new ally in Vesper Quill. Together, the two of them just might destroy everything I’ve sworn to protect.

I’m supposed to be relaxing with the other Regals during the Summer Solstice celebration, but when an enemy threatens the festivities, I’m forced to leap into action. As an Arrow, I’ll do whatever it takes to protect my family and the other Regals, even though my actions will cause only more problems—and just might end up being the death of me...

Genre: science fiction

Publication date: July 2023

Mature content: no

Review: Only Hard Problems is book 3 in the Galactic Bonds series by Jennifer Estep, and closely follows books 1 (Only Bad Options) and 2 (Only Good Enemies). The story is, however, told from a different point of view from the other two books - Zane's POV. 

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I never liked Zane in any of the previous books and although in Only Hard Problems we do see a different side of him (not always, but in some parts of the book), I reached the end of this story still not liking him very much. 

But my real issue with this book was really the fact that there is very little plot. And what little plot exists, it's either silly, or unrealistic - or both. In fact, Only Hard Problems feels like a novella sneaked in between books just to give you some additional insight into what is coming next. 

And I do hope something good is coming next. Zane may or may not redeem himself in the future, but I really want to know how Vesper and Kyrion's story ends...

Only Hard Problems is not a book to be read as a stand alone. It only makes sense to read it if you've read and liked the previous two books in the series.

Happy readings otherwise!

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