Starless

"Touch her, and I will unravel your soul until the void itself forgets your name."

Juno is a scavenger who survives on the edge of the law, looting dead realms within the void, all to keep her sick mother alive. But when the corrupt Assembly arrests her father and throws him into the Dredge, a prison suspended in eternal darkness, scavenging scraps won't cut it. To buy his freedom, Juno and her cousin Kora must pull off the impossible: retrieve a valuable lost artifact from Nytheris, a collapsed realm consumed by rot and monsters.

She can’t make the trip in her rusted skiff. Enter Cypher, captain of The Night-Piercer. A powerful Elemental with a lethal reputation, Cypher is the only Wayfarer crazy enough to navigate the deep void with his ragtag but loyal crew. He agrees to help Juno, but he’s hiding a dangerous secret: Nytheris isn’t just a job to him. It’s the kingdom he was born to rule, and the graveyard of his people.

Trapped together on a ship hurtling toward a dead realm, the line between alliance and attraction blurs. As Juno discovers a rare, terrifying magic dormant in her own blood, one that speaks to the void itself, she finds herself falling for the captain who warned her not to love him. But Cypher’s true mission on Nytheris may cost Juno the one thing she’s fighting to save.

Starless is perfect for fans of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, Air Awakens by Elise Kova and Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. This is book one in the Starless Duology.

Quotes from the book:

"If we do this, there's no going back. You become a fugitive."
"I was born a fugitive."

"You stole my ship."
"I borrowed it. Indefinitely. With you in it."

"What are you afraid of, Juno?"
"That if I let you in, I won't know how to be alone in the dark anymore."
"Then don't be. The dark is where I live. Stay there with me."

"I don't trust you."
"Smart girl. Keep doing that. It makes it much harder for me to betray you."