This was such a refreshing read. The space opera truly done right - with so many details in worldbuilding and a cast of interesting characters with great dynamics. I loved the fact that every noble character had a whole entourage with them, all the time - the princess Sun is never alone, she has a whole host of people following her around, but not just her, her companions too. And since all of them had something to do in the plot, their relationship to the princess explored, the whole group had a found family sort of feel, which made the reading much more fun for me personally.

Not to mention so many different women in main roles. Each with a different voice, unique perspectives and characterization. And on top of it sapphic!
If I'm not mistaken all major female characters are wlw (lesbian, bi/pan). And while this is not a romance novel there are a few romance subplots going on. Including very important marriage subplot that is between two women. Also, Princess Sun as a main character has her own sapphic secret relationship subplot - and it's tender, caring, but bittersweet, because they can't be seen together in public, not because of the homophobia (which isn't an issue in this world), but because of the political status. All of her POV chapters have a lot of yearning for her girlfriend, like, constantly, and the two of them have a great chemistry in my opinion. You can really grasp that they have been together for quite a while, having a lot of shared history, almost like a married couple.

The only thing I didn't enjoy were sometimes confusing action sequences. And there was a lot of action - it never stops. And while some were easy to follow, at some points I mostly dozed off. 

I would definitely recommend this to those who love stuff like The Vorkosigan Saga and The Machineries of Empire (there is a whole subplot of consent issues and programming of the human brain that reminded me a lot of that series).