The First Sister by Linden A. Lewis
"First Sister has no name and no voice. As a priestess of the Sisterhood, she travels the stars alongside the soldiers of Earth and Mars—the same ones who own the rights to her body and soul. When her former captain abandons her, First Sister’s hopes for freedom are dashed when she is forced to stay on her ship with no friends, no power, and a new captain—Saito Ren—whom she knows nothing about. She is commanded to spy on Captain Ren by the Sisterhood, but soon discovers that working for the war effort is so much harder to do when you’re falling in love.
Lito val Lucius climbed his way out of the slums to become an elite soldier of Venus, but was defeated in combat by none other than Saito Ren, resulting in the disappearance of his partner, Hiro. When Lito learns that Hiro is both alive and a traitor to the cause, he now has a shot at redemption: track down and kill his former partner. But when he discovers recordings that Hiro secretly made, Lito’s own allegiances are put to the test. Ultimately, he must decide between following orders and following his heart."
The First Sister is a story told from three different perspectives which paint a richly diverse world of the future. It's been centuries since humans have started to colonize the solar system. Where the book picks up, there is a war between the two main factions of humans, those that have stayed on Earth and Mars, and those that have created the technology that made habiting Mercury and Venus possible. The titular character, First Sister, is a Priestess in the Gean Sisterhood that is one part religious cult and one part government-run brothel. The other two characters are Lito and Hiro who were once bonded Icarii Duelists in the war against the Geans.
This book was just the queer space opera I needed right now. The characters and the mysteries happening for all the characters were intriguing and engrossing. Their stories unfolded in some very unexpected ways and kept my attention from start to finish. It was fascinating to see how people from Earth would move to space and naturally divide themselves. Every new bit of information we got of this world, felt like, oh yeah that makes sense. In reading this book I was reminded why I usually hate starting series before all the books are out. Because this book ended and I desperately needed to know what happened next. There were completely unexpected twists and I'm so looking forward to these characters finding their agency in the coming books.
I highly recommend this book if you need a wonderfully diverse and queer space opera!
Genre: sci-fi, space opera, lgbtqia+
Representation: non-binary, bi, pan, Italian/Latinx MC, Japanese MC
Content Warnings: Amputation, Blackmail, Child abuse (mentioned), Death, Execution, Medical Experimentation, Injury (Graphic), Mental illness (untreated), Neural implants, Plastic surgery, PTSD, Violence, Racism