Origin: A Romantic Space Fantasy

All is Fair in Love and Galactic War #1

by Lori Lind

An untested queen. A prophesied galactic war. A forbidden love.

The future of the universe hangs in the balance as a queen and a knight’s worlds intertwine, and an illicit romance sparks, defying the sacred Celestial Creed.

Elzaria stands at the cusp of destiny or devastation. On the eve of her coronation, ominous visions of irreversible doom torment the distraught Empyrean princess. Uncertain of her abilities to lead her people, she contemplates the unthinkable—refusing her reign. Yet, destiny isn’t something easily evaded, as she soon learns.

Fate has other plans when her attempt to run is foiled by an honor-bound knight… and his impulsive kiss.

When secrets are the currency of survival, Elzaria forges a fake identity, diving headfirst into the testosterone-fueled domain of the Empyrean Knights. Unprotected, unaided, and unrecognized, she faces the same brutal challenges as every other recruit. Her goal? To prove she’s more than just entitled.

Origin, the first book in the All is Fair in Love and Galactic War series, is a thrilling blend of interstellar politics, epic battles, and star-crossed romance. If you like strong heroines, complex and gripping relationships, and captivating world-building, then you’ll be addicted to Lori Lind’s galactic adventures.

Buy Origin to untangle the web of deceptions today!

Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy, Romance, Space, Science Fiction, Fantasy Romance

367 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 1, 2023

About the author

Romantasy Author

Lover of fantasy worlds, whether they are otherworldly realms or magical kingdoms. Lori loves writing about people succeeding against all odds. Her favorite characters are dangerously scarred warriors and the strong-willed women they can’t resist. Their ride might be rough, but their ending always leads to the perfect climax. She writes books that include spicy words, a bit of blood, and a serving of swoon-worthy steamy romance.

Lori’s love for romance, fantasy, and science fiction runs deep, and she blends genres and pushes boundaries to offer readers a unique and unforgettable reading experience. She loves writing stories that are at once thrilling and heartwarming, epic in scale, yet deeply personal with immersive world-building and complex characters.

Lori lives in a small town just east of Nashville with her husband, four loud and playful dogs, and a cantankerous old cat. She’s the proud mother of one daughter who is an airline pilot and whose middle name should have been Danger. When she’s not writing, she’s likely to have either a camera or brush in her hand pursuing her love of art. As a Certified Professional Photographer and digital artist, Lori never has to search far for a creative distraction.

Find her at:
LoriLind.com
Instagram: @lori.lind.author
Facebook: @lori.lind.author

Reviews

[(old.enough.for.fairytales) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a super fast paced fantasy romance set in a different galaxy! oh my gosh, I loved this book so much. The world building is so immersive and unique, and the characters are just so much fun. I love Elzaria and Nexion’s relationship and loved all of their tension! So good. I think if you love the Royal x guard trope, epic world building, and hidden identities, you’ll definitely enjoy this book. It’s on KU, so download it asap!

Thanks to the author for gifting me a copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Tati Alvarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't dabble in sci-fi often, but I'm so glad I picked up Origin. I didn't feel like the world was super complex or that there was a ton of info dumping, quite the opposite! Lind creates a diverse world and of course adds in the romance element we all love in our books. I'm so excited to read more from this author.

[Thais • tata.lifepages • · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just realized how much I missed reading scifi !! 😍 and wow Origin was soo well written! The world building is INCREDIBLE ! The story has Forbidden love and fated mates, two of my favorite tropes ❤️

We follow the story of Elzaria, a young woman with telekinetic powers and a link to the Creators. With the threat of an imminent attack against her world, she comes face to face with a hard decision. Disguising her royal identity , she becomes an Empyrean Knight. I LOVE the hidden identity trope 👀

The author sets a lush technological scenery, putting my mind to work to imagine this fantastic complex world filled with advanced technology, intelligent robots, weapons and aircrafts. Put that action packed scifi setting together with: military training, addictive romance, spicy scenes 🌶️ , galactic & empire battles and political intrigue and you get a story that has everything!

Thank you to the author for gifting me a copy for review.

[✩₊*Shelby ⋆ ☾⋆ LiteraryFaery ⁺₊✧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like stories about star-crossed lovers (especially royal x guard) then read Origin! I am deeply obsessed with academy settings and books set in outer space, so these two things combined in Origin made for an incredible read for me! I highly recommend this one for fans of romantasy looking to give science fiction romance a try—this is the perfect place to begin.

What to Expect:
—Rebellious Heroine
—Secret Identity
—Royal Court Intrigue
—Academy Setting
—Galatic Warfare
—Forbidden Love
—Forced Proximity
—Worldbuilding

Thank you so much to the author for sending me a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review! All thoughts and opinions expressed above are entirely my own.

[Ve (ve_xo) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this one! I dont usually dive into scifi, its one those genres that I stumble upon and end up finding great books. This is perfect for lovers of forbidden love, hidden identities, academy setting, and romance scifi!

I absolutely loved the world building of this story and the dynamic between Elzaria and Nexion. The romance was great to follow and can we talk about the tension. Theres an attraction that they just cant deny and we're all here for it. I enjoyed seeing these star-crossed lovers give into their attraction. Elzaria was a bad ass character, I enjoy the hidden identity trope. She was willing to do anything to save her kingdom, even becoming and empyrean knight. Nexion did upset me a couple of times with his stubborn ways but still love their romance lol. I cannot wait to learn more about this world!

Huge thanks to the author for gifting me a copy. All opinions are my own.

[Racheal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid 4 Star Read With Fantastic World Building

While there were a few factors in this book that I thought could use a little improvement, there were other parts of the book that were so strong. Just an FYI, this review might contain spoilers.

What I liked:
--I absolutely loved the world building! The author did such an amazing job of bringing this world to life! She really painted everything in detail and when I was reading the book, I really felt that I could see and picture things so clearly. That's not to mention that the details of how the world and everything worked as well as other small details, were all really well thought out. Overall, this part of the book was extremely consistent.

--I also want to throw out there that I loved the whole part surrounding the academy. The whole first half of the book really showed growth for Zara. But with the academy especially, I thought it really did her justice in character growth.

--While many books don't include speeches from characters, I found that it just gave a special touch to this book. From the coronation to the graduation ceremony to the vows spoken, it just really seemed to give the book some more depth.

--While she felt a little more like a princess than a queen to me, I really liked Zara. Her character was really well thought out and well rounded. I really liked witnessing her character growth throughout the book. I also liked how tough she was through the academy and through the war-like scenes.

--I also want to throw in there that while there were some hiccups between Zara and Nexium that I thought could have been a little more fleshed out, I did really love their relationship by the end. While I am not a cliffhanger kind of reader, the author handled this really well in setting the book up for the sequel while still giving Zara and Nexium their HEA. Overall, I was pretty satisfied with the ending.

My Favorite Quote:
"My love for you is no delicate flower; it’s a relentless flame, fierce and scorching. A blaze kindled by courage, tempered in adversity, resilient in the face of any battle we may face. It’s a love that lasts, not just for a lifetime, but for eons, unwavering, unyielding. Every beat of my heart, every breath I take, I want it to be for you. Protecting you, standing up for you, it’s more than just an oath—it’s my honor, my privilege. But I want more than just that. I want to be the source of your happiness, the cause of your laughter, the shelter in your storm.”

What I thought could use some work:
--Nexion seemed like such an interesting from the very start. While I liked him, I didn't really know him very well. We see him through Zara's point of view and opinion, but outside of that there wasn't a whole lot of depth to him. He kept running away and then out of nowhere, it just seemed like they were all of a sudden intimate and then got married. I would have liked to have seen a little more build up and tension leading up to their intimacy scene. I think this would have helped with building a deeper connection and the relationship as a whole. Versus verbally saying how much they loved each other, their actions would speak for their words. Also in regards to the intimacy scene, it felt a little confusing that we went from one side of him being harsh to the other side of him being so soft and tender in the second half of the book. I think if we knew him better or his intentions (maybe by getting more of his point of view?), it might have helped with understanding him better in his thoughts and actions.

--My only other complaint with this book was the whole concept with timing. I think I was about 75% through (around page 240), When Zara and Nexion had their soul binding and she told him she was pregnant. It was casually dropped in there that she was getting married a month from her coronation. I don't know why it bothered me so much, but it just seemed like there was so much crammed in a month that should have been drawn out longer. The whole timing concept honestly bothered me from the start. Like no sooner did she become Queen, that Nexium left out of the blue, disregarding his new and serious position. And then considering she was at the academy, I think in my brain I was thinking she was there for at least a month if not a couple months. I mean if you're becoming this serious knight, it would take a lot of time and training, right? And then no sooner does she graduate, she's on the ship, fighting and then she is getting married. It honestly just felt like things were happening a little too quickly in this book where they just needed to be spaced out a little bit. Granted, the detail in this book did help space things out a little bit, but the concept of time just felt too rushed. I think had It been spaced out a little better, it would have improved my rating of this book.

So overall this was a quick an easy read (with no typos), it just had a few little things that I felt could be worked on. That said, the world building in this book is definitely five star worthy in itself for how amazing it is. Overall, I would recommend it!

[Maria Elena | pagesofmaria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spice: 3 peppers

These past days I was able to live a intergalactic space adventure thanks to this book. The worldbuilding was beautiful and phenomenal!

Origin, book 1 in the All is Fair in Love and Galactic War, follows young queen Elzaria who has just ascended the throne and has received visions from the Creators (basically the gods of this world) about impending war and doom. At first, Elzaria tries to escape her coronation, thinking that if she doesn’t become queen she would spare her people from the horrors she’s seen, but later she embraces her destiny—also thanks to the intervention of one hot guard, Nexion, with whom she has an immediate and explosive chemistry—and chooses to attend the Academy. With a secret identity. And after much training and humiliation, she rises above all and becomes a badass warrior queen capable of leading her people through what’s to come.

Among the characters, Elzaria is the most interesting. Not only is she the main character with the most POVs, but she’s also the one that has a considerable character growth. I loved seeing her transition from scared princess to badass warrior queen goddess, and I especially loved seeing how her becoming a knight not only gave her the means to fight for her people, but also to act as a team with Nexion.

As for the romance, I enjoyed Elzaria and Nexion’s first interaction a lot, to the point that I was a little annoyed with Nexion on Elzaria’s behalf whenever he ran away and kept his distance in the name of the Creed—something that he does on multiple occasions. It was nice once his resolve finally crumbled. However, seeing as their romance is technically forbidden, I wish we could have gotten to enjoy the secrecy of their romance a little more before their relationship became known, and perhaps a little more drama rather than the immediate acceptance they received.

The ending was intense, and a tad bittersweet for reasons I cannot say, but at the same time I’m excited to dive into book 2 soon!

Thank you to the author for gifting me a copy. Opinions are my own.

[Chiara | wordsbychiara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spice: 3 peppers

ORIGIN holds all the elements that make both science fiction and fantasy romance great: a vast and immersive worldbuilding, action, and a protagonist whose growth carries the story.

Origin is the first in the All is Fair in Love and Galactic War series and, as the name suggests, those are the big themes of the book. Elzaria is a young queen plagued by visions of war and destruction given to her by The Creators. While at first she feels frightened and helpless by this apparently inevitable doom, she then embraces her destiny and does everything in her power to be prepared to defend her home and people by attending the Academy with a false identity. From helpless and bookish, she turns into a knight, a woman who is both smart and strong and the top of her class. A leader capable seeing her people through the devastation of war and giving them a fighting chance. I truly appreciated Elzaria’s steadfastness, growth and dedication and perhaps her growth was my favorite aspect of all of the story.

The forbidden romance with Knightmaster Nexion was the other big element of the story. The two are united by something stronger than attraction, closer to fate. Their interactions were intense from the very beginning, which is why I wish we could have gotten a bigger taste of the forbidden aspect of their romance. Due to the story’s format, where sometimes a greater amount of time passes in the span of pages, the distance Nexion puts between them and later the secrecy of their romance doesn’t truly come across and the romance seems to progress faster than it actually does.

The book ended on a bittersweet yet hopeful note so I’m very excited to see what happens in the sequel for Elzaria and Nexion!

Thank you to the author for gifting me a copy. Opinions are my own.

[Samantha Groat · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am at a loss on how to review this book. I want to be honest, but I do not want to be unnecessarily hurtful.

My 1 star is based off of the way the book was written and narrative choices rather than disliking the tropes or story as a whole if that makes sense? I can see potential in the actual original plot for sure but execution was not good for me.

Unfortunately the only pro in this story for me was the world created - it was space fantasy in a fun way!

However everything for me went wrong from there. The main relationship was pitched as forbidden love but there were plot holes with that. It was EXTREMELY Insta love, I’m talking 2 pages after meeting and he said “I burn for you”. The FMC was so cringy… and it just got worse as the characters were not developed in a natural way at all. The story had hole after hole. Things were far too convenient. Nothing felt earnt.

Some parts were entirely too waffle-y, where some were not explained out at ALL. It was confusing and hard to follow on parts and I genuinely feel like I must not have read the same book as some of these 5 star reviewers.

The thing that pushed it to a 1 star for me *SPOILER HERE* was when they found out she was pregnant (she would have been days or maybe a week or two along), she annouced it was a girl (like how?) then to keep it safe she had it removed and cryogenically frozen and taken away - a LITERAL FETUS?! Only for them to say one day the baby would be born, board a ship with a homing becon and alert them she was alive. Like… HOW THE EFF.

Anyway, I definetly will not be reading book 2.
I’m so happy for people that loved this though, because it is worth appreciating the author spent there time to create this piece of art and just because it wasn’t for me doesn’t mean it won’t be for someone! 🫶🏽

[Skye · Rating 3 out of 5]

[NO SPOILERS] Ms. Lori Lind sent this to me as an arc read and I legitimately think it was the prettiest thing I have ever been sent. The book itself had a beautiful presentation. Sprinkled throughout the book itself is various artwork constructed by the author herself and it’s truly a testament to how much time she put into the novel. Essentially the plot goes that a queen has premonitions from the Creators about a great war that is going to break out and in desperation she becomes a knight to be strong enough to fight for her people. Romance is sprinkled throughout the book as her path continuously crosses with her love interest. The book is set up in first person and past tense which is semi-rare. I do have a few critiques. I felt that though the book was fairly long it felt very fast-paced and I almost feel like the plot of this book should have been stretched into two books to really delve into the relationship between the MC and the love interest. The MC also doesn’t appear to have any flaws which may sound like a weird critique but everyone loves and supports her all the time and she always does the right thing and everything goes exactly as she wants it to. Although I would never wish for anything bad to happen to the character, I almost wish she had a flaw that made her seem more human. The characters also don’t have consistent personality traits. For example, the love interest is presented as being a really disciplined, stony man who guards his emotions but that dissolves pretty quickly. Her mother is also presented as a rigid woman dedicated to the kingdom and never having time for her but that changes quickly as well. I really liked the beginning of her relationship with the love interest and the way their paths crossed and I thought that was a really smart decision to get the readers invested, and I kind of wish that tension lingered for longer. Other than that, the author set herself up well at the end to continue the plot in another novel so I applaud her for that. I don’t regret reading this book, it was interesting and held my attention. 3.5/5 stars.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book

Pro
The world is incredible and exciting
Cons
Everything else
SPOILERS:
The love story was all over the place. The main characters growth is to fast and instant love.
The speeches were boring and long and dragged on. It felt like an essay trying to meet a word quota.
The story would have been better if they spent more time together. It’s not forbidden love it stated that the knight and queen cannot be together but that’s not true. Because if the queen’s father married her mother and was a knight as well.
Also there was a lot of convenience that wasn’t explained just expected to help the character out. Over all I will not read the second book.

[AINHOA RINCÓN · Rating 1 out of 5]

I dropped it at 70-ish %
The plot felt so unnatural and fast-paced that it made no sense to me.
I truly wanted to read this book - the galaxy war seemed so promising. The idea was good, really. But, in my opinion, that's the only good thing about this book.
I couldn't stand the FMC, the enemies-to-lovers made no sense. Neither did the forbidden-romance.
It was so fast paced that holes were enormous. Things were not well expressed, characters were uninteresting and underdeveloped, and I could continue with a long list of things I wish would have been better.

[Mary Edwards Stagliola]

DNF @ 7% this book is so slow and so fast paced at the same time, I can’t keep up,

Elzaria is to be crowned as the new Queen of her people in this intergalactic story, I’ve read reviews that the worldbuilding here is amazing and I don’t doubt that. I’ve seen a lot of the build up and I’m sure it’s fascinating, but I went through what seemed like 20+ pages of political structure and ascension information and like 10 pages of “I’m so average and bookish, im not built for war, I’m so scared of my future” and next thing I know there’s a coronation and next thing she’s running away,

[madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

“𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐄𝐥𝐳𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭, 𝐈 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧.”

Wowowoowow. The dedication Elzaria had to become the queen her people deserved 🥹🥹
I loved seeing her progress through this story & gain confidence in herself.

Nexion. Phew. I really didn’t want to like him because of the way he’d avoid Elzaria. But you could tell he was so gone for her. He just needed a little nudge.

Their fight with the Vaith was intense & im honestly worried about what else could happen in the next book 😬😬😬

[Candice Willman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahh this one is def can’t put down worthy. The world building is omg amazing. ROMANTASY. Sci-fi. Forced proximity. Forbidden romance. It gave me all of the feels. And I loved the world itself. Def recommend if you love romance and sci-fi.

[Kelsey Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

The progression from unconfident nerdy couch potato to military strategist warrior extrodinaire was entirely to fast to be believable. The whole story felt rushed, and the characters didn't have time to develop well.

[Cindy Bates · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book

This is a good book.This book has love and a couple we can all understand. I can't wait for the other book.

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic story. Recommend to all my girlfriends! I cannot wait to see what the future hold for this new author. 10/10. You will not be able to put this one down!

[Samantha Bryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNFed 42 pages in, felt like there was not leading up to the main characters connections and it was a love story version of Padme and Anikan from Star Wars. Was not for me but others may like it.