RED STAR REBELS

Two teens are trapped on a hijacked Mars station in bestseller Kaufman’s latest.

Eighteen-year-old Hunter Graves is the heir to GravesUP Industries, the most powerful corporation in the solar system. His billionaire family is responsible for the colonization of Mars. Hunter is handsome, charming, and the embodiment of everything that scrappy 17-year-old hitcher Cleo thinks is wrong with the world. When Pax Station is suddenly evacuated and Cleo, who stowed away to get there, is left behind in the chaos with Hunter, they’re forced to become a team. The stakes rise when a mysterious hostile force takes over Pax, and the teens realize that the evacuation was a setup. As Hunter and Cleo work together to thwart the invaders, their romantic chemistry builds and their bond becomes one of genuine connection. All the while, Cleo’s criminal past becomes harder to keep secret. The story takes place over the course of eight hours, enhancing its tension and fast pace. The romance has a rocky start, thanks to sheltered Hunter’s classist belief system, but it evolves into something that’s grounded and believable. The futuristic setting allows for some pointed social commentary on the state of our capitalist, corporatist society. GravesUP Industries itself features some notable parallels to the contemporary privatization of space travel. Cleo, who’s queer, is cued white, and Hunter has brown skin.

This engaging Martian romance will keep readers glued to the page.