Darkship Thieves by Sarah A. Hoyt

Athena Hera Sinistra has survived reformatories, madhouses and ballet schools. But nothing prepared her for waking up in her father's space cruiser with a stranger looming over her bed.

Facing mutiny armed only with a torn nightgown and her wits, Athena has no choice but to escape into space -- and to confront singlehanded the darkships that have terrorized Earth's power collectors for centuries.

If she survives, space will never be the same again.

This was a fun read. Was a little nervous a first about another space-cat, but I liked the back story, it ended up being original (or at least new to me). The broomer stuff was a little off for me. but overall I enjoyed it and will prov read the next one sometime in the future.

DarkShip Thieves is written in the style of a classic YA space opera where the plucky outsider challenges the establishment. Set around a future Earth where bio-engineered supermen were driven off and replaced by a ruling aristocracy, one young woman finds herself caught between a struggle for power and a hidden society of enhanced humans who must steal to survive.
Like most space operas, the plot tends towards melodrama, but the story is well-paced and exciting enough to pull you along to the end. The world-building is well thought out and developed, and helps support the narrative rather than overwhelming it. The characters are unique and individualized, but I personally found it hard to relate to them. Athena is rebellious, bratty and overbearing, while Kit is brooding, melancholy, and self-sacrificing. Their relationship, which is supposed to be the transformative for Athena, seems to arise out of nowhere, but hey, that's what happens sometimes, especially when you're nineteen. All in all, a fun read, but not one to be examined too closely.

This is the first book I have read by Hoyt. Pretty damned good. Space opera with a bit of romance. The heroine Athena is one tough cookie. She has to be because Daddy dearest has plans for her and they aren't nice at all. She survives – with a little help from her friends.