Darkship Thieves: a book review

I never read Darkship Thieves while it was a Baen book.  Recently, Sarah Hoyt re-released it, as she got her rights to it back, and I pulled it to read via Kindle Unlimited.  I deeply regret not having read it before--it's a massively fun romp.  

Per the back cover: 

Athena Hera Sinistra never wanted to go to space.

Never wanted see the eerie glow of the Powerpods. Never wanted to visit Circum Terra. She never had  any interest in finding out the truth about the Darkships.
You always get what you don’t ask for. Which must have been why she woke up in the dark of shipnight, within the greater night of space in her father’s space cruiser, knowing that there was a stranger in her room. In a short time, after taking out the stranger—who turned out to be one of her father’s bodyguards up to no good, she was hurtling away from the ship in a lifeboat to get help.
But what she got instead would be the adventure of a lifetime and perhaps a whole new world—if she managed to survive….
A Prometheus Award Winning Novel, written by a USA Today Bestseller.

I can't say a lot without giving everything away, but I can say that the character development is spectacular, and the plot and pacing are incredibly well done.  I deeply enjoyed the book, and have snagged the second in the series to read. 

I will probably be buying this book when I can.  Because I will want to read it again.