Provenance

A young potential heir who feels overshadowed by her competition and thus destined for a life of drudgery, attempts an accomplishment which will change that status - and in failing miserably, steps into the adventure of her life, with aliens and mysteries and murderers. Unworldly, too trusting, and believing herself to be incompetent, she nevertheless repeatedly demonstrates her ability to improvise and deal with what life and chance hand her - much of which is rotten and undeserved - and yet she refuses to become jaded, cynical, and hateful.

The author has used excellent, intriguing worldbuilding and character development to craft a novel of sibling rivalry and inter-species politics which held me from the very first page. It's not quite as deep as the Ancillary books, but nevertheless has plenty of meat on its bones, and is an absolute delight. There's room here for a sequel, but the novel stands well as a complete story.