I liked the original series, but not the novellas. I don’t know, they just didn’t do it for me. It took me what seemed like eons (and not a blink) to finish this selection, because they just were so… not intriguing to me. And don’t get me wrong, I loved the original subject material, I love the world, the characters, and even the idea of the novellas, I just didn’t love the follow-through.

My main issue with the first, Death and Night, was that it was filled with so many ambiguous and dramatic metaphors that it was hard to see through them to the actual plot underneath. I didn’t find that entirely necessary. I know having Death and Night as characters presents a lot of potential for fanciful figurative language, but it was so unnecessary. I couldn’t even keep track of the ever-so-slowly-moving plot due to all the strangeness hovering about.

The second story, Poison and Gold, was okay, but it just didn’t call to me. I think the main thing was that I felt like I didn’t get a lot character development, and especially the romantic development just… wasn’t there. Again, it was a fun story, but it seemed like we were totally rushed through her training and the development of her romance and I was left feeling a very surface level of attachment to the story that I don’t love. I like to really dive into a story and, strange as it sounds, I want it to break my heart when I have to leave. After this story though, I just kind of moved on.

And the third and final story, Rose and Sword. I liked it. Probably more than the other two. It was really nice to get to revisit Gauri and Vikram. However, I thought the storytelling/narrative mode was a little odd. I think in the end it might have just been better to tell the story straight up, rather than have long spans of dramatic story and then a short couple paragraphs of Hira saying, “Did that really happen?” and Gauri just being like, “Yep.” That also seemed kind of unnecessary to me. Although, I will say the end is super cute and its fun to kind of see Gauri and Vikram’s lineage to a small degree. I think that could have been done in just a general epilogue though.

Regardless, I think it was a nice collection, but not anything particularly interesting.

I absolutely loved Roshani Chokshi’s full novels The Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes, so when the first short story in this collection, “Death and Night” came out as a novella last May, I was all over it. I won’t go into that story in this review, because I wrote a full review for it last year (and you can read it on my blog). So, when I started reading Star-Touched Stories, I skipped straight to “Poison and Gold” … and I do have to say that it was my least favourite story in the collection. The story revolved around Aasha, a friend that Gauri and Vikram made while participating in the tournament of wishes in A Crown of Wishes, and while I did like her character in that book, I can’t way that I liked her enough to read a short story about her. I did enjoy learning more about the world as a whole, but I wasn’t really too invested in Asha and her interactions with the Spy Mistress, although the ending was a sweet one.

My favourite thing in “Poison and Gold,” was that I got to spend a little more time with Gauri and Vikram. The third and last story in the collection, “Rose and Sword,“ had more of a focus on Gauri and Vikram though, and it was quite a beautiful story. It was also a very sad story though, and I spent most of it crying, while the ending made me bawl my eyes out. I’m actually tearing up while typing this now! Gauri and Vikram had been through a lot in order to “save the day” and be together, so I was very sad to see them have to suffer through another struggle. I would have rather read in detail about their wedding day and night. There were some happy moments though, and I character that I enjoyed in Chokshi’s full-length books made a reappearance, so that made me happy! Also, like I said, “Rose and Sword” was a beautiful story, and all three stories, in fact, were beautifully written in the unique and lush style of Chokshi. I also found that Chokshi’s writing (while great from the start for me), has matured and improved over the years! I highly recommend this short story collection to fans of her work!

I haven't actually read the first books in this series yet but they are on my kindle but I really did enjoy these stories from that universe. Now I just need to read the other books.

We revisit the Star-Touched world, with some beautiful short stories.

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved the Star-Touched Queen, and Chokshi's vivid and mesmerising descriptions continue with this collection of stories that touch upon some of the characters from the main books.

It was so pleasant to sit and get swept away by the stories that stitch together the Night Bazaar and Otherworld, with the almost-normal humans (almost, as in they can live for hundreds of years, and can possess certain gifts). The writing is descriptive, but effortless, and flows along. It feels like a warm, familiar story; even if its the first time visiting this world.

These stories are solely focused on love. On discovering feelings, and accepting them. On being so wrapped up in love that nothing can harm you. On what these characters would be willing to do for love.
I'll be honest, I'm pretty cold-hearted, and I would have preferred more adventures in the Otherworld. But this was still enjoyable.

And yes for the crazy demon-horse!

I'd definitely recommend trying out this series.

Throughout these stories, Chokshi’s writing remains provocative and sensual – perhaps leaning towards the purple prose side for some readers. I for one really enjoyed her heady descriptions and imaginative metaphors, and any reader who has enjoyed her previous two books in this world will adore this one. It ties in so many stories and characters, as well as presents itself as a final kiss and goodbye to the stunning world that we have visited twice already.

Note: this review will contain slight spoilers to The Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes!

DEATH AND NIGHT

“Love was extraordinary.
Extraordinarily spiteful.
Extraordinarily blind.
Extraordinarily misleading.”

This story is a prequel to Chokshi’s debut, The Star-Touched Queen. In TSTQ, Maya and Amar are given a second chance to revisit their love and correct their mistakes. But what happened when they first fell in love?

I love how Chokshi set-up Death and Night’s characters in this story. Night sold her wares at the Night Bazaar, which consists of this dream fruit that is coveted by many, but at a high price. She wants recognition. Death has been lonely these past years, and he needs to take a bride. The only catch is: he can’t fall in love with her. Despite obstacles and all odds, they meet each other and begin a sweet, sometimes snarky, but altogether delightful courtship that is tested through the threads of time. I loved this little insight to Maya and Amar’s past life, and seeing familiar characters!

POISON AND GOLD

“Of all the human desires and emotions that fascinated her, love was the most mysterious of them all.”

In A Crown of Wishes, we met and fell in love with Aasha, a centuries old vishakanya who despite her age, is still curious and bright-eyed about the world. When Aasha gets granted a boon to become human, she goes back to the courts with Gauri and Vikram. But she still doesn’t feel as if she belongs with them…

I adored Aasha in ACOW, and I loved seeing her story continued in this short story. Aasha finds herself lost, to an extent. She’s no good to Gauri and Vikram diplomatically, while they’re trying to rule two kingdoms, and she just can’t seem to shake off the courtier’s insults. An opportunity to get away from this presents itself when Gauri and Vikram ask her to become their Spy Mistress. The catch? She has to get approval first from the current Spy Mistress, who is a mysterious and apparently cold-hearted individual. But when Aasha begins her training and finds herself completing her tests, she also finds herself drawn to the Spy Mistress and the secrets she told. I loved the sapphic romance this story had, and Aasha’s own self-discovery.

ROSE AND SWORD

“‘To possess even a single line in the legend of you is the greatest wish I could have made.'”

This story brings back Gauri and Vikram’s tale, which hasn’t quite ended yet. It takes place distantly in the future, where a grandmother is trying to cheer up her grandchild in the wake of a large wedding. To cheer her up, she tells the story of another wedding, long ago. A wedding that never happened…

I don’t want to give away too much of this story, but it was as beautifully-written and heartful as the other two. It serves as an epilogue to ACOW in many ways, and I just love how Chokshi tied everything up. There’s an exploration of not only new love found, but retaining this love through thick and thin, and the risk to love despite the pain. Readers of Chokshi’s books do not want to miss out on these three stories, and the beloved characters they bring back.

Thank you St. Martin’s and Netgalley for the review copy!

Roshani Chokshi has a beautiful flowery writing style. Her writing seems rich and decadent to me, and I enjoyed the first two books of this series very much.

This compilation of short stories, while in the same writing style, didn't hold my interest as well as the earlier books. I think that's partially because I'm not a big fan of shorts, but also because I had a hard time remembering the myriad details of the earlier books, and so I couldn't remember all of the characters that were featured here. And I will maybe attribute a bit to the fact that I'm on-the-go so much right now that I think about wasn't feeling the ability to sit down and read such a meandering story.

That being said, if you are a fan of the series and remembered who these characters are, I think you will like these fantastical tales. I'm not familiar with Hindu and Indian folklore, but Chokshi brings the world to life and makes me interested to learn more. I love some of the settings and world-building that I've never experienced before. Though I tend to get more absorbed into the longer stories, as I feel like I get more invested. So I will be looking forward to the next full-length novel.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from the publisher.

I adore Roshani Chockshi's writing, it really is magical.There are 3 short stories in this book; Death & Night, Posion & Gold and Rose & Sword. I had already read the first short story in this book, Death & Night, but enjoyed reading it again. The Star Touched Queen is one of my favorite books so I enjoy reading anything in relation to those characters. If you haven't read anything by this author, I highly recommend you do. Her writing is almost poetic, it really is amazing the way she describes things along with her world building. The other two stories are related to the second book in this series, A Crown of Wishes and I really enjoyed both of these as well. I like having novellas that end up filling in some blanks within books and answering some of the questions I have about the characters. The first short story can be read after the first book and the other two after the second book. I think I will probably read anything this author writes because her writing is so magical.

Thank you to the publisher, St. Martin's Press for sending me an ARC of this book.

While I haven't read any other books in the Star-Touched Queen series, I found myself enjoying these stories, and I'm actually interesting in reading the rest of the series. I like the world that this series and the stories are set in, and I love the author's writing style. I tried to treat these stories as individual short stories, rather than pieces in a larger series, and I think I appreciated them more that way.

Star-Touched Stories is a compilation of three different stories that all take place in the world of The Star Touched Queen. I always love getting a glimpse of what characters are doing after the book ends. Of course the stories are all beautifully written, which I would expect nothing less from Roshani Chokshi

Death and Night
Ahh this is the story of how the Dharma Raja and Night met the first time. This is probably my favorite of the three stories. It is so sweet how they come together and of course the chemistry is as perfect as it was in The Star Touched Queen. I love going back to the Night Bazaar and experiencing it again through their eyes. We also get some insight to Dharma Raja as well. Plus Uloopi and Nritti round things out.

Poison and Gold
This is actually probably my least favorite of the three stories. I loved Aasha and Zahril but for some reason I didn’t connect as well with the plot. I still liked it and it was so enjoyable to see Aasha find her place. I thought the Spy Mistress part was really interesting, plus Gauri and Vikram are always delightful to read.

Rose and Sword
This one is super sweet and I loved how the story is being told to Hira to help her understand the sacrifice that loving someone can be. How it is worth it to go to the end of the world for someone. Especially because it’s hard headed Gauri that the story is about. Thinking about this one makes me feel like I can’t decide if it’s a tie for my favorite. Ha ha.

If you were a fan of the world The Star Touched Queen World then you definitely need to pick up these stories. It made me happy to read them and I loved revisiting the world. They are such a great addition to the collection.

If you’ve had the pleasure of reading Roshani Chokshi’s Star-Touched Queen and Crown of Wishes books, then you know why I’m enamored with her writing. Beautiful, lyrical prose and engrossing tales that leave you begging for more: she is a modern master storyteller. So when I heard that she was coming out with a series of short stories, I was ecstatic. And I was blown away.

Each story may be self-contained, but you should read her books in order to fully appreciate them. Death and Night is the prequel for the main characters in The Star-Touched Queen. Poison and Gold is a spin-off at the end of Crown of Wishes, following Aasha. And Rose and Sword is the epilogue of Crown of Wishes, spanning decades in a single story. That last one shattered my heart for all the right reasons, and I feel tears coming on as I think about it again.

I loved the chemistry between Night and Death in the first story. Their courtship was actually really cute, while being worthy of an epic. Seeing how their love blossomed, and how their relationships with their friends affected them even before Star-Touched Queen was a great touch. I think, of the bunch, this is the one story that will fill you with love and hope.

Now that Aasha is living with Guari and Vikram after the events of Crown of Wishes, as they prepare to marry and unite their two kingdoms, she is scared that her powers are out of control. She’s deadly and afraid of her own self. But when she is offered the chance to become their spy mistress, it’s an opportunity to find her place in this human world. I loved her training: it’s my favorite part of fantasy tales, to be honest. Seeing characters faced with seemingly impossible scenarios and then using their skills to get out.

As for the last tales, I won’t spoil a thing. It was the shortest of the lot, but the most passionate. It shows me just how powerful Chokshi’s writing can be, on top of beautiful. I’m in awe!

If you've followed my blog for a while now, you know that I am a huge fan of Roshani Chokshi's writing and immensely enjoyed her lush storytelling in The Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes. The next installment in this world is a collection of three short stories that revisits some of my favorite characters and I couldn't wait to immerse myself in these folkloric tales! Note: I received an e-galley of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own!

Chokshi has this uncanny ability to create the most ethereal visions out of words. It was awesome to revisit the worlds of Naraka and the Otherworld and once again be immersed in the magic that those lands possess. Readers must absolutely be familiar with the original books before delving into this collection, otherwise they'll be totally lost. Though the stories in this book were quite short, Chokshi weaved three tales to supplement The Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes. I'll review each short story briefly to avoid spoilers, and then the collection overall!


Death and Night

This is probably my favorite story of the lot, and there's an excerpt from it waiting for you at the end of this blog post! This is a prequel story to The Star-Touched Queen and it certainly had me swooning. In my opinion, this short story was the most well-rounded and satisfying, complete in its entirety.

Poison and Gold

This short story focuses on Aasha, who didn't nearly get enough time in A Crown of Wishes! We explore a side to her that we hadn't seen in the novel and it so wonderfully celebrates the strength of love. The mini-plot in this short story is a bit cliche, but for those who enjoy romance and happy endings, Poison and Gold will do just fine.

Rose and Sword

In this short story, we focus on Gauri and Vikram's relationship again, which was full of witty banter and the slowest of slow burns. I appreciated how this story addressed their seemingly perfect romance- there was a clear moral at the end of this one.

Overall, this collection of short stories is perfect for anyone who loves Chokshi's prose and misses the Star-Touched world she crafted for us with her first two novels. Though beautifully written, I confess that the stories didn't leave me satisfied! But that might just be a personal thing with short stories- I always want more than what the compressed plot of a short story can deliver. I felt that two of the three stories in this collection felt like accessories to the original Star-Touched world, rather than adding a new dimension to it.

I RATE STAR-TOUCHED STORIES 4/5 STARS!

Star-Touched Stories returns to the world of A Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes with three short stories of love, friendship, and self-discovery. Death and Night illustrates that even deities are not exempt from the desire for love and the fear of rejection. In Poision and Gold, a young woman struggling with her identity finds the strength to be herself. And finally, Rose and Sword illuminates both the joy and the pain of intense love. In typical fashion, Roshani Chokshi makes the reader feel like they have been transported to a world of magic and dreams where anything is possible, drawing on the rich well of Indian mythology. The stories revisit some of the beloved characters from the earlier novels, but are also strong stand-alones. Hopefully this won't be the last we see of the Star-Touched universe!

When you look up “beautiful writing” in the dictionary (just go with it…), there’s just a picture of Roshani Chokshi. I have read all of Roshani’s books and there’s something about her writing voice that lends itself so well to the fantasy genre. The way she introduces the world is always just perfectly lyrical and descriptive and flowy and I could wax-poetic all day.

I won't write specific comments for each novella, as I suspect I'll be saying much the same for all three- they all have the absolutely gorgeous writing that Chokshi is known for, and are well rounded novellas that give us more glimpses of the world she has developed. As always, Roshani Chokshi's writing is the highlight of her books.

I had read Death and Night already, when it was released, and I still think that it's my favourite of the three. Reading the novellas just makes me want to go back and read the other books in the series, which I would say is what any good novella should make you want to do.

I would highly recommend reading both The Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes before getting started on these stories, because there are some things that may be spoiled somewhat by the novellas. I definitely feel that this collection is for people who are already familiar with the books and want more information about their beloved characters.

Ratings
Overall: 8/10
Plot: 4/5
Writing: 5/5
World Building: 4/5
Characters: 3/5
Cover: 3/5

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Roshani’s writing is superb. It's just magical, she describes things so beautifully. And she also has the ability to come up with some seriously grand romantic declarations. However, you need a little bit more than that to make a very good book, if you ask me.
When I first read the title of this book, I had imagined it would be a series of stories set in the world of The Star Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes. Sort of how The Language of Thorns is to the Grisha Trilogy. The kind that you can read and enjoy even if you haven’t read the other books. Silly me, I guess, I should have read the description. Because that is not the case.
This book contains three stories that are either a direct continuation or a prologue for Mayavati’s and Gauri’s stories on their respective books. So, please, don’t reach for it if you haven’t read the previous books.
I have to admit I wasn’t the biggest fan of The Star Touched Queen back when I read it. I just felt it was lacking something. But I was pretty excited to get to these stories because, as I said, Roshani’s writing is so very magical. However, I was a bit disappointed.
I felt like the stories should have been written as fairy tales, instead of just chapters. She could have totally aced that. There were also a couple attempts at humour that I could have done without. And a hint of insta-love, that I think was very avoidable. All that combined sort of ended the atmosphere for me and the story wasn’t enough for me to overlook it.
I guess someone who enjoyed Roshani’s previous books would really, really like this. But, alas, that is not me. It doesn’t mean I didn’t like this at all. It was nice, but that’s all.

Set in the realm of STAR TOUCHED QUEEN, these three stories share pieces of amazing storytelling waiting to be read. Read the opening line of DEATH AND NIGHT and see if you aren't immediately hooked and want, no need, to pick up this book and read it.

DEATH AND NIGHT
Opening line:
"I stood outside the home, watching as the light beaded and dripped down the length of the Tapestry thread."
Can two very different entities destined to be alone ever find love? Or even find someone to love? This was probably my favorite story.

POISON AND GOLD
Opening line:
"Aasha glance around the sumptuous throne room."
Will Aasha be able to control the halves she has become in order to save herself and her friends?

ROSE AND SWORD
Opening line:
"Ten-year-old Hira would rather eat her own hand than listen to another minute of wedding preparations.
I liked this story too.

Thanks to netgalley and Brittani Hilles @ St. Martin's for the early read!

Death and Night

I loved this novella, it tells us the story of their meeting. If you have read The Star-Touched queen, you already know who I am talking about and we finally see in detail their story. Death and Night are similar on many points but not all. Death is arrogant and confident while Night is a little more reserved even if she doesn’t necessarily have a good character. She’s going to be courted and I think they make a beautiful couple.

Poison and Gold

This story is also very beautiful, if you have read A crown of wishes you already know Aasha, we also find Gauri and Vikram but it is Aasha who is at the center of the story. I loved the Spy Mistress, her bad temper and everything about her job. I liked the evolution of the relationship between Aasha and Spy Mistress. That’s a beautiful story.

Rose and Sword

I really liked this story in the past, with Gauri and her granddaughter. It’s the shortest story in the pile but I really enjoyed it.

'Star-Touched Stories' is a collection of three short stories all set in the Star-Touched world. I'm not usually a fan of short stories in general because they never seem to have enough time to create the vital aspects I want - world building, plot, realistic characters. These stories were the complete opposite and in such wonderful ways. Somehow the author managed to create characters that I could connect within these short pages. She also told fantastic stories that had substance and an actual plot. The major thing that got me was the amazing world building that was done in each story despite their lengths. The author used incredibly detailed descriptions with lush vivid imagery that brought everything in each story to life in front of my eyes. I felt like I was right there inside this wondrous world alongside the characters as their stories were told. To me, these things are hard to find when it comes to short stories - or even some full length novels - and the fact that the author nailed all of the main aspects is amazing to me. I very highly recommend this book to fans of the author's other works as well as readers who enjoy YA fantasy, mythology, and short stories.

I am A HUGE FAN of Roshani Chokshi’s absolutely breath-taking writing style, and I have been since I read The Star Touched Queen, more than two years ago. I don’t usually describe writing like this, but if you’ve ready any of Roshani’s books, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

In fact, it was so good, that this short story collection didn’t even feel like one. I was immersed, spell bound and Star Touched Stories is one of my FAVOURITE reads of the year and also, probably the BEST short story collections I’ve ever read.

I’ll review the three short stories separately:

Death and Night:

This was probably the story I was MOST excited for. I loved the PLOT behind book one, The Star Touched Queen, but somewhere in the middle, the story lost structure. Death and Night is the story of how Maya and Amar met for the first time, before the Shadow Wife’s curse and I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. Where The Star Touched Queen was tortured and lacking structure, Death and Night was witty and filled with such beautiful lines and AAAH I LOVED IT!

Poison and Gold:

Truth be told, that while A Crown of Wishes is one of my FAVOURITE books and Vikram and Gauri are one of my favourite desi couples, I didn’t care much for Aasha, who debuted in Vikram and Gauri’s books. Poison and Gold is about Aasha’s story after A Crown of Wishes, and while it was nice, and I LOVED THE LGBT REPRESENTATION, I just wasn’t as into this story as I was with the other two.

Rose and Sword:

I honestly didn’t know what this story was about, before I started.

And when I found out, MY TINY HEART FREAKED OUT BECAUSE OH. MY. GOD.

honestly didn’t expect to see this plot twist that was hinted at in The Star Touched Queen, about a character I fell in love with in A Crown of Wishes, but this story, YOU GUYS, THIS STORY WAS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS I’VE EVER READ AND IT WAS JUST SO GLORIOUSLY BEAUTIFUL AND IT ALMOST BROKE MY HEART.

With the small short story, (and I don’t even LIKE most short stories) Roshani Chokshi’s characters have permanently cemented themselves in my heart and I AM JUST SO HAPPY AT THIS MOMENT.

Would I recommend this book? YES, but only after you’ve already read The Star Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes. ESPECIALLY A Crown of Wishes. It’s absolutely beautiful.

Reading these short stories reminded me why I love Roshani's writing so freaking much. All of the short stories were enchanting, mesmerizing, lush, and romantic. I could read a full novel about each of the short stories in this book! I loved going back into the world of The Star-Touched Queen series and learning more about the world, history, and favorite characters. I made me love the The Star-Touched Queen series even more, which I did think was possible.

I am a HUGE romance fan, and Roshani knows how to write romances that make me swoon like there is no tomorrow. I feel like romances are hard to pull off in short stories, but Roshani did it masterfully. I WANT MORE!!!!

I also really enjoyed the plot of each short story. Each story had an interesting and well-developed plot that kept me hooked from the first page.

If you are a fan of the series and are still craving more form the world, then I 100% recommend picking up this collection of short stories! This book will suck you back into the magical world and remind you just how wonderful the series is.

5 / 5 Fangs

*This ebook was given to me in exchange for an honest review. *