This is supposed to be a Sleeping Beauty retelling of sorts. The only connections to fairytale is a mean, ugly stepmother, a mirror slave and a random apple. Beyond those two minor points, which both felt forced, I would argue furiously against any comparisons.

I have never read from C. S. Johnson before this book, so I was not prepared for the heavy Christian overtones. This would have been fine if it made sense to the story. As it was, the blatant preaching felt out of place and extremely forced.

The writing also gave me pause. It felt very staccato; with short, choppy sentences. I expected a story that leaned into fairytale to have a more whimsical rhythm to the writing.

The plot and the characters left me wanting. The plot, with its political machinations and opposing nations, could have had potential, but Johnson focused so heavily on the romance between Ebony and Rion, that the story felt like an afterthought. And speaking of Ebony and Rion, both characters were little more than cliche, biblical virtues personified. In fact, all of the characters felt at once overdone and devoid of substance.

I did not enjoy this read and would hesitate to pick up anything else by this author.

I really enjoyed this fairy tale retelling. I loved how it dived into deeper themes surrounding racism instead of keeping it surface level. Very very refreshing and Ebony as a character was just so interesting. It was easy to get pulled into her story.

this was a really well done fairy tale retelling, the characters were great and I loved the it drove deeper into in themes of racism and deal with other political themes.

When Ebony’s father dies, she is forced into servitude in the palace by the evil Queen of Pommier. But, Prince Rion and Ebony maintain a secret friendship, much to his mother’s dismay. Can Ebony find the courage to do what is best for her and the country? Whose side will Prince Rion take?
The blend of Cinderella and Snow White is used to tell a story based in a world with racial tensions and alliances built around political complications. The characters are well developed and secure the reader’s emotions. The dual points of view (Rion and Ebony) help to build the story and dramatic irony.
This is a great read for fans of retold fairy tales, fantasy, the Royal Bastards series, The Rebel of the Sands by Hamilton, and The Lunar Chronicles.
Please note: This was a review copy given to us by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No financial compensation was received.

I have a guilty pleasure for fairytale retellings. This is the first one I picked up for Snow White, but also I saw much of Cinderella in this one to make it an interesting blend. I also fell in love with the title for this one, based on small aspects of the story.
The story was great, you had all the elements to bring a fairytale to life; a princess who has been pushed into a maid’s position within her royal home after her father died, an evil stepmother who dabbles in dark magic and a desire to rule her kingdom with lies and deceit, a prince who is desperate to help our princess become who she is supposed to be as well as some wonderful friends to support her along the way. A typical Disney story.

There was a lot of interesting factors to the story that draw me in, you get to see ‘Snow White’s backstory and how Ebony was brought to her stepmother’s kingdom of Pommier from her home in Marula through an alliance to bring the north and south together. She grew up with the queen’s son, prince Rion who knew her better than anyone, their close connection allowing them to fall in love. That was one thing that I found slightly disturbing in the story – how Ebony’s prince was in fact her step-brother. But whatever. It was nice to see their love was strong and with a long history from the start to focus more on the story.

There was a lot of racial elements within the book that were sometimes uncomfortable, the people of Marula were dark-skinned, weren’t welcome within the kingdom after the death of the king and the majority were sold as slaves or sent back to Malura where the country was at war with it’s neighbouring countries. Pommier’s people were white and were often reminded of being the stronger, more powerful country. They made sure the Maruli were separated in society as well as status within Pommier, which made it all the more inspiring when the prince chose Ebony as his princess against the queen’s wishes.

The characters were well told throughout the story, even with little build up. After her father died, the queen pushed at Ebony’s princess status little by little until she was reduced to a maid’s role within the castle out of spite and cruelty. Her spirit was crushed along with any hope to see her home kingdom again, the queen being a constant reminder that her princess status was simply a titled name and nothing more. Her temperament didn’t change much throughout the story but I quite liked that, she didn’t need to change too much for the story to work. She was strong in her own way, taking the insults from the queen and still able to sing her way through life. Ebony knew her feelings for Rion were real but she also wasn’t blind to her new position and reality of what could be between them.

‘I’ve never known what it was like to have true power.
To me, the idea of power was as elusive as catching starlight.
I can hold my hand up to the night sky, watching as the darkness turns my skin into its full shadow. My fingers curl around the bright burning lights high in the sky, but as I try to pull it toward me, the warmth in my palm diminishes, and the last of my self-indulgent mirage disappears.’

Rion was a lovely addition, especially since we had his point of view throughout the story alongside of Ebonys. You get to see his strength in running the kingdom of Malura as regent, his desire to help the kingdom and stop the war with the neighbouring countries is pleasing. His love for Ebony is apparent instantly which is sweet and endearing when you can see when he gets nervous and excited to see her. His inability to see through his mother’s schemes was disappointing at times but it put further truth to his character that he was able to see kindness in everyone.
The additional characters are great and all individually unique from Viola, Ebony’s speciavo magically trapped in a mirror, Damaris another maid within the castle that Ebony befriends, the Bonpette family who take her in when she needs a place to hide from the queen, not to mention the queen herself with her dark insecurities. You almost feel sorry for her knowing how lonely and isolated she is in her position. Even her own husband didn’t want her. It’s no question as to why she became the person she did with the little things she had left to make her happy. It was interesting to see her own point of view throughout the story too.

I had the pleasure of having the opportunity to listen to the audio version of C.S. Johnson’s Northern Lights, Southern Stars. I liked this story. Arama Christiana’s voice was perfect performing this book. She really brought it to life. I enjoyed meeting Ebony and I admired her bravery and courage.

I am giving Northern Lights, Southern Stars four and a half stars. I believe it is definitely worth a read. I recommend it.

I received the audio version of this book from the author, but was not required to write a review. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.

A Cinderella tale with a hint of Snow White.
The plot idea is fantastic, but it developed at a weird pace.
The writing was a bit repetitive and the characters seemed juvenile for the content.
Still looking forward to digging through the author's back catalogue.
Thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for my DRC.

I don't really know how I feel about this one. Personally, I love the idea of magic and it bothers me that it was viewed so negatively in this book. Then to mix religion in was a little much for me. I didn't expect that. I love God, and I love stories about make believe, full of magic and wonder. Why do we have to pin religion against the idea of magic? Why can't the two exist in the same world without one always being evil? People can be evil though. And I thought the queen was a little flat. I wanted her to see her selfish and unreasonable ways would cost her something but she took the easy route with suicide. I'm happy Ebony and Rion were able to forgive her in the end.

I thought it took a long time to get to the end, and once I got to the queen's revenge, it felt rushed. I want to love this story because of the hope and beautiful romance between Rion & Ebony. But I'm upset that the overall solution was true love's kiss and suicide? Maybe I'm interpreting this wrong. I might have to return to this with an open mind and see how it goes. I will not post this full review anywhere because I do not want to steer away future readers.

With elegant language that’s poetic without being saccharine or self-conscious, this reimagined origin story of Snow White is a beautifully composed tale. Princess Ebony Night loses almost everything upon the death of her beloved father, King Maru of Marula, whose second marriage is a political union with Queen Varyes of Pommier is a disaster in many ways. Ebony’s friendship with the queen’s son from her first marriage, Prince Rion, becomes more than a consolation prize as they fall in love and work together to do what’s best for everyone in their kingdom. Dark-skinned Marulis and pale-skinned Pommierians embody present-day racial tensions. Magic practitioners with devious motives, mirror-slaves, and poisonous fruit are a few of the fanciful elements that enrich this clever update of a familiar fairy tale.

Various themes merge smoothly into perceptive social commentary about colorism, elitism, political wrangling, and the subtleties of coercion. Although Ebony and Rion are young, nineteen and twenty-something, the essence of their struggles to assert themselves as individuals and a couple offers universal observations about identity and agency. Ebony often behaves in the Pollyannaish ways of a lifetime member of the privileged elite despite her reduced circumstances, and Rion can seem a little dimwitted, but these traits highlight how much devious advantage the queen has over them. Northern Lights Southern Stars shines as a modern fairy tale with many facets of intellectual substance.

Northern Lights, Southern Stars is a unique take on the story of Snow White. Deeper than the original fairy tale, it looked at international politics, the slave trade, racism, and the power of kindness and hope and love. Instead of white, Princess Ebony is dark-skinned, as is her entire nation. The prince she loves is white. They would not be the first mixed-race marriage, yet there were many who refused to accept the mixed relationships and the children that came from these marriages. That was difficult to read. There was also a contrast between those who believed in God and those who practiced evil magic. Ebony was mistreated and had her life threatened on many occasions. However, she never gave up faith or allowed her trials to make her bitter. She was a lovely, compelling hero who made faith and hope and love seem attainable to any of us.

The story was told in three perspectives, the princess, the prince, and the evil queen. Each of these was clearly marked and easy to follow. However, they also meant the reader is stuck in the head of each of these three people a bit more than necessary. I struggled with that - a bit too much of the omniscient perspective. This lessened as the book progressed and by the end, I had almost forgotten my annoyance at the beginning. Additionally, much of the story was written in present tense, which made it more difficult to read. Overall, I recommend the book and look forward to reading more books by C.S. Johnson. The imaginative take on the overtold story of Snow White was delightful and refreshing.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and have reviewed it willingly.

I'm sure this would probably be a good read for someone into fantasy and I really wanted to enjoy it based upon the intriguing synopsis, but unfortunately I cannot get pass the writing style. It's hard to read this book and it does not flow very well. It seems very choppy. While you may be writing about another century, there should still be an ebb of flow to the dialogue and sentence structure in which will engage the readers. I am not going to attempt to finish this book as it is boring to read. I'm sure the storyline may be interesting as well as the plot, but the author's writing style is something that I just cannot deal with. DNF @5%. I'm giving 3 stars as a benefit of the doubt for the author and story itself. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this book.