I'm rounding up on this one because I stayed up all night reading it, but overall I was disappointed with this book.

This is a very Jewish book, which I loved, and the Hebrew and references to the Talmud and Torah and the creation of a fictional liturgy called the Book of the Solomonar were all very well done. There's a glossary in the back, but I think non-Jewish readers might be lost on some of the elements, and that's okay! It's clear this was written by a Jewish author for a Jewish reader.

However, the story itself, the fantasy elements, and the repeated trauma made this a tough one for me. There is a lot of antisemitic violence in this novel, and I know a lot of this story is rooted in fact, including the author's grandmother, but I guess I would hope that an author can use fantasy to show some triumph and right the wrongs of our world. I believe there was an attempt to show that Jewishness persists (the author's note about the twins solidifies that), but even in a fantasy novel it is hidden away and women have to sacrifice their lives (figurative and literal) for it to persist. Maybe I'm too optimistic, but I like joy and triumph where possible from my Jewish fantasy.

I didn't quite understand some of the fantasy elements (mainly the storyline involving a star), and the fact that sister's POV turned into verse made it hard to follow. I did enjoy the connection of Jewish folklore with other central European folklore, and think that alliance is a really powerful illustration of minorities struggling to survive.

I also just want to mention the queerness, because I actually saw this book classified online under "lesbian literature." As a queer person, the queer storyline in this book was pretty troubling, or at least the ending was. Again, I know this was a queer plotline that the author weaved together based on some historical elements, but again, in a fantasy novel, some artistic creativity would've been nice.

Again, while I struggled with this book, I did stay up very late to finish it all in one sitting, and that is the mark of a good book. For me, this was a good book that just didn't hit in all the right places.

Inspired by Jewish folktales and historical facts, The Light of the Midnight Stars follows the story of three sisters, daughters of a rabbi. They each have unique magical talents. Hannah is the oldest; she is a naturalist and tends to the garden. She can make anything grow and she’s also a healer. Sarah is a fire starter. She can’t help but set fire to everything because she’s so passionate. She yearns to be a boy, so her father will teach her the things she needs to know to become properly powerful. Levana can read the stars. And she sees darkness coming.

The Black Mist worms its way into their lives, starting in the far flung forest before it creeps into their village. Hannah chooses to help a local prince save his mother from the mist sickness and they fall in love. Her choice to save his mother results in an accusation of witchcraft and the village is set on fire, their friends and family locked in the synagogue to die in the fire. The daughters and their mother and father are able to escape, but they are broken.

Throughout the novel, there are little stories, folktales and excerpts from The Book of the Solomonars. They often foretell the happenings of the sisters' lives, which are not good. There are bits of happiness throughout but it is a given that none of their lives will end happily, or at least as none of them dreamed. The Black Mist will see to that.

Sarah is the most fleshed out of all the characters, or maybe she’s the one I like the most. She is a rule breaker, fighting against the restraints her father puts on her. She is very powerful but she is kept from learning because she is a girl. So she finds her own teacher in Guvriel, a boy a couple years older than her who is learning from her father, because he is a boy and he’s allowed to do such things. She learns of all the amazing things she can do and resents her father for not letting her learn. She resents her entire family, for holding her back. Her parents for seemingly loving her sisters more, her sisters for being so loved and so good at what they are meant to be good at. Hannah is closest to their father, writing his notes and acting as his scribe in the teachings of the torah. She, too, is strong. She can grow her garden and she can heal even better than her mother. She discovers love in a man she is forbidden to marry, because he isn’t Jewish. She is broken and reassembled and broken again, coming out on the other side a completely different person. Levana looks to the stars. She sees things coming that no one else saw and says nothing. I don’t particularly like Levana. She is so focused on the stars that she pays little attention to what’s on the ground, to her detriment. She is also the least fleshed out of all the sisters and she is hard to relate to.

The exact year relative to our own time is a mystery to me. The story is likely at least five hundred years in the past but I’m not completely sure. Details regarding the exact time aren’t really relevant to the story so it doesn’t really matter. The surroundings are beautiful forests and plentiful fields, slowly being taken over by the mist. The exact details of the village are unimportant compared to the community that has been built there. It is a religious community, full of support and family. It is all the more horrible when these beautiful surroundings are burnt to the ground.

Plotwise, I am still a little confused as to what the Black Mist is supposed to be, or if it was ultimately defeated. It seemed to take over and never leave, chasing the sisters into Wallachia and further. There is mention of a great black dragon, and of Rabbi Isaac being able to chase away the mist in the form of a white dragon. All the same, it’s never quite clear what the mist is or if it can be defeated. Or even if it’s meant to be defeated. It could be a metaphor for the religious persecution faced by Jews. Or it could be some magical force of evil. Or both.

The fact that all these stories happened to three sisters, who are all very powerful, is hard to believe. Their stories rarely directly interact with one another. They do affect each other but they don’t weave together. They are like branches of a tree, all coming from the same root but not intertwining beyond that. They have magical impossible things happen to them, all three of them. They impossibility of it all is what makes their stories like the folktales their stories are based on. The interactions, the romances, are all very forced. Very reliant on chance meetings and signs from a higher entity.

The romance was a difficult bite to chew as well. From the beginning, where we start with Sarah’s mitzvah, we are reminded of just how young the sisters are. And yet, within the first year or two, Sarah and Hannah both have an intended husband. Yes, it is a sign of the time they are growing up in. But they are all so eager for marriage and having babies. There are some parts in the end that become quite graphic in terms of sexual content, especially non-consensual sexual content, and it was something of a shock, considering that nothing that graphic had happened before then (this was about three quarters of the way through the book, too). The last quarter of the book broke from the tone of the first parts and it was quite jarring.

Each sister had her own story to tell and they were all interesting. They all had important messages about self and how the choices you make affecting everything around you, for better or worse. They all felt trapped into their choices and made decisions independent of one another, only thinking of themselves. They are quite selfish, another way in which they show their childishness and lack of maturity. This does go away over time but by then, two of the sisters have been in quite serious relationships despite being under the age of sixteen. That part keeps coming back to nag at me and leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

The writing was very easy to understand and the meanings of unfamiliar words were able to be discerned from context. The tales flowed from one to the next in logical fashion. There were some time leaps that were very large, jumping over potentially interesting character development. I missed much of Guvriel and Sarah’s courtship, for one. They courted for over two years and I missed most of it. In addition to their courtship, I missed out on the magical teachings, Guvriel teaching Sarah everything he had learned from her father. I want to know more of what’s possible for their kind of magic. Though, I suppose, Sarah discovers there’s more than what is known.

I do very much appreciate the inclusion of a potentially bisexual character, or perhaps biromantic. I did not expect a queer relationship in this book. I only expected Jewish folklore and historical fantasy. And I did get both of those things. But Sarah’s story was the most compelling of all the sisters because of this queer representation.


Overall, I was engrossed in this novel from day one. I read it over the course of two days and followed the sister’s stories ardently. It reminded me of the book And I Darken by Kiersten White, the first in her Conquererer’s Saga. It is set around the same time as this novel is, and contains familiar names and places. It also brought to mind Strange the Dreamer and Rachel Caine’s The Great Library series. I think it’s something about the dedication to scholarly works and religion, or maybe the tone is similar. They are both great tales of history, though altered history. I recommend this book to anyone who likes any of the aforementioned series or anyone who wants to read a thoughtful, fantastical amalgamation of Jewish folklore, craftily woven together.

I thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Rossner's first book, The Sisters of the Winter Wood and was excited to try her sophomore novel. Admittedly the synopsis didn't quite grab my attention as much, but I really enjoyed her writing and anything involving fairy tales or retellings is still very much my vibe. I didn't quite mash with this one as much. I think this is mainly due to three POV characters crammed into one story that is also about 30% full of short stories. We have three adolescent sisters who are discovering themselves, their abilities, and finding romance. There is just a lot going on in a short period of time. I do think this is a great novel for short story and fairy tale lovers, as the short stories are woven into the main novel, with many even being told by the 3 POV characters themselves to share their journey or their opinion to another. I also think this novel is very culturally driven as it is strongly woven into Jewish and Eastern European culture. I think readers who are of that descent or have more knowledge of those peoples will appreciate this novel for what it is. I do still really enjoy Ms. Rossner's writing as well. Again, I just had a harder time becoming attached to each of the characters and rooting for them when there was just so much going on.

Thank you to the publisher for providing a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Once upon a time, there are three sisters, each with a unique and special power.

This was the perfect balance between historical fiction and fantasy. Its very whimsical but also its a tragic story.
Hannah, Sarah and Levana are sisters; their father is a scholar and they are descended from King Solomon, they live in small and quiet town, but soon things will change, when they will discover love, tragic will follow.

Hannah is the oldest; she can heal and grow things. Sarah is more wild and she can transform herself, Levana is the youngest and the dreamer, she is in love with the stars.

Its Multiple POV, you follow each sister, no one will have an easy life, their stories are about, lost, star crossed romance, but also about hope, they are strong and will endure many things.

I loved the format; some chapter contains short stories, fairytales and poems. (Im always in the mood to read fairytales) Also, the book was well researched, you can learn more about the Hungary in 14th century, specially about the Jewish community, the author was inspired by real people Jewish mysticism and Eastern Europe fairytales, the blend was perfection.

I have begun to write my own story in these pages. The story I will tell my children.
About a girl who fell in love with a star.
About a girl whose heart was made of fire.
About a girl who found a way to plant herself in the earth and grow.

I had very little idea of what this book was going to be like. I've had the authors previous book on my shelves for far too long, but I just couldn't resist requesting this on Netgalley. What I got was a tale of loss, of love, of the power of stories and how people can be blinded by religious differences. Hannah, Sarah and Levana are the three daughters of Rabbi Isaac. Blessed with powers, they each have their own path to take. That is until one fateful night that changes everything, their home, their religion and their names. But some things are not easy to escape from and before long the sisters must decide whether to stay as they are and ignore their destiny, or to return to the old ways, something that will affect their family forever.

The strength of this book undoubtedly comes from it's three female leads. Hannah is the eldest sister, religious, hard working and capable of making anything grow anywhere. She is also far more resilient than she is aware of, and longs for a life like her mothers, filled with love and children. Sarah feels unknown, her power is volatile and for that reason her father refuses to teach her until she learns to control it. She has never dreamed of love and marriage like Hannah, instead resenting the fact that as a woman she cannot join the Solomonars with her father and take up as his successor. Levana is a dreamer, she can follow the path of the stars and is determined to marry one, no matter how silly that may seem. All three sisters have incredible resilience, even in the direst of times and I found myself relating to every single one in different ways. There is no one character you find yourself reaching for, each of the sisters stories is so heartbreaking and real I found myself flying through the chapters, desperately wanting them to get a happy ending.

This is definitely a character driven story and I can see the authors writing style and the fact that plot doesn't really have a specific flow may put a lot of people off reading it. The author admits that looking into her Grandfathers past took her down a rabbit hole of Eastern European Jewish history, how they were treated, their legends and folklore, and she relies heavily on this for her story, having the characters act out these tales, and adding little bits of true history, with a fantasy flare for those who know it. For that reason the story can seem a little jumpy, interweaving different tales into the story. And yet, despite all this the story does flow, the authors writing style is incredibly lyrical filled with beautiful prose and I found myself highlighting so many passage's because of how beautifully they were written.

The book is told from the three sisters POV's as well as passages from 'The Book of Solomonars', an almost narrator style interlude and stories, stories told from the parents, other characters and the sisters themselves. The stories were used to almost recount the sisters previous lives, and I can see where some people might be put off by the amount of re-telling of events in the book, but telling stories in that way, almost as if they were a fable was very evocative of the time. There was a safety in telling stories instead of outright admitting things, it gives the characters the chance to come out and say things they are too scared to for fear or persecution, but also is a kind of relief, a way of telling the things you needed to admit without fully admitting them, it was a story, nothing more.

The Light of the Midnight Stars is set in 14th century Hungary at a time when the Black Death was rife and Jew's were blamed by many people for causing it. In fact the author shows this by having a black mist follow our characters, which was both evocative of the black death, but also antisemitism. A lot of people would assume that Jew's were first persecuted in ww2, when in fact it had been happening for centuries before that. Some of the things that happened to these characters come from real stories, which make the book that much more harrowing. I didn't know until the end what was fact and what was fiction, but learning about the deaths, the persecutions and knowing that they came from true stories gave the book a whole new depth. You mourn with and for these characters, and I can't tell you how many times my heart broke when reading it.

Filled with tragedy, romance, magic and showing the resilience of those being persecuted simply for believing in a different God, The Light of the Midnight Stars took me though a rigmarole of emotions and I had to give myself time once I'd finished to properly process what I had read. I can't see this becoming an instant favourite for people as I know some will be put off by the way the story is told, but I found it near impossible to put down. The stories told in this book will stay with me for a long time, and I will certainly be picking up anything else the author writes.

I really wanted to like this book. The description was very cool and seemed like it would be engaging for me. However, I just could NOT get into this book. I started it 3-4 times before I was able to commit to it and I honestly just pushed through to finish it. It seemed to move very slowly when I wanted it to move swiftly. I usually love multiple POV stories, but this one didn’t allow me to develop a relationship with any of the main characters.

I will say that the representation in this novel would be amazing for the right reader - it just simply wasn’t me.

What I liked:
-diverse characters
-sister relationships
-multiple perspectives
-writing style

What I didn’t care for:
-minimal plot
-poorly developed characters
-slow pace

For me, this was a 2.5/5 star book, rounded down.

Absolutely beautiful. For fans of Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver, Uprooted, and the Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden.

If you loved Rena Rossner's book The Sisters of the Winter Woods, you will love The Light of the Midnight Stars.

This book is the tragic tale of three Jewish sisters who encounter love, loss, and purpose and perhaps love once more. This is the tragedy of Jews who live in hiding, abandoning their beliefs in the wake of persecution.

The woods of Europe carry legends and monsters and the sisters must find their way through it all. But not all the monsters look monstrous. Sometimes they can be a mother-in-law. Sometimes they can be your neighbour.

I absolutely love how Rena Rossner has combined Jewish folklore, mysticism and even crafted her own book of the Solomonars.

Rena Rossner writes amazing Jewish historical fantasy. Sisters of the Winter Wood is one of my favourite books and The Light of the Midnight Stars is definitely going to be one of them, too. We follow three sisters, descended from King Solomon, who each have special powers. When a Black Mist descends on the forest, claiming villagers, the sisters have to fight it off as they grapple with and hold onto their identities as Jews in medieval Hungary, where antisemitism is always lurking. This book is GORGEOUS. It will break your heart and put it back together and break it again and you won't even be mad because it's so beautiful.

ARC from NetGalley

Can something be dark and whimsical at the same time?

This book is very folk-tale in style. Parts of it are written like poetry.

It's not really a deep story. It's not something you really dig your teeth into with character growth and a deep plot.

That said, it isn't a bad read. Like I said, it's whimsical. There is magic and curious happenings, but it's honestly really depressing. There is no happy ending. It's a book you read for the moment not for the journey or the ending, if that makes any sense. It's not a terribly satisfying book to read unless you know what you're getting into.

I received an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Honestly, every time I see a book with either a Jewish MC or based on Jewish stories, I know I have to read it. This book did not disappoint.

I love how the author wove folktales along with Jewish stories, practices, and ways of life to create this magical book that just kept me enthralled. I loved reading at the end where all the stories came from and how the author brought them together in this book. It was so well done.

This book was beautifully written with rich language and imagery. The fascinating weaving together of history and Jewish folktales will be appreciated by fantasy and historical fiction readers.

3.5 stars. The beginning of The Light of the Midnight Stars frustrated me, I had a difficult time being entranced by the plot and I felt as though the characters were running in circles. The short narratives that rotated frequently made it hard to establish a centralized plot and stay connected. I initially thought this story to be a sloppy, hopeless romance. It wasn't till the last twenty percent of the story where the author gave us something to work with. The everchanging dynamic of relationships between characters, stories, locations, and intentions was messy and by the end I still had little to no connection to this story.

Perfect for fans of Melissa Albert’s THE HAZEL WOOD, Katherine Arden’s Winternight trilogy, and Leigh Bardugo’s THE LANGUAGE OF THORNS, Rossner’s THE LIGHT OF THE MIDNIGHT STARS is a haunting, heartbreaking story of three sisters forced to remake themselves in the wake of unspeakable loss. But it is also a story of faith, power, and enduring love (perhaps this last most of all). Rossner’s prose captures the spirit and cadence of Judaism’s long history of oral storytelling—part of the Mishnaic tradition that mines often simple-seeming narratives for ever-deeper meaning. In the same way, MIDNIGHT STARS is more than a fairytale about Sarah, Hannah, and Levana—the daughters of famed “Solomonar” Reb Isaac—and how they confront a nefarious mist that creeps from the forest surrounding their Wallachian home. Just beneath the surface, there is a darkness to this fantasy that warns of the perils of prejudice and the trauma of injustice. Like so many Jewish stories, this is a tale of survival—but also like so many Jewish stories, this is a tale of what no one should have to survive.

Like me, you might marvel at the dexterity with which Rossner layers the fantastical over a closely-studied version of the mid- to late-fourteenth century (read both the brief prefatory note and the longer Author’s Note at the end for a glimpse into Rossner’s preponderance of research). But perhaps the greatest piece of world-building here is the way magic and prayer are intertwined, giving rise to one another in an intimate dialogue between supplicant and the divine.

I confess that, while reading MIDNIGHT STARS, it was difficult for me to maintain the kind of objectivity I try to bring to my reviews. The familiar pang of sorrow at ethnic targeting and scapegoating brought up a number of memories I would sooner forget. Jewish history and experience is heavy for many of us, but Rossner’s book is a reminder that it’s not a weight any of us carries alone.

I don’t know if I gave The Light of the Midnight Stars a completely fair shake: I started it just before my life got busy again, and when I realised that it was kind of a YA Fantasy Romance, I wasn’t eager to keep picking it up again; I spent way too long with this and it wasn’t entirely the book’s fault. I didn’t love specific aspects of the formatting (and especially the repetition of plotpoints, and of motifs from folklore), and being told from the rotating POVs of three very different sisters, I unevenly connected with them and their stories. But when I sat down to finally finish the last two hours of this book, things started coming together, and in the end, I found myself touched by this family and their fates. I can see how this novel would provide amazing representation for the right reader (especially at the intersection of Jewish, queer, and female), and I may well have enjoyed it more if I had had the time to read it more quickly, but for me it’s a three and a half star read, rounded down.

This was absolutely beautiful. I requested it immediately based on how much I loved THE SISTERS OF THE WINTERWOOD, and I was not disappointed. I love that Rossner writes about Jewish mythology, and that her stories blend fact and fiction together so well. Each of the sisters and their lovers were interesting and dynamic, and I was invested in all of their stories, which doesn’t always happen when there are multiple perspectives. I adored this fairytale.

This was a tough book to get into and I nearly decided to give up. But I am so glad I didn't as it turned out to be a beautiful, fairy talesque story of three talented daughters who had to hide their greatness for fear of persecution. Woven into the tales of a people who could control the weather and elements and change shape was Jewish culture and faith. The beauty of the traditions was wonderful to read about.
So stick with it and enjoy the dose of magic realism, fairy tale and historical fiction, you won't be disappointed.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC, this is my honest review,

Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

To begin with, I am both Jewish and sapphic. However, my opinions on this book are only this: opinions, and I truly hope there are other Jewish sapphics with different opinions. It took me some time to figure out my mixed feelings about this book, and though ultimately I did decide on 3 out of 5 stars, it feels as if I'm rating this book down.

The writing, especially for the youngest daughter, was extremely lyrical. It felt almost like reading a fairy tale, and indeed, there are several small folklores mixed in. Reading this book was almost like closing my eyes and stepping sideways into a world where I knew things-- almost. The noble who converts to Judaism and is burned at the stake, the prayers, the Biblical stories-- and then, edited to fit. This is not alienate me, but rather added fullness to the story in seeing how texts and oral traditions might change. The stories I recognized helped me sink into the story, in an almost-comfort. The three sisters share a strong bond that is emphasized throughout, and truly love each other. Those were some of my favorite parts of the book, and the youngest daughter's distinct voice made many of the following events more impactful. There is a sapphic relationship that felt sweet.

However, there were several parts of the book that did not sit well with me. Though this book is certainly set in times where standards of adulthood are different, authors are still writing to audiences with modern standards: and to me it seems as if a 14 year old girl had sex, which we read about (thankfully only vaguely). While teens of that age and younger certainly do make that choice, I feel as if aging her up would not have hurt the story. I similarly found myself disliking the ending for one of the characters: though they're based on a couple who did exist, the character seemed blackmailed and forced into the relationship, for all that it was her "choice" to continue in it. Perhaps it was to show a vision of strength that the character had, but it seemed to me as if we would be simply be imagining the pain of her future life once we closed the book. If there were any historical sources that implied that the marriage was based on such awful beginnings, I do of course retract my statement. (Doubtless there were very much some issues in the marriage but. . . )
I feel as if making the relationship one of attraction on both sides would have added to the representation in the book, and enhanced it.

(More assuming sidenote: it seems as if tripping over noblemen and princes in Europe was an easy thing that might happen to anyone. This was not strictly a criticism, just. . .something amusing.)
I might wish too, that the sapphic relationship had started under truer circumstances, though my . . ."feels off" vibes were mitigated somewhat by the reveal being accepted, and the relationship continuing. Still, it felt. . .strange, though I am cis and cannot speak to it enforcing any tropes. However, I very much enjoyed the character. She seemed truly amazing, and the folklores wrapped around her helped center her and make her almost larger than the presence she held in the book. Though instalove was certainly something that popped up for all three sisters, the characterization and background she had made her more vivid a figure than existing to be someone else's interest.

What a beautiful story! A little history thrown in with a little magic made for a delightful read. I appreciated learning more about the Jewish culture and I enjoyed the cultural language woven throughout. There are some really tough parts of this story too, especially as it pertains to the persecution of the Jewish people. But overall, a really wonderful read. I highly recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Redhook Books for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

The Light of the Midnight Stars is a beautiful book that weaves stories and folklore with history, fantasy and Jewish tradition to create compelling story of three sisters facing down an ever changing world. I was immediately drawn into this world and the community at the heart of the story, following the joys and tragedies of Hannah, Sarah and Levana's lives. I absolutely loved the way fantasy was woven into this story, particularly because so little fantasy exists that also pulls from Jewish folklore and tradition. I also loved the shifting perspectives of the sisters and their evolving sense of selves as time went on. Ultimately, I found the book to be altogether beautiful and heartbreaking and really loved it.

As a jewish person I can get so easily frustrated when I'm looking for a book with good jewish representation. I was ecstatic about this book because I KNEW it would represent my people in a way that displays how much beauty is in our culture and religion.

Getting into the technical I was so happy to see the use of Hebrew and Yiddish throughout the book, and the writing style was so beautiful, and almost melodic. The characters were all incredibly well developed, and the story itself was so gripping, and held my interest for nearly the whole book.

I do think that it is important to inform any jewish readers that this book does feature some violent antisemitism. I did not know this beforehand, and was extremely distressed when I read it. If you would like to know more detail about the event in question feel free to ask me.

All in all I really adored this book, and I felt like it was written specifically for me. I felt so lucky to see my people represented in such a breathtaking story.