This one is a fun young adult romance. It kind of gives those 2010s teen wolf/vampire diaries vibes with ravens.At some points it’s cringe especially at the parts when they’re describing their feelings toward each other. Even though they are fated lovers, their descriptions are too much. You are 16/17 for gods sake how can you be so in love. The writing is also very easy readable, if you’re in for a quick fun young adult fantasy book which gives 2010s tv shows vibes, you should definitely read this one!

I really wanted to love this one. I’ve heard such amazing things about it from friends, but unfortunately it fell a little flat.

I’m absolute trash for the dual timelines, but I felt like things in the past timeline were rushed. I would’ve liked to have seen Sandy and Hank’s story as teenagers drawn out more than it was.

I also didn’t feel connected at all to Sandy, I think she could’ve left her hometown at any time. If she wanted out that badly, she would’ve done any and everything to make it happen. So her jealousy of Hank and him getting out and living his dreams was a bit exhausting to me.

The bright spot for me was Baileyville! I loved this cutesy little town. I come from a small town in Michigan, so it made me all warm and fuzzy thinking about what my life here is like.

in conclusion

All said, this is a 3.5 star read for me. I finished it, but I didn’t love it.

Following the death of her grandfather, Anora quite literally sees dead people. Her mom, however, is one step away from committing her after Anora tells her about her ability. After an incident, they move to Oklahoma to start over in a new town and school.

Going to a new school is difficult, especially when trying to hide the fact you see dead people, until…Anora finds out that she’s not the only one who can. But in true high school fashion, being the new girl inspires curiosity around the school, as well as brings some Mean Girls vibes.

I recommend When Stars Come Out to readers of paranormal YA urban fantasy (especially one with a unique magic system!)

I wish I could read Scarlett St Clair books every single day for the rest of my whole entire life oh my GOD

I loved this book, it was a very interesting concept and I was in it from page one. It gave me such good One of Us was Lying mystery vibes.

Good story. Slightly odd and slow at times as you seem to be on the back footing with learning things the other characters already know, think of it as reading the second book in a series without reading the first, it sometimes felt like I’d missed something. Nevertheless a fun read.

I love a good YA urban fantasy, and I think if you go in with the appropriate expectations you will really enjoy this one!

The writing is good, the characters are likable, and the story/plot is what I expected.

Most of me liking a book has more to do with my enjoyment than anything else and I enjoyed this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy in exchange for my review.

Really like this. Wasn’t the best that I have read from Scarlett St. Clair but it was a fun read and will continue to seek her books out.

I was hoping for a fast paced fantasy romance, but this book was not what I anticipated. I was not a fan of the pacing, the characters, or the storyline. I had to start and stop this book many times, making it hard to remember what was going on.

First off, I have no idea why it took me so long to start reading this book. I loved the description and the cover, but for some reason I hadn’t picked it up. Until yesterday evening. I almost read this book in one sitting if I’m honest. It was engaging and easy to read whilst having a well defined mythology and universe. I would recommend! Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.

Under noted posted to blog:
This is a book I received as an ARC from NetGalley a while back. It’s been on my reading list for a while but I just hadn’t felt the itch to read it. Not sure why. The cover is cute and the blurb sounds great. Yesterday I started to read it and today I finished it. I didn’t quite read it in one sitting but it wasn’t far off if I’m honest.

I really enjoyed this book. Whilst the premise isn’t all that original (a new girl with a mysterious past moves to a new town that has its fair share of secrets), I did like the author’s take on this tale. The story was accessible and enjoyable. I probably won’t spend any time analysing character motivation or ruminating over the themes, but it kept me fully engaged for hours!

This was an interesting YA book. Anora can see the dead. She can also turn ghosts into gold coins. Of course, she keeps this a secret and just wants to live a normal life. She starts a new school. Life has other plans for Anora. On the first day at her new school, she claims the soul of a dead girl and loses the coin. Why?! She now can steal souls using the coin. What else could go wrong? A classmate is dead. I was really hooked on this from the beginning. A solid YA paranormal book.
*thank you netgalley for an arc.

Kind of boring. I guess I expected a lot of action but there’s a lot of world building and I don’t know that I was prepared for that.

I wasn't quite sure how I'd feel about this book after reading her adult books. I am not the biggest fan of her adult books, I feel like the writing quality suffers a little bit- so I didn't know what to expect going into this. But, I think this book is the best book she's written. The story is good, the writing quality is good, and I like the characters. It's a very interesting concept and I enjoyed it.

I attempted to pick up this book a few months back, but couldn't seem to get into it, but I'm happy I waited to start again. I decided to take the audio route and wow!! I was hooked from the beginning and found I was flying right through it. Fantasy concept with shapeshifters, paranormal, ghosts, souls, and 'deathcasters'. sounds interesting enough?

You meet Anora, who recently moved to a new town after telling her mother she can see dead people... One can only imagine how that conversation will go... hey mom uh, I can see the dead... yeah you get that point

So Anora moves to a new town to escape what she was accused of and start over with a new life, only it doesn't quite happen this way. Of course, every school has gossip, but this school has something called the roundtable where an anonymous person posts other classmate's secrest for everyone to see... By the end of the first day, somehow Anora has claimed the soul of a dead girl on campus and lost a coin that contains the soul inside. How does she do this? welp I don't want to give any secrets away so you'll have to read to find out.

Along with Anora, the other main character is Shy *cute name* only he's more than what he says he is. hence the romance part in the book :) every young adult book needs some sort of romance and I felt the build-up in this book was spot on. I'm not a fan of instalove and I was nervous that was going to happen, however the author did an excellent job at explaining the world-building and what was happening. Only some parts, I wish there was a bit more background, but that could have been because I choose to listen to the book.

Overall, I loved the action from the beginning, the guessing of who did what, paranormal aspects, and slight romance involved. I'll have to find the 2nd book somewhere, but at the same time I'm not desperate to get my hands on it.

Reading this, I had no clue it was an Orpheus and Eurydice retelling, which is one of my favorite myths. And even though, it really is a YA story, I was hooked from the beginning. I love Anora, and while her relationship with Shy, was more pg. than I wanted, I really didn't mind, because I was so immersed in their world, that it didn't really matter too much. The only bad thing is that now I have to wait for the sequel. Sigh. lol

I so want to like St. Clair's writing but it tends to miss the mark for me. I think her stories are so interesting but I just always leave feeling slightly dissatisfied.

This was not necessarily bad but not very good either. I found it to be a combination of extremely cliche YA fantasy/romance elements and actually unique details, which frustrated me. In my opinion, the thought was there but the execution was not.

Gorgeous writing and amazing that will give you the feels!
I adore this author’s worlds and vivid storytelling with a passion.

Recommended!

I wanted this to be something with more ooompf and closure. I was hooked, then it dragged, then it ended? It was dark and creepy and totally gruesome, if you’re into that.

This book is going to be a popular one amongst my high schoolers-calling it now. Lots of fun to read, great paranormal romance-very fun and entertaining!