I really enjoyed the sneak peek! The world building was so interesting and I love the different characters! I can’t wait to continue reading this magical YA fantasy!

Alex’s writing is absolutely transfixing. Lightlark has been one of my most anticipated reads of the year and I am distraught that I only have a few chapters. August 23rd cannot get here soon enough. The love that went into the story leaps from the page and I have already connected with the characters in such a way that is so rare. I can already tell that this is a book that will stay with me for a long time and is definitely on par with the greats of the YA genre.

Holy smokes. This was such a great tease to this series!!! I literally cannot wait to finish this book when it is released next month!!!

This review is based on the sneak peek (chapters 1-5), final review is yet to be decided after I read the complete book.

Lightlark is a world where the lost of lives and magic is at a cost, and would rely on the victor who can decide their futures. This reminds me slightly of the anime Fate/Zero in terms of fighting a battle at a certain period of time to get what they want/wish for.

What slightly threw me off is the explanation of what the Centennial is about—it was repetitive for me. I get that it was written for readers to get a sense of what, why, and how the Centennial happened, but it felt dragging and that I was getting an info I read from the previous chapter with only add-ons to the current chapter.

All of the realms are wonderful to visit. Each character has their own qualities to like and dislike. Isla's arc is nothing new but something I personally would want to see the progress.

In any case, I'm so excited to finish reading this.

#Lightlark #NetGalley

Six rulers, six curses, each fighting to break their respective kingdom's curse in a centennial competition against each other. Need I say more? The first five chapters have already trapped me with its smooth writing style, banter, and unexpected reveals already, The story is set, and I absolutely cannot wait until Lightlark's release date.

First of all, 5 chapters were not enough to fulfill my excitement about this book. These chapters left me anxious for more! I am already obsessed with Isla and want to know all about the history and past of Lightlark and its rulers. The story is already gripping and mysterious, I seriously don’t know how I will wait until my copy arrives!

Love it can't wait to read the rest of it when it comes out.
This little sample has be hooked. I need to read the rest.

I loved this sneak peek!! Super fantastical, wildly romantic vibes, and I already love the characters and the world.

Literally this was SO good I am itching for the rest of the book! I am not sure how I am going to be waiting until August for this to be released, but I can already tell this is going to be an amazing read.

I loved the sneak peek! I am looking forward to getting to read Lightlark in its full. I already love Grim and can’t wait to see his character develop! The sneak peek was great at giving a taste without giving the plot up. It looks like it will shape up to be an interesting read.

Many thanks to Netgalley, publishers, and Alex Aster herself for this advanced digital copy of the first five chapters to this book.

5/5

Wow. Okay.

This book has been HEAVILY anticipated on my TBR for a while, I preorded back in March. All of the additional hype from Alex herself with the preorder promotion, only made me want to read it even more.

All I can say is: I was not disappointed.

Granted, I cannot give a full review since I do not have the full book. But based on the first 50 (give or take) pages, it already seems like it will be a new favorite of mine!

I already love the characters and I am so excited for the full book so I can binge it in an afternoon and make it one of my new personality traits (lol).

Was provided a sample of Lightlark with my pre-order via netgalley for an honest review. Thus far, Aster’s prose and world building is excellent! I already am rooting for our main character Isla. I am looking forward to how Aster furthers both our plot as well as the intricate relationships between each character.

I received the first 5 chapters of LightLark early as a preorder gift. I am so excited for this book to release in August so I can find out what happens.

As one of my highly anticipated reads of the year, I was so excited to recieve a sneak peak! Such a small glimpse made me even more excited to read in August! The characters were developed! The world descriptions were ahmazing💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕!!!! Can not wait for my pre orders to arrive!!!!

Very interesting first 5 chapters!! I have been following Alex Aster on Instagram and Tiktok for a while, so the hype around the book intrigued me. Based on the little bit I just read, I will definitely look forward to when the book releases. The pre-order incentives are an amazing bonus as well!

A mini review based on an advanced excerpt:

A very interesting concept with clear tension and stakes. The main character is interesting, though not particularly distinct as a YA heroine. I was hoping for other POVs, though thus far there have not been any. So far the writing is not remarkable, but perfectly acceptable. Based on the first five chapters, I would keep reading, though I am not as blown away as I was hoping to be based on the hype surrounding this book.

Are you ever so nosy that you willingly invest $16.99 in a pre-order sale? Because yeah, that's how we've ended up here. Giving me adult money was a mistake.

Anyhow, I have been lurking on Alex Aster's success story for a while now because it's remarkable how well she's marketed her book. from BookTok to a 6 figure deal and an impressive following, Aster has likely secured herself a spot on every bestseller list. It's commendable, genuinely, I am impressed with how she and her team have generated hype for this book. So much, that I was willing to pre-order and receive the 5 free chapters. Read all 52 pages in one sitting.

I have thoughts.

This book has been touted as this Hunger Games x ACOTAR fantasy and I need y'all to manage those expectations because the writing makes it plainly obvious that this book is a debut. In fact, the writing comes off as a second draft that would have benefitted from closer editing:

"The snow villages of the Moonling new lands. The airy jubilees of the Skyling newlands. A few lands that hadn't been settled by any of the six realms at all."


A lot of the story (from what I read) relies on telling rather than showing and it leads to a lot of infodump so far. We are told that there were six realms, with six respective rulers, and six specific curses. We are told that Isla had a restricted childhood, who the perceived villains are, how the curses impact the different realms...

And the funny thing is that even with all this telling, the world-building is very confusing. From what I've gathered, there are 6 realms and the realms are countries? Isla mentions there are uninhabited countries that she could escape to, but the focus is on the Wilding, Skyling, Moonling, Starling, Nightshade and Lightlark. We are told that Lightlark is an island that appears every 100 years, but it was also at war with Nightshade; but then we are also told that Lightlark was inhabited with people from the other 4 countries (Wilding, Skyling, Moonling, Starling) but then the rulers of the realm ran away after getting cursed - and everyone thinks Nightshade is responsible for the curses? Am I losing anyone yet?? These 6 rulers are supposed to compete in a 100 day game/battle called the Centennial in which one of them must die - note, this system hasn't worked in the past 400 years, but they still keep doing the Centennial because...reasons.

I feel like the author just made the rules very convoluted and hard to follow without the logic that we saw in the Hunger Games. For instance, in the Hunger Games, we understood that children were selected as a way to lower morale in the districts; in Lightlark, the rulers are selected...but they have been competing for 400 years (Isla is the youngest realm ruler while the others are like 300 years old lmao) so I don't get what's different about each time?

In the Hunger Games, the competitors are sent to the Capitol; in Lightlark they are sent to Lightlark, the original realm with power, but also the King of Lightlark is cursed so does he also compete? In the Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta meet with fashion designers to demonstrate how the Capitol demands pomp behind the tragic killing; in Lightlark, Isla has an appointment with the tailor...just because? I'm not sharing these parallels to demand the author make a carbon copy of the Hunger Games, but if you are gonna comp with such an iconic YA dystopia, you need to follow through.

(Also this is a minor thing but from the character reveals we've had so far and the general Eurocentric fantasy world vibes, I'm sensing the book is gonna be very white/white-passing. I know Aster is Colombian so I give her kudos for being a WOC author in such a difficult industry. But I also can't deny that she is very white-passing and that does play a role in the diversity we might see in this book.)

We are told that Isla feels dread, that her people are dying, but I never felt an urgency in the atmosphere of the story. The fact that Isla has time to go on a chocolate-eating date with one of the other realm rulers makes me doubt the stakes of the Centennial.

SPEAKING OF DATE, y'all...the ACOTAR really jumped out. Remember when I mentioned the 6 realms, let me repeat them for you: Wildling, Skyling, Moonling, Starling, Nightshade, and Lightlark. If there's a villain (as the author has heavily hinted at "villain gets the girl") guess where he's from. Let me make it worse, his name is Grimshaw LMAOOO.

"The face belonging to the man looking down at her was amused. And familiar, somehow. He was so tall Isla had to tilt her chin to meet his eyes, black as coal. His hair spilled ink across his pale forehead. Nightshade, no question. Which meant...

"Thank you Grimshaw," Isla said firmly."


Might as well have stuck a "Hello, Isla darling" in that introduction because that character is literally Rhysand in a different font. Tell me I'm wrong! You may argue that 5 chapters aren't enough to get a read on a character but all of the characters lack depth, most of all our main character Isla. She's also very inconsistent. Isla is supposed to be trained in battle/swordplay but she almost trips off a cliff, then she always falls over a balcony because the sound of someone's clapping startled her. She is supposed to have been isolated her whole life, but she's also very good at reading people (you can argue that she snuck out of her room using the Starstick so she's well-traveled, but I would think her personality would have traces of her anti-social, subdued/secluded background, though she is certainly naive).

I can already predict that Grimshaw and Isla are endgame. Apparently, there are all these plot twists in the end so I would wager Grim betrays her for savior reasons and the next two books are about them being enemies to lovers. I also bet that Isla's second love interest is the King of Lightlark. The curses resulted from something between the Lightlark and Nightshade realms, or maybe from all the rulers contributing, idk I'm trying to guess at what would be so good that people are raving about the last 30 pages...maybe Isla's mom and dad had some kind of hand in the curses?? I mean I'm gonna find out in a month since I've preordered the book so we'll see if I was right

I'm so excited for Lightlark to be released, it is one of my most anticipated releases of the year! I loved these first 5 chapters and I can't wait to find out what happens next. August 23rd cannot come soon enough!

LOVED!! Can’t wait to receive my copy in August❤️ I am obsessed with this world already and have already preordered my copy from Barnes And Noble!

Hunger games meets ACOTAR in a compelling book. I am looking forward to being able to read the rest of this book!!