First of all, I really wish they had kept the same cover scheme as the first book. They had the chance to show each of the three girls wearing the traditional clothing of that country, one on each book and they blew it. This cover did nothing for me and if I were looking in a bookstore, I wouldn’t have given it a second glance.

That being said, I really liked the whole premise of the trilogy. Three princesses brought up from birth to be the queens of these countries. Practically bred to be the perfect match for the three princes. Naturally, when put to the test, things go sideways. We find out in the first book, that things aren’t what they seem. With the cliffhanger of last book, I expected things to be explained away in the second book. Expected some miracle explained and things would be fixed. I mean, they can wish on stars. Surely, there would have been some creative thinking that could have prevented it or some planning put in place to prevent that outcome but no.

This book was like watching someone who has learned how to play chess, has a good understanding of the game and wins most of the time, play against a master. Mommy dearest has been three steps ahead of her children the whole time but we get to watch them play and learn thinking they have a chance. When in reality, Mommy could have ended the game five minutes ago but they just don’t know it yet. This book ends in a cliffhanger too. Naturally that is to be expected as the middle book. Not gonna lie, I will be reading the last book regardless, I want to know how it ends.

The thing that bothered me, if Leopold was so in love with Sophronia, why after her death, and traveling with someone who looks so much like her, does he not have some kind of reaction? Some breaking point? Grief did not come into play at all. That was a missed opportunity as well. I did like the book, but it didn’t drag me in. I just hope book three does.

Thank you NetGalley and Laura Sebastian for this Arc in exchange for my unbiased review.

I am absolutely loving this series so far. This one has points of view of Beatriz, Daphne and Viole and it picks up right after book one and the aftermath of that shocking twist at the end of book one. Stardust sees on sister re-enter the lion's den as she simultaneously deals with coming into her power and the other is left questioning everything she believes. The writing here is good but I flew through book one and felt this one was a little slower going for me. Still the payoff was worth it because Laura Sebastian throws us another curveball at the end of book two that perfectly sets up the next book in the series. One of the better YA fantasy series I've read in a minute. Will definitely be picking up book 3.

Stardust in Their Veins is the sequel to Castles in Their Bones, and picks up where the first book leaves off, with chapters told in rotation by Daphne and Beatriz, as well as Sophronia's maid, Violie.

Beatriz and Daphne's mother, Empress Margaraux, is a manipulative, power-hungry woman who will use anything she can - anything she must - to reach her goal of domination. She has trained her daughters from birth for the roles she wants them to play - but will they follow her direction, or will they rebel themselves, as they enter the world and meet other people?

Told by each primary character in rotation, like the first book, this is a tightly-interwoven novel, with the events in occurring in each young woman's life interacting with the others. The star magic in this world allows the gifted to wish for things, within reason, and it is explored in greater depth in this volume than in the previous one.

If you enjoy intrigue and magic, shifting alliances and rebellion, you will enjoy this novel, as there is plenty of all. The final chapters contains a twist which sets up - or so I hope - a third volume, which I hope to read soon.

I received an advance review copy in return for my honest review, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Stardust in Their Veins is the second installment in author Laura Sebastian's Castle's In Their Bones trilogy. Key Characters: Empress Margaraux, Princess Beatrix, Daphne, and Violie, a new character who was a secondary character in the previous installment. Violie was witness to Princess Sophronia's murder 5 days before this story begins. This is a world with 4 main Nations: Temarin, Friv, Bessemia, and Cellaria. Princesses Daphne, Beatriz, and Sophronia trained their entire lives for one purpose: to bring down nations.

Their mother, Empress Margaraux of Bessemia, is determined to rule the continent of Vesteria, and her daughters are her weapons. Promised for marriage since birth, they are her ticket across enemy lines. And also her decoys. As the story beings, Sophronia chose her own fate and has been executed. As Sophie was my favorite in the initial installment, that blow really took me as a shock. Thanks to the events behind what happened to her, things are now going in a direction that I don't think anyone will figure out until the final installment is released.

Beatrix has been sent to Cellarian Prison while her husband Pasquale has been disinherited and imprisoned in yet another prison awaiting judgment. Beatrix has the unusual power of wishing on a star and making wishes. Her wish reunites her with Pasquale where they will eventually find their way back to Bessemia where Beatrix will begin her own plan to gain her revenge against her mother while learning more and more about her gifts, mourning the loss of her sister, and finding allies in the most unlikely of places.

Meanwhile, Daphne in Friv is preparing to marry Bairre. Daphne’s story is also intriguing, though she isn’t as quick to turn against her mother. This isn’t surprising considering she is probably the most similar to the Empress. However, we do see her attitude change as the story progresses. It’s interesting to see how she deals with new and surprising revelations, the grief of losing her sister, and her conflicted feelings toward Bairre. Daphne is forced to choose between what she wants, and what her mother has trained her to be.

To add even more mystery, Violie, who was Sophie's maid, has escaped what happened to Soph with King Leopold. Violie, curious enough, was hired by Margaraux to be her spy. She has a quiet strength about her, and a determination to keep her promises to Sophie. We see her and Leopold and the tension at the beginning of their relationship, as they both feel great guilt that they could not save Sophie's life. We slowly see the beginnings of a friendship between them, built on their shared grief, and grow on the hope that they will make Sophie proud.

The first half of this book is slow. There’s a lot of traveling to get our characters from point A to point B and we have to read about all their traveling even though not a lot of interesting things happen while they travel. The pace picks up in the second half of this book, which was necessary. I do believe the third book will be the best of all three, and I am trusting the author not to let me down in my expectations. A Certain Empress must pay for her machinations.

Spectacular sequel! Loved getting back to all the characters from book one. Gang of friends and intense sister dynamics are always a treat to read. Lots of suspense and fun dialogue to look forward to.

As a reader of the first book, this second one was a wonderful continuation of the story thus far. The same level of twist and turns in intrigue and suspense. You literally never know which characters you can trust, sure some of them are obviously not great people. But since the ending of the last book I have trusted nothing with how this story is going to go, I just sort of hold on and enjoy the ride.

The characters are fantastically written and jump off the page. The romance is lovely but doesn't take over the whole story. And the pacing is absolutely perfect. I cannot wait until the third book, I need to know how this is going to end so much!

I received this ARC free in exchange for an honest review.

I so enjoy Laura Sebastian’s writing. I enjoyed the story line- but there were so many POV’s that it made it hard for me to keep up with everything. I am however looking forward to the next book. Ready to see what happens to the “3” princesses.

This story started out well but sadly it just became stagnate and boring. I wished that I would have loved this one like book one but it start to really drag and I starting not really caring about the characters. I do kind of want to know what happens with these characters but not enough to read through 500+ pages that made me want to just go to sleep.

great book and such great characters. I enjoyed the mystery and some romance. I also enjoyed the journey of the characters. I didn't know what to expect with this book but I enjoyed it .

Definitely didn't see any of that coming! I'm not often surprised by a book, but this one (and the first in the series) held my interest and kept me guessing. Will be putting copies of both books in my classroom for my high schoolers to pick up during independent reading--love more examples of strong female leads!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for allowing me to continue reading this series! I loved the first book and I adored the second one! The story/plot is so interesting and suspenseful! The romances are cute and tense. The relationship with the sisters remind me so much of my own relationship with my own sisters. Please give this series a chance! I can’t wait for the next one! 4.5 ⭐️ stars.

Loved this book! Highly recommend this series, you will not be disappointed. I will buy a physical copy for my collection.

thank you to net galley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for the advanced reading copy of Stardust in Their Veins by Laura Sebastian. I did not realize this was a sequel but I got through it pretty well for that. gleaning what information I can of reviews from books one. I really enjoyed this and will absolutely order this and the first for my bookshop.

Thoroughly enjoyed, though not as much as the first. The subtleties of the political intrigue were still present, but much of the book was a personal, intimate journey for the characters, and while I'm typically fond of such plot lines, I did find this one to drag a bit, I might have felt differently if there had been a more notable antagonist like there had been in the first installment, but without that, the book lacked a bit of the urgency I loved from Castles in Their Bones.

I still quite liked the book, and will definitely continue on to see what happens in the third.

3.75 rounded up to 4

This is the sequel to Castles in their Bones, so I wont put too much info so that it doesn’t spoil the first one! I struggled with getting into the first book because it was mostly political drama but this one had a tad bit more action! I felt like I was holding my breath for every twist and turn. I definitely think the second was better than the first and can’t wait to see where the third one leads us because that cliffhanger killed me.

This is an intriguing sequel to 'Castles in Their Bones'. Sophronia is dead after her mother's schemes to control all of the empire. Beatriz and Daphne are uncovering their mother's schemes and realizing how she orchestrated their sister's death. The book became most active towards the end, especially as it ended in a cliffhanger.

This second installment of Castles in Their Bones finds the sisters continuing to discover the multitude of ways they are being manipulated by those who surround them. Daphne and Beatrice each struggle to find their own path and make choices that will help those they love, but betrayal and politics continue to get in the way. Will they be required to pay the ultimate price to save their friends and each other?

A decent middle book to a series. There's plenty of action and quite a few revelations as the story unfolds, leading to a good deal of character growth and discovery. Each character comes more into their own and is easier to identify for the reader, and the twist towards the end of the book definitely sets up the third installment with plenty opportunity for a great ending and climax to the series.

I don't want to say too much to avoid spoilers for the first book but I absolutely loved this one! I didn't think it was possible for the author to top the first book but she did! The stakes were higher and I loved being back in the world with these characters. I'm hoping its a trilogy just because I love the world and want to keep reading more about these characters

Daphne and Beatriz both receive confirmation of Sophronia’s death. Violie, Sophronia’s maid and unbeknownst spy of Empress Margareaux, helps Leopold escape to safety as she promised Sophronia she would. They meet up with Ambrose and Lord Savelle, who Beatriz freed from prison and Ambrose took on his boat to safety. At the wedding ceremony for Daphne and Bairre, an explosion occurs that kills the Empyria helping the king and now Bairre’s mother becomes the new Empyria. Beatriz and Pasquale end up in Empress Margareaux’s palace while Violie and Leopold are spying on Daphne in Bairre’s kingdom. The four work together to stop the Empress from taking over the continent and killing them all. Beatriz is convinced that their mother, Empress Margareaux, planned to kill all three of her daughters the minute she secured the kingdoms they infiltrated and now she’s trying to convince Daphne of their mother’s betrayal. The intrigue twists, turns and never stops, 5 stars!

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the intensity which is stronger than in the first book of this series. The intrigue never ends and it twists and turns as characters change their planned actions. The character variety is entertaining.
Ethnicity: predominantly white
Language: PG-13 for 10 swears, no f-bombs
Mature content: PG for kissing, lgbtq side character
Vilence: PG-13 for bloody stabbings, imprisonment, death by an arrow to the neck, poisoning

It’s simply amazing. The story picked up right after the events on the first book and we get a new character’s pov. I had thought the other book was great but somehow Sebastian made this one even better, the writting and the magic system is more in depth. One thing I really loved was that we got to see the empress more than the previous book which I’m so happy because that was my one complaint about the first book. I would love to have a book just about the empress gives me major Cersei vibes.