Great concept and good world building. The execution didn’t quite work for me but I suspect I fall a little outside the target audience on this one. Reminded me of the Stardust Thief and Caraval (neither of which really rock my world – see above re not really in the target audience) so if you enjoyed either of those, you’ll probably enjoy this.

Loved the characters in this but the plot dragged every so often. The pacing felt off occasionally and I found ,y attention drifting. Would be interested in reading more from this author but this was not my favourite!

I received a copy of the book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Easily 5 stars from me. This book hit mark I could want in a fantasy novel . Catelyn Wilson's writing is immersive and colorful. The character and their world draw you in in that way where you don't realize you've read the night away you are so invested in their outcome. I truly hope there is a sequel. I need to know Hazel's outcome and the future of the Bazaar. So good.

Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me an opportunity to read this early.
Well having everything fresh in my mind by just finishing it like an hour ago, I can say with absolute certainty that this worldbuilding had me!
At the very beggining, the part of Hazel living with her aunt and cousin gave me Cinderella vibes. But then the adventure came with the Bazaar that appears only in the alignment. The characters that Hazel met along the way had unique traits or misterious ones that made you wonder if they would have a big or small part in all that. Cassian was really misterious and made me always want to know more about him. Loved the dangerous tasks Hazel had to go through with him and that it brought them closer. As for Zaire, what to say... I can't say much without spoiling things.
The revelations in the last few chapters about Zaire and Cassian, Hazel and the gods had me shook but saw some of them coming. After this ending, I'm really curious to see how they will solve the mess they're in.

This book reminded me a lot of the Caraval series, so if you're a fan of that, you would probably also like this book. At the beginning, the book had a really good pacing, where the story hooked me immediately. It did slow down a little bit around the 20-30% mark, where we really got into the world building and getting to understand the bazaar and how it worked. It did pick back up though, and I ended up really enjoying the story. The whole book I was hesitant to trust anyone, even the people we met outside the bazaar. A great read for any fantasy/caraval/night circus friends who like magical environments that come and go.

Interesting concept and world building, fascinating characters and plot. This story felt magical and original.

Thanks to Catelyn Wilson and the publisher for the ARC I was able to read prerelease.
I absolutely loved this read! Magical, immersive, and kept me engaged from the first page. I loved Hazel’s strength and how she progressed through the story. Enjoyed the romance and twists. Greatly looking forward to book two to find out what happens and I highly recommend this book!

This reads very similarly to These Hollow Vows to me, which makes sense because I didn't actually like that one either. In These Wicked Star, we follow this girl as she goes through the Bazaar. The magic is intriguing and I can see how it could be a really cool story. Unfortunately, I found our main character to be annoyingly naive and no one else really seemed to have that much depth. The setting and magic were interesting, but there were a few times that were confusing and contradicted one another. The dialogue felt choppy and scripted, it didn't actually flow.

These Wicked Stars by Catelyn Wilson initially caught my eye because of its beautiful cover, and as soon as I read the description I knew this was a book I needed to read.
We meet our protagonist Hazel at a low point in her life, as the bastard daughter of a disgraced mother and an un named sailor her place in society has always been precarious. The only joy in her life is her beloved, once she marries him she will be free of the oppression she currently endures. Her joy is short lived however and she is distraught to discover that he is promised to marry her cousin instead because the dowry she brings will shore up his family's crumbling finances, In the depths of her despair Hazel recklessly agrees to enter the deadly Nightfall Bazaar to help a man save his ailing wife in exchange for more than enough money to free her from her current situation. In the Nightfall Bazaar you can find your heart's desire, but everything comes at a price, and often one that is higher than you can afford. Hazel soon attracts unwanted attention from the ruler of the Bazaar and becomes caught up in a game of cat and mouse that could have deadly consequences, not just for her but for the whole world.
This was a fun fantasy quest with a lot of potential, but unfortunately it also had some problems. The idea of the Nightfall Bazaar was fantastic and I liked seeing how that world worked and the sense of danger and menace that the author was able to evoke. Unfortunately that same originality was not so evident in the characters , they were quite flat and one dimensional which meant that I was less invested in the outcome of the story. While the book took a little time to get going , it soon found its stride but it lagged again a little in the middle before picking up the pace again in the last twenty percent or so,
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

4 stars

Type: Romantasy
Ease of read: 5/5
Spice: 1/5
Age range: YA

"***'s kiss was desparate and fiery. It was like if he took his hands from me, I'd disappear. It was an intoxicating feeling, simply being wanted."

Hazel is just an ordinary girl in love with a prince...while he pretends to love her in return she doesn't see the red flags. She finds herself walking into the Bazar for a stranger to retrieve something for them to save their wife and in return he will give her enough money so the price doesn't have to marry her cousin for her dowry. Her journey into the Bazar and the people she mets, the trials she faces, the secrets uncovered, and cyphers decoded...she'll have to figure out how to get out with her soul intact. 

There’s a pivotal moment in the story when everything seems to change and yet it all makes sense now. The clues the author leaves during the story are great! I would have liked more character development but that’s just me. I enjoy knowing everything about a character and the world they inhabit. There’s a lot of backstory to be told yet and I'm sure that will come with book 2. 

This does end on a cliffhanger. 

Tropes:
Romantasy
Magic & Mythology
Gods
Court Intrigue
Repeat History
Enemies to lovers
Touch her and die
mild Slow burn
Guy Falls first
Close proximity

I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had high expectations because everyone compared it to Caraval.
I don't think it was that similar, maybe you can compare the Bazaar to Caraval but that's the only thing. Even though I read the beginning of the book really fast, the middle was a bit slow sometimes. It was difficult for me to finish the book. Once you arrive at the end of the book, you can't put it down. You really want to know what happens next.
I had some trouble connecting with the characters. The relationship between the MC and Love interest didn't make sense to me. There was no connection between them and out of nowhere, they fell in love. It was a bit too rushed.

Overall it was a fun story to read. The world-building was great. I really liked the magic world and the creatures.

my rating: 3/5

These Wicked Stars by Catelyn Wilson:

In this story we follow our main character Hazel as she goes on a quest in a magical Bazaar that preys on the weakness and greed of humans. I thought this book had a really interesting concept, and I definitely see some similarities between These Wicked Stars and some other popular YA fantasy books such as The Wrath and the Dawn. If you are looking for a quick read without much substance, I would recommend this, but personally it wasn’t for me.

The characters were very one dimensional and archetypal. Hazel was so dumb it hurt and Cassian was not even given a personality. The writing wasn’t atrocious but there were some lines that made me cringe, and this book just felt like a carbon copy of books I’ve read before. The world was interesting, but felt underdeveloped and I couldn’t really get sucked into it, if that makes sense. Still, I can see why some people might like this book, and can recognize I am no longer the target audience for YA novels😂

Thanks to netgalley for providing me with a digital review copy of this book.

The release date for this book it Oct. 31st!📖

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I always love stories about magical buildings, hotels, bazaars!! This does have Caraval vibes but only the first bit, then it fleshes into its own original story!

I found Hazel annoying at first lol but then came to really like her and the others!!

This was a really fun read! I think it hovers near 3.5 stars for me, rounded up here; while I read through it extremely quickly (a one day read!) there's something about it that just skipped ahead really quickly but felt as though I was missing details. I think if this was more of an adult book it would have lent itself better to the plot and character development that I was missing. That being said, I love the premise of this book- definitely similar to the Caraval series what with the Bazaar being magical, and there being a boy familiar with it to help her navigate its confusion- and I think Hazel and Cassian are an amazing couple that I want to see more of. I think book 2 of this series will be superb as a continuation of this story! Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the chance to read this eARC!!

This book had a great, intriguing concept, but, for me, it didn't deliver.

The main problem for me was the main character, Hazel, who felt naive and dramatic. She threw screaming fits and tried to hurt Cassian, her mysterious guide, for anything that upset her whether it was his fault or not. I had a hard time connecting with her. She also seemed to lack any growth as she still believed every negative thing about herself she'd started the book believing.

The Bazaar itself was interesting, and I liked how it came to life. The magic of the setting was my favorite part.

This was a really fun read! It had kind of a Caraval vibe to it, mainly in the beginning but then it kind of paved its own story. I think the world could have been explained a little bit better at the beginning, but it was still decently easy to follow along with.
The FMC was a little annoying and “damsel in distress” kind of, but if there are more books then I’m excited to see her hopefully grow as a character.
Some things were a little easy to predict, but still a great and fun read!

These Wicked Stars has a very interesting synopsis that had me super intrigued however the story itself felt lacking. Hazel is in love but her love interest just let her know he is going to marry her cousin for money. She is not giving up so she makes a deal with an old man to get him something from a Bazar that only shows up every thirty years. While in the Bazar she starts to learn more about herself. I just didn't get into this book like I thought I would. The characters were ok but there were to many times I went "huh." So much potential but I just didn't like the choices Hazel made and maybe because this is YA but she just felt really naive. 2.5 stars

Thank you Netgalley for the arc!

The premise of the book is pretty much interesting, the setting is too, so basically this book had potential but in the end I feel it was not fullfilled

The main character, Hazel, was annoying and I couldn't identify with her or care about what was happening to her. She has traits that should make her appealing to the reader, but at the end this traits made her just annoying and unberable.

I also couldn't care about any character in general, i feel there was no real depth to the construction of any of the character that we met.

And the thing I basically hate was the fast love which made no sense at all, it feel cheep and obviusly not deveplop at all. Again there was no deveplopment so I couldn't really care about their romance, it was more forced than anything

I needed a reason to care about Hazel, her mission, what she wanted to do, but I was given nothing at all. She was naive and not in an appealing way, she didn't have any appealing trait which makes her a really bad mc. I can say the same for Cassian, he felt dull and not like a deveploped character

At the end, this had a lot of potential but it needed another mc of at least a Hazel that had some character depth and was not annoying and not appealing at all. Also the factor of the romance was not necessary, it did absoluty nothing for the plot and since this is a series and not an standalone there was enough time for build Cassian and Hazel relationship and make the reader care for them, not force them in the first book in a cheap way just to have some romance

Overall the idea was interesting but the executing was really poor

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

While the idea behind this book and the first half was intriguing, the bland characters, poor worldbuilding and predictable storyline made it a mediocre read for me

A big thank you to Catelyn Wilson and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. These Wicked Stars come out October 31, 2022.

These Wicked Stars is the first in a romance fantasy series, it was a fast paced adventure full of romance, magic, betrayal and mystery. Centered around Hazel, a women willing to do whatever it takes to be able to marry the man she believes she is in love with even though he is engaged to her cousin for her money. To do this she takes a deal with a mysterious man that she will enter the Bazar, a magical market with unimaginable good but very steep prices, and retrieve a magical water that heals any illness in exchange for enough money to free the man she loves. During her time in the Bazar she is met with many obstacles, including catching the attention of the king of the Bazar. Through a game of cat and mouse with him she some how ends up with the Kings head guard, Cassian. While attempting to find the water Hazel starts to discover things about herself and the world she lived in and starts to figure out if the love she had is the love she actually deserved.

This book was a great beginning to what I hope is an amazing series. It had great world building, I feel like once you are in the Bazar you start to get a really good sense of what this universe is like. I really liked Hazel I thought she was a strong female lead and really did well even with the limited knowledge she had. I cannot wait to she how she develops in the future. By the end of the book I feel like everything gets kind of blown up with new facts being revealed so i am also excited to see how this new knowledge progresses as well. I think that this was a great first installment of the series and am looking forward to future books from this series and author.