I was taken on a roller coaster of emotions with this book and it was incredible! Corrain was able to captivate the reader immediately from the descriptive nature of the world, the harsh realities the characters were going through and the beautifully crafted plot. You come face to face with death, a never-ending supply of wine and sex revelry, they were both delightfully sinful and an awakening of how much we as human don’t allow ourselves to simply be happy/free. You get the messy family drama both godly and humanly, let’s not forget the interstellar war, and as many forms of love as you could imagine.
The best part is the love you could only dream of and the extents we go for those we love. I was left feeling for these characters, their losses and their struggles, the bonding experience and love they shared. I rooted for them.

What an interesting and refreshing take on Greek Mythology and......Star Wars?!

GIven the title, when I got an ARC of this book through NetGalley (Thanks NetGalley!) I was pretty sure I knew what I was going to be getting into. Something about fae, broody guys, spunky stabby heroines etc. Boy was I wrong. Crown of Starlight is a delicious take on lesser known (or recognized) characters from Greek Mythology, Ariadne and Dionysus. Once my brain was able to accept the combination of Greek myth and sci fi tech, I thoroughly enjoyed this story. Lots of heart-pounding action, steamy romance, fun characters, betrayals and an ending that literally had me telling my husband to shut up and go away I needed to FINISH THIS NOW.
A great option for fans of Greek myth who don't mind them getting stood on their heads, Crown of Starlight is a fantastically fun read!

I love love loved this book! It had a great slow burn regarding the romance and has loveable characters. The names had me on one though lol. Did Cait Corrain have to make names that are impossible to pronounce? The only suggestion I would have is to have a section at the end of the book with all the crazy hard words that tell you how to pronounce the names of the places and people. That would be awesome.

Princess Ariadne is being molded by her father to take over the Cretan Empire. She hates her father due to the violence that he believes in and doles out anytime he sees fit. To appease a treaty that was made long ago her father has an event every year where 12 tributes are sent over from their enemy's territory and are forced to enter a labyrinth and fight her brother to the death. No one ever comes out of these alive. On this particular year, she decides that she has had enough and she wants to get away from her father for good. So during the event, with the help of some friends, she frees the tributes. Once they are away, she is double-crossed.
This is when our "hero" Dionysus enters the story and turns her world upside down. He is a demi-god of many things including destruction. Through a series of events, she finds herself tied to him and begins to fall. Due to an event that happens between them, they are allowed to go to Olympus where the other gods reside and where Minos, her father, can't get to her. Once they arrive there. more drama ensues.
I don't want to give away more than I already have even though there aren't spoilers! Read it! It's great!

CROWN OF STARLIGHT offers a captivating blend of elements that cater to a wide range of tastes—featuring a cast of complex characters, from monstrous beings to divine entities, set within a gripping narrative of a dystopian society ruled by death cultists. The story unfolds amidst a backdrop of constant revelry, messy familial conflicts, interstellar warfare, and a myriad of forms of love. However, at its core, this book masterfully delves into the delicate exploration of love in the face of unimaginable trauma.

The protagonists, Dionysus and Ariadne, share the common experience of suffering under oppressive parental figures and political systems. Their anxieties, insecurities, and dysfunctions are laid bare as they summon the courage to confront their oppressors and, more importantly, to openly embrace their love for one another and themselves without reservation.

CROWN OF STARLIGHT is a literary gem that I am profoundly thankful for, easily earning its place among my all-time favorite books. It's a rollercoaster of emotions that promises both exhilaration and heartache. Corrain's debut work is a bewitching, sensuous, emotionally honest, and thrilling reinterpretation of two beloved mythological figures. One can't help but imagine that Dionysus and Ariadne would appreciate the beautiful portrayal of their story within these pages.

Greek Gods meet Star Wars…. This is the only way my brain can describe this book and I absolutely love it!
This was an incredible retelling! It did take a little to get into it but once I was into it, I was glued. The world building was a little wild to me at the start but now I don’t want to think about the Greek gods if there isn’t sci-fi aspect to it. Dionysis and Ariadne are honestly couple goals.
Rating 4/5
Spice 3/5

I am forever and always firmly a Percy Jackson kid, so I've been eating up Greek mythology since elementary school. Naturally, I make it my mission to read Greek myth retellings like it's nobody's business. And I especially love when the authors take these stories and really embrace the queerness that is so heavy in the actual mythology but often played down or outright ignored by historians. All that to say, Cait Corrain has made this the unapologetically queer Dionysus and Ariadne retelling of my dreams.

Ariadne is one of my favorite heroines of Greek mythology so I'm always interested in what authors will do with her in any retellings she pops up in. I REALLY loved her so much in this. She put such a smile on my face and reading her dark and harsh, but beautiful journey was just amazing. She was funny and charismatic and it was such a joy to be in this story with her. She truly never shied away from being scared, but it never stopped her from being brave. I also loved Dionysus in this which, like, is unsurprising. People often are so singularly focused on Dionysus's party god style, they forget the lore surrounding his godliness over revolutions as well. It was nice to see that bit of his character as well as it's not always prevalent in other retellings. I also loved that he is genderqueer in this book too! Together, these two made this story so easy to sit back and read for hours and hours. Their love story is beautiful and I teared up towards the end of reading this because of just how far they'd come together. This book is so much fun and it's such a cool way to retell this story. I am BEGGING for a second book

Very slow. Unable to concentrate on this book. Did not enjoy reading had trouble even getting past the first chapter, let alone any further.

This book is a very unique take on greek mythology. There are so many twists and turns that I never saw coming! It has a pretty slow start with a lot world-building. I absolutely loved reading the slow burn slightly spicy, enemies-to-lovers, marriage of convience, forced porximity love story between Ariadne and Dionysus.

Okay hear me out. Sci-fi Futuristic Greek Myth Retelling. It sounds odd, but your slightly intrigued?
Yea me too. I gave it a shot and while at first it was hard to get my mind around it, it ended up being a very pleasant read and I’m looking forward to see if this author does more of these myths this way!

Pros:
🪐This is one of the most unique retellings I’ve ever seen and while it took a bit to get into, it’s now one of the best I’ve ever read
👑The tension between our MMC and our FMC was PALPABLE and I am here for it.
🪐The character growth for our FMC was progressive but not overly rushed. The author balanced a fine line and the payoff was delicious.
👑I loved being able to see other Greek Gods and I hope we get to explore their stories!

Cons
🪐The story is a little slow to start and due to the type of story (scifi) it was a little hard to get into until around the 20% mark.
👑 This is a PERSONAL con and not one that faults the book or the author in anyway, but I do not enjoy reading M/M or F/F scenes, and there was F/F in this book. This was a bit uncomfortable for my tastes but I am not faulting the book or author for this.

I don’t know if the either cons are really something to fault the book for or if it’s a user issue. Most likely the latter, but unfortunately it did take away some of my enjoyment.

Thank you @netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for a free copy of this book to give an honest review.

First off I love the cover of this book. I Enjoyed the world building at the beginning. But after that I wasn’t really hooked. The first half of the book didn’t have enough going on to entrap me. I will say the second half was better.

This a retelling based off of Greek Mythology god Dionysus and Ariadne with a bit of a futuristic dci-if twist. There were some queer characters which I liked because in today’s day and age we are more accepting of gender preferences. (I like to think) I also liked all of the different creatures in this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for giving me early access to this book! All opinions are my own.

This book was an easy 5 stars for me. All I needed to hear was modern retelling of Ariadne’s myth in space, and I said sign me up!

The author Cait Corrain did such a phenomenal job of blending ancient myth with futuristic possibility, and giving us a story that is both unique but familiar at the same time. There are some content warnings associated with this book, but I feel that the author handled them in a great way. I plan on grabbing this book as soon as I can!

A re-telling of the love story between Dionysus and Ariadne that takes place in a sci-fi world. I must confess that my knowledge of Greek Gods and Goddesses is limited, so this was a fun introduction. This book was such an easy read, and you could just as easily lose track of time while reading it — I certainly did. I loved the power dynamic between Dionysus and Ariadne. Even though he's a god and she isn't, he was always so gentle with her and made sure she was comfortable. The communication and mutual respect between the two were truly *chef's kiss*. My only problem with this book is that the plot didn't really progress that much until the end and I found myself getting bored in the middle. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable read.

If you like books with spice, marriages of convenience, Greek mythology, and queer characters, then you'll be a fan of this.

This was FUN. Greek mythology with a science fiction twist was something I didn't know I needed in my life. The world building was immediate but never felt monologued, The forged friendships and relationships were given time to be explored, with the intensity that the god of hedonism deserves. By the second half of the book I was staying up far too late, just for another page. The interactions of power dynamics between every level seemed very realistic. The gender-fluidity, bisexual(pansexual?) natures that are explored but not a trope, it was masterfully done.

Thank you to NetGalley and Del Rey for my review copy.

Crown of Starlight is a queer space odyssey retelling of the myth of Ariadne and Dionysus that includes all the major Greek players - the minotaur, Prince Theseus, and the Olympian pantheon. Cait Corrain remixes the aesthetics of great sci-fi works like Star Wars, Star Trek, and The Locked Tomb series with classic mythology to create a tale where the Greek gods play games with human lives in a technologically advanced universe. On the planet of Crete, Crown Princess Ariadne trains against her wishes to one day take over her father’s throne. Her half brother Astarion - the minotaur, a creature with thoughts only to kill and feed, lives in torment while caged in the Labyrinth for his mother’s sins. Because of Crown Prince Androgeus’s death at the hands of Athenians, Crete demands Athenian sacrifices to the Moirai and minotaur as recompense. When Ariadne is asked to lead the ceremony, she orchestrates a plan to end the bloodshed once and for all. But once her plan comes to fruition, Ariadne is betrayed and finds herself in the helping hands of Dionysus and a bargain she can’t refuse.

Corrain’s novel is a mildly interesting take on the well-known story of Ariadne and stands out on aesthetic alone in our current mythology retelling market. Corrain makes it clear in her author’s note that she intends to “combat the misuse” of mythology through heavily incorporating the queer aspects of Dionysus’s story that are often removed or straightwashed. I thought she handled this in a very respectful and organic way, and it made for a more well-rounded story. I loved the character the author created for Dionysus, and his crew of diverse Maenads are some of the best characters in the story. They steal every page they’re on.

For the most part, Crown of Starlight is a romance with a decent amount of spice set against a sci-fi backdrop. Most of the novel is spent building the tension and romance between Ariadne and Dionysus, and very little is concerned about the war at large - mostly the beginning and the very end. There’s a lot of useless world building that doesn’t go anywhere, lots of “important” people with really long names we never meet again and places with problems that don’t really matter to the story. I assume if the novel branches off into a series, we may hear about those places and people but they aren’t important in the main scheme of Crown of Starlight. There are also some important characters that just straight up disappear, so we never get a resolution or an explanation and Ariadne just seems to shrug and forget one of the most important people in her life. If there is a follow-up novel, I would hope to see some kind of resolution for those characters.

I just didn’t vibe with the story at large - I think because it mostly felt derivative of other works, so there wasn’t anything super refreshing about the plot. It’s a basic retelling with a dash of religious trauma sprinkled in. The romance is entertaining, if a little predictable. I started to get frustrated with every little miscommunication that ended in a spat between Ariadne and Dionysus. It gets old after the fourth time. I also thought the climax and resolution were kind of silly and rushed, and some questions were just completely left unanswered. I feel like Ariadne and Dionysus’s story wraps up in this first book, so why all the loose ends specifically for Ariadne? Also, I hope the author finds another word for underwear. “Drawers” is not it.

3.25 stars

Was not prepared for Dionysus’ fits to be inspired by Fast X Jason Mamoa; was LESS prepared for the Gen Z sentence constructions that the MC speaks in.

The futuristic space setting is gratuitous and I would personally define this as fantasy with high tech, not science fiction. Pacing is very random where weeks go by within a sentence and the dialogue is awkward to say the least. Gave a generous rating because Corrain captured Dionysus’ symbolism, gender and sexuality conscientiously. Recommend reading the author’s note at the end.

DNF'ed. I expected to like this. I generally have fun with new adult fantasy/romantasy and I nearly always enjoy a greek mythology retelling. I don't require books in this genre to be literary masterpieces to enjoy them. I just need them to be at least marginally exciting and captivating. I can forgive a lot in the nuts and bolts of the writing if I'm swept away in the story or invested in the characters. In this case; however, I personally found the premise (despite its promise!), setting, and general plot to be uncompelling and the writing to be disjointed and juvenile. It seemed to drag and I was never able to personally identify with the FMC as a character or with her story arc, I DNF'ed at nearly half way.

I hope this review wasn't too harsh! I've read a lot of books in this genre; and for me, it was just notably sub par.

Holy space balls, y’all. This book!! 🤩
READ THIS BOOK!

The banter. 🙌🏼 The story. 🤯 The spice. 😮‍💨
Greek gods in space?! Yes, please! Did I think this was something I wanted? Not really. It was something I NEEDED. This is a Ariadne and Dionysus retelling. In space. 🤩 I was completely enthralled. I was literally salivating over this story. Could I pronounce half the names? No. Do I care? NO!
I. COULD. NOT. GET. ENOUGH. 😍 Between amazing plot twists, and the sexy orgies I was in heaven. 😏 I was literally on the edge of my seat the entire time. It never slowed down. Punch after amazing punch, I was THERE for it! And while there was excellent spice, this story was so much more than space porn. It had substance. The story was top notch. 🙌🏼

The world building is slightly chunky, but necessary and worth getting through. I think the author does a great job of helping the reader really picture the environment, without being too “info dumpy”.

Slow burn 🔥
Morally grey MMC
Intelligent FMC
Political intrigue
Marriage of convenience
Fake dating
Greek mythology
Bdsm
LGBTQ

Spice rating
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
(multiple explicit sex scenes with non traditional/non “vanilla” themes)

“Did I give you permission to touch yourself?”
🥵😮‍💨

GOD DAMN! 🫠

I’ll be buying this book the SECOND it comes out. You should too! 👏🏼 I’m praying there is more to this story because I can’t get enough. And Cait? I’ll read your damn grocery list. You’re a new instant buy author for me! I can’t wait to see what you do next!

This book was a five star for me. I love Greek mythology, the plot was amazing and sucked me in. The writing was very descriptive, so much so some scenes made me feel like I was actually involved! Very good read!

This was a sci-fi/mythology mix and oddly enough it worked. Not to mention the romance was 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ very spicy.

I loved that this book wasn’t just space battles and androids this was akin to ACOTAR in the sense of running from what binds you and discovering who you really are underneath it all. Some sci-fi books are meant to be gory and traumatic but I’m slowly dipping my toes into the romance side and I’m enjoying it. This was a really fun high stakes journey.

Spoiler free
Thanks NetGalley for the eARC.
Really liked this read. The world building is amazing. Representation in the story is done really well. Character growth is fantastic and satisfying. Loved the romance and the Greek retelling *chefs kiss*