So this book is supposed to start its own duology set 3 years after "These Twisted Bonds". Let me just say it is a continuation starring different characters. You can not start this book and expect to follow along without reading the two that came before; otherwise, you are going to be lost. We have two FMCs in our story, the first is Jasalyn, the sister of the shadow queen, who is heir to the Shadow Court. Still human until her 18th birthday, which is 9 months away. Jas never seemed to have gotten over her torture by King Mordeus. Which, yeah, this 14-year-old girl was brutally tortured, of which we get a glimpse in this story. Obviously, she's going to have some PTSD FOREVER because of that. But everyone is like, "Why isn't she over that by now?". Then we have Felicity, who is a new character. Felicity is an Echo from the human world, the same kingdom Jas is from. So Felicity and her friends decide that Felicity will take Jas's place, and Jas will help hunt down Mordeus. Felicity is sent to the Wild Fey Kingdom with Misha, and of course he is all "Oh Jas you're awesome and only 17 while I've already been married, divorced, and am a million years old." Also, the real Jas is pining over the man who stayed with her while she was being tortured at 14 and made her feel better. He is "21" and she is 17, and there are some not YA appropriate things happening here. So that is most of the story. These two couples are all lovey-dovey over each other. The rest is them hunting down different things and trying not to get caught, magical objects, angry sisters, and brief appearances of much beloved characters. As much as I enjoyed the first two books, Jas's story was boring, repetitive, and more about wanting the men than trying to eliminate the threats. Kind of disappointed.

I got about 70ish pages into this book and unfortunately think this was not for me! I am open to trying other titles by this author! With fantasy books, it really is 50/50 for me. I think if I had an audio of this I would have been more interested.

As a longtime fan of the These Hollow Vows world, Beneath These Cursed Stars is exactly the kind of high-stakes, emotionally layered continuation I was hoping for. Jasalyn’s arc is raw and powerful. Her trauma, vengeance, and reluctant vulnerability make her one of the most compelling characters in the series. Felicity, unexpectedly, steals the show. Her dynamic with Misha is full of tension and heart, and the identity-swapping plot adds a delicious layer of angst. Lexi Ryan doesn’t hold back: betrayals, secrets, and a cliffhanger that left me yelling. The dual POV works, the romance is messy in the best way, and the worldbuilding continues to expand in dark, intriguing directions. This one’s for the readers who’ve been here since the beginning.

ARC provided by NetGalley.

Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this eARC. All opinions are my own.

This was an enjoyable reading experience.

I so loved this new book, by a favorite author! This book was so addictive, I loved the characters, the growth they go through was so well done! Unique world building kept me entertained! I would highly recommend this book to everyone!

Lexi writes fae and fantasy like no other! This was once again a knock out and I am so happy I was able to read this early! I am not normally into YA anymore but the yearning for me does it everytime!!

So, I hadn’t read a Lexi Ryan book before, but I’ve heard so much hype that I figured I’d give this one a shot.. thanks to NetGalley for the chance (and sorry for being late!).

It took a little while for me to really get into the story. The pacing felt slow at the start, and I definitely got a bit confused with the dual POVs, especially since Felicity was pretending to be Jasalyn. It got a little hard to track who was who at times, though I’ll fully admit that could be a me problem.

That said, I really enjoyed the romantic threads. The relationships had the perfect amount of tension, and I loved the dynamics between both pairs. The betrayals near the end? That was rough.

I’m still on the fence about continuing the series.. mostly because of the slow start and the fact that I’m not sure I’m the target audience. But that cliffhanger definitely left a mark, so who knows? I might be back for book two.

If you’re into fae fantasy with forbidden romance, shifting identities, and a touch of prophecy-driven chaos, this one could be right up your alley

⭐️⭐️⭐️⚡️(3.5)

This is a continuation of These Hollow Vows duology but following the sister. Roughly 3 years later. She is still haunted by her torture during her captivity and comes across the chance to get her revenge.

She is captured and given the opportunity to seek her revenge and change the fate of her people. But, in order to do so, she needs to swap her life with a shifter who will stand in for her in order to try to find a portal to the human lands. But revenge has its price.

This was a fun continuation of the storyline.

Beneath These Cursed Stars by Lexi Ryan is an enchanting fantasy that delivers everything readers love about her writing—compelling characters, intricate worldbuilding, and a romance that smolders with tension and depth. Ryan weaves magic and mystery into every page, creating a richly imagined world that feels both fresh and emotionally grounded.

The protagonist is complex and fiercely relatable, grappling with fate, loyalty, and the weight of impossible choices. Ryan has a gift for writing heroines who are both strong and vulnerable, and she doesn’t disappoint here. The story moves at a brisk pace, balancing action and emotion in a way that keeps the reader fully immersed. The twists are smartly placed and often unexpected, making it extremely difficult to put down!

Whether you're a long-time fan of Lexi Ryan or new to her work, Beneath These Cursed Stars is a captivating read that will leave you eager for more. It’s a must for lovers of romantic fantasy with real emotional stakes. I received an advanced reader copy for my honest review.

I loved this spin-off! I really enjoyed the first two books and was interested to see another character’s perspective.

I got a few chapters in and this wasn't clicking for me, but I do fully acknowledge I am a mood reader and I don't think I was in the mood for a silly fairy romp at the time, so I would like to try it again at some point. I liked Ryan's first book but the second was eh, but I did enjoy the world, so this continuation in the same universe with new characters should've been a hit for me.

I did not read the previous two books in the series, so my experience with this book definitely could have been effected by my lack of background knowledge. This was a quick and easy read that I definitely enjoyed, but the world building was lacking for me. I found it really difficult to connect with the characters and believe in the relationships that I was reading about. I’ll definitely give the original duology a try and see if that changes my opinion.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I sat on this for over a year before I was able to pick it up and read it - I tried to convince myself that I could not get into the story because of a bad reading slump or my unpredictable mood reading... alas, that was not the case for me... sadly...
As it turns out, this is a continuation of the These Hollow Vows series, which I have not read (is this my fault for not knowing? Perhaps partly, but I received an eARC from the publisher which made no mention of needing to read the other series first in order to understand the entire point of the plot of this book.

All that said, would I have enjoyed this more if I had read the other books first? Probably not. The plot may have made more sense to me, but the characters would have been just as annoying. The romance made me feel icky and felt forced. Felicity's POVs were the only thing that kept me going.

This was definitely a book with a YA feel, which one could expect going into it. Despite this, I found myself enjoying the book immensely. I certainly have a thing for the trope where people swapped lives.

I never like to give things away in my reviews, so all I can say is that I would recommend this and it is highly enjoyable.

I've never read a Lexi Ryan book before and this book got me hooked. I can't wait to read the next book in this series. If you like fantasy romance full of secrets twists and turns I definitely recommend this! Very easy to get sucked into this world.

I enjoyed this book! I felt the pacing was a little slow, but in the final third of the book it really picked up! I felt the romance was a bit more lacking from the first two which was a bit of a bummer - I just love reading about love! All in all I enjoyed the book and felt it was unique!

And can I just say I’m a total sucker for secret identity tropes?!

I tried very hard to finish this book, but unfortunately, I could not. I wish that I had read the series closer together, but as it was, I just had a hard time jumping back into the world.

Loved the ending to the story! Wrapped everything up really good! I think she will be an author I will continue to read from!

Whoever said you could read this without read the companion duology was lying because it was very necessary. The author does not go back and build the world in any way that would help new readers understand anything.
Fortunately for me I did read the other two books before getting to this one, a very good choice. Although I didn’t love this series, it is quite entertaining.
What I appreciate most from this book was the dual povs. If we were only reading from one I think I would have dropped it.
This book relies heavily on the reader liking the main characters because nothing else really draws you in. The idea of the plot is interesting but there was no execution. Purely dialogue and pining the whole time. The only plot happened in the last chapters that gripped me and makes me want to read the finale. But besides that nothing else happens throughout the book. So in order to truly enjoy this you have to really like the characters.
Thankfully I did enjoy these girls. Especially Felicity. I found her to be the most interesting and I rooted for her the whole time.
Do I think everyone will enjoy this book? No. There just isn’t enough for this to be an amazing book. But because I enjoyed the main characters, it was good for me.

4/5 ⭐️

This book took me a little bit to get into. There were a lot of characters that I was trying to place and I wasn't expecting this many new ones. I took this book as a third of the series but it is actually a spin off from a duology.

With that being said, I enjoyed this book a lot. The romance felt minimal, but following the thoughts of Felicity and Jas were so good.

I listened to the audio book and while I enjoyed the narration, it was difficult to figure out what was happening.. whose dreams were being described and through who's eyes.