I really loved the initial duology, but this took me a bit to get through. The world building assumes you’ve read the other two recently and doesn’t do a great job expanding upon things. It also felt a little gimmicky with tropes and such. It was fun and I’ll continue the series, but compared to the first duology I was a bit let down.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC ebook copy of this book. I was thrilled to receive an advanced copy as I love Lexi Ryan’s books.

Jas is the younger sister of Abriella who is the main character in the These Hollow Vows duology. This book is a dive into her story after the These Hollow Vows duology takes place. I loved the dual POVs and how we got to get a perspective of her Jas’ memories. While terrible, it was enlightening into Jas.

I loved Misha from the duopoly, but getting to know him as he is in this book is so endearing. We love seeing a man fall in love.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, but THAT CLIFFHANGER!!!! I actually thought I was missing some pages in my book.

Here's the thing: I haven't read the duology that takes place in the same world and before this book. I've picked it up a few times, but have never been able to get in to it. The premise of this book sounded really promising and more interesting to me, and I thought I'd try this author one more time. And it was...fine. It's a solid romantasy: fun to read, tropey, but hardly any worldbuilding (I know, I know, it's probably in the first two books but STILL) and the dialogue is kind of cringey and doesn't seem to fit. I didn't care much about Jas, but I enjoyed the Felicity/Misha storyline. Overall, I can see why people like these books, but they're not for me.

Thank you for the advanced copy of Beneath These Cursed Stars! I love all the books Lexi Ryan has come out with, and this was no different.

Beneath These Cursed Stars
by Lexi Ryan
3.75 Stars

As soon as I saw Lexi Ryan had a new forthcoming book, I knew I needed to read it immediately.

As an FYI for anyone wanting to read this book -- It was unclear to me from the book description that this book was a continuation in the same world as These Hollow Vows duology, but I was very excited to realize after starting the book that the events take place 3 years after These Twisted Bonds, written from dual points of view of Bri's younger sister, Jasalyn and another new character -- so I would highly recommend reading the duology first otherwise you will miss a lot of the world building and important plot points.

This book had alot of tropes and potential plot twists that I always love to see in fantasy, but I was initially struggling with the world building. I had to do some googling to make sure I hadn't missed things in the original duology but I felt lost in the information about the human world and human magic as well as the history of the realm. That information wasn't really provided in the duology and in this one, I felt launched into something that seemed like readers were supposed to already know about and wasn't elaborated on.

I think overall the plot is interesting and different in a way I've come to expect from Ryan, and I was drawn in by the end of the book, but I felt that it was very slow plotwise and repetitive on information. I also felt a bit lost on the character-driven plots as Jasalyn was very single minded and driven by revenge which was unexpected given what we knew of her in the duology. I enjoyed Felicity's chapters much more, but I still felt lost and that there weren't enough clues or information to understand everything that was happening. Things really picked up at the end leading up to the cliffhanger, but it felt like we were just getting to the main event of what the book should be had the first part been more streamlined. I don't necessarily know if dividing this book up right there made the most sense, given how little actually happened in it.

Overall, despite my initial critiques, I enjoyed being submersed back into this world again and can't wait to see what will happen next.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC!

I really liked this book! The writing kept me glued to the page and really invested in the characters. I preferred Misha and Felicity’s storyline over Jasyn and Hale’s….and on occasion if I had put the book down for an hour then picked it back up, you wouldn’t be able to tell which girl’s POV it was because of similarities in their thoughts Even though this duology is supposed to be stand alone, I do feel like reading it first will give you better background knowledge. The world building didn’t feel quite complete without the first two. All of those things aside, I really love the world it’s in and really look forward to the next one to come out!

Surprise. I’ve been slowly reading this arc from Netgalley in exchange for a review.

This book was okay. I found it kind of hard to get into. The beginning was interesting and towards the end things ramp up for the cliff hanger. I think I figured out the plot pretty early on. But I found myself kind of slogging through the middle of the book and not caring a whole lot.

It’s a much different story than the first duology, but it used some of the same plot devices. I will continue because apparently this is also a series? That also threw me because I was under the impression this was a sequel stand alone. I did like that we got more of Misha and Jas was also fun to get perspectives from.

Thank you NetGalley and Lexi Ryan for the ARC of Beneath These Cursed Stars! I absolutely LOVED LOVED LOVED this read! It gave me all the Barbie Princess and the pauper vibes when I read the blurb but the story was even better than I imagined!! I cannot wait for more!!

Beneath These Cursed Stars, while focused on new protagonists, is basically a continuation of the These Hollow Vows duet, and I highly recommend reading that beforehand. I did less than a year ago, and I still couldn't remember all the finer details about some aspects of the realms and courts, etc.

I was highly anticipating this book, but I was simultaneously intrigued and bored. I wanted to get to the good stuff: the reveals, more action and the like. It took forever to get there. I'd say it was the last 10 chapters (or even less) where I was thinking "Hallelu. Here we finally go."

Before then I felt we learned very little about anyone or anything. Felicity is still very much a mystery at this point. The same for Kendrick. Misha and Jas are a touch less mysterious, but I remember Misha from the previously mentioned duet, and we got into Jas's head the most in this book. I might possibly be starting to like her. Maybe.

I'm definitely going to need the guys' POVs in the follow-up(s), and the revelations and enlightenment need to be plentiful.

***I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy generously provided by the publisher via NetGalley.***

Thank you so much to the publisher and netgalley for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed this one! It was a lot of fun and such a nice time being back with Lexi's writing. I love a story you can get lost in and this is exactly what this did!

I liked this one! It was night being back in the these hollowed vows world. Lexi Ryan is becoming a favorite of mine I love her writing style and the romance was *chefs kiss+

I looooved Lexi Ryan's These Hollow Vows series, so I was super excited for this book! It didn't quite hit like her other series for me, but was still an enjoyable read. I wonder if reading it closer to when I had read These Hollow Vows would've helped with the set up of the world?

hank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Children's books for an ARC of Beneath These Cursed Stars by Lexi Ryan.

Beneath These cursed stars takes place three years after the events of the last book. Jas is still recovering from the trauma of being tortured by King Mordeus.
The books is very easy to follow, the characters are developed well. The story is well told, I've ready other books by Lexi Ryan, including the original duology this book is a spin off from. If you enjoyed the These Hollow Vows series, then you'll enjoy this book as well.

Generally, liked the story here - FMC who wants to thwart her brother's (the crown prince's) plan for her arranged marriage infiltrates the rebellion with the intent to sell them out. I love a ruthless main character.
Was Teia that ruthless though? At the very beginning, we see her murdering a sellsword after not getting her way, which would imply it, but then she meets the rebellion and immediately goes soft. Now she's thinking about improving the world and joining the rebellion for good. That would be fine if there was some sort of natural progression to it, but it was like a flipped switch. (And no spoilers, but at the end of the book, the switch flips back without warning again).
Disappointed in the inconsistent characterization.
Also this book had a lot of telling, not showing. Kyra is the champion and everyone rallies around her. Why? Because we said so. Alara is the best Poison's Master we've ever seen.
Does she ever use her poisons? No, but just trust us.
Also Jura is cartoonishly evil, making you wonder how he didn't get deposed as a kid when other people on the council had the opportunity to get rid of him. Somehow people didn't notice that he is a complete psychopath until one month before his coronation?
They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing twice and expecting different results, which is how I felt when the author just ran the same main story point back again and then somehow everything was magically resolved.
There were some things to like about this book. It was fast paced, there was some good banter, and I like the geopolitical set up for the story in the next book and beyond. I think this series has promise, but I was just a bit disappointed in the set-up in this book. If you are willing to overlook a little bit of wonky characterization and like heist stories and/or the magic system of Avatar: The Last Airbender, then this book might be for you.

#BeneathTheseCursedStars:⁣
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Thank you @epicreads for my gifted copy!⁣
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“We don’t get to choose the burdens we bear, only how we bear them.”⁣
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I honestly forgot that I never posted this review and was scrolling through my NetGalley and found it outstanding. So here I am! ⁣
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This was such a fun and bingeable read. I flew through the story in about two days. That first line really hooked me, and I never really got to let up from there. I was so interested in Jasalyn and her venture. I really wanted to know her power and the mysterious scars. I loved the dual POV of Jas and Felicity. I honestly was more of Felicity’s side because she was newer and more fascinating. She had a lot to lose, but played her role well. ⁣
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My biggest gripe is honestly the fact that I read Hollowed Vows series, and who is this Brie? Cause this isn’t past Brie? Now, this is technically not in the duology, and I’m guessing it’s a spinoff for a new Duology/series, but like.. I think I would have enjoyed it more had I not read the first Duology? But I’d probably be more confused. ⁣
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Regardless, I liked Cursed Stars! That cliffhanger?! 😧 I need to know what happens ASAP! Out now!⁣
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QOTD: What did you end up reading this weekend?

I really enjoyed These Hollow Vows + These Twisted Bonds and was super excited to jump back into this world! This book is told as a dual POV, jumping between Jas and Felicity. We are thrown right back into the world which made it a little confusing to remember what was going on from the previous duology, and making me wish there was a little more refresher/world building information given (side note: you don't have to read the other duology to read this one, but there is a crossover between characters seen in that duology and this one, and more world building information is given in the other series, making it easier to understand the world). I did not see the plot twist coming, and the book ends on a cliffhanger for both protagonists that left me excited for book 2! Thanks Netgalley for the e-arc!

I really enjoyed this one! I liked how Jas was getting stronger and becoming more herself over the course of the book. I love Mischa so any scenes with him were top tier! I just love this world so much. The book definitely ends on a cliffhanger and I can’t wait for the next one.

“what if you find yourself living beneath nothing but cursed stars?…
Then you go find yourself a world with a whole new night sky.”


Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my digital ARC.

This one was a solid 4 star read (but there is a big "but" coming soon), while it took me a hot minute to get into the thick of the plot, I found myself enjoying it post 35% ish percent into the book. I really enjoyed These Hollow Vows duet and the world in it and was appropriately excited for this one, what really worked for me was the dual plot lines with dual POV of two FMC's which also means we get double the romance ;). I felt like Beneath These Cursed Stars is more romantic than the companion series (given that this is NA I think?) but I actually really enjoyed the romance subplot, it felt very organic. It was fun to see some of the favorite characters from the companion duet and the cliffhanger definitely made me gasp, I can't wait to read the sequel!

Now coming back to the big "but"/ caveat, the book had me wondering why it took me a bit to get into it and then I realized it is because I forgot so much from These Hollow Vows duet. So, while it is not necessary to read the predecessor, I say you'd be completely lost without reading it or you'd not enjoy this book as much as you are supposed to because there is absolutely no rehashing of the events from the original duet nor a relevant world building. Given that there is a lot of political intrigue and court politics, I found myself racking my brain for the forgotten details from the companion duet. The story flows with the preconceived notion that the reader is already aware of certain details from the world. To sum up, it is an enjoyable read that is, IF you had already read These Hollow Vows series!

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for this ARC!
A human princess with a deadly secret, and a fae shape shifter who is looking for a miracle, work together to hunt the evil king Mordeus. I loved the dual POV’s of Jasalyn and Felicity. This story had me guessing the entire time what was true and what was being kept a secret. I thought the world building was interesting- but I wish I would’ve read These Hollow Vows duology before diving into this. I think that would’ve helped me understand more of the courts and intrigue. Overall, I loved the story and can’t wait to see what happens in the next book!
Some of my favorite quotes below:
“And what if you find yourself living beneath nothing but cursed stars?
Then you go find yourself a world with a whole new night sky.”

Oh let's up the drama from these hollow vows for this book and add more intrigue..... I am so mad about that ending but I can't wait for book 2