Wow, what a ride! "Beneath these Cursed Stars" is one of those books that grabs you from the first page and doesn’t let go. The plot is packed with action, intrigue, and just the right amount of romance. I loved Jasalyn’s character—she’s fierce, determined, and her secret nighttime escapades as an assassin make her such a compelling heroine. And Felicity? Her struggle against a fatal prophecy and her journey to find herself was equally gripping. The dual perspectives of Jas and Felicity add so much depth to the story. Their missions were intense, and the twists and turns kept me on the edge of my seat. Plus, the world-building was phenomenal. The dynamic between the human and fae realms felt fresh and fascinating. And I have to mention Kendrick and Misha! The chemistry between them and the girls was electric, and I found myself rooting for both couples despite the dangerous stakes. The forbidden romance angle was done so well without overshadowing the plot.
If you love fantasy with strong heroines, high stakes, and a dash of romance, this book is a must-read. Five stars all the way!

Beneath These Cursed Stars by Lexi Ryan is book 1 in a duology. This is a young adult romantic fantasy novel. It really helps to have read These Hollow Vows duology. Luckily I had and it really added to my understanding of this book. The concept behind the plot of two girls one human and one fae swapping places was an excellent plot twist. It added to the excitement of the story and to the love interest as well. The book is loaded with adventure, mystery, romance and fantasy. The characters were well written and likable. Making them easy to follow. I also enjoyed watching each character on their individual adventures. Both girls had to overcome trials in their past and learn to deal with things. They also found love interests. I am excited to see where this goes next. I can not wait for book 2!

~2.75 stars.

We love a Charlie Bowater cover.

Turns out this is a spinoff of a duology by the author. Guess who didn’t know that? It’s me. And from what I had/have been seeing, it’s not really being clearly advertised as such.

While you technically can read this without reading the other books, I think I would’ve enjoyed it a lot more if I had. I found the world building and magic system to be very confusing and under-explained. I now know that that’s because it’s mostly done in the author’s duology.

This was a trope heavy YA fantasy that isn’t exactly pushing the envelope or doing anything new, but it had some enjoyable elements that made me nostalgic for the YA fantasy books I enjoyed in middle and high school.

Typically with dual POVs, you’re inevitably going to prefer one narrator over the other. However, I found myself only interested in Felicity’s POV. I actually found Jas to be pretty bland yet insufferable.

If you’re going to read this, I’d recommend reading the duology first, and/or go in knowing that you won’t be reading anything especially revolutionary! Thanks to the publisher for granting me access!

Ok I enjoyed it!! But through out it made allusions to things I had no context for - come to find out (at 75% from a friend's review) that it's connected to another series. But nowhere that I've seen has connected this new release to the books that I assume are about her sister? I went and bought the Kindle versions of the sister books, but I really wish I could've read them in order! ANYWAYS!! I'm excited to see what comes next after the cliffhanger I just read!

This book absolutely blew me away!!!! It was so addictive and two romances brewing at the same time!!!! My oh my this story was on fire!!!! Now I went into this not even knowing if it was a standalone or a series and wow that ending did not disappoint! Recommend this book 1000%!!!!

after really loving the these hollow vows duet i was so excited to find out that there was a spin off for them. however i am disappointed to say that i do not care for the way this one is set up.

even having read the previous books, the lack of reviewing the world building and magic system and what happened in THV duet makes this feels extremely jarring and like ive been dumped in the middle of a story without any clue as to want happened in the previous 50%. as this takes place 3 years after THV i truly feel there needs to be more explanation of what the heck has been going on.

maybe we get that later in the book however it was a major disservice to this book to not do this from the get go. especially for the people who pick this one up first not realizing that without (and even with in my case?!?!) having read THV they will have even more of a hard time figuring out what exactly is the point of everything.

when the time comes of lexi creating a new series i will happily jump right in however i do not think i will be continuing my journey with this spin off.

So, I loved These Hollow Vows & These Twisted Bonds, and I was so excited to be back in this world, unfortunately, this book was a bit of a snooze. I understand what the author is trying to setup and that takes time, but this was too much of setting up something bigger, and not enough entertainment to keep the reader going. I ended up speed reading 80% of this book. I will say, I’m giving this 3 stars because, I enjoy the authors writing and the ending gave me hope for more in the next book . It was a great ending and I’m a sucker for a cliffhanger!!

Thank you NetGalley for the E-ARC!

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I think our dear author here has improved from her previous series!

I found the main character, Felicity, a true delight! I loved her from the beginning and Misha was my favorite character in the previous series so its no shock that I absolutely loved them. I loved their adventure and how they connected. It made my heart hurt in all the right places, with Felicity not being sure if Misha would ever love her for her, and not the beautiful Jas. It wasn't the main focus but the underlying tone that Felicity is self conscious of her true image just broke my heart. Also, Misha has been seeing the true Felicity in his dreams?? He thinks that girl is LITERALLY the girl of his dreams?? Soul mates??? 👀 Still mad at him tho for the way he treated her in the end.

Now listen, if you write a book with duel POV, there is just one point of view I won't love as much, and sadly that was the case for Jas. Half the time I just wanted to shake her and tell her to get over herself. I understand she has sever PTSD from her time in the dungeons, and is trying to protect her sister, but so far all it has done has cause more harm. As someone with a good understanding of trying to hide your true feelings from loved ones, I get where she's coming from but still. Hendrick and her also just never really *connected* for me. I mean I get he helped her, but he has also been lying and manipulating her since day one.

I did find the ring concept really interesting, I just wish it hadn't affected Finn, Jas's sisters' husband. It would've been cool if the ring didn't affect someone already truly and deeply in the love. Speaking of Finn, he wasn't the same Finn from the past books! He lost all his charm for a silent brooding asshole, and I miss him.

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You'll like this book if you like...
- Sweet vs kickass main girls
- Heist through the kingdom
- Cliffhanger ending
- Forbidden romance
- Plenty of twists

I enjoyed this! I loved the original duology that this is a spin-off from, and this was a great addition to it. I would have liked a little more world building, but I did like a lot of the tropes that the author included in this book. Overall a fun read. I hope to see more in this series in the future.

I was so excited to read this book! While you did not *technically* need to read the other duology that is set in this same world, I feel like it definitely helped forward the story as a lot of the 'meat' or world building would have been lost. I felt that Jas was a bit more relatable, and while could be a bit whiny and bland at times... who isnt, especially in the given circumstances of this book? I think that given the nature of this book, and while it IS an interconnected book, I would not really count it as a 'standalone' as you really should read the first duology before containing on to Jas' story.

Amazing , great history in the same world as the series before, loved the characters the plot , i was left wanting more. Love it do much , thanks for the opportunity to read it

I absolutely devoured These Hollow Vows and These Broken Bonds, so when it was announced that Lexi Ryan would be diving back into that world, I was ECSTATIC. I can’t get enough of fae courts and seductive kings, so this book hit in all of the right ways.

I really enjoyed the dual POV, with two slow burn romances happening at the same time. It kept tensions high and helped me stay engaged with both storylines. Felicity and Jasalyn faced so many obstacles and uncovered information that changed everything they ever thought about the world around them, and I could have never predicted the betrayal that’s revealed in the end. That cliffhanger? My mouth was left wide open.

I definitely recommend this one for YA fantasy lovers, but would recommend you read These Hollow Vows and These Broken Bonds before diving in!

I never do this, but I've decided not to finish Beneath These Cursed Stars. This was my first book by Lexi Ryan, and as it turns out, I don't think I'm the right reader for their books. I tend to prefer a more folkloric take on faeries and fae, and this author's characters seem to be more in the vein of Sarah J. Maas fae. Nothing wrong with that, it's just very much not for me. Fortunately for the author, I anticipate that there will be a lot of readers clamoring for their books for just this reason.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for granting me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Beneath These Cursed Stars is a dual POV YA fantasy novel that is a great alternative to people who love ACOTAR, but don't necessarily love the length of the books. I loved Lexi's These Hollow Vows duology, and I was excited to be immersed back in the Brie's world, and I loved that we got to follow Jasalyn's journey.

Beneath These Cursed Stars by Lexi Ryan is a high fantasy ya novel set in the world of These Hollow Vows.
 
While I wasn’t fully in love with the These Hollow Vows duet, I was very curious and excited to read something different from this world. Because this is a spin-off, I highly recommend reading the duology first because it’s often expected to know certain information and that even gave me trouble when I couldn’t remember something.
 
And in this one we follow Princess Jasalyn and Felicity and I liked how we got two story lines. But oftentimes I felt like the plot just runs in circles and it could have been done better to intertwine these two-story lines. The pacing was also a bit off and sometimes for a few pages something interesting happened, but it would slow down again and the plot dragged. That made me want to skip along. The characters had so much potential but especially Jasalyn felt very flat to me and there had to be more development and that’s quite sad when the story is mainly character driven.
 
Overall, I’m not sure if this author is for me and I’ll probably not continue this series. 3 stars.
 
(ARC kindly provided in exchange for a review.)

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this novel. 4/5 stars.

These Hollow Vows is one of my favorites in fantasy from the last few years (I say this but haven't reread them) so I was excited for another one in the world featuring the sister while also continuing the plot -- albeit with a time skip of 3 years. I really liked how this was split between two FMC, each with their own plot that combined into the larger plot. It was a fast paced read, but I do wish I would have reread THV duo first because I did not remember basically any of the characters or how the world worked.

Also...it is not a standalone. Do not be fooled.

I adore Lexi’s writing style, and the world she created! The complexities were easy to follow, but so dang addictive to read!! And that cliffhanger THO!

“This is where the magic truly is. The moment these red lips touch his.”

“Abriella is a powerful queen, but with me she acts like a nervous child. And that’s all my fault. It’s all my fault because I’m broken.”

“The princess is a conundrum. She’s fragile and angry. She’s delicate and sharp. She was once soft and hopeful, and now she’s hardened and bitter.”

“I won’t leave you in the dark. I promise.”

“You’ve hardened, but that’s just a protective shield. Your heart remains the same. As does mine.”

“We can have mercy without being naive, and we can be judicious while seeing our enemies as whole people.”

“There’s nothing braver than doing the things that scare you.”

“You say your kiss is deadly, but every hour that passes, I feel more and more like I might die without it.”

“It feels good, I realize, having someone share my rage. I’ve carried it alone for so long.”

“Every second I’m not touching you is torture.”

“There’s nothing hideous about you. Inside and out? You are beautiful.”

“These lips might be worth dying for.” “You don’t mean that.” “It’s painful how close to the truth it is.”

I love Lexi Ryan's writing style and getting to see beloved characters again really made me happy.

I loved getting to see more of Jasalyn's journey and meeting new characters.

The middle seemed to slow the pacing way down and I got bored so it dropped to a 3☆, but the ending makes up for it and I can't wait for the next book!

I enjoyed this book. Slow burn but every enjoyable. The different pov and the twist at the end. Wow. Can't wait for more

I enjoyed this a lot! I read the duology it is a spin off from a while back and liked it alot so decided to give this a shot. I found the pace pretty fast moving and engaging although some of it was a bit predictable. Overall a good read and I’d recommend for people who enjoy YA fantasy.