Lexi has done it again! I loved this story and all its twists amd turns! I loved having a closer look into the after of her first dulogy. Now we follow Jaslyn( love this name) Bre s sister as she deals with healing and what I am interpreting as some symptoms of PTSD. As in the duology I love Bre and Jas sister relationship and they love each other so much! Jas aversion to touch is something i do not think I ahve come across in a story and it really drives all the torture and anguish she survived. The many flashbacks we see. Felicity is a good strong character I love how although she is helping Jas and has her own motives, she does not want to tell too much because Jas secrets and traumas are not hers to tell. Misha is one of the best written MMC i have EVER COME ACROSS! I am totally and completely OBSESSED! I have not come across a lovable MMC in a good month or two so I was pleasantly surprised and how his personality and demeanor won my heart. Cunning and kind and wise he rules with love and respect for his people!

I was immediately pulled in by the cover and the title. I had heard good things about These Hollow Vows, but just hadn't got around to reading it yet.

While you do not need to read the These Hollow Vows (THV) duology prior to reading Beneath These Cursed Stars, it does take place in the same universe, the story picks up a few years after the THV #2, and has some of the same characters.

You may like this book if you enjoy: Romantasy, Dual POV, found family vibes, closed door spicy scenes, and a cliff hanger.

There is content relating to: Death, Torture/abuse, Betrayal, Not being able to control your own body

The story follows Jasalyn, the unseelie princess, who believes she is broken beyond repair from her traumatic past. As well as Felicity a shifter who needs to take different forms to keep safe while running from her own fate. While both girls are working towards the same goal, they each venture on a different path to complete tasks and secure the safety of their loved ones, their realms, and ensure King Mordeus and his followers do not return to power.

For me the beginning of this book started slow, which isn't uncommon because of world building, introduction of characters, and learning about what lead us up to the current point. Once plans were in motion and our characters were on their way I really looked forward to going on this journey with them. Maybe the stars aren't meant to align as twists and betrayals leave Felicity and Jasalyn unsure of who they can trust and what happens next.

The ending is action packed and very abrupt, leaving the reader asking what just happened, and how long do I need to wait to find out

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC.

I gave this book a 2.5.
Ok so this is my first foray into this world and the author Lexi Ryan. I was unaware that she did These Hollow Vows though they are high on my list.

As this is my first time reading this I felt like I had no idea who anyone really was and the world building was mediocre at best. I didn't understand how the characters really knew each other and who was friends from before. So I will say you should read the other series first. I will pick it up soon and then reread this and see if it changes my rating.

I did enjoy Felicity as a character. She's feisty and interesting. I love her sense of humor and how she is always willing to learn new things. She is a Fae Shifter and she is pretending to be Princess Jasalyn to find out where a certain door/portal to her home world is. King Misha is her love interest and the King of the Wild Fae where it's rumored this door is. He knows Jasalyn well so this is a very dangerous thing.

Princess Jasalyn is a traumatized princess of the Unseelie shadow court which her sister is Queen of. After she was rescued she never left her room and was just kind of a shell of herself. She has soul deep scars from the experience. Her need for vengeance really ends up hurting her more than helping her and after everything how is she so naive and trusting of people. This seemed out of character to me.

Every character in this seemed to be lacking something I just had a hard time caring about any of them except Felicity. This book is so character oriented to it just made it feel slow. Princess Jasalyn's story was so repetitive that I truly did not want to read from her POV.

Again I have never been in this world so to me there was no world building I didn't know much about who the Seven were or who was important or why so politics made no sense. Also I felt just kinda thrown into the deep end without any context so that made the beginning very hard to get into.

Overall enjoyable but I do recommend reading the other series first so you understand the story.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperCollins for the arc.

I initially was unsure of this book. I utterly adored the first duology in this world and this spinoff wasn’t vibing from the get go. It took me a while to relate to the new set of characters and become invested in their adventures. One of the driving things that kept me reading was seeing Misha’s interactions with the new characters. He was a favorite of mine from These Hollow Vows so it was great to see more of him. From there I began to adore Felicity and the struggles she faces emotionally as a shapeshifter falling for a male she is actively deceiving. Jasalyn’s story took longer to get me invested but by the second half and especially the final quarter of the book I was so happy I stuck with it. I am eager to read book two. Lexi Ryan shows that she can broaden her world and create new and exciting scenarios for her characters.

I give this a 4 star review.

Oh my gosh... I absolutely loved Beneath These Cursed Stars and I now have a new favourite author in Lexi Ryan! Ryan had me completely captured and caught up in Princess Jaslyn's story even without reading the previous two novels in the series. Seriously, I could not stop turning the pages, and from the beginning to end, the story just got more intense, more readable, more unputdownable, and when I did get to the end I couldn't wait to start reading the two prior novels. Not to mention I'm highly excited and truly looking forward to the 4th book and the rest of Jaslyn's story!!

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for providing this ARC for an honest review.

An assassin, a princess, shifters. Fae, and kings combine to make this fantasy romance one to read. You’re drawn right away into the mystery that the story unravels chapter by chapter. Amazing world building that is detailed and imaginable. Fascinating characters that are well developed and diverse. The storyline is fast-paced and very well written, filled with magic, Fae, danger, death, politics, intrigue, and subterfuge. The plot thickens, the suspense builds, and the passion erupts! I can’t wait to read the rest of this series. I am voluntarily posting an honest review after reading an Advance Reader Copy of this story.

4.5 ⭐ 1 🌶

This was one of those books that takes twice as long to read the first 2/3 as it does to read the final 1/3 😅 It has an interesting, but slow start, however as we approach the cliffhanger at the end, I gobbled this story up so fast and I'm begging for more. I loved it so much.

After finishing These Broken Bonds I was hoping for Misha's story and I'm so happy Lexi is bringing it to us and in such a fun fashion. Instead of a love triangle, we're getting two love stories at once and I'm loving every moment. Kendrick and Jas, and Misha and Felicity are all amazing.

I'm loving the adventure and magic of this book. There's so much going on with having two main couples (which I think is part of why the first half read a little slow) but it's also so exciting.

There is so much deceit and so many complications coming up as this story ends and I have no clue where Lexi is heading with it. Both Felicity's and Jas' cliffhangers had me freaking out a bit. I need more and stat.

I know this book says it’s a stand alone but it really helps to have read the previous two.

This was a super cute book. It didn’t feel very high stakes and I enjoyed the vibes. The last 30 or so pages is when everything gets more intense and while some of it was a little predictable (still enjoyable tho!) some others twists got me for sure.

My jaw dropped when I turned the page to see “acknowledgments.” That cliffhanger !

The worst part of reading arcs is now I have to wait even longer for the next installment and that’s going to be absolute torture.

🤍 Thank you @harperteen for this amazing e-arc of Beneath These Cursed Stars by @writerlexiryan 🤍

This book pulled me out of a book funk and I seriously couldn’t get enough of this story!

I loved the two storylines woven together, the characters’ journeys, and the romances were all perfect. It was addictive, fast-paced, and it had this dark/mood atmosphere I loved.

I do think it is best enjoyed after reading the These Hollow Vows duology!

If you love:
• struggling but fierce heroines
• deadly kisses
• magic and fae
• cliffhangers
• friendship and romance 🔥🔥

This book comes out July 30th and I’m already dying for book two!
★ ★ ★ ★ ★/5
Steam: vague open door
TW: past torture and trauma, pg-13 level violence, moderate language

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars (rounded up)

This one started out with a bang! I was quickly invested from the first line and found the writing intriguing and descriptive! The characters were engaging, well developed, and, for the most part, enjoyable to read and root for. I liked having both Jasalyn and Felicity to go between and get both points of view and see their unique stories unfold! The writing flowed well and the story kept a good pace throughout.

Where struggled was with the world and lack of exposition, and I’m aware this may be on me, but nonetheless it did detract from the book. I set it down a few times in frustration debating a reread of the duology but not having time to commit to that at the moment. While this is marketed as “in the world of” it wasn’t clear to be that it was necessary to have read the duology previously to understand so much of the plot, premise and world. I read and quite enjoyed the duology but it was some time ago and very much so struggled to remember plot points and characters that were referenced with little to no explanation. I understand if you’re reading this straight from the duology you likely wouldn’t want everything explained again, but then maybe this could be marketed with more awareness of the need to read it prior, or the inclusion of a thorough recap at the start that people could chose to read if needed.

To summarize, I thought the writing and prose were lovely, the characters and pacing enjoyable, but major plot pieces confusing and limited without a recap of the previous books in this world.

Thanks to Lexi Ryan, HarperTeen and NetGalley for an ARC of this book and the opportunity to give my honest thoughts on it!

Characters swapping lives!

Jasalyn is scarred inside and out by the torture and imprisonment she endured from Mordeus. Felicity is an Echo who has been prophesied as the killer of her birth father, Erith. Jasalyn needs to heal but also move forward with her princess duties so she’s sent to the Wild Fae King Misha to learn to protect herself. Felicity needs to find a portal to defeat Erith before he kills her. Jasalyn trades places with Felicity. Jasalyn will stay with Hale Kendrick, Felicity’s adopted brother while Felicity stays with King Misha and looks for the portal and pretending to be Jasalyn the entire time with her Echo abilities. Lives become even more complicated when romantic feelings arise.

Likes/dislikes: I enjoyed the fact that this book is the beginning of a new series but set a few years later in the same realm as These Hollow Vows duology by Lexi Ryan. The complexity of the two characters of Jasalyn and Felicity taking each other’s places is written well. The ending made me want the next book immediately.
Mature content: PG-13 for fondling.
Language: R for 29 swears, one f-word.
Violence: PG-13 for bloody stabbing.
Ethnicity: Ethnicity includes fair, olive, brown, ebony, pale, dark, golden, ivory, and light brown skin tones.

I was not aware that this was actually a spinoff of another series that I had not already read, so I was pretty confused during this book. I do think there's a strong premise and interesting tropes, but I think it needs to be made clear that it can't be read on its own.

This book starts off slow but had a premise that was interesting. By the time things got really good the story was ending which was disappointing. The story was well written I just think the pacing was off and made most of the action take place during the last 10% of the story. Overall it was a cool idea but pacing issues made it hard to push through but the ending was exciting.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

✨Summary✨
3 years after Queen Abriella claims her throne, her sister, Jasalyn, is still struggling to find her place in the faerie world. She has recently acquired a magic ring which secretly turns her into a murdering seductress so she may exact revenge upon all of the fae who have wronged her when she was captured by King Mordeus before his death. When she takes the ring off, she is transformed back into her terrified self. Her sister, Brie, wants to send Jas to the Wildlands to stay with King Misha. However, Jas is afraid that will interfere with her carefully laid plans for vengeance. That is, until she gets captured.

Felicity is also a stranger in the land of Faerie, seeming to be adrift. She has just been fired from her job when her brother, Hale, shows up. He has captured the shadow princess and has a plan which involves Felicity and her special type of magic. She is given a mission by her brother to get close to King Misha for mysterious reasons.

Jas and Felicity are both out on missions for reasons. However, their fates seem to be tangled and woven together. Will they each find the closure they both crave? Or will they find more than they ever bargained for?

👩🏻My Recommendation👩🏻
It’s rare for me to find a story involving two characters whose perspectives I equally enjoy reading. This book accomplished that. I enjoyed diving back into this world that I loved so much from the previous two books in the series, and it felt almost nostalgic. I enjoyed this book so much and would recommend it to absolutely everyone. It left off on a cliffhanger so I cannot wait to read the next one!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for providing the ARC and the opportunity to review this book.

How dare you! Get me all invested in Jasalyn & Felicity, their backgrounds, their romantic interests & their destinies, switching back and forth for the whole book just to throw a bomb into each of their storylines, end with a cliffhanger then boom acknowledgments. I don’t need acknowledgments I need answers! Anyways if you’re looking for a read that will leave you wanting more you found it! YA, no spice.

4.5⭐️s. Really enjoyed Jasalyn’s story and the addition of Felicity. This has a Prince and the Pauper vibe which worked well. I saw a lot of recommendations to read These Hollowed Vows and These Twisted Bonds first. I do agree with that. It helped considering those have more world building.

While Jas is struggling greatly with the ptsd after Mordeus’s torture, she is on a mission to kill anyone who had any dealings with him. But what will happen when rumors stir that Mordeus is alive. Felicity too has a goal, but this one is to save her brother and remain hidden. When her brother kidnaps Jas, Felicity agrees to take her place since she has the ability to take on someone else’s appearance. Jas is surprisingly okay with this. Well, not super surprising because she feels utterly smothered and unable to let her sister and others in that just want to help. Will Felicity be able to hide the truth from Misha? Can Jas trust Kirkwood and still hide her goal for revenge?

Nigel has my heart!!!❤️😭 So much betrayal, healing, magic, romance, and wonderful adventure.

I binge the audiobook because I’m a little crazy. Amazing narration by @singlewithfries @katharinechinactor and @jamesfouhey (hopefully more narration from Misha in book 2)

Thank you so much to @netgalley @harpercollins and @writerlexiryan for the advanced reader copy.
#netgalley #beneaththesecursedstars #advancedreaderscopy #audiobook #bookstagram #lexiryan #thesehollowedvows #thesetwistedbonds

Lexi Ryan has easily become one of my favorites and this new fantasy is no exception. I loved being back in this world and learning more about Jasalyn. The new characters were great and I enjoyed the idea of a body double plot concept. The magic was cool and the tension and building of this part of the world was so well done. I also liked the alternating POVs and how each relationship developed. Also, the cliffhanger left me REELING!! I need there to be a book two like yesterday. I can't wait to see what's going to happen next. I truly loved this one so much! Thank you to Harper Teen and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC to read and review.

With secret identities and (two) slow burn romances, this book was such a fun read! Minimal world building made this a great read if you’re dipping your toe into fantasy.

I tried reading this book because the synopsis sounded like something I would enjoy reading but unfortunately I was not able to get into this book and eventually put the book down and was unable to finish it. I felt that the book was not heading in an exciting direction and was simply unable to continue reading it.

2.5 ⭐️

I dnf’d this book. It unfortunately just wasn’t as good as the first duology. I was really excited for a spinoff of those books, but I just wasn’t super into this one.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an arc in exchange for a review.