Big thank you to HarperCollins Children Books and Netgalley for the e-arc!

Okay, so, I will admit, I had very high hopes for this book.

When someone tells me there will be a spin-off to a duology/series that I loved dearly, I typically get excited. How could Jas' story possibly be any less exciting than Brie's was? Well, I guess I should have never even asked that question.

This was a little disappointing. Coming from These Hollow Vows and These Twisted Bonds, I feel like a different author was writing this book. There was barely any character development or emotions. No one connected on a level that felt real, and it was almost painful trying to figure out why anyone liked/disliked anyone else. The world building was also pretty sparse. We would have benefited from so much more being in this book, and it's a shame because the previous duology was fun to read.

While this is a standalone, do keep in mind that there are spoilers for the prior duology in it.

After reading These Hollow Vows, I was so excited for this spin-off. recommend reading the duopoly first, as there will be a ton of plot holes without doing so and you will not understand the magic system. This is a face-paced read, and definitely doesn’t give as many world building details as the previous books. Overall, its a quick easy read, and if you loved These Hollow Vows, you should definitely give it a chance.



Read If You Love
Slow Burn
Dual POV with Two Parallel Story Lines
Forced Proximity
Hidden Identity
Betrayal / Revenge Plot
Forbidden Love
Who Did This To You
Cliffhangers

I absolutely adored the These Hollowed Vows duology and was ecstatic to realize that a spinoff series featuring Jasalyn, Brie's sister, was coming. This book occurs 3 years after the events from These Twisted Bonds and follows Jasalyn as she tries to heal from past events and Felicity, as she tries to evade her past and better the future of the Eloran realm.

This new installment to the series did not disappoint! It's full of secrets, lies, and betrayals as well as dangerous missions, found family, and burgeoning romance. Jasalyn is a shell of her former self and seeks her revenge despite the cost to her. I really felt for her as she struggled with her past and future and was rooting for her throughout the book. We also meet Kendrick again and his group of rebels. The journey that they all went on with Jasalyn kept me on the edge of my seat! Felicity is an interesting type of fae and I quite enjoyed her POVs and her branch of the story. The tension between her and Misha, the Wild Fae king, was delicious and exciting!

This book ends on an intense cliffy and I can't wait for more!

Thank you so much to HarperTeen and NetGalley for the advanced copy in return for my honest review! 🖤

Beneath These Cursed Stars by Lexi Ryan is a romantic fantasy about a princess with a deadly kiss, along with a group of new friends, who are on a mission to unalive an evil king.

I really enjoyed this one mostly due to the characters. I loved the growth, the banter, and the relationships. It's told in dual and parallel points of views so it's like reading two short stories that come together at the end. Definitely kept it interesting! You also get double the slow burn, forbidden romance, and forced proximity sprinkled in.

Although it is a standalone from These Hollow Vows/These Twisted Bonds, I would 100% read those first. I feel like I'd be lost with this one regarding the world and magic system. Beneath These Cursed Stars does not dive deep into the world building, so that's the only issue I had with this book. Otherwise, I had a lot of fun reading it!

I was not familiar with Lexi Ryan's previous books, so came into BENEATH THESE CURSED STARS, the story of Jasalyn and Felicity, allied to right the wrongs in their past and secure the future of their worlds despite the perils and price they must pay. No one is exactly who they seem to be, making it all the more challenging to trust in one another, the ones they come to love and rely upon as they come closer to realizing their ambitions and wonder if it was all worth it. There are shapeshifters and powerful objects, the ability to wreak havoc and encourage the world to work differently. Was the book overwrought in places? At times. And at other times, the pace dragged, but all in all, it was an entertaining escape. The magical aspects were fascinating and I enjoyed living in this shapeshifting reality written so well by Ryan. I received a copy of this book and these thoughts are my own, unbiased thoughts.

This book had so much potential. I really enjoyed the original duology and the Princess and the Pauper like plot was very intriguing.

Not much happens in the book until after 75% of the way through, which felt like a much slower pace compared to the original duology.

The dialogue doesn’t seem organic, a lot of world building is explained forcefully in conversation, and long back and forth where I forget who’s speaking.

There was a lot of world building that should have been reiterated after the first books. Not just thrown in conversation. I was under the impression that with this being a new series that it would have world building.

There’s a spoiler that I won’t mention- but it’s a plot device that I really don’t like in sequels of completed works, and it’s heavily in this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

2 Stars

This YA Fantasy occurs after the events of These Hollow Vows & These Twisted Bonds by Lexi Ryan.

Beneath These Cursed Stars focuses on Jasalyn, the younger sister of Brie the Shadow Queen over the Unseelie Court of Fae, and Felicity, a young female Fae Shifter, both of whom are scarred and hiding from their tormented pasts.

Lexi Ryan's writing style is gripping and intoxicating, making it nearly impossible to put this book down! Her world building is lush and richly detailed, but it's the relationships that are electrified with heartfelt emotions buried under the crushing realities of forbidden love, destined to never belong to the ones their hearts long for. I've never read a dual pov book with two female protagonists, each with their own star crossed love..I really admired these two strong heroines, bravely forging their own paths, trying to make the world a better place. Though from totally different worlds, Jasalyn & Felicity have more in common than they realize, their steadfastness and courage against insurmountable odds being one of them, working together to end their collective nightmares.

From the relationships to the world building and politically intriguing plot, this was an amazing book and had so many things about it that deserve praise! Lexi Ryan is a talented author, and this book is one of the best ya fantasy romance that I've ever read!

I absolutely loved this book! I would highly recommend this book to anyone that loves ya epic fantasy and rate it:
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Thank you Lexi Ryan and NetGalley for the chance to read this book! Though this book was provided as an arc, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

I absolutely adored this book! It was such a great read and I couldn't put it down. I was completely engrossed in the story and the characters. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a captivating and entertaining book to read.
Even though I hadn't read the first two books in the series, I didn't feel lost at all. The author did a great job of making it accessible to new readers while still keeping it engaging for those who have been following the series. I can't wait for the next book to come out, I'm definitely looking forward to it!
multiple pov
Forbidden Love
Secrets & Betrayal
Slow Burn
• Fae
Spice - 1/2
Thank you NetGalley for the arc. I truly enjoyed reading this book

It was so good to be back in this world! I loved the dual POV the best! It made the story line extra intriguing and all I wanted to do was read the next chapter. The ending has me extremely eager for the next book and it only just came out today 😅

Highly recommend Lexi Ryan! She’s a super talented author who deserves all the attention!

(4.5 stars, rounded up)

Content warnings: murder, torture, PTSD, blood magic, betrayal

Although not currently listed on Amazon or Goodreads as a part of the These Hollow Vows series, this novel is a direct sequel to These Hollow Vows and These Twisted Bonds. The book follows Jasalyn, Queen Abriella's younger sister.

Jasalyn resides in her sister's palace at the Shadow Court, but she's not really living. Struggling with PTSD from her imprisonment and torture at the hands of the evil Mordeus, she spends her days alone in her room. Jasalyn's double life begins at night when she leaves the palace to exact revenge on her enemies -- the guards of Mordeus' dungeon who helped him hurt her.

When Jasalyn is kidnapped and told she's destined to kill the king of her former human world, she agrees to help the people of Elora save their realm. Since Jas knows her sister will tear down several kingdoms to find her, she allows a shifter to go back to the palace in her place. Felicity agrees to play the role of Jasalyn but finds the assignment straining her wits and heart. But both women have colossal secrets that could forever alter more than one realm.

Recommended for all fans of YA fantasy, especially those who loved the These Hollow Vows series.

3.5/5 stars

I took a chance with Beneath These Cursed Stars despite not being a huge fan of the previous These Hollow Vows/These Twisted Bonds duology, and was surprised to realize how much more interesting Jas’s POV is than Brie’s. That being said, the minimal worldbuilding, romances that felt a little too forced, and the fact that the twists were completely predictable (especially the “faceless plague”) made me lower my overall rating.

If Brie was the knockoff version of Feyre, then Jas is Elain…except better. So many romantasy books lately have FMC’s who “aren’t like other girls” except they’re exactly like other girls, but this book does a great job avoiding this. Jas is a small, timid human girl doomed to turn into what she most fears (Fae), and who suffers from major PTSD by day. But she has a pretty dark secret. Rather than being the victim, she bartered for a ring that by night, makes her fearless and gives her death’s kiss, which she uses to go John Wick on the Fae who tortured her in the previous duology. Because of how intrigued I was with that twist, I was almost willing to overlook how forced/rushed her relationship with Kendrick was. Almost.

Felicity, the other POV, was a bit of a disappointment. Her and Misha’s story easily could have eclipsed Jas, but instead felt like an afterthought thrown in because Lexi Ryan wanted a dual-POV book and didn’t want the other one to be Kendrick. Misha was the only character I liked from the first duology, so I was so excited to see him get to play a leading man. Instead, he was just…slightly creepy. I’m hoping their storyline is more fleshed out in the next book because it felt like such a wasted opportunity with how intriguing Felicity’s backstory is.

Jas and Felicity trade places to work to bring down a group ruling Elora, the human world, that felt a lot like the Asteri from CC. Again, this felt like a missed opportunity for Twelfth Night-style mistaken identity hijinks with Felicity, and Jas going on a quest, but not really doing anything other than fawning over Kendrick and developing a fairly disturbing habit of sleepwalking.

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins Children’s for the advance copy!

Thank you NetGalley & HarperCollins for the gifted ARC! 3.5 🌟 the first half of this book dragged a bit, but the second half was really good! I wish I had remembered more from these original duology because I feel like most of the world building was done in that.
I liked the dual POV, but I definitely felt like I was more interested in the Felicity/Misha chapters than I was the Jaslyn/Kendrick chapters. Sometimes Jaslyn’s thoughts/motivations irritated me, but I was also keeping in mind that she’s 17 so she doesn’t necessarily have adult thought processes all the time.
I definitely didn’t see some of the plot twists towards the end coming. After the ending, I definitely plan on continuing this series.

Before I started reading, it was hard for me to find this information so here is the TLDR: this is a new series by Lexi Ryan but it does continue the story line from the These Hollow Vows duology. I personally think that this is not a standalone series and that it is very important to read THV series. I say this because there is minimal explanation of the magic system and the history leading up to the beginning of Beneath These Cursed Stars. Not to mention there are big spoilers for THV. Beneath These Cursed Stars follows Jasalyn, Brie’s sister from THV and how she goes on to deal with what she went through in the previous books. This one is a bit darker than THV and has an underlying theme of depression and anxiety as well as dealing with trauma.

I am glad Lexi chose to continue to write about this universe and write more about Jasalyn’s journey. Jas leaves home with her newfound new powers that have a dark twist. She runs into Hale (a blast from her past) and, if a little reluctantly, joins him and his friends on a quest to help the kingdom. The book is dual POV with a new character Felicity, Hale’s stepsister, who shapeshifts into Jas in order to keep up appearances and cover for her in Brie’s court.

If you loved the THW series you will definitely love this book as well as if you are an avid fantasy and romantasy fan. You cannot go wrong with picking up this book. This book was 💯 for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I have tabbed this book so much while reading but there is a message from the Acknowledgements that really resonated with me so I will share it here:

“Depression lies. Anxiety deceives. I know they can be so loud at times, but keep going. The sun will rise again tomorrow.”

Thank you NetGalley & Lexi Ryan for an eARC of this book. The following is my honest review of Beneath These Cursed Stars.

Beneath These Cursed Stars brings us back to the world of faerie and Elora in this exciting follow-up to These Hollow Vows. Three years after Abriella Kincaid took the Unseelie throne but her younger sister Jasalyn is still haunted by the horrors wrought on her during her time as Mordeus’ prisoner. Now, wielding a ring that gives her the kiss of death, rumors of the former false king rising from the dead are spreading, and Jas reunites with the one person who kept her alive in Mordeus’ dungeon.
Shapeshifter Felicity has been running from her the fate her entire life and takes Jas’ place in the court so that Jas may finally get her revenge on the faerie who haunts her nightmares.
I really enjoyed coming back to this world. I love how Lexi Ryan imagines the Seelie, Unseelie, Wild Fae, and beyond. The new creatures and magic systems we are introduced to are exciting and unique and give us new things to discover in this continuation. I always love delving deeper into this fictional worlds and Ryan's world has so much history to explore.
It did take a little time to get adjusted to the story. This is a spin-off of the original duology, following familiar and new characters side-by-side, but it felt as if the new characters were introduced as if they'd been around in the previous books. It was a little jarring to be thrown in with so little context but over time, you see their history unfold. I really liked Kendrick as our MMC and his storyline. Though it feels a little disjointed from the original story, it slowly comes together for a compelling continuation of these characters' journey. I also liked Felicity. She's an interesting character whose powers and backstory are a highlight of this book and I'm eager to see what happens next for her. And also, justice for Misha. That's all I'll say.
The cliffhanger ending had me searching for more. Ryan is good a leaving the reader at the edge of their seat, anticipating what's going to happen next. I will be waiting impatiently for the second book.

Beneath These Cursed Stars is a great start to a new duology, a spin off set 3 years after These Hollow Vows duology, following that FMC’s sister.

Jasalyn has lived in fear since being tortured by the false king, and has vowed revenge on anyone who hurt her. She sneaks away at night with a ring that gives her the kiss of death, until she is caught by a revolutionary wanting her help to take down the corrupted rulers of the human realm. Kendrick was her saving grace in the dungeons and Jas agrees to help him as it furthers her vengeance plans, and she feels safe with him as she hasn’t with anyone else. They send his sister, Felicity, back to the Moon court in Jas’ form.

Felicity gets sent to the Wild Fae court as Jas to heal, and to find the rumored portal to the human castle. But doesn’t expect her connection to King Misha to be so strong, and becomes torn between keeping up the ruse as fearful Jas and letting her true feelings through. Both women have been trapped by their pasts and looking for a way to escape their fates and save those they love most.

You can expect:
YA Romantasy
Fae & Human Portal Realms
Princess and the Pauper
Friends to Lovers
Forced Proximity
One Horse/Bed
Bonded Mates
Found Family
Choose Your Own Fate
Revenge/Betrayal
Dual, 1stP POV

The story alternates between Jasalyn and Felicity’s POVs, and it is interesting to see what they are both discovering along the way through their travels and memories being revealed. I liked following both in their relationship developments, both are forbidden in different ways, but the forced proximity heats it up quickly. I rated this 1 spicy pepper as they do get to 3rd base with low descriptive language.

I really enjoyed going back to this world, and while I didn’t remember many of the events of the first series, there were enough flashbacks to clue me in, though not necessary to enjoy this story on its own. It did end with the characters hanging onto that cliff, but not plummeting quite yet. I am interested to see how the revealed lies and betrayals play out in the next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for providing an eARC for my honest review.

Actual Rating: 3.75/5 stars

Lexi Ryan’s latest doesn’t miss!! She takes us back to the politics of the Unseelie court and explores the court of the Wild Fae in a new duology centering around two strong female leads, Jasalyn & Felicity.

I loved the original duology and personally felt that the story felt a little lacking for my taste. However, I’m curious enough to see Jasalyn’s character development through to the next book, and that cliffhanger has me on the edge of my seat!

Thank you again to NetGalley and HarperTeen for a chance to read and review an advanced copy of this book!

I didn't love this as much as the original duology but it was still good. I'm anxious to see where things go in the next book

Thanks to the publisher for the advanced copy!

2.5/3⭐️

Oh man, I really wanted to like this book. I enjoyed These Hollow Vows, so going into this book, I thought it would be the same. Honestly, it’s a good book. There’s a dual POV of a broken FMC who is out for revenge on those who have wronged her and whose past trauma constantly haunts her. She doesn’t know whether to just give in to the darkness and pain or allow herself to put the scarred pieces of her life back together and finally live. In the dual POV, we also get a hidden princess, FMC, who is trying to escape and remain hidden from her ruthless father, who wants her dead. She will never be free of his clutches unless he’s dead, but that is a prophecy foretold she vows to forever run from to save those she loves.
In this book, we also get secrets, betrayals, high stakes, mysterious/dangerous magic, secret missions, secret/hidden identities, insta love, and dangerous foes lurking around, threatening the lives of our characters and all of the kingdoms.
Now, I started to struggle while reading mainly because of the pacing. I felt that, for me at least, it was too slow for my ADD brain, and I was having a hard time staying with it and focusing. It was just kinda blah.
I’m also not really into insta love, which I feel both couples experienced. I want the tension, the banter, the yearning, and I didn’t get that with this.
I just don’t think this book was for me, which is okay, because I know it will be for others. Even though it wasn’t my cuppa, it is still a good fantasy book. Just make sure if you do pick it up, be prepared for lots of anguish and heartbreak, haha.

Thank for the ARC harper teen and netgalley!

Let me start off by saying i have not read the first duology but alot of times i will read standalones in the same world first and go back to the original series and it all makes sense to me!

For this book i did not feel that way it was a dnf at 45% i didnt understand the world at all there was no world building you are kind of just thrown to the wolves.

I may come back and re read it after the duology


Thank you all my thoughts are my own!

Publication Date: July 30, 2024

"And what if you found yourself living under nothing but cursed stars?"

I want to thank Netgalley and the Publisher for allowing me the opportunity to read the ARC of one of my most anticipated reads of this year. I was screaming when I got the email that I could read this one early. I was so excited to be back in this world, my review for These Twisted Bonds actually said that I wished it was a trilogy instead of a duology. Beneath These Cursed Stars follows Abriella's sister, Jas three years after the events that took place during These Hollow Vows. I highly recommend reading the These Hollow Vows duology before reading this, even if it could be read as a stand-alone. I was a little confused for the first 15% because It kind of just jumps into the future without including a little recap of events however, I really enjoyed this book. The ending felt like a bomb went off and all of a sudden everything that I was waiting for happened, I need the next book now!