DNF @ 9%. I tried several times to give this one a read, and unfortunately, I could not get passed the third chapter. I think it's because "Beneath the Cursed Stars" is a spinoff of another duology, which needed to be read prior to starting this story, and the story couldn't hold my attention.

So, keep this in mind before diving in. I hope you find it more enjoyable than I did.

Thank you, NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this story in advance.

***Disclaimer***I do not give authors less than three stars because I do not want them to be penalized by retailers, especially when other readers will enjoy their work more than I did.

I will start this buy saying I loved These Hollow Vows duology and was so excited to jump back into that world. With that being said, this book did not disappoint and I truly loved reading it. I think to fully enjoy this series though you should really read These Hollow Vows first or you will be lost and annoyed. Also, this book is a duel POV book and I found one storyline much more compelling than the other, but I am still very excited for the next book in the series! Overall these are fun reads!

Fast-paced read! Beneath These Cursed Stars by Lexi Ryan is the first book in a new YA fantasy series set in the same world as These Hollow Vows. It’s been three years since Brie saved her sister from the dungeons of the false king, but Princess Jasalyn is still trapped there mentally. Her fear and need for vengeance drove her to a witch in the human realm of Elora where she bargained her magic and fae-life for a magical ring. With the ring, Jas sneaks away every night to assassinate those who kept her prisoner in Mordeus’s dungeons. With rumors that he has returned, Jas teams up with her former cellmate in the hopes she can find and take him down.

I really enjoyed this book. It is told in dual POV which is a deviation from the original duology. Here we get Jasalyn’s POV and Felicity’s. Felicity is a new character who I really like. She is an Echo, which means she can take the form of anyone as long as she has some of their hair. It isn’t like a normal shapeshifter though. With this power, she sees their memories and can even smell like them. With Felicity’s power, Jas is able to join a renegade group who is looking for Mordeus. Felicity takes her place when Brie sends Jas to the Wild Fae kingdom with King Misha.

While fast moving, the plot really has two stories that run side by side. Jas is with Kendrick, a human she was imprisoned with who is also trying to take down the regime who rules Elora, the human realm. Their story unfolds slowly. Jas is way too trusting of Kendrick and his crew, blinded by her need to find and kill Mordeus once and for all. Felicity’s story is heartbreaking. She is fated to kill her brother and hasn’t been in her true form in over three years. Now she is taking on Princess Jasalyn’s form, being asked to make Misha fall in love with her, and find the mythical Hall of Doors.

I liked both storylines and how the author brings them together. However, it can be jarring to go from one POV to another especially if we are left with a cliffhanger. As much as I like Jas, I loved Felicity’s storyline. I found it fascinating and was thoroughly engrossed in the story. Ryan continues to build upon the world of the fae, and I’m excited for what is coming.

Overall, I really enjoyed Beneath These Cursed Stars. There are so many twists and turns that you do not see coming, and Ryan makes you feel all the feels from the warmth of first loves to the heartbreak of betrayal. If you are a fan of fantasy, I highly recommend.

I don’t know how I missed that Beneath These Cursed Stars was a sequel series to These Hollow Vows, but here we are. There was a lot of lore and casual references to events of the first book that felt like they were lacking in context—and it’s context I had, I just didn’t realize it was actually connected and would have reread (or at least read a synopsis of) the duology before diving into this.

Jasalyn’s story is separated enough from These Hollow Vows that you could technically read it as a standalone, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

While this is presented as being more Jasalyn’s story, Felicity was the character I was rooting for. I felt she had the more interesting plot (who doesn’t love a case of fake identity and hot fae king?)

The novel ends on a cliffhanger, which is incredibly rude because waiting is the worst.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperTeen for the opportunity to read an ARC, all thoughts are my own.

3.5 stars

Beneath These Cursed Stars follows Princess Jasalyn on her journey to kill Mordeus who held her captive and tortured her. Meanwhile, Felicity takes on Jasalyn's appearance to become close to the wild fae King Misha to learn the location of a portal. Both FMCs experience unexpected romance which adds soon angst and tension.

Overall, I was not able to get into this story as much as I hoped. It was a different storyline but I did not become invested in the characters as much as I did in Ryan's previous books. It was still a good read and I will probably read the next in the series.

Thank you to Harper Collins for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Lexi Ryan did not disappoint with this book set in the world of These Hollow Vows! I usually find myself bored with one POV when a book switches but that wasn’t the case in this story, Lexi did a fantastic job establishing interest in both narrator’s stories right off the bat.
My heart broke for Jaslayn who felt like she had to be so strong that she let herself wither away rather than let her sister see the truth of what was done to her. Felicity’s strength in being able to truly become someone else and keep the true person’s feelings in mind while acting in their stead never ceased to amaze me. Lexi really outdid herself with the character development. Oh.. And don’t forget how much that growth added to the surprise of all the plot twists, it made the story that much more addictive.

One thing I wasn’t a huge fan of was that the reader would be introduced to magic unheard of or bits of lore out of nowhere and they were never fully explained. Which was hard for me because I felt like at times I struggled with wondering “why is this being mentioned if we’re never even going to know why it’s important,” and it jarred me out of the story. That being said, even when we did get “explanations” I found myself hoping for just a little bit more information so it felt like I as the reader was more in the know on what was happening in the store.

But in terms of romance and intrigue this book had me HOOKED. I couldn’t tell who I wanted to fall in love with more, Misha or Kendrick. These men are so totally swoon worthy and I need them to find their happily ever after. The sheer amount of sass and banter in this book was delicious, and as a huge fan of romantasy it did make up for the lack of information at certain parts. Overall, I can’t wait to find out what’s next for Jasalyn and Felicity!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperTeen for allowing me to write an honest review of the ARC for Beneath These Cursed Stars!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

My review was posted to Goodreads and Instagram on 7/25/24.
My Amazon review will be submitted on 07/30/24 when it is available for review and will be posted on my profile within 48 hours.

This book was everything I could’ve ever hoped for. I waited to read this book since I heard it was coming out and I am so blessed to have gotten an arc of it. Thank you for writing a masterpiece for your fans to read

As someone who loves character driven books--I LOVED Beneath These Cursed Stars. The chemistry between all of the characters (platonic and romantic was so good and fascinating and as someone who loved Lexi Ryan's other duology this is a spin off from, it was wonderful to see characters (new and old) have time on page.
The reason I did not make this four stars or higher is because there was still a lot I was confused about. Maybe it will be delved deeper into the other books in the series as it continues or maybe it was too long since I had read These Twisted Bonds/Ties, but I found the characters lacking information and the world building a bit confusing. I look forward to see what Ryan does with the series and how it develops!

I really enjoyed this book having read These Hollow Vows previously. However, I feel like if you have not read that series 1st then this book might lack & may not make any sense at times.
I really loved the dual POV of both FMC's and their subplot romance! I don't feel like this book was overly complex but I did find the pacing to be off.
I enjoyed the beginning, the middle lost me, but the ending wrapped up nicely!
Compared to These Hollow Vows & These Twisted Bonds? Those books were so much better then this one but if your a big fan of those books I think you'll definitely find this book enjoyable!

After finishing this book I've been left with a mix of emotions.. I think the book is very entertaining! I really enjoyed Felicity and Misha's story arc. I feel like I connected with them and their relationship felt more natural. Admittedly, more so than Jasalyn and Kendrick's. I also didn't see the plot twist coming at the end, so it was nice that the book kept me on my feet. However, I didn't really enjoy all the miscommunication and subsequent pacing of the story. I like a good miscommunication story, yet it wasn't resolved until around the 90% mark of the book. So I was very perplexed because the trajectory of the book wasn't where I was expecting it to go. I thought the goal would be more action orientated, but it was more so about providing information and laying a foundation for the next book. Which as an overarching story is fine. Yet I think on an individual story level, it's not able to stand up on its own. Where it ended and what was achieved felt awkward, and more questions were created than answered. I would have preferred this duology to be one large book instead. This is because book 1 felt like it ended at the middle of a book. Rather than 1 of 2 books with smaller plot goals that subsequently lead to the achievement of the larger plot goal in the second book. All that being said it was still an enjoyable book and I look forward to reading about Felicity and Misha's story in the next book.

I am so glad that I got this book on a whim to read because I absolutely devoured it! I have been stepping more and more into fantasy and this did not disappoint!
I loved the dual POV between Jasalyn and Felicity. It was like two different stories going on at the same time but still linked together and I think that's really made this story great! This also has slow burn romances with both of the main characters and I could not get enough of this story!
With the way this ended I cannot wait to read more about this world and what will happen next!

Beneath These Cursed Stars by Lexi Ryan ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
ARC Review

***I skipped spice in chapters 22, 26, and 27***

Tropes:
- "Who did this to you?"
- One horse
- One bed
- Friends to lovers

I really enjoyed this book! It took me a second to get into it because I went straight in from These Twisted Bonds. My actual note said, "Where is the damsel in distress?? Dang!" Friends, this is not the Jasalyn you met in the other two books. She has been through a lot of stuff that we never got to see because Brie never got to see it. Spending time with Jasalyn truly was a wonderful experience. Her journey of growth and inner struggle is enticing and worth reading.

Felicity is someone I want to protect at all costs. Her empathy won me over immediately. Her magic is also incredibly intriguing.

Misha could do anything and I would probably still love him. I loved him before this book and I love him even more now.

The plot twist at the end was not what I expected, but the groundwork was there so that it made sense. It was devastating, but it worked well for the story and I bought into it.

I will be reading book two!

I really wanted to like this one. i thought the premise was so fun and interesting but unfortunately Beneath These Cursed Stars fell flat for me. We follow two separate POVs, Jas and Felicity, while each of them embark on their own mission to save Elora and settle personal scores. I get that this is the first book in a new fantasy series but... nothing happened? We get to know the characters and get the world building but it all felt so.. boring. I struggled to connect with any of the characters which led to being really uninterested in their backstory or their mission. I think the split POVs was a big problem for the book because every time you would start to connect to a character and the group they were with, it would flip to the other POV so I was never able to get invested. My other big problem was the lack of action. Nothing particularly interesting happens throughout the entire book. In one group, you have Jas and co traveling and her being into Kendrick. On the other hand you have Felicity pretending to be Jas and falling in love with Misha. Either way, nothing feels significant outside of a romance plot that doesn't even fully feel plausible.

All in all, not the book for me. I don't think I'll continue with the series because I just don't care to know what happens to any of them.

This YA fantasy has dual plot lines that follows a princess and the shapeshifter who takes her place. Their paths cross in a quest to stop the resurrections on the previous king, Mordeus.

Princess Jasalyn was previously a captive in Mordeus's dungeons and wants to see him dead once and for all. She pairs up with Kendrick and his crew in hopes of ending things for good. In turn, Felicity takes her place and gets close to the Wild Fae King.

Both plot lines include:
FMCs with great character arcs
swoony MMCs
betrayals
and cliffhanger endings

I really enjoyed this. I was expecting to prefer one storyline over the other but found I was equally invested in both. When I finished I found myself googling to see if there was a release date for book 2!

A romantic fantasy with lots of twists, drama, suspense, adventure and romance.
Jasalyn has a enchanted ring, Felicity a shapeshifter who trades places and goes with Micha.
Jassalyn goes with Kendrik can they all stop the evil King.
Voluntarily reviewed.

As someone who loved These Hollow Vows, I was really looking forward to reading something set in the same world.

In Beneath These Cursed Stars, the magic system really stands out and adds a lot of depth to the fantasy world. I loved how the enchanted ring and shape-shifting abilities were woven into the story—it made everything more intriguing and kept me hooked on the magical elements. It's clear the author put a lot of thought into building this fantastical setting, which made the adventure all the more exciting.

However, I felt like the relationships between the characters, especially the romantic ones, could have been fleshed out more. Jasalyn's connection with Kendrick and Felicity's with Misha felt a bit rushed and didn't have enough depth for me to fully invest in their relationships. It would have been nice to see more buildup and exploration of their feelings.

Another thing that bothered me at times was the confusing plot. Trying to keep track of everything happening in the shadow court and fae realms was sometimes a challenge, and it took away from the enjoyment of the story. The problem is that while being confusing, it was also extremely predictable.

Beneath These Cursed Stars gives an imaginative magical world and a thrilling adventure, but it could have benefited from more developed relationships and clearer plotlines. I love where the story is going, and hopefully, the next installment is more flushed out and developed.

Two romances between two sets of characters? I loved it! Misha has made his way to one of my top book boyfriends. 🫶

I haven't read the other duology set in this world but honestly did not feel lost... at all. I plan on going backwards to read the sisters story so I guess I may have spoiled it for myself but that's OK!

Dual POV lovers to enemies?! Found family! I cannot wait to see how this story ends.

Thank you HarperTeen for an ARC!

4⭐️ 2.75🌶️

Spin-off
YA Romantasy
Dual POV
Parallel Storylines
Morally Grey FMC
Destiny
Forbidden Love
Forced proximity
Secrets
Shifter
Revenge
Betrayal


There wasn’t much world-building. The author definitely counts on the reader having read the duology prior to this book. Many characters from the duology play fairly significant roles in this story. There was enough space where she could have given us a little more background and world-building. this was an interesting want to change things up in a genre and micro genre to make the story set apart. I appreciate that more than I expected to.

Some repetitive moments. The pacing was slow to start, I think due to the dual storyline needing so much attention, and then the double romance on top of it.

Jas wasn’t my favorite FMC, I definitely
Preferred Felicity’s storyline… I wonder if it was battle to remain fairly even in splitting the story.

The cliffhanger was good and I’m excited to read the next book!

***2.75🌶️ means there was sexual intimacy implied off page or there was physical intimacy just short of an open door romance.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperColins Children’s Books for the eARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely love Lexi Ryan’s writing. I had so much fun with her first duology and was so excited to return to that world and explore these characters. Jas and Felicity are so fun to read. I really enjoyed alternating their points of view for this story. I think I definitely felt more of a pull towards Felicity’s point of view. Both characters took a minute for me to warm up to, but by the end I just really loved both of them dearly.
I loved revisiting the Wild Fae Lands with Misha. He was one of my favorite characters in the first book so I loved returning to his court and reading about him again.
The ending of the book left me immedietly yearning for the next one even though this one isn’t even out yet. I can’t wait!

Amazing!! I was so excited to jump back into this world and Ryan did not disappoint! I would recommend reading the other two books first to truly understand but it’s amazing. Can not wait to have it on my shelf.