I admit that when I picked up this story from Netgalley, I had no idea that it was in the same world as the Hollow Vows duet (which I really enjoyed!). I was 15% in, thinking, why does this seem so familiar, before I realized it was going to focus on Abriella's younger sister as a follow up to the original story (plus a handful of side characters, old and new). And it was so fun! Court intrigue, shifters, fae shenanigans, and an epic finish that made me say, "Oh f*ck!" out loud, which scared my dog. 😬 I am genuinely excited for the next book already! 🤣🥰

Two magical sisters find themselves in unexpected alliances when a mission turns unexpectedly.
You really need to go into this book blindly, because it has so many different elements. Lexi Ryan knows how to write an intricate fantasy romance book, which made me so excited to jump into her newest series. It was just as great as I expected, possibly even a bit more.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperTeen for an eARC of this book.

I loved the first to books in Ryan’s series and her third novel, Beneath these cursed stars, is just as wonderful. First off, keep in mind that this novel is young adult. It includes themes of the YA genre and does mot get spicy on purpose. I’ve also read that some people feel as if magic should be explained, but I think these people just didn’t read the other novels or have very little understanding of seelie/unseelie magic.

I did love the themes. Three years after book 2, Jaslyn is dealing with the trauma of torture under Mordeus’ rule and struggling to find her place in a new world.

Felicity is dealing with trauma of her own and as a rare echo, she can transform into anyone she likes.

When Jas decides to help mortal mages from the mortal realm fix the problems with the that world, Felicity takes on Jas’ appearance and travels to Misha’s court to look for the famed room of portals. Both girls are thrown into a sparking romantic relationship and worry that everyone will find out their secrets.

Ultimately, I loved and devoured this one!

Princess Jasalyn, armed with a deadly, enchanted ring, eliminates threats to the kingdom and seeks revenge for the fae that helped her captor, Mordeus. She sets on a mission to hunt down Mordeus with a fae shape-shifter, Felicity, who is trying to change her prophesied fate. Felicity decides to impersonate Jasalyn in the Wild Fae Court so the princess can hunt down Mordeus and get rid of him.

The book is from Felicity's and Jasalyn's POV. I enjoyed both of the characters and felt that they were relatable. I could understand why Jasalyn was so angry and wanted revenge after what happened to her in the previous book series. However, she seemed to be blinded by this trauma at times. The beginning and ending were fantastic. I prefer a medium to fast-paced book. The middle was too slow, but I was engaged enough to want to know the ending.

This book is a spin-off from another duology. You should read the previous series because so much is referenced or reflected on from the other books that it was difficult to get started, and I felt lost at times while reading. I was at a disadvantage because so much of the book's world-building, politics, characters, and magic system was set up in the other series. I did add the other series to my TBR list.

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and HarperTeen.

Beneath These Cursed Stars

Lexi Ryan never disappoints! I have been wanting to get my hands on this arc everywhere! I’m so happy NetGalley offered it. I immediately started reading and devoured this book!

This book has dual POV and is a spin-off of These Hollow Vows duology. I strongly recommend reading the duology before starting this book.

Here’s what we have:

This book is set three years after These Hollow Vows, Jaslyn grapples with trauma from her imprisonment in Mordeus's dungeons, leaving her emotionally closed off. Secretly, she uses an enchanted ring to assassinate the cruel Mordeus's supporters.
While Felicity seeks to avoid a prophecy that fates her to kill her magical father, using her unique abilities to evade this destiny.

My thoughts:

I liked Jaslyn a lot more as a FMC. It was great to see her development from the start, and she wasn't making decisions that made me want to throw my Kindle across the room. Jaslyn has so much depth that made her feel more real and relatable. In her position I don’t think I would have done a single thing differently. I felt from the very beginning that her feelings were 100% valid!
I really enjoyed this book; it was a fun read. I LOVE the found family dynamic with Kendrick, Skylar, Remme, and Natan. I can't wait to see more of them.
I felt a lot of frustration for Misha throughout the book. He didn't deserve a lot of the treatment he received. I hope he gets better treatment in the next installment.
Now the ending??? It really threw me! I was not expecting the twist!! I can’t wait for the next book!


Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

From the same world as These Hollow Vows, we follow Brie’s sister Jas as she navigates her conflicting past and present while new unexplained unrest is sweeping the lands.

Immediately, Ryan continues interweaving the same themes as in her previous series—secrets, deception, magic, and romance while adding a deeper layer from the consequences of the events from the preceding books, trauma.

I loved seeing Jas’s character come to life. She is incredibly inspiring and such a force to be reckoned with. Her devastating past is very present in this book and vital to her growth and journey—even though at times, it was hard to read. She stands on her own as a fierce, beautiful heroine, much like her sister—and her character was my favorite part of this story.

This book follows two POVs—one being Jas and another a new character introduced. I felt at times that the two were a little conflicting with the overall story and kept me from feeling completely immersed in the book. Also, I absolutely LOVED seeing some familiar faces, and, once again, Ryan leaves me instantly wanting to pick up the next book ASAP!

3.25/5

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

This series was described as a standalone, but had I known it was a spin-off from the author’s previous duology I wouldn’t have requested an early copy.

Having no background from the previous series, I felt completely lost at sea when starting this book. There’s no world building or explanation about the magic systems (at least up until the part I read), and there appear to be major spoilers to the duology.

This is listed as a YA novel but reads more middle grade to me as well, which isn’t my preferred genre.

I think if you enjoyed These Hollow Vows you should definitely pick it up, unfortunately this one wasn’t for me. Because I did not finish the entire book I have chosen not to give a star rating on Goodreads especially since I feel this book stands as more of mid-series book than standalone.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins Teen, and Lexi Ryan for the advanced e copy of this book to review.

My over all rating for this book is a 3.5 stars. Where I really enjoyed the book for the point of it being spun off of These Hollow Vows (which I LOVED!) there are some things that seemed would be problematic to readers who skipped that duology and jumped right into this one.

So jumping for that let’s cover parts that were missed for me then I’ll go over what I loved.

There was so much about this book that was almost expected of the readers to just know. Very little of the world and their magic etc. was discussed. Having read These Hollow Vows I had a fine time keeping up but I would have been SO confused had I not. I also feel like the pacing was a bit slow with a lot of repetition. It was almost as if Ryan was trying to set up for a cliffhanging ending that there was a lot of filler leading up to that where as so much that happened towards the end could have easily been placed mid book and had more action packed into the end and still someone ended with a cliffhanger.

This I enjoyed in the story was seeing Jasalyns perspective of what she had to go through while being held captive although he characters personality was a little bland. I think having experienced Brie then going to Jas was a bit underwhelming.
I did really enjoy the bits with Felicity and Misha and I am anxious to see where their storyline plays out to.

I am hoping in the upcoming book we will see a little more action as I think this one set up for a lot of potential to come.

Beneath These Cursed Stars follows the dual POV stories of Princess Jasalyn (sister of Bree from the first two books) and shape-shifter Felicity. After the trauma she faced in the first two books, Princess Jasalyn has taken it upon herself to ensure that she never becomes a prisoner again. Making a deadly bargain with a witch, Jasalyn acquires a ring that allows her to exact revenge on Mordeus’s followers. But not everything is as it seems in this world, with rumors of Mordeus’s return swirling and a mysterious illness wreaking havoc across the kingdom. Enter a band of rebels who kidnap Jasalyn and convince her to allow Felicity to pose as her at court so that Jasalyn can embark on a journey with them to take steps in deposing a corrupt faction in the human realm.

While I really liked the first duology with Bree, I found the plot of this one and the interactions between characters to be even more compelling. I loved the twists and turns and the dual POVs. Jasalyn has become such a fierce character, and it is fascinating to see this world through her eyes. Felicity is also a fresh voice, and it is interesting to see her navigate court with familiar characters from the previous duology.

Highlights:
✨ YA Romantasy
✨ Dual POV
✨ Friends-to-lovers
✨ Hidden/Secret Identities
✨ Magic
✨ Prophecies
✨ Found Family
✨ Slow Burn
✨ Forced Proximity
✨ Secrets & Betrayals
✨ Cliffhanger

Note: This story does mention previous characters and most of the world building takes place in the first duology, so I would strongly recommend reading the previous two books first if you want to better understand the magic system and the courts.

Thank you NetGalley, HarperTeen, and Lexi Ryan for the eBook ARC of this book!

I have not read Lexi Ryan's other books and did not realize that this was the start of a spin-off series. So, I am a bit bummed that there were some big spoilers in this book to the prior series. Take that as a fair warning if you plan to pick this one up.

This book is a dual point of view, Felicity and Jasalyn. Jas had a horrific time in the dungeons, and she is obviously dealing with some trauma, but she has given up something to gain power over her enemies and is doing ok.

Felicity is running from her past and they just keep showing up. Now they need her power, which is to take on the body and dreams of others so that she can take the place of Jas. Jas and Felicity trade places both in an attempt to help Kendrick attack the reigning seven in the human realm.

OK, so there was a lot just there even to wade through... and I am with you, really confused. While I enjoyed this book, there was a lot of world building that was completely left out because of the prior series. The magic, the systems, the politics, were all left unexplained for the most part. It is also important to note that this is not a standalone - it ends on a pretty big cliffhanger, a few actually. Can you see them coming... kinda, but also some were so left-field.

Overall, I liked the two POVs, I liked the overall plot and pacing, but it fell a bit flat on the explanations for me. I wanted to learn more, and probably could have had I don't more research into where this book fell in her overall series. If you are looking for something that has drama and mystery in addition to magic and crazy overlapping worlds, this could be for you.

Oh to be back in Lexi Ryan's world of the Fae. I was so excited when I heard that Lexi was writing Jasalyn's POV and we were entering back into the These Hollow Vows world.

~*I will say right away, you will most likely not enjoy this book if you have not read the These Hollow Vows duology. These characters, the initial world building, the background and some of the initial character development of Jasalyn as well as another character Misha is there. You will not understand this world, the struggles depicted and the emotional turmoils if you haven't read it. I would not consider this its own separate series but much like ACOTAR when we switched to new main characters in ACOSF.*~

That being said, I absolutely enjoyed this book. We get brief encounters with Brie and Finn again as we start out three years in the future to the end of These Twisted Bonds; While also being introduced to a new cast of characters and a dual POV that is actual not the love interest.

Starting out on the slower side, this book definitely is more character focused and feels like a building block to get us to the bigger plot. Our two main characters, Felicity and Jasalyn are both struggling, traumatized characters trying to outrun their fates and I have a feeling that their futures are more intertwined than the surface level we have at this point. I feel both characters development and growth are vitally important to the overall plot and I am glad we focused more on the relationships, their growth and inner struggles and turmoils for the first book. I am excited to see how they grow further and follow their stories as the series continues.

This book absolutely ends on a cliffhanger with some big reveals, both our girls are in perilous situations and the level of plot twisting that happens keeps you on the edge of your seat. I was honestly blown away. I need Book 2 now because leaving us on that cliff was honestly rude and uncalled for.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperTeen for the ARC

I love a story with strong FMC! This book has two strong FMC! Jae has been through so much in her 17 years after being tortured by Mordeus but she keeps fighting and trying to take back the power and get revenge! Jas falling in love with Kendrick and then finding out about his betrayal and lies was just another reason for her to never open herself up again. Despite having her heart torn from her chest by his betrayal, we find her at the end of the book heading out in her weakened state to end Mordeus. Felicity has so many secrets that we only skim the surface in this book! She has been running from her true father for so long that she never truly sets down roots. When she meets Misha (as Jas) she can’t help but fall for him! Reading about her feelings of love, loss, grief and regret before and after Misha learns of her true identity was truly heartbreaking! And the ending where she is taken?? I can’t wait for the next book!

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Children’s Books for giving me early access to this book! All opinions are my own.

I have not read These Hollow Vows, and did not realize this book was tied to that world. Even still, this was a quick read that was enjoyable. At times this felt like a typical YA read, but then there would be moments that surprised even me. Especially the ending! I really enjoyed the world, and now can’t wait to read These Hollow Vows to learn more of the background of the world. 3.75 ⭐️

Another amazing adventure from the mind of Lexi Ryan! I loved everything about this book. The story is wonderfully written. I adore all the characters. And I can’t wait for the next one! Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC.

Lexi Ryan crafts a captivating narrative filled with intrigue, romance, and twists that had me intrigued from the beginning. This story features dual points of view, allowing readers to experience the story through the perspectives of the two main characters, Felicity and Jasalyn. Each character faces their own challenges and obstacles, including navigating their complicated love interests, as they embark on their intertwined journeys throughout the narrative. I loved the reappearance of some characters from “These Hollow Vows,” especially Abriella/Brie and Finnian!

ARC provided by NetGalley for honest review :)

What a fun journey back into the Unseelie court and the Wild Fae lands! Misha was one of my favorites from the original story so getting to see more of him was an absolute blast! Hearing more about what happened to Jas during her months of torture was heart breaking and really made you ache for her to be able to tell her story. We also met a whole new cast of characters who are prepared to deceive you and break your heart all over again.

The story reads a lot like the first series, sometimes a strange mix of what feels like historical fantasy vibes but with modern language sprinkled throughout. Sometimes it’s a little jarring and can throw you out of the story but overall it makes it an easy read that you fall into very easily. I love the world, the ease in which it reads, and seeing some of my favorites again but through new eyes.

I strongly recommend if you enjoyed the first series! Felt a little slow at first but they’re rebuilding the world from Jas’ perspective so it makes sense.

I received this book through netgalley for an honest review. I enjoyed this story so much. Following two separate plots entwined together was genius. I was so engaged with all the characters in the story that I wanted to know what happened all the way to the end. And that ending, wow! I can't wait for the next one. You need to read this book.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

1) please read "These Hollow Vows" first. If you don't know to do this, like me, you will end up accidentally spoiling yourself on major plot points of THV, especially how that love triangle resolves.

2) This author is now on my read-their-other-books list! I really enjoyed her writing style and narrative voice, and look forward to reading her other works.

3) While I am *very* grateful this book didn't have a love triangle like her previous series, there is definitely an inferior pairing in this book of two romances (and it is by far the Jasalyn/Kendrick one). Felicity/Misha is a very fun/interesting pairing (even though it's built on the miscommunication/Shakespeare disguise trope), and I was really rooting for them & am eager to see where their story goes next book! Jasalyn/Kendrick? Their relationship doesn't feel *earned*. I would've loved some *flashbacks,* even, if the author was going to make the foundation of their friendship in the past. Also, Jasalyn comes across as whiny/hard-headed, which is *really* not my jam for FMCs (I know she's dealing with trauma but her personality was just very off-putting).

4) This is definitely YA but still very enjoyable to read, both in terms of romance and plot action.

Recommend!

Beneath These Cursed Stars is a spin-off featuring Jasalyn, Brie’s sister. Jasalyn is sheltered as Brie’s sister, but is forced out of her apathy when scars begin to appear on her. Jasalyn realizes that this could be a sign that the evil king is back. Jasalyn teams up with shifter Felicity, who will take her place so Jas can find out more. Felicity, as Jas, is sent to the Wild Fae Lands and instructed to grow close to King Misha. Meanwhile, Jasalyn joins her old friend Kendrick and his group to try and uncover whether the evil king has truly returned.

Beneath These Cursed Stars is a compelling and fast-paced adventure. I enjoyed how Jas has to work through mental health struggles and is genuinely impacted by her time in the dungeons. Jas being away from her sister gave her the ability to make choices for herself and grow. Felicity was also an intriguing character; I liked how she tried to impersonate Jas as faithfully as possible. I’m looking forward to them (hopefully!) being reunited in the sequel.

Misha and Felicity’s romance was my favorite, although it had a sense of inevitability to it since Felicity cannot portray Jas forever. Jas and Kendrick also have a strong connection and I’m excited to see where it goes. Jasalyn’s ring was a very creative and ominous piece of magic! The magic system is all about the vibes, instead of hard rules, and as long as readers can accept that then I think they will enjoy it. The final scenes and twist at the end were fantastic! I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Thank you to Lexi Ryan, HarperTeen, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, and Barnes & Noble etc.

Excuse me but how am I supposed to go on living life until I have the next book in this series?! Dramatic? Yes. But truth nonetheless. Beneath These Cursed stars was an excellent spin off to the These Hollow Vows duology!

I will admit I went into this book not even realizing it was a spin off and would be Jasalyn’s story. I was so pleasantly surprised right off the bat though!

Jas is Brie’s sister from These Hollow Vows, so you definitely need to read that duology first. There was a lot of context that I don’t think would make sense if you don’t read Brie’s story. We know from those books that Jas was in Mordeus’ dungeons and Brie rescued her, but we learn in this book just what she endured under Mordeus’ “care.”

Beneath These Cursed stars is told from two POVs - Jasalyn and Felicity. Both stories are in the same timeline but are in different places with the same end goal. Jasalyn is with Hale Kendrick attempting to retrieve the Sword of Fire to kill Erith, the Patriarch of the Eloran Seven. Felicity is Erith’s daughter and is destined to kill him. She is an Echo (a type of shifter) and has taken on Jasalyn’s form. As part of their plan, she has been sent to the Wild Fae lands to live with Misha. There she is tasked with seducing him to discover where the Hall of Portals is. They need this to access to portal to the Eloran Palace.

This story is full of slow burn romance, deceit, secrets, magic, and an ending you won’t see coming! I absolutely cannot wait for the next book!!