Absolutely loved being back in this world after the previous duology. It's such an immersive and expansive universe with lots of fae/human places to explore. And I loved that this time we could experience everything through Brie's sister, Jasalyn. She definitely deserved her own story after what she went through in the previous duology! Jasalyn is a character you instantly want to root for after all her trauma and subsequent mental health challenges. She has her own quiet strength that you see blossom through the story. I can't wait to find out even more about her in the sequel to this!

There are plenty of big reveals in this book, and even a new POV with Felicity and her hidden identity romance with Misha. I did get frustrated with how long the hidden identity went on, but overall the book kept me entertained, and of course left me on a cliffhanger. I'm anxiously awaiting the next book!

Writing Aesthetic/Style: 5
Plot/Movement: 4
Character Development: 4
Overall: 4

Thank you, HarperTeen, for the arc!
Releases July 30, 2024

Trigger/Content Warnings: past torture and trauma, mild violence and murder, one vague open door scene

I went into this book not having read These Hollow Vows (oops!) but had no issue jumping right in! I’m sure there are parts that would’ve been more enjoyable to me if I’d read the previous series, but I still loved the characters and the story!
I’m not usually too big a fan of dual POV, but both characters were so well written and I didn’t find myself dreading going from one character to another.
Now I need the next book because, omg, cliffhanger!!

This was a fantastic read. I loved the characters and their complex layers that I got to explore throughout the book. The world that was created was really good and I enjoyed exploring it. I think Ryan was great at balancing the plot, world, character development, and narrative voice to keep it well-paced and structured when reading. It was an enjoyable book and I highly recommend it

This book was amazing! I loved These Hollow Vows duology, so I could not wait to read this one! I’m so excited for the next book to come out! Love! Love! Love!

I received a free ARC of this from NetGalley. This in no way affects my review.

I really enjoyed this book, although I did enjoy the original duology more (These Hollow Vows & These Twisted Bonds) simply because I liked those characters better. At the end of the original duology, I wanted more from this world and was so very happy to get that in this book.

In this story, we get Jas's POV and what has happened to her since being taken prisoner and tortured by Mordeus. There is enough information given to explain the biggest events that took place in the first duology and how we came to be where we are for this book. So this book could be read on its own, but I would definitely recommend to read the other two books first just to have all the information. We also get Felicity's POV, who is a new character with the ability to shift into another person. She takes Jas's place in the Fae lands to do some sleuthing and try to find something the gang is missing.

Everything that Jas has gone through tugs at your heart and makes you understand her craving for revenge. She makes some terrible decisions for what she wants and things are slowly revealed to you as the book goes on. Felicity relives some of Jas's worst moments and that helps to unearth the mystery of what is happening.

We also get to see more of Misha and the Wild Court. He was so lovable in the first two books, so I'm happy he's going to be a bigger character in this duology.

And that ending with the revelations... already burning for book 2!

Some tropes included are:
-Who did this to you
-Secret identities
-Only one horse
-Friends to lovers


I found a few minor grammar errors in the book. I also am unclear the difference between Elves and Fae and I'm not sure if it was explained badly or if I missed something and just couldn't comprehend it. My biggest complaint is that Jas is 17 and while there wasn't an explicit spicy scene, it was still a bit uncomfortable with her age. I was also confused on the difference between Fae and Elves and not sure if I missed something or if it was explained poorly.

The only thing I didn’t like about this book is that the next one isn’t out yet! I loved the series before this and now I love this one even more! I especially liked how the author showed jas’ ptsd and was so real with how she handled writing it. I loved both female MCs and the male MCs. The plot comes together pretty well, and the angst is perfect! I was leery about two romance plots in one book but the author really made it work well. I can’t WAIT for the next one to come out! Thank you so much to Netgalley for the ARC.

I absolutely loved the These Hollow Vows duology, so I jumped at the chance to read this ARC when I had the opportunity.

Beneath These Cursed Stars is a stand-alone book (possibly part of a duology or series?) in the same realm as the These Hollow Vows duology. With that being said, I would recommend you read those two books before you read this one. Without reading them, it would be difficult to understand the world, how magic works, etc. If you don't care that much about understanding those things, then go for it.

In Beneath These Cursed Stars, we follow the journey of two characters, shadow Princess Jasalyn and shape-shifter Felicity, who trade places in attempts to complete their own missions. Along the way, they meet/are reintroduced to men who they develop feelings for in ultimate slow burn romances. Being YA you don't get too deep into them, but what we got was enjoyable.

I thought the plot development was well done, and the characters were well-written. I do think that Jasalyn took to Kendrick a bit too quickly. I realize they had a history but she went from being unable to stomach having anyone touch her, including her dear sister, to craving his touch almost immediately. I felt she needed more time to warm up to that. Additionally, it felt like Jasalyn's mission was taking way too long. I don't know the exact time frame in the book from beginning to end, but it felt way too fleshed out and like it could've been much shorter.

The cliffhangers at the end! With all of the above being said, I did enjoy the book and can't wait to find out what happens in the next one.

If you enjoy YA, magic, fae, slow-burn romance books, I think you'll enjoy this. Just keep in mind you may not fully understand the world and magic without reading the previous duology.

Thank you to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

Can we please stop pairing minors with 1,000+-year-old men? It's the year of our lord 2024; the conversations about this very subject have been done to death, but the fact it's still prevalent in mainstream YA pisses me off so much.

There's a lot of stuff about this book that pisses me off, too, but I had to say that first.

With that in mind, here's the other things about Beneath These Cursed Stars that I really hated:

The constant use of referring men and women as males and females. WHY IS THIS STILL A THING?? It's gross, weird, dehumanizing, and objectifying all at once. I don't care if this is a fae thing or not (It really doesn't matter because the fae here don't act different than regular humans), I still hate it. Authors! Stop doing this!

Additionally, the fact this book wasn't marketed as a direct sequel to the These Hollow Vows duology is so weird. I think I tried to read the first book when it came out, but I only got 10 pages in. I returned it and never thought of it again. If I had known this book was about this book followed that duology, I never would have picked up the ARC. How the hell was I suppose to know Jas was Brie's sister? The fact the description makes no mention of this is such an act of neglect from the marketers.

This then leads me to the next thing I hate about this book: The worldbuilding. There's constant info-dumps about the fae and the realms and all that, but I still didn't understand anything?? Apparently the humans also have magic, too, but it's different than the fae? Also, elves existed but went extinct?? I had no idea what the hell was going on with this world and how it worked. I don't think Ryan does, either, considering her two main characters think more about their love interests than anything else.

Speaking of which, I found both Jas and Felicity bland, uninspiring, cardboard cutouts explicitly made for their guy love interests to suck lips with. I was more sympathetic with Jas because of her past trauma and the depression she was experiencing throughout the story, but she was still very insufferable due to her stupid romance with Kendrick (Who's 20 compared to her 17 years 🤮, but it's ok because they were in prisoned together when she was fourteen! He knows her trauma and can fix her with kisses and sex 🙄) She is travelling with three other companions, two of which serve as an unnecessary insert of homophobia in this world and one is a girl who constantly berates Jas for being a coddled princess (Did Kendrick tell her he and Jas were imprisoned/tortured?? I'm not willing to reread anything more to correct myself on this) and tries to prevent her from getting with Kendrick. Other than that, the only purpose they serve is to interrupt the lovebirds when things get heated, a saving grace for me because all the romance scenes in this book made me want to gag.

Felicity is so much worse, both as a character and because of the story that follows her. She's pretty much catfishing the aforementioned 1000+-year-old man the whole story only to get sad when he inevitably gets mad he was being catfished. I don't feel bad for either of them, to be honest, especially Misha, because he thought he was romancing a seventeen-year-old girl when he's an ancient ass fae king whose kingdom is hounding him to find a wife and produce heirs. There are even several instances in this book where Felicity makes fun of him for being old. Like, was this supposed to make it seem self aware? If so, it failed spectacularly. All it made me do was gag and groan in reminder that this man was knowingly going after a minor and she was letting him think that (She's 19, but that doesn't make this romance any better, really). The only thing worse than the romance was the fact her POV in the story was entirely useless. Felicity was planted there to find a magic portal, but she spent 98% ogling after Misha only to fail her mission when she finally attempted to find it. In all my reading have I come across a main character more pointless than Felicity.

If you already couldn't tell, my conclusion is this: Don't read this. Not even as a hate read, because it's not even entertaining enough for that. Go read something amazing, or go outside. Anything but pick up this book.

I really enjoyed this book. It was my first book my Lexi Ryan and won't be my last. I'm excited to read more books from her. I enjoyed the characters and the story a lot.

Thank you NetGalley & Harper Collins for the E-ARC

I'm such a fan of Lexi Ryan. She did it again. I loved these hollow vows. This book hit the mark for me. The plot and story kept me hooked... this was exciting to to the chance to read it in advance

The beginning was confusing because there was little to no info on this ring situation, but I still loved the whole damn thing. And yes, you definitely need the prior duology to know any of the main characters. Parts were flawed but I enjoyed the shit out of it.

After reading the These Hollow Vows duology (this book is linked to another of her series, but they can be read separately) I was so excited to hear there was a spin off series set in the same world, with characters we already know and love. Like the first 2 books, expect lots of angst, backstabbing, and crazy plot twists. Reading her books is such a joy although I secretly wish we got more interactions with Finn. I truly enjoyed this read and am super excited for the next in the series.

I loved These Hollow Vows and These Twisted Bonds so I was very excited to jump into this one and be back with some beloved characters.

I loved both Jasalyn's and Felicity's POV's. It was really great getting more of Jas's story since everything that happened with Mordeus.
I absolutely loved Felicity and how she dealt with playing the role of Jas but also growing feelings for Misha.

There are deceptions upon deceptions in this one, and I loved the shocking twist/ending and cannot wait to see what the next book will entail.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

I am absolutely floored by this book. After These Hollow Vows I had high hopes for this series and when I say it gave gold stars and checked every single box! I am absolutely floored and fact wait to see what's next from Lexi.

I was a big fan of These Hallow Vows so I could not wait to get my hands on this book and it absolutely did not disappoint! I’m walking away devastated needing everything to go right in the next book. What am I supposed to do until book 2? How will I be able to think about anything else?? I need all the answers now!! This book is perfect if you enjoy twists, turns and betrayals. And this book is literally full of them!

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins Children’s Books for the opportunity to read this book. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Firstly, I want to mention that this is a spinoff and not a standalone, therefore there are spoilers for These Hollow Vows. I have not read These Hollow Vows. I assume more of the world building happens in that duology, as some world building seemed to be missing in this. I had a lot of questions about the magic system.

If you love "who did this to you", multiple POV, and strong FMCs you will love this book. Both POVs were very intriguing.

I couldn't believe how this book ended and I need to get my hands on the next book asap.

“‘If we have to act like them, then how do we keep from becoming them?’. ‘We remember who we are and what we’re fighting for. We put our cause before ourselves.’”

“We don’t get to choose the burdens we bear, only how we bear them.”


5/5⭐️

I absolutely did not want this book to end. The betrayal, the romance, the plot twists, the world, the overall story was so amazing and what I’ve been wanting out of a fantasy book lately.

The characters were all so great and I loved all the little goblin guys 🥲. I appreciated that romance was a part of the story but didn’t make up the whole plot. The multiple POV’s were great and flowed perfectly throughout.

I’m already on the edge of my seat waiting for the next in the series because !!!! WHAT AN ENDING! I need more. I am very looking forward to reading more from this author. Their writing style is so unique to me as I can play everything from the book in my head as if it was a movie and I love being able to visualize the books I’m reading so vividly.

Thank you NetGalley & Harper Collins for the E-ARC.

SPOLIERS

Wow.... I didn't realize how much I needed another Lexi Ryan book until I read this.

I was a huge fan of These Hollow Vows duology. Both of those books were a solid 5/5 for me and I loved them so much. This book brought me back into the amazing world that she created and made me feel homesick for being away from it for so long. I loved being able to walk into Jasalyn's life and into the problems that she faced while a prisoner and being able to watch her break out of that trauma slowly in this book. When I tell you though that my jaw was on the floor towards the end of the book and we discovered the dream between Mordeus and Kendrick.... it was on the floor. I did not see that betrayal coming from a mile away. In addition to Jasalyn we got the amazing story of Felicity as well. All I wanted was for her to be happy and the ending left my heart broken. First I cried like a baby when her goblin died for a solid 5 min, then when she took her true form I had a sneaky suspicion that she was the girl Misha was seeing in his dreams, but when it was confirmed and he thought that I was all a trick I cried even more.

I physically can not wait for the next book of this series. I loved this book so much and recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy. Lexi Ryan is a genius and I loved being able to step back into this world once more.

I could not put this book down and I am aching for more already! The stories of Jasalyn and Felicity are so interesting on their own, but the way the two are intertwined is just magical.

There are so many layers to the plot in this that slowly get peeled back, and the revelations along the way are so riveting.

Highly recommend, this is a great continuation from Abriella and Finn's stories. Just really great characters, i love how they burrow into your heart and mind.

These Hollow Vows was a major duology for me last summer, and they were a guilty pleasure! I was stoked to see Beneath These Cursed Stars featured on Netgalley as a Read Now option. These young/new adult fantasy novels are akin to eating candy—you just can’t stop with one. And that addiction certainly hasn’t stopped with this new spin-off book.

If there is one thing Lexi Ryan wields incredibly well, it’s tension. This fae world plays well with the concept of being unable to trust anyone. And that theme continued in this novel; early on, I wrote a note that I “trust absolutely no one” and the tension derived from that gave me the momentum to push through this book.

And I did need to push through this story, which was a result of the plotting. The plot was strongest at the beginning and end of the book—the acts between 15-85% were by far the weakest. While those percentage markers held plenty of characterization and romance progression (more on that later), there wasn’t as great a focus on the main plot. Neither Jas nor Felicity accomplished their respective goals set up in Act I, which was an execution failure for me personally. Instead of this book feeling like its own respective story, it only felt like the first half of a novel which was split into two books.

Since this book had dual perspectives—Jasalyn and Felicity—that means there was half the space to accomplish character and romantic relationship development. I do think the dual perspective is what this novel needed; however, I can’t deny the romantic relationship development suffered because of it. Almost immediately upon Jas and Felicity meeting their love interests—Hale Kendrick and King Misha—the romance was flying on the page in a way that bordered on insta-love. As a regular romance reader, I wanted things to be slowed down for a few chapters in the beginning. The attraction between the four characters could have been refined to better build up (and slow down) the romance throughout the book.

Will I keep reading books set in this world? Absolutely. As I stated in the beginning of the review, these books are like candy, and I truly cannot just stop with one (or three?). I cannot wait to see how Felicity and Jas’s journey concludes, and I hope another book is announced soon!

TW: depression, scarring

Thank you to HarperTeen and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.