This book is the second in its series. Like my typical reading style, I started with the second book of the series without reading the first. This book had a backstory I missed and need to catch up on!
As far as this book, the characters were interesting, and the history and storyline were good. Overall, I enjoyed this book and the adventures of the characters. The ending had quite the blindside and cliffhanger.
My favorite part of the book was the way they explained musical magic, which was very interesting, and I love the idea of musical magic.
I feel invested in this series and am ready for the next book.
Thank you, NetGalley, Harper Voyager, and A.K. Mulford, for the opportunity to read this for an honest review before publication.

I was a little nervous going into this one because I LOVED Calla and Grae so much and I wasn't sure I could do a whole book of Sadie. But luckily I was completely wrong. Sadie is such a solid character and I really enjoyed her part of the story and getting to learn more about her. Nevin was also a surprise for me - there was SO much more to him than I originally thought. I love that this is like a wolf version of sleeping beauty and that I still got some Calla and Grae in this one. I am definitely looking forward to book 3- so much was left up in the air and I can't wait to see where it takes us.

A Sky of Emerald Stars is book 2 of A. K. Mulford’s Golden Court Trilogy. The story picks up shortly after the events of A River of Golden Bones. Calla and their king consort Grae are working to rebuild their kingdom - a place for both wolves and humans - after the defeat of the evil Sawyn. But war is on the horizon. King Nero of the Silver Court will not let the slight against him and his kingdom go unpunished. Unable to get to Calla directly, he takes his wrath out on the humans of his lands. People flee the Silver Court in droves. Things only get worse from there. Ora, Calla’s friend and advisor, goes missing, believed kidnapped by Nero. Navin is hiding something important and it is unclear the extent of his secret and what it could imply. Calla needs allies against those who threaten the world they want to create. Sadie, Navin, and Maez are tasked with the diplomatic mission to bring the Onyx Court to their side, while Calla, Grae, and Briar travel to see the queen of the Ice Wolves. What comes next is a wide sweeping story of love, betrayal, and second chances.

I enjoyed this second installment much more than book one. The story has found its flow and the characters have come into themselves. They had much more depth and personality. Calla and Grae, while still important to the story, take a bit of a backseat. The focus is more heavily placed on Sadie and Navin, which I’m personally glad for. They have quickly become my two favorite characters. Sadie is strong and sassy but still flawed. Navin is much more than the soft musician I thought. Sometimes I want to punch him in the face, but the dynamic between the two of them is largely very cute.

Feeling very YA previously, book 2 finally finds its footing start reading like the new adult romantasy it’s advertised as. The writing is more fleshed out and mature. I enjoyed the writing much more. Unfortunately, the spicy scenes often feel out of place and forced. Calla and Grae are newly mated, I understand, but their timing could be better. It doesn’t add anything to the story. It feels like it’s there to appease the people who complained about the lack of spice in the first book.

I love the gender exploration that takes place. Calla is still coming into their chosen identity and everything it entails. I don’t completely understand why the wolves are slow to accept being nonbinary when they have no issues with same-sex couples (Briar and Maez are both female and fated mates). Also, why does Calla still call themself “queen” of the golden wolves when that is an arguably feminine term? These little things bugged me, but I like the overall representation.

I’m eager to see how the story concludes in the final book.

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Voyager, and A.K. Mulford for supplying me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved how we still got Callas POV but also we got Sadie’s! I didn’t expect to love Sadie as much as I did! Her story is beautiful and seeing her fall in love with Navin was amazing. Sadie is so fierce and loyal to her friends but she also has a soft side especially when it comes to Navin.

There was many twists and turns, and a little bit of spice to keep my attention. I feel like this book flowed better than the first one did! The prose was executed brilliantly!

A Sky of Emerald Stars is the second book in A.K. Mulford’s Golden Court trilogy and I loved the story of Sadie and Navin intertwined with Calla and Grey’s continuing story. This book leaves off a HUGE cliffhanger.

I loved the flow of this book. I feel like A.K. Mulford did an amazing job at the smoothness in transition between characters. I read her first book as an ARC and this one by far was my favorite. Sadie and Navin might be one of my favorite couples and I love the expanse of the kingdoms and the magic systems that are brought up in this book.

I look forward to more from A.K. Mulford for the last book in this trilogy. She brings such a diverse writing with her characters but makes it an enjoyable read for all.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager for an eARC of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

A Sky of Emerald Stars is a delightful follow up to the first book in the golden court series. The authors writing style and character development skills continue to shine brilliantly and I am eager for book three.

A Sky of Emerald Stars is the second book in the Golden Court series and picks up following the events of A River of Golden Bones. It’s told through Sadie and Calla’s POVs as they take on different tasks for Calla’s court. I found Calla’s POV more interesting although both were necessary for the story’s progression. Given the nature of Sadie’s assignment, this book has some of the feels of a first in series. There’s a lot of world building and set up that resulted in a slower pace to the first half. The pacing picks up considerably in the second half. One of the big revelations was something I had guessed at during the events of the first book, but it was nice to see it confirmed. There were other revelations, twists, and betrayals that had me completely blindsided. I can’t wait for the next book.

It's been a while since I read the first book, so I had some trouble getting into this one. The slower pace at the start didn’t help, but as the storyline progressed and picked up, and I became more invested in Sadie's relationship. There’s a lot happening across the two storylines, and I'm looking forward to the next book to see how it all plays out. As always, AK Mulford crafts a fun, diverse, enjoyable read!

Thank you to NetGalley & Harper Voyager for the digital galley in exchange for my review.

A Sky of Emerald Stars is the second book in the Golden Court trilogy and should definitely be read in order. It is told from Calla, the new Golden Court Queen, and Sadie’s, a royal wolf shifter guard, points of view. Calla struggles with leadership and maintaining their Merem identity in this book while dealing with political alliances. Meanwhile, Sadie, Maez, and Navin are on assignment and we follow their journey.

It has been a while since I read the first book and as a result I had a bit of a hard time getting into this one. Being slower paced at the beginning contributed, but it picked up and I became more invested in Sadies relationship. There is a lot of concurrent action across the two story lines and I look forward to reading the final book to see how all of the problems presented are resolved.

Thank you HarperCollins Publishers for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley.

Honestly this was a great sequel. The progression felt natural and even included pov from the original fix. I was invested in Sadie's story and was impressed with the twist in the story that I wasn't expecting.

A very fun read! I enjoyed this book more than the first in the series. I find Sadie a much more compelling character than Calla, so I really enjoyed getting more of her story.

In the second installment of the Golden Court, Sawyn, the evil sorceress, is defeated, but the Golden Court is scrambling to rebuild and there are still threats lingering. Unfortunately, one of those threats kidnaps Ora, and Sadie is tasked to ride with Navin and Maez to win allies and to uncover Navin's secrets. Sadie is absolutely stewing because Navin betrayed her, but Maez suggests she try to seduce him to learn his secrets. Calla and the rest of the Golden Court go to the Ice Wolves to try to make Ingrid, the Ice Wolf pack's queen, help her rescue Ora and keep Nero at bay. Unfortunately, everything is a hot mess, and no one is being helpful and disaster lurks around every corner.

First off: you HAVE to read A River of Golden Bones to understand anything happening in this book. It picks up pretty much right after that one ends, and it is easy to get lost if you don't remember what happened in the previous novel. This book is so angsty with sooooo much betrayal. I honestly don't understand how anyone trusts anyone else in this universe, especially after the twists and turns in this one. Sadie is kind of a mopey, self-centered pain in the ass who fails to see the bigger picture sometimes, but her chemistry with Navin was great. Navin is a very layered character with an interesting background, so it was annoying to see Sadie fall .

There are some issues with pacing, and I found myself skimming a bit, but overall, this was an enjoyable follow-up to the first in the series. The characters act immature at times, but that seems to align with other new adult books I've read. The spice, while fairly good, is placed oddly sometimes - the characters seem to use sex as a distraction from life-threatening situations, which can be jarring as a reader. However, the big reveals in this book related to Navin and Ora were more than enough to keep me interested despite any other flaws the book may have had.

I really loved the expanding story, world and characters we get to see through the dual POV. We also have the continuation of Calla's relationship while simultaneously getting to see Sadie grapple with Navin's betrayal and her feelings for him.

The villains were realistic in their beliefs, and behavior. The parallels they draw to real life are humbling, and had me seeing red.

Watching Calla slowly destroy themself to appease others hit a little too close to home. Once again proving how similar Calla and myself are.

The idea that songs and music carry magic is beautiful. I can't wait to see more of it in the next book.

The story has a dramatic and not too happy conclusion, The two final battles appeared to be mirrors of each other in different regions. Both had my anxiety at an all time high!

Full of misadventure, political qualms, brewing war, steamy romance and plentiful betrayals this book had everything I wanted and I cannot wait for book 3!

A Sky of Emerald Stars is book two in the Golden Court series, following A River of Golden Bones. Please read A River of Golden Bones before reading this book. They are not stand-alone.

I can say that I was not a fan of the writing style of this book. It switches back and forth between POVs of two different characters, Calla, who was the main character of the last book, and Sadie, who steps up in this book as another main character. Both POVs are told from the first person POV, which adds to the confusion of what is happening to who. It also really halts the momentum of the story often when something happens in one chapter and leaves on a cliffhanger, and then the next chapter is told from the other person's point of view who is doing something else. It really halts the building momentum, which I didn't like. I wasn't able to get invested in one part of the storyline without getting dragged to the other and my attention getting pulled away from what was happening.

The pacing was a bit slow and nothing really major happens that grabs your attention and the book isn't really memorable. I listened to the audiobook completely, and then the second half again, and yet I still can't really remember what happens and nothing really stuck. What I do remember was enjoyable, but I do wish that there were more twists and turns to keep be engaged and more time spent in one POV before moving back to the other. There is also a heavy emphasis on gender roles and gender identity in this book and it goes more in depth into the characters finding out who they are and becoming more comfortable with themselves.

The romance was shoved in your face a lot since they go back and forth between two different couples. Something bad happens? Add in some spice. Need to hide from someone who holds your fate in their hands? Throw in some spice to tempt getting caught because that's more important than your mission and kingdom. There were so many times where it was really not needed and seemed so out of place. The new romance in this book between Sadie and Navin was more of a slow burn than Callie and Grae's in the first book due to unfinished business that the two have but the chemistry is there.

Our side characters were great. I still loved Briar, and how supportive she is of Calla and her new found queendom. I really hope that Briar and Maez are able to actually going to be able to spend more time in peace.

Will I continue this series? Maybe. I enjoyed the first book a lot, but enjoyed this one a little less. I would probably give the next book a read.

Thank you to A.K. Mulford, HarperAudio Adult, and NetGalley for the audio ARC of this book. This is my honest review.

Absolutely amazing. Following book one when Calla took ownership over herself and her people, she's now working with Grae to get a dear friend back from their enemies. Betrayal runs amok in their endeavors, and they split to solve the problems plaguing them.

Sadie is going out of her mind suck at the Golden Court. Not because its bad, it's great, but because she needs to fight and run. So she and Navin, of all people, are sent with Maez on their own quest to help Calla in her quest to create a better world.

Obstacles are thrown in front of both parties at every step of the way. Self growth, growth in relationships, and realizations that although there is a divide in language, humans and wolves are not all that different after all are beautifully written in this novel. As always, A.K. Mulford brings reality crashing into fantasy, focusing on the fight for equality.

A Sky of Emerald Stars by A.K. Mulford delivers an ambitious story filled with political intrigue, self-discovery, and simmering tension. Set against the backdrop of a world striving for peace amidst chaos, the book explores themes of identity, loyalty, and the weight of leadership.

Sadie Rauxtide’s journey as a royal guard thrust into a mission fraught with personal and political stakes is compelling. Her evolving relationship with Navin adds a layer of emotional complexity, though their romance often feels rushed, overshadowing the nuanced exploration of trust and betrayal. Meanwhile, Queen Calla’s struggle to assert their identity amidst political resistance provides a heartfelt narrative thread, capturing the courage required to live authentically in a world reluctant to change.

Mulford’s worldbuilding is rich, with the Golden Court and the Ice Wolf pack vividly brought to life. The stakes are high, and the dual perspectives of Sadie and Calla offer an engaging contrast between battlefield strategy and the delicate dance of diplomacy.

However, the pacing of the story falters at times. Key plot points are introduced and resolved too quickly, robbing moments of their potential emotional impact. Additionally, the narrative occasionally feels overcrowded, juggling too many characters and subplots without giving each the attention it deserves.

Despite its flaws, A Sky of Emerald Stars is a commendable effort, weaving heartfelt themes into a high-stakes fantasy adventure. While it doesn’t fully capitalize on its potential, it’s an enjoyable read for fans of character-driven stories who appreciate a blend of romance, identity, and political intrigue.

In the second book of this series we get a continuation of our story through the eyes of Calla and Sophie. Calla and Grey are navigating their new royalty and in trying to establish their Court, they are threatened by Grey’s father, Nero. They take off in search of allies with Briar and some of their human companions.
At the same time Sophie and Maze take off to another kingdom me Maven, who is hiding something and Sophie must nuzzle up to him to try to figure that secret out while fighting her hurt from his rejection.
Throughout these two separate adventures, both Sophie and Briar end up betrothed to o different wolf royalty, despite their feelings for others.

Again, I overall enjoy the story in this series. I continue to find it to flow well. I was worried with the two POVs in this installment that things would get confusing, but thankfully the two timelines progressed at the same time.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Voyage for this ARC!

5 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Not everything can be solved by stabbing..”

A Sky of Emerald Stars is the second novel in the adult fantasy romance series, Golden Court. Written in dual first person POV, the story follows Calla and Sadie. Calla, our beloved queen from the first novel, and she is in a bit of a pickle. Though they have reclaimed the Golden Court from an evil sorceress it will take to to rebuild and the other surrounding courts are not always making this easier. To make matters worse, one rival wolf pack kidnaps Calla's dear friend, Ora. Unable to be in two places at once, Calla sends Sadie to find Ora while Calla navigates court politics with the ice Wolf pack with a hope of building alliances to stop her enemy, Nero.

Sadie, now a royal guard, has been disillusioned thanks to a betrayal at the hands of a human she cared for. When she is sent on her journey she is further angered to know the very man who betrayed her, Navin, will be joining alongside Maeve to keep the status quo. See the secrets Navin has been keeping appear to be crucial to the Golden Court and Sadie must do whatever it takes to unravel them... Now tensions rise as both Calla and Sadie must unravel secrets, navigate court games, while facing a threat of looming war for the world they know seems to be so much more than it seems...

I had so much fun with this book!

Sadie is absolutely fierce and it shows. She holds a mean grudge and she can fight skillfully. At the same time we do get to explore some vulnerability to her which I enjoyed a lot. She's struggling with her feelings for Navin and finding her place in the world but she refuses to let that hold her back.

Calla, of course, continues to be as amazing as they were in the first book. We get to really explore a more nuanced situation in their character as they balance their freedom of expression as a merem while also navigating court politics where their identity may risk the alliances they believe they need.

I also want to give a shout out to Navin because he is so adorable and sweet but he has such layers to his personality that thrilled me as we peeled them back bit by bit. He may be human but there is so much more to him.

There are also so many other amazing characters we explore in this novel that really fleshed out the world. Grae gets to come back and him and Calla together is an excellent combination. Briar and Maeve were so cute together but don't let that fool you - their journey is a WHIRLWIND. We get more time with Maeve and Briar separately here which drew me in and I am hoping for more time with as the series progresses.

In terms of spice, I would place this novel at 3 spicy peppers out of 5 spicy peppers. There is spice in both POVs. Calla and Grae are an already established couple so we see spice from them earlier on and it is detailed, explicit, and a delight. Navin and Sadie take more time with the angst between them from betrayal but the pay off is wonderful. There is a bit of grit to their spice with domination and control and that really plays well into things. I found their chemistry off the charts!

“You are so beautiful…And powerful and terrifying and completely and utterly hypnotic…”

For the story, I will be honest I wasn't sure where this story was going when I started but it was a thrill of the time. You have Calla trying to navigate court intrigue as they attempt to build an alliance with another world pack and struggling with having to minimize themselves in order to gain favour with this pack. Then, you have Sadie out to find Ora while also gathering Navin's secrets because they believe whatever Navin is hiding is tied to what happened with Ora. There is also the larger looming conflict of the world that has me so excited for how it all comes together. There is plenty of action, mortal peril, and sweet intimacy that helps highlight the strength and vulnerability of our cast and crew. Also so much more fun magic! This book will put you through the paces but you will have so much fun! There is unresolved conflict for book 3 that is a bit cliffy but not for all characters. I am not desperate for book three.

AK Mulford has once again done it! Thank you so much to Harper Voyager for this arc!

Thank you to Avon, Harper Voyager, and HarperAudio Adult, through NetGalley, for an advanced reader copy of the e-book and the audio book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

This was a great follow-up to the first novel in the Golden Court series. I enjoyed this one more than the first. The pacing was better, the characters more comfortable in their skin, and the stakes even higher. The magic system is more thoroughly fleshed out and is unique. At times I found Calla and Grae to be frustrating in the first installment, so I was happy to have shifting points of view here to see the perspective of a new set of "main" characters in what is really more of an ensemble cast situation.

The romance scenes for Calla and Grae felt forced and unnecessary to me. That relationship was already fleshed out in the first novel, and felt to me like it did nothing to drive the plot forward. Admittedly, I skimmed those pages. This is the main reason for my drop to 4 stars for the review.

Navin's character development in this installment is by far my favorite. His development was well paced over the entire course of the book.

I'm excited to continue (complete?) the series in the next installment. The world is really interesting and the characters engaging. I recommend particularly for fans of fantasy, romantasy, kingdoms with power struggles, LGBTQIA+ representation, wolf-shifters, magic systems and fated mates.

I was so excited for the next book in this series and to get back into Calla story. I was slow to get on the bandwagon for Sadie's parts but Sadie story stole the show, for sure. I was a little sad that a lot of Calla parts were so depressing and she lost her bad assed self with Grae. The spice is spicing, I approve. I did have to look back at the character list because for some crazy reason I forgot who was who!!