I originally added this to my list because it was a pick for a book box that I subscribe to! As soon as I read the description, I knew it had to be in my upcoming reads! Not to mention the cover is GORGEOUS.

From the first, I was sucked into the story of Suraya and immediately liked her. She seemed like someone I’d want to be friends with based on her inner dialogue, but also how she interacted with her bestie, Laleh (who is hilarious). For our leading man, we meet Roshan, and dang, he just stuck with me from the second we saw him on that wall. I could see his cocky smirks and bravado and hear his and Sura’s banter in my mind. I was instantly in love…except for that one thing. That unknown “entity” that popped up every few chapters. I LOVED how this snuck in there and kept me off balance. I pride myself on being able to figure things out before I’m told when reading but these little snips had me doubting everything!!

I was instantly intrigued by both characters and the wonderful foreshadowing/snippets we get that all may not be as it seems, with either character. I highlighted so many little comments and nods and even made notes on my kindle about where I thought things might be going. Some things, I got right, some things I got wrong and a few things I still don’t know, but that last chapter was perfection. It left me hanging on that cliff in a state of mixed emotions!!

The world building is rich and the lore/magic system fully established with deep anchors in the plot (just wait till you meet Vena)! Many characters have secrets and ulterior motivations, which fit in beautifully with that “other” we see occasionally pop up. As I said earlier, I loved the ending even if it was a bit of a cliffy. I was also very excited to see book 2 is already in the works, and with the most perfect name!

📖 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝑯𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒃𝒚 𝑨𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒆 𝑯𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅

“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴.”

This book had me completely enthralled from the very beginning! As a fantasy book sometimes the world building can be a bit overwhelming, but I felt like Amalie tackled it perfectly! The world she created was great.

As with all fantasy books, I know I would pick up on a lot of new things each time I go back and reread it. I fully plan on sitting down with this story again!

“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.”

Suraya, our FMC and main POV for the story, was a great lead. She cares deeply about those she loves and became a fierce protector. She struggles with her new powers during the story but the climax was perfect.

“𝘞𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘺? 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.”

Prince Roshan was a dreamboat! I freaking loved him, he’s a flawed character with plenty of secrets, but at his core he is a protector. The banter between him and Suraya was a highlight of this story! I love them together. This is an open door, spicy slow burn that will leave you wanting more!

“𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.”

There is a surprise POV sprinkled in during the book and it left me wanting more from this character.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘳𝘺𝘯𝘥𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘧***𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘯𝘥.” 🤭

As the first book in the series, this one did leave off on a bit of a cliffhanger. I am so excited for the direction Amalie is taking this story! If you love romantasy stories with a powerful FMC and a story that keeps you guessing, go add 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝑯𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒃𝒚 𝑨𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒆 𝑯𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅, to your TBR today!

𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴:
✨ 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺
🗺️ 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨
🔥 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘍𝘔𝘊
👑 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘹 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳
🤭 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳
👀 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴
❤️‍🔥 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘺 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘯

An absolutely enthralling read!

A deadly contest for a bride brings about an epic quest for truth. With a strong-willed FMC and a "touch her and you die" MMC, your attention will solely be on this novel.

The immense world-building and beautiful character development will leave you wanting more. Every chapter is filled with magic, romance and adventure. There were so many twists that left me squealing!

ACOTAR meets Prince of Persia in this delightful and sensual book.

Highly recommend if you love these tropes:
✨️ soul-fated mate
✨️ forced proximity
✨️ touch her and you die
✨️ dark secrets
✨️ hidden magic/powers
✨️ epic quest

🌶🌶
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc!

this started off a tad slow for me but picked up and grabbed my attention during the very bloody bridal trials. i found the magical creatures introduced to be some of the most interesting i’ve ever read in a romantasy setting, and the magical systems with gods was interesting as well.

the romance personally fell a little flat for me — i enjoyed the slow burn at the start, but the rest of the book it did not feel very believable in my opinion.

overall, a good start to a new series!

ARC by NetGalley and the publisher.

25 year old Bladesmith Suraya is no stranger to a forge with her days consisting of crafting deadly weapons imbuded with magic for her many customers. As such she does not spend her free time amongst royals. So when a courtly invitation comes offering her the chance to participate as a contender in the selection process of the Prince’s future wife she is more than surprised. Not wanting to pass up an opportunity of adventure Suraya begins her journey filled with prophecies, old and new gods, noble houses, dangerous trials, and insufferably handsome royals.
With Persian and Indian inspired mythology and lore The Starlight Heir completed had me sold from the very beginning. The cover alone had me absolutely captivated wondering what amazing adventures lay underneath. What I found was a fast paced adventure with an incredibly engaging plot filled with a beautifully detailed backdrop and detailed world building. Admittedly as a long time fan of The Prince of Persia video game series seeing this books Persian influence was everything I had hoped for and more. Suraya as a FMC is sharp, witty, and smart. The rival warring noble houses aspect really had me interested as I am a sucker for some court politics and intricacies. I will say though there were times that the book felt slightly YA with its language and choices and had me forgetting our FMC was 25. However, I still found myself quickly turning pages out of interest in the overall plot and enjoyment of the detailed world and magics. Also while there is a bit of tension and spice I would also say considering the books more YA feel at times that this would probably fall more under the NA category for me personally. Overall this was an immensely fun and vivid new romantasy novel that I greatly enjoyed and can’t wait for the next book.

If you’re looking for a new romantasy with adventure, shadowy gods, prophecies and lore with a bit of danger and court intrigue then you should definitely check this book out upon release.

The Starlight Heir comes out January 7th, 2025.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The story ebbed and flowed but I enjoyed it overall! I absolutely LOVED the magic in it and am so curious about the end and what's to come. I was SAT for the fantasy plot lines that is for sure. My only real complaint was that I didn’t REALLy believe in the romance but that’s probably a me issue...it felt insta lovey but...also...I'm just not convinced! But I'm excited to see what happens!

I struggled with the plot of this book. This first third of the book was pretty pointless since the royal family knew who Soraya was all along and then suddenly she’s off with rebels. The dialogue was also quite jarring with frequent modern references that took me away from the fantasy setting. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the book for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.Unfortunately, Starlight Heir didn’t live up to its potential. The premise of the book seemed promising, but the execution left a lot to be desired.First and foremost, the main character was difficult to connect with. She came across as unlikable and lacked depth, which made it hard to care about her journey or her struggles. The pacing also felt rushed. The plot moved quickly without enough time to develop key relationships or build meaningful tension. Events seemed to unfold too quickly, leaving little room for the story to breathe or for the reader to become truly invested in what was happening.Additionally, the book didn't manage to hold my attention. It felt more like a chore to read than an engaging escape.

When Suraya is summoned to the palace to compete for the heart of the crown prince, she does not expect anything more than an interesting trip before returning home. Ultimately, she discovers that the prince is a brute who has brought the group of women there for a very specific reason that has more to do with gaining power than a true marriage. While there, she also meets the illegitimate son of the king, Roshan, who she is quickly drawn to.

I really wanted to like this, but it feels very similar to any of the other books in this genre without much to set it apart. The magic system was a bit confusing, and what really took me out of it was the modern language for much of the first third of the book that felt entirely out of place in the world. The romance also felt quickly rushed through and through some hints in the book, it seems like it may be doomed to failure in the rest of the series so it was hard to get fully on board with that, as well.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Starlight Heir's cover reeled me in. I love a good romantasy and this seemed up my alley. It follows Suraya who is invited to the castle to participate in a contest for the Prince's hand in marriage. During the process, she discovers that they were looking to claim her as more than just the Prince's bride.

I enjoyed the world building, the plot and the romance. There are tons of tropes that I LOVE and while I found parts to be confusing at times but overall I enjoyed this book and am excited to see if a second book comes.

3.5. The Persian and Indian mythology was one of my favorite parts of this book. There are many interesting magical characters and components which I really enjoyed. The MMC and FMC are both great characters and I liked seeing how their story played out. Some of my favorite parts were the trials at the beginning. There was a lot of tense moments that had me furiously reading to find out what would happen.

While I did enjoy many parts of the book I found the writing not exactly to my taste. It read more like a YA book with spice. I read a lot of YA so that is not an issue for me but many of the phrases came off as very young sounding which took me out of the book in some scenes.

Overall, I will say that I really enjoyed this book. It didn’t have that slow down in the middle that some books suffer from. The entire story was gripping and keeps you on your toes. The last quarter of the book you won’t be able to put down. But I have no idea where things are headed after that ending!

“To save the realm from eternal darkness, she’ll have to choose between the truth and the lie—stand and fight or kneel and die.”

What an amazing romantasy debut from this author. I absolutely loved it. It was fast paced without going too fast and it really held my attention. You feel this book everywhere when you read; heart, mind, and senses.

The characters are complex and multi-dimensional in the best way. You can really feel the tough questions they have to ask as they focus on the choices they have to make. I cannot wait to see where the next book goes.

A very special thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I gave The Starlight Heir 3.5 stars and rounded up to 4.

Suraya is chosen to participate in a competition for the prince's hand in marriage. She is excited to leave her small town to see the capitol city, but things arent as they appear. During the second task, a part of Suraya is revealed that even she didnt know.

I felt that the story was rushed, there were a few plot holes that could have been addressed earlier, and characters made some illogical decisions. I liked the world-building and the magic system. Very good premise.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

Love the premise, worldbuilding, and the cover, but ultimately I did not connect with this story. The modern language in the fantasy setting was not it for me and while I liked the MMC, it was annoying that he knew everything and how to do pretty much everything. The characters are mid 20s which was a nice touch but they still acted like 18-19 year olds. I think this story has good bones and good ideas but ultimately was not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Harper Voyager for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I've been a lover of Howard's work for a long time. I especially love when she delves into the fantasy world. So to say I was excited to read this one when given a chance is an understatement.
I'll start with the cover because how cay you not? Even if I didn't know Amalie's work, I would pick this book up and buy just based on the gorgeous cover.
Amalie continues to impress by building a unique magical world within her book. I'm always excited to be introduced to new folklore and this one definitely fit that bill. I don't know much of Persian or Indian mythology but Howard does a nice job of creating a world where we understand the background and what it means to the characters and their development within the story. So many different concepts to explore and enjoy.
The pacing was well done with this book. I didn't feel bored when reading it and I definitely wanted to know what was next every time I had to put it down to do something else.
The FMC, Suraya Saab, is well done. She's funny and interesting and easily relatable for the reader. I liked her view on life and also loved her loyalty to family and close friends. I loved her profession but, being a bladesmith seems like it would come with a bit more "badassery" than I felt from the actual character. She wasn't strong in that respect, kind of keeping to herself when I felt like such a character would be a bit more brash and loud mouthed. The MMC, Roshan, was most of all funny. I loved that he could easily get Suraya to laugh. I will say the romance seemed just a bit forced for me. I wanted a bit more development and conflict with the characters but it wasn't truly there. He fell for her a little faster than I would have liked but at the same time his knowledge of who she was and what she could possibly do for him were floating about. It seems his intentions were not all on the up and up from the get go. But their banter is really quite fun and it's what made me feel the relationship was true.
I really enjoyed the secondary characters. Some I was sad to see go and others I wanted to see GONE! There's definitely villainy in this story. There's even a bit of a Hunger Games feel to how the book begins with the girls needing to prove their worth to the crown prince in order to become his selected wife.
So why not 5 stars, you say? I know the book is marketed as an adult romantasy and in all honesty, I just didn't get that vibe with it, despite the characters being in their 20s. It really did had a younger feel to me even with the spice infused into the story. If that spice was not there, I would not have thought of it as anything but a YA fantasy. I would definitely tell people this felt more like an older YA or even NA book with adult themes. This part of the execution fell a little flat for me. I'm hoping the second book leans more towards that adult theme the author was going for. I also found some parts of the story to be rushed. While Howard does a good job showing us the world, I needed to spend more time in some of the spaces to really understand the mythology behind what she was presenting.
Overall, I'd recommend this one and I'm excited to see where Howard is going to take the second book in the series.

Such a beautifully written story! I loved the characters and found them so interesting. I always love a good self-discovery storyline. The world building and pace of the book was good. I haven’t read much Persian mythology inspired books, but that part was really interesting. Overall, a good story and I’m interested in seeing where things go from here.

eARC Review: The Starlight Heir by Amalie Howard 🌟

Look, when I see a blurb that says something remotely like “inspired by ______ mythology/folklore” I honestly don’t pay attention to anything else. This is one of those occasions, and I can happily say I’m quite pleased with how this one turned out. ✨

The story follows Suraya, a 25-year-old self-taught blade smith who gets a mysterious summons to the palace for a bride competition. Much to her horror, it turns out to be anything but that. I overall liked her characterization: tenacious but with a level head on her shoulders and while quick to anger, she’s still looking for the good in people. I really hoped to have gotten more insight into how she got so well with bladesmithing with no outside help, but oh well. 🗡️

The main love interest of Roshan is charismatic and the holder of a lot of secrets. I felt like the attraction between the two felt a little rushed here and there honestly and would’ve enjoyed a slower burn between them. But again, this is just a personal thought as I find myself more drawn to uber slow burns of romantic fantasy than anything. 👑

The other little thing for me was the pacing. I kind of feel like the action comes right out of the gate and then lulls for a bit in the middle. I think if the beginning was a little more drawn out, I might’ve enjoyed the whole “battle of the would be bride” more. 💍

All in all though, I liked the use of star charts and the stars themselves, and the sprinklings of Indian and Persian mythology here and there. I’ll definitely need to dive deeper into Persian mythology as it’s one I’m not familiar with, but would love to be more acquainted with in the future! 😍

Big thank you goes out to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for accepting my request to read this in exchange for an honest review, and to the author, Howard, for a great start to an exciting duology! Can’t wait for the sequel! ❤️

Publication day: January 7!

Overall: 4/5 ⭐️

So this book was marketed as adult romantasy. But as I was reading it, it seems like should be marketed as an YA fantasy without the adult themes.

There was a lot of moments that just screamed YA and not adult. So after 16%, I did DNF.

I don't think the book was necessarily bad but I have never been a fan of YA fantasies so this wasn't a win for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this arc!

I'm not sure what happened. I had such high hopes for this, and maybe that was where I went wrong. But something about this just didn't hit for me that way I thought it would. It had all the right elements and yet . . . I think it was the pacing and the abundance of modern slang and phrases that really did me in. I felt like the book dragged, but that could just be a me thing. I'm not sure if people would disagree or not, but there were several times that I found myself wishing things would just pick up. As for the modern slang and phrases . . . well, this is a fantasy world. I don't mind a few, but there was a lot in here. In my opinion, if you want to use modern slang and phrases for a fantasy world, you should modify it so it fits better in the world.

The MMC was probably the only reason I stuck with the book until the end---that and I liked the world as a whole. I thought it was well developed and I enjoyed the magic system, even if there were a few times I was a little confused (which, honestly, might have just been my small brain not working). Otherwise I would probably have DNFed it, which would have been disappointing, but not every book is going to be a hit.

I think that if you enjoy slower paced books and a rich fantasy world, then you'd like this.

Loved the POC aspect here and the middle east and Indian influence were beautifully depicted. That said, the plot and pacing could have used some work and overall, I was left slightly disappointed with this book. But I think I will be continuing the series if there is a sequel announcement. Also, the modern slang was grating at times