Woo hoo! What a ride! Amalie Howard is one of my favorite writers of historical romance, so when I saw she had an ARC available for her first fantasy novel, you bet your butt I ran to request it.

I’ve read her entire backlist, so I know she’s a fantastic writer. I was curious about her fantasy talents. Lawd have mercy. She’s so good at what she does.

This world she’s building using her brain inspired by Persian and Indian mythology is intricate and beautiful and deadly.

Suraya is the daughter of a tavern owner and has a true talent for bladesmithing. She’s stunned when she receives an exclusive invitation to the royal court. The prince has decided to marry and 100 women have been invited/summoned to court. While there she meets Roshan who is perhaps more than he seems to be.

There is a stunning amount of violence, deception, betrayal, and romantic tension. All the things that make a great romantasy.

There were a few things that threw me out of the story (some modern turns of phrase mostly), but overall I am well-pleased and am champing at the bit to get to the next book.

I received this eARC via #netgalley and @avonbooks. All thoughts are mine alone.

#tomance #fantasybooks #fantasybooks #romantasy #thestarlightheir #amaliehoward #bookrecs #bookreview #bookstagram

It took me a little bit to get into this book, but once I did the story really moved. I found the plot intriguing and the conflict kept me guessing.
Something I had trouble with was the use of modern slang in a fantasy world. It's not my cup of tea, but still not a deal breaker when the plot is this interesting.
I had a lot of love for the MMC. He is very charming, and I can easily forgive him for his wrongdoings because he had good reasons. The FMC, on the other hand, had me annoyed at times, but in the way where she has a good amount of room to grow as a character, and I look forward to seeing her journey.
Near the end of the book I started to wonder if I'd been mistaken and it was a standalone, but then it made sure to remind me about all the loose ends still out there and got me very excited to read the next book and see where this goes.
Overall, a solid series starter with an interesting magic system and lots of intrigue.

Thank you to Avon, Harper Voyager, and Netgalley for the ARC.

Book Fort Rating: 3 Stars
Is it building the Book Fort? It's welcome to visit, but... nah.

Let's first start this rating by saying that Amalie Howard has a great imagination, and her ideas for <i>The Starlight Heir</i> are really engaging and creative. I enjoyed the world that she's starting to build here.

Now that that's said, let's get into it - the good:
- The world of Endara is beautiful. I honestly wish I'd gotten more descriptions of the world and the setting, because every time we did I was so interested by how vivid and beautiful everything was.
- I overall loved our main character, Suraya. She's witty, strong, and (most of the time) isn't taking crap from anyone. And this isn't done in the "main character who's just 'THE BEST AT WHAT S/HE DOES'" way - she starts out rather ordinary, only to find out that unbeknownst to her, she really is extraordinary.
- The villain of the novel is actually frightening - and a bit stomach-turning, honestly. I do not want to get caught with them in a dark alley, and that makes the book feel like it has much higher stakes. In general, the characterization of the book is done well.

So why 3 Stars?
- Honestly, my biggest gripe with this book is the pacing. I think this could be due to the fact that it's the first in a series, but I frequently had long stretches of the book that seemed to drag. Then, just once I thought the plot had really picked up, it slowed down again. The effect here is that events feel almost out of order and rushed (especially at the end).
- As a fantasy reader, I was really thrown off by some of the diction used. There was a lot of code-switching from more formal, high fantasy-esque language to very modern and uncouth turns of phrase. It was jarring for suspension of disbelief.
- I was really thrown off by some of the interspliced chapters with clearly a future main character. I think the point here was to show the connection that exists between them and Suraya, but unfortunately it felt like a lost plot thread at the end of the book.
- Lastly, I think one of the main goals of the book is to focus on the effects of choice, and our ability to make choices for ourselves (rather than following fate/destiny). But some of those interspliced chapters and the general *vibes* of the book make me think we could renege on that in future books, so I couldn't fully attach myself to that "lesson."

Overall, I did enjoy The Starlight Heir, but I do think as a reader that I am more drawn to fantasies with romance elements, rather than romances with fantasy elements. I think the series will also better hit its stride in book two. If you're a fan of rivals/guy annoying the crap out of a girl to lovers, mythology-based romantasies, flawed/realistic (and lovable) characters, and light fantasy world-building, give this one a look!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager, Netgalley, and Amalie Howard for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this one but I struggled to get through it and eventually had to DNF @ 30%. I believe this story is for someone else but not me and that’s okay!

Spicy and entertaining. I like that the MC is a blacksmith and fuller figured. I also like the occasional viewpoint from "God of Night". A lot of really cool concepts, too, like soul-fated and the bits about the gods and hierarchy of them as well as the different Houses and what they represent.

First, I'd like to extend a big thank you to the author, Amalie Howard, the publisher, Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy of this YA romantasy (lower spice)/enemies-to-lovers novel. I will share my review to Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes & Noble upon release. I was immediately caught by the cover, which I think has a cool color scheme and drew my eye. I like fantasy novels with elements of romance, and this one checked all those categories.

When an invitation to the palace in Kaldari shows up to Suraya's door, she is thrust into an adventure she should be forever changed from. Suraya is imbued with one of the last forms of magic in the realm. She finds out there's a deeper meaning to the contest she's been invited to, and then also finds herself running away with a love interest (Roshan) and they have great flirty banter surrounded by some Persian mythology and worldbuilding. There's some good action and adventure, but overall, I felt the writing style aligned more with a cozy fantasy than higher fantasy or mythological fantasy style. There's good pacing and the plot moves forward at a brisk pace, I just wish there was more worldbuilding, political description, or I felt more deeply about the characters by the end. The main character wasn't my favorite,

I would recommend to those who enjoy YA romantasy that don't like too much detail or description but are in it for the plot

3.5 stars, rounding up!

Did I finish this book in one day? Yes
Did it meet my expectations? Unfortunately not

The premise of this was initially what drew me in. A fantasy romance with Persian and Indian mythology- that and the amazing cover! A fox with wings?? Sign. Me. Up. Sadly what was inside didn’t equate to the premise or cover. I was left…wanting more than what I got.


I liked what we got of the worldbuilding, though it could have been executed better. The inclusion of the different gods and star charts was a nice touch. The big problem for me was the writing.

The writing was pretty bad. The story is fast paced but oddly I was left wanting more?? A lot was happening but at the same time felt like nothing at all? It was a reoccurring plot. We run for our lives, we talk, we get distant and repeat. I kept hoping something more would happen to no avail. The trials were a twist and something I didn’t expect, they were enjoyable.

The dialogue of the characters felt like it didn’t fit into the time the story takes place. We’re in a time of royalty and people are sorted into houses…yet they say things like “champ”, “princesplain” (instead of mansplain), “don’t threaten me with a good time”, “touché”, etc. All things too modern to fit into the timeline of the story.

The pacing while fast paced, was thrown off during these insanely weird and makes no sense random chapter cut scenes with the FMCs shadow daddy??? And we get virtually little to no explanation about those. And they only are about 3-4 pages long. HUH?! This really threw me out of the story, literally- I was practically thrown out of a 3 story building reading these. Also for mythology being a selling point in this story, I felt there wasn’t much of it.

I liked the characters…enough. The romance felt bland, like everything we’ve read before 20 times over. The FMC got on my nerves a few times. For supposedly having intelligence, whenever she would question something about the MMC she would end up making excuses for him and move on with her life. Then when the big thing happens, she’s shocked?! Girl, he was behaving off. The. Whole. Time *proceeds to do a strangling motion* I can’t do this today. Oh and let’s not forget the princes mansplaining at times. That was a joyride.

Overall, I liked the premise of the book. Points to the author for it. I feel it would’ve benefited from a slow down, to really take the time to dive into a deeper story with then explanations needed for readers to fully comprehend what was going on.

~ A special thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to receive an ARC of this book~ 😊

This was a 4 star for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the world building and the story development of this book. The Persian and Caribbean mythology was amazing. It kept me interested. I loved the character development of the FMC and the cliffhanger for the MMC. I love that this book gave you closure while also leaving you wanting more. The FMC is the Starkeeper, she holds a powerful being inside her and has to learn how to wield that power. Meanwhile she’s falling for the illegitimate heir of the King while the legitimate heir is trying to force her into marriage for ulterior motives. The FMC & MMC escape and have a whole adventure while they’re on the run, and things come to a head with a great battle scene at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc.

There was much to enjoy in this YA fantasy romance, and enjoy it I did. The Persian-inspired fantasy world, the FMC who was fully-realized and wholly likable, the enemies-to-lovers aspect of the romance full of tension and banter, and the pacing were all well done. Truthfully, though, and what kept this book from a 5th golden star, is that I feel that I've read this book before, in dozens of different iterations. There was no truly unique aspect to it, nothing surprised me, and the writing was simplistic and average, doing a bit too 'tell' vs. 'show'.

That said, it was an enjoyable and easy read, and I do recommend for fans of YA fantasy.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Voyager for the ARC. I'm always excited to read fantasy inspired by Indian and Persian culture, so I immediately requested the book. Unfortunately, I think only people who have never read a fantasy book will like this story. I liked the prologue as I am a fan of stuff from ancient history is actually really relevant today trope. I also don't mind chosen one and prophecy tropes. In fact I like a lot of the so called cliches typically found in YA fantasy as long as the execution is done well. But this book was just cliche after cliche, the closest it came to originality was the fact that the food and names were inspired by Indian and Persian cultures, but beyond that, there was nothing that interested me in this book. The main character is a classic example of I'm not like other girls. The love interests are just beautiful cardboard cutouts of people. The plot is infuriatingly boring and generic.

Amie Kaufman brought up a great point.
A duology or story with more than one book should have a good arc conclusion in the first book and overall arc conclusion of the entire series.
I felt like the main POV didn’t have much growth in this book. Her internal struggle was just so hard to relate to because she was being a hard head and stubborn.
Overall it was okay story telling but the world building was nonexistent and ending was okay? It fell flat for me. I heard this was a duology but I’m not interested in proceeding further with this series

The Starlight Heir had a solid basic plot. I think I was just disappointed by how the plot was developed. Sura is a bladesmith. She gets invited to the palace, along with many other women, because the Prince is looking for a wife. There are a series of trials which the women are told they must pass successfully in order to be considered. Sura isn’t interested in marrying the Prince. She just wanted to see the palace, along with its forge and library. She catches the eye of the Prince’s illegitimate half-brother Roshen, who is way better than the Prince in every way. Sura finds out the real reason behind these trials- the Prince and his evil mother are looking for the Starkeeper, someone born with the power of the old gods, a matrilineal trait that has been nearly eliminated from the population by the royal family. The evil queen wants to use this power to resurrect the god of the dead, Fero, and use the god to rule over everyone. Rebels attack the palace and Sura and Roshen escape. Their relationship develops during their escape. They team up with the rebels and are pursued by many people. Sura learns about her powers and how to control them. There are a few plot twists that weren’t really surprising. There is one explicit spicy scene and one mild one, although there are several scenes where characters talk about sex or just traded sexual innuendos. The setup of the plot and the setting seemed like fantasy (villages, palaces, royals, horses, blacksmith as a trade, taverns, swords) but some of the conversations were more modern with phrases like “thick thighs save lives” and referring to a female character having “resting b**** face”. I really enjoyed Amalie Howard’s Queen Bee so this was kind of a let down for me.

I’m a fan of Howard. I consumed QUEEN BEE in one day - I thought it was delightful. I find her writing incredibly digestible. Her words peel very easily off the page. And I found STARLIGHT equally read-able.

STARLIGHT shares some narrative similarities with the RED QUEEN series and, like QUEEN, I think STARLIGHT could have benefited from being stretched out over several tomes - to give it more room to breathe and settle. In its current form, the tale feels abbreviated - as if corners had to be cut to fit it into one book. There are dizzying fast-forwards when we start new chapters. We don’t get much opportunity to take in new locales when we arrive in them. It’s difficult for stakes to build when you know you’re about to be whisked away somewhere new in a short while. I also never fully understood the mythology or magic system of this world. It didn’t impede my enjoyment of the book, but there is a lingering sense that certain elements aren't fully baked.

I would also argue that the tone isn't adult, but very much YA. Which isn’t a bad thing! But it does cause those moments that contain gruesome violence and explicit s*xytimes (which do NOT disappoint btw!) feel jarring because they don’t quite fit in with their surroundings. Lastly, I don’t tend to mind modern phrasing in fantasy reads, but there is so much of it coming from Sura that I would argue it threatens to take the reader out of the narrative.

The world building is a generic and vague mix of this, that, and the kitchen sink, leaving me with no real impression of what anything looks like, what cultures — if any — are present, or any sense of the world beyond Roshan and Suraya’s immediate ‘banter.’ There are portals, erotic dreams where Surya meets a shadow daddy with obligatory shadow magic and talented tentacles, a weather system knowledgeable and common enough that Surya can easily classify how powerful a local cyclone is, goggles and magic swords. It’s everything and nothing in equal measure and I struggled to stay focused long enough to trudge through reading it.

There is also a lot of cursing — which is fine — but it’s the obligatory fantasy swears here and there before that’s pushed side and it’s back to a more modern, garden variety. Phrases such as “don’t threaten me with a good time,” “touché,” or “champ” are tossed around in a way that really makes me think that zero effort was put into the world, which … well, I’ll be honest. It’s disappointing.

Every character sounded exactly the same, the plot was overly familiar and while the writing style is fine, it’s only fine. There’s no additional sparkle or wit or humor to it. There’s also a giant carelessness about the people in this world. For example, there’s a scene between the crown prince and the red-headed woman reads vaguely like rape — with the element of “if she comes, it’s not rape” — but Suraya and Roshan just walk way because the girl in question went willingly to flirt with and sleep with the crown prince, and thus it’s not their business if she’s willing, or safe.

Then came the scene where Roshan mansplains blacksmithing to Surya. Who is a blacksmith. Because Roshan knows everything. And … that’s when I bailed. I’m not interested in the characters, or the story, or the lack of a world. What I had been interested in was the idea of a character with her own strength, of a blacksmith who knew how to make magic weapons and wield and break a magic metal. Instead this book ended up being a tepid romantasy that left me flat.

Maybe other readers will enjoy this book, but there’s neither anything here to hold me, nor anything here for me to recommend. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for giving me an ARC to review.

3.5 stars. Liked the world building and thought the plot was engaging enough. Wish we got more of her skills as a blacksmith and background through out more of the story. I was much more interested in Darkness and how their relationship will develop. The twists seemed predictable, but I stayed till the end.

This is a romantasy/war story. Long prophesy of magic and star charts. It states whoever holds/contains the starlight power can become a new god. You have a king that is dead and a queen and her son trying to seek out the true Star light heir.

You have talks of soul-fated mates
Magic
war
Illegitimate prince who rebels and steals his brothers chosen wife
FMC who is badass and doesn't know it until it is pulled out of her
Deceit
Love
Family

Rating: 5 stars

Tropes: Chosen One FMC, Forced Proximity, Friends to Lovers

This book was exquisitely written! Amalie Howard gave us a refreshing, fast paced romantasy with a wonderful glimpses into Persian mythology! One of the strongest elements of this novel was the character development. We truly get to walk that fine line of what makes a hero or a villain and see our heroine wrestle with her morality in a way that is not often seen. It is clear much thought and work went into this story with the pacing, overall plot development, and eloquent prose. In her debut romantasy novel, Ms. Howard shows us that she cannot be contained to just historical!

If you’re looking for a new romantasy novel that is guaranteed to knock your socks off and leave you hungering for more, be sure to pick up this one!

The worldbuilding was intriguing and the pacing kept you on the edge of your seat! You quickly became fans of the main characters and desperately wanted to claw out the eyes of the antagonists (lol), and for good reason, as the stakes are consistently life or death in this action-packed novel. The magic system was quite interesting as well and I kept flipping the pages to see what would happen next!

I was captivated by the mythology surrounding this book and the overall story line progression. I appreciated that the author wrote a strong female character who embraced her powers and was confident in herself. The banter between the FMC and the MMC was top tier. If a reader is looking for action, magic, and romance with some spice, I strongly recommend this book. The ending has me eagerly waiting for the sequel.

In this enthralling story of love, lies, and self-discovery, Suraya, a gifted blacksmith, finds herself unexpectedly summoned to the palace. As she ponders the invitation's significance, she uncovers a cryptic conversation between her father and their cook, touching on magic, protection, and hidden truths. An eerie encounter with an old woman at the Inn, marked by riddles and palm readings, deepens the enigma. The charming Roshan, shrouded in secrecy, draws Suraya in. This rapidly unfolding narrative artfully balances character revelation with tension, providing partial clarity while sustaining curiosity. While the tale concludes effectively, it sets the stage for a potential continuation, leaving certain inquiries unresolved.

I am truly grateful for being able to explore this new world and can’t wait to see what comes next.