Nothing truly grabbed my attention enough for me to become fully immersed in the story. I want to feel everything along with the characters and unfortunately it wasn't there this time. I think I needed more world. building in the beginning to truly get a sense of where the characters were in time and space because some of the modern words/phrases really took me out of the story. Because of this I was confused about what time frame the story was in, the daggers and kingdoms said historical but the words said more modern. The story itself was good but I have to feel for the characters in my heart and soul to fall head over heels for a book.

4/5

This book was such a fun delight!!! It’s fast paced and absolutely action packed, and never has a dull moment. We have a fantastic main character in Suraya. She’s funny, kind, and actually smart. Like she didn’t annoy me at all in this book which was IMPRESSIVE. Now, I will say u hated the love interest, Roshan. He was so annoying.
BUT DARRIUS?!!! OH I AM SO INVESTED IN HIS CHARACTER ALREADY. Praying Roshan gets booted out and Darrius takes center stage in book 2.
Although I wasn’t a huge fan of the ending (I prefer my fantasy novels to have a continuous plot) I adored the lore of the world and all the different political things going on.
Will be waiting for book 2!!

I enjoyed this read with all the action-packed, chaotic energy flowing throughout. Additionally, while I loved the premise, the plot, and the magic system, the characters felt slightly superficial, and some of their decisions drove me insane! Another thing that made it hard for me to fully dive into the beautiful world the author set up was the use of current phrases and modern slang. Overall I did enjoy reading and I would definitely read the next in the series!

Every millennium a goddess is reborn, but her evil twin can also appear, wrecking the world. Suraya Saab doesn’t know she is The Starlight Heir (paper from Avon). She is a blacksmith specializing in magical weapons who is working on a knife that can cut through anything. Then she gets an invitation to a ball that she thinks is a joke. The new king is looking for a bride, and for a lark she decides to taste the decadence and luxury of the palace. At first everything is as she expected with dozens of girls in attendance. There’s even a cute Bastard prince to flirt with. At the first ball, girls who can’t answer a riddle are sent to a dungeon, and then they are all thrown into a gladiatorial pit to fight a monster, that’s when her powers appear. The king and his mother have been looking for her to marry her and cut out her heart so he can become the evil god. Of course she has to escape and learn to use her powers. This easily could have been a paint-by-numbers tale, but Amalie Howard makes it exciting and interesting. Recommended.

Suraya, has the unique and forbidden ability to embue jadu - the last source of magic in the realm - into her work at as a bladesmith. She is summoned by invitation to the palace to participate in trials to possibly become a bride for the crown prince. Suraya having no interest in becoming a bride, sees the potential for adventure and decides to grab it with both hands. After getting to the palace, she meets the crown prince’s swoon-worthy and irritating half brother, Roshan. The trials begun and well, things get deadly and go sideways real quick!

The plot was fun, fast-paced and the main characters were interesting. The world building of this Persian/Indian inspired mythology was well done and not too info dumpy. It was more plot driven than smut driven, and for me that’s always a plus. I like smut but I want it earned! There was only one explicit, spicy scene and it was good sexy times. The connection between the characters was there in that moment. I also enjoy some wild, deadly trial scenes. I love seeing the craziness an author comes up with and these didn’t disappoint.

I will say it didn’t have me feverishly turning the page the way I wanted it to. It felt a bit YA at times and the love story was almost there, but was missing that little something. The plot twists and hidden identities were a bit too obvious for me. Also, I was intrigued by all of the side characters but I’d like to see more from them in book 2. They felt very underdeveloped.

One last small thing - I was given the sense that this was a historical setting but then at times modern terms and slang were used. It didn’t ruin the story for me by any means but it did seem out of place.

Thank you to Avon, Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this ARC.
Overall, I enjoyed myself and that epilogue has me curious for a sequel, is there perhaps a possible shadow daddy on the horizon? But honestly, I’m not sure if I’ll pick up the second book or not. It fell a little flat for me and was missing a little emotional connection.

Tropes:
- Forbidden Romance
- Prince MMC
- Chosen One
- Hidden Identities
- Trials
- Hidden Powers
- Magical Creatures
- Potential Shadow Daddy??

I loved The Starlight Heir! This was a very well done and lush romantasy debut. I enjoyed the mythology aspect woven into the story as well. Our library purchased this book and we have recommended it to patrons looking for romantasy.

I wanted to love this book. I really wanted to love it.
but I didn't

The cover is stunningly beautiful.

The synopsis and premise of the book sounded right up my alley. But unfortunately that's where it stopped.

The main character very much acts the way you would expect the MC in a YA novel to act, despite being an adult. IT reads like a YA novel, but to my knowledge it's not. Suraya was incredibly naive and oblivious to quite literally EVERYTHING right in front of her. I didn't get it.

Despite the setting of the novel, characters would use phrases or expressions from modern day contemporary times and it was honestly quite jarring and pulled me out of the novel setting. Things like "resting bitch face" or "thick thighs save lives" or "princesplaining" - that last one was quite cringey.

this one just wasnt a hit with me.

A fun, fast-paced Romantacy! I enjoyed the story and the characters Amalie created as well as the relationship between Suraya and Roshan. I thought the arc of Suraya's character throughout the novel was well done. The worldbuilding and magic system were very intriguing.

However, I do wish there had been more tension between Suraya and Roshan before they got together, and I felt that there wasn't enough reason, at least from Suraya's POV (even though the reason is revealed later), for her and Roshan to not be together, which made the relationship fall a bit short.

The novel was mostly focused on the romance rather than fantasy, and I felt myself wishing we got a bit more plot-wise.


3.5 Stars

2.5

I had the opportunity to hear Amalie Howard speak on a panel last fall and she spoke about this book and it sounded interesting and she spoke very passionately about it, but unfortunately, I didn’t really work for me and I’m sad.

I think Howard has a very voicey writing style, and in the one historical that I’ve read from her it didn’t bother me because it was very clearly a historical with modern sensibilities like it was a take on 90s romcom movies but make it Regency. Here, though it felt too Not Fantasy so I struggled to care about the fantasy elements and the world wasn’t explained enough for me to really care about the fantasy elements, but I also didn’t really care about the characters enough to care about the romance.

To be completely honest I finished this book 2 days ago and I don’t really remember much of what happened. Ultimately very sad that it didn’t work for me, but I think it will work for the romantasy fans who don’t really care about the fantasy part. And in the meantime, I will finish her Taming of the Dukes series, and maybe check out some of her other historicals.

The Starlight Heir by Amalie Howard should be getting a lot more love from fans of Fourth Wing, The Hurricane Wars and even SJM readers.

I loved how Howard built her fantasy world with elements from different cultures, while also maintaining a readable and well written story. I could not put this down, and the chemistry between Suraya and Roshan was red hot. I loved her writing style in Queen Bee, and it shines in this genre.

This is the first in a series. Don’t overlook this if you read romantasy- I think it’s a strong start that has the potential to get better and better.

Thank you Amalie Howard, @avonbooks @netgalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for my honest opinion. I can’t wait for the sequel!

QOTD: What are you reading?
#romantasy #fantasy #thestarlightheir #amaliehoward

Absolutely stunning and brilliant writing! I loved the magic system so much! Our FMC is a badass. At first I thought this book was going to be another "trials" book but the twists and turns had me on the edge of my seat throughout.

I think this is maybe YA more than adult but the adult themes make it adult - it's the writing though and the way the story flows that makes it more YA. I enjoyed the world building - and the characters were very likable and relatable. However, I wish that the relationships had just a bit more depth in them, I think then the story would have held more of an emotional attachment or reaction with it. Even so the book is great. I loved the mythology in it and the mix of other things as well. I look forward to more from Howard in this genre.

I've been a big fan of Amelie Howard's historical romances so I was so hyped for her first romantasy. And overall I did like this, but to me it lacked a lot of her character development and emotional connection her historicals usually have.

If ‘The Selection,’ ‘Spark of the Everflame,’ and ‘Red Queen,’ had a baby, it would be this book.
You have all of our favorite tropes: marriage competition, enemies to lovers, broody MMC, underdog FMC (who of course is actually a badass), chosen mates, fated destiny, etc etc.
Overall, I really enjoyed the storyline and am really looking forward to book 2. I have a feeling there will be some big revelations to come.

When Suraya is invited to the capital city to be a candidate for the bride to the crown prince, she decides that while she isn’t bride material it would be a fun journey to experience. Suraya never could have expected the adventure that comes as the rebel militia attacks and she finds herself on the run with the prince’s illegitimate half-brother, Roshan.

This book was the perfect read for today’s political climate as it explored the darkness of corrupt leaders and provided hope through the magic of the stars…

“There will always be those who covet power - those who pursue the lie to disable and disrupt. You will forever remain one of the champions of light and beacon to those wandering few who seek the truth.”

I always have trouble initially starting fantasy novels as the world-building aspect can be difficult to grasp. Still, the challenges presented in the capital city kept me intrigued from the start as well as the budding relationship with Roshan.

I recommend this novel to readers who enjoy romantasy novels with some spice, corrupt kingdoms, and strong FMCs.

Thank you Avon for the physical ARC for review consideration!

I have always been a fan of Greek mythology so I was very interested in this Persian Mythology story and I was not disappointed! I could not put this down and I can't wait for the world to enjoy it and see it continue. The main characters had great energy and were both likeable. The romance was eh, but I'm not one for only wanting romance and juicy stuff. The tension was 🤌🏻 though. Thank you to Netgalley for this one and I will definitely be buying a copy to have my own!

I feel like three stars is a bit generous of a rating from me. The Starlight Heir didn’t have many unique elements and felt like your usual cut and dry adult romantasy where the MMC “betrays” the FMC through lies of omission for her own protection. I’m SO tired of this trope, please put me out of my misery!!! I think the magic system has a ton of potential, but the lack of expansion or explanation caused it to fall short. Basically, this felt like every other romantic fantasy out there and nothing really made it stand out to me.

Thank you to Avon, NetGalley, and the author for sending me an early copy!

I think this is officially the end of the road for me a romantasy which is unfortunate because I really enjoy fantasy and romance but I just can't read the same poorly written characters in an under developed word over and over again. And can we stop with the slutty bisexual characters for obligatory queer rep?!? Why does everyone have a sassy bi friend who sleeps with anyone with a pulse. (No shade to being bi or even being bi and slutty, I myself am bi I just can't keep reading this exact same one dimensional character over and over again.)

I honestly hope this series gets better and romantasy in general finds it's footing because I really want to enjoy it but this just felt so surface level YA I'm not like other girls from the jump and I could not get into the story or characters at all.

The world building a bit hard to get into, but I did enjoy the story! I wish we got more of the shadow daddy god though! I’m guessing in the next book we will get more info on him.

This book had a lot of promise—a badass bladesmith, secret magic, a broody love interest, and a dark god thrown into the mix. The setup was intriguing, and the romance had just the right amount of spice (not too much, not too little—it hit the mark).

That said, I had a hard time really getting into the world. The characters felt modern, like they were straight out of our world, and the way they talked didn’t match the whole fantasy vibe. It made it hard to stay immersed, and honestly, it made the story feel a bit young. It had this YA energy, even though it tried to lean more adult in some parts.

On the plus side, the story moved fast, and there were plenty of twists to keep me interested. Suraya had that fiery, independent streak I liked, and Roshan brought the moody, mysterious vibes. But overall, I wanted more depth to the world and the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book!