This book is like cosmic crochet for your brain—but imagine the yarn is made of stardust and rebellion. Our heroine weaves magic patterns that literally change reality, and when those patterns go haywire? Galaxies blink out. The prose sparkles, the stakes climb, and the oppression punches you in the gut. I felt like I was right there, fingers trembling with every unraveling spell. Magic feels earned, wild, and kinda dang scary.

But hey, nothing’s perfect: the weave details can bog you down if you aren’t googling “cosmic thread metaphors” for fun. Some scenes felt like lore overload—like, plot intermission, anyone? And one character gets an emotional breakdown so sudden I had to reread it just to process the mood swing. Still, once the weaving goes nuclear, the payoff is **chef’s kiss**—mind-bending, heart-burning, and visually insane.

**Verdict:** A kaleidoscopic magic trip with massive stakes and dazzling ideas. It slows in the middle, but when it pops? You're in orbit. If you dig brilliant world-building, soul-crunching magic, and emotional rocket fuel, this one's a star. Just buckle up for the info-dive.

"In ancient times, the Elder Wrights breathed their magic into the fabric of the seven seas. Now what was once an ocean of plenty is slowly becoming a sea of death, and the Talin—a race of hidden mages—are beginning to starve."

This was pretty interesting. The writing was a little dull at times, but the ideas and the world-building were good.

Starling’s Weave is a thrilling tale that weaves together elements of magic, piracy, mystery and adventure. Nieve, a young woman without magic in a village teaming with it, has been struggling to find her place. When tragedy strikes, she ventures out into the world in search of the story that could unlock the cure to the blight plaguing her home. On her journey, she meets various individuals that will aide her in her quest - including a dragon, a priestess and a pirate after her heart.

L.E. Sterling does such an amazing job of bringing Nieve’s story to life! The world that she builds around the Talin, the Old Ones and the Elder Wrights is a unique landscape that I would love to get lost in any day. Nieve’s ambition to help her village, and by extension the world, find a cure for the blight plaguing them is valiant. Kier Manseray, the pirate (mutineer) whose ship Nieve is traveling on, is the perfect picture of a dark, somewhat broody, cinnamon roll. Together, they are unknowingly working to the same goal, dancing around each other and discovering the intricacies of the world that surround them.

Magic, pirates, and a fierce heroine—Starling’s Weave is a thrilling upper YA fantasy that delivers nonstop adventure. Nieve, powerless in a fading magical world, is a standout lead: determined, defiant, and easy to root for. The world-building is rich with tension, and the seafaring setting adds a cinematic edge. With its twists, emotional stakes, and slow-burn romance, this is a story that grips tight and doesn’t let go.

Perfect for fans of Shadow and Bone or any reader craving magic on the high seas.

L.E. Sterling's Starling's Weave is a young adult fantasy that immerses readers in a richly crafted world of magic and adventure. The story follows Nieve Septîle, a young woman born without magic in a secluded village of mages, who embarks on a perilous journey to restore vitality to her dying world. Alongside a charismatic pirate captain and a diverse crew, Nieve navigates treacherous seas and uncovers ancient secrets that challenge her understanding of magic and destiny. Sterling's intricate world-building and engaging plot twists captivate readers, offering a fresh take on the fantasy genre. ​

While the novel's pacing may feel slow at times, particularly during the initial setup, the depth of character development and the unfolding mysteries compensate for this, keeping readers invested. The dual perspectives of Nieve and the pirate captain add layers to the narrative, though some readers might find the shifts in point of view slightly jarring. Overall, Starling's Weave delivers a compelling tale of self-discovery, resilience, and the transformative power of stories, making it a worthwhile read for fans of young adult fantasy.

Great characters good storyline. Hooked from the first chapter. Thanks for letting me review. Would continue the series

I received an advanced copy of Starling's Weave from Netgalley and the publisher and am leaving this review voluntarily.

While Starling's Weave had everything I could have wanted in a story, it unfortunately did not meet my expectations. In one of my last reviews, I talked about how confused I was during the book; the same thing happened here. It was extremely difficult to follow what was going on. Don't get me wrong, the story was interesting. Though confused, I did continue reading because I was curious to see where the story was going. I wanted to understand why everything was happening and how the characters would fix the problem. But it was never explained or, at the most, not explained well. Everything about the plot, world, magic, and characters was surface-level.

I honestly have no idea why the big bad was doing what they were doing. Or how they were doing it. This whole part of the story was huge but never explained. This person was the cause of the decline of magic for the entire world, but we have no idea how they did it or why they wanted magic to go away. We meet the person once! One single time. The rest of the time they're just talked about, about how terrible they are and how they're doing all these horrible things. But WHY. Do I always need to know the why? No. But in this case, I had no idea what was happening, and it got frustrating.

I think it comes down to the writing. It was very easy to read but almost too easy. There was no depth, no nuance. The pace was slow until suddenly it wasn't. We had a weird switch between POV chapters where Nieve's were in first person, and Manseray's were in third person. There was insta-love. The magic came out of absolutely nowhere (and somehow, the person knew exactly how to use it?). I could keep listing things, but I think you understand. There was just so much more development that could have been done that wasn't.

A lot of people will like Starling's Weave. It was a good story of self-discovery and adventure. But there were a lot of missing pieces that would have made this story so much better.

“I don’t want to be a goddess. I want to be just a woman.”

The world building takes you on quite a fantastic journey, but not only that, there’s amazing banter & high stakes situation to keep you on edge!

Nieve is a relatable character and she pulled on my heart strings immediately.
Amidst a difficult time, she finds herself ready to shine, despite every odd stacking against her.

Keir on the other hand is a mysterious presence, that keeps you and Nieve on our toes. 🤭

“I keep trying to tell you, Starling. Without you, there’s no such thing as freedom. There is no life without you.”

10/10 recommend!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Starling's Weave is a young adult fantasy. It's told from Nieve and Keir's points of view. Nieve is eighteen. Keir is a twenty-two-year-old pirate captain. The story has elemental magic and a slow-burn romance. Powerful mages also play a big role in the novel.

Nieve was born without magic, unlike the rest of her people and they treat her badly because of this. She wants to know why magic is disappearing. The Elder Wright Mages used to fill the world with magic. Now, her world is dying. Captain Mansaray offers her a ride on his ship. He's handsome and so intriguing! This is where their romance begins. It seems destined that they would meet.

The story gains speed halfway through. You should expect conflict, battles, and fire, plenty of fire. You'll find adventure in a uniquely built world. Nieve and Keir both grow on their journeys of self-discovery. This clean romance is a perfect fit for teens new to fantasy. The ending hints at a sequel that Starling's Weave fans will eagerly await.

So, this book was everything, all in one action, adventure, ooo the plot, great characters. I felt like I was there with the characters. It was a bit slow for me but I did enjoy the book.

The writing was a little poetic for my taste, and I think YA readers may find it that way as well. I just couldn't find myself getting invested in the plot at that point.

Super good Ya romantasy , checking all the right boxes. Is a full pack with action, unique plot , high stakes, one true love . The plot is very well developed, i like the world building and the Magic system immensely. One of my favorite things is that the book is dual pov. Always good when you get both sides. Definitely recommending

2.5/5

I really wanted to love this book, but wow, it just didn’t hit the mark for me. The cover? Gorgeous. The concept? Super intriguing. But the execution? That’s where things fell apart.

The pacing was all over the place; slow for most of the book, then suddenly everything happened in the last chunk, and it felt rushed. The worldbuilding had so much potential, but it never fully came together. I kept wanting more explanations, more depth, more something to pull me in. And the romance? It had its moments, but it was way too insta-love for my taste.

That said, I didn’t hate it. The characters had promise, and I liked the found family dynamic with the pirates. If you enjoy slower, character-driven fantasy with a touch of magic and romance, this might work better for you than it did for me!

Thank you Netgalley and Entangled Publishing for the ARCs

#StarlingsWeave #NetGalley

Neive has lived her whole life just wanting to be useful to her village of water magic people. However, she is shunned when it turns out she is the first person with no magic at all. When a sailor outsider comes to her village, which normally doesn't let outsiders in, with food to a starving population Neive will do anything to save her people. Famine and disease is all over the world because magic is dying so she sets off on an rescue missing, gets captured, set free, meets an Elder Wright, and starts to get feelings for the stranger. I do love a dual POV so thank you for that. I really enjoyed this adventure and trilled for another story even though this is a stand alone novel.

DNFed at 29%. I couldn't get into this book, unfortunately. I had a hard time sympathizing with the FMC. She was very obtuse. And whenever someone died, she mostly thought about how she was disappointed that she couldn't use them to become the village's hero. It seems she was intended to be an innocent, kind character, but her thoughts said otherwise.

My other issues with this book were more minor, but they still bothered me. It alternated between first-person POV for the FMC and third-person POV for the MMC, which I found jarring. And there were a lot of things that just didn't make sense, like things looking tiny to the FMC when she's only 12 feet off the ground or another character somehow keeping an arrow trained on her while holding a bag and digging around in it. It bugged me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for the ARC.

Starling’s Weave was honestly such a good read! I am so glad I gave it a read. This was a character focused book which I always love! The plot was a bit slower paced but I don’t mind that.

I would highly recommend this upper YA fantasy book to anyone, and everyone!

Thank you NetGalley for granting me access to this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

This one felt pretty young adult, but was also an interesting and fanciful feeling story. The plot was creative, and kept me engaged.

This was a great read! This book caught my attention from the first page! Loved the plot and the characters of this one. One thing that had me getting lost a bit as I read was the switching between character POVs. Overall a great read that I definitely recommend giving a read!

I loved the backwardness of the premise: a girl who is shunned from her village due to her lack of powers in a town full of water magic users. The world building and history were excellent. However, I didn't love the third-person POV, with switches back and forth between Manseray and Nieve. It made the story a bit harder to follow and felt like I was being jerked back and forth as I tried to figure out what the plot exactly was. Overall, I enjoyed the journey, but I feel like it could have been smoother.

I really enjoyed this book, but honestly who doesn't enjoy a fantasy pirate adventure, it had really excellent world-building and I enjoyed the magic system. I was super intrigued by the history of the world and ate it up. Keir and Neive are a dynamic pair and though I've seen some reviews say it was insta-lovey, I disagree. I felt it was more instant intrigue and attraction but I thought their relationship built up really great and felt very natural. Overall, it felt very creative and inventive, I've read a ton of fantasy and romantasies this year but this one managed to stand out and stick with me, I really hope we get more!