Thank you NetGalley for the ALC!!!

This book was not for me. I DNF this book at 75%.

So, if you like YA Romantasy like ToG or Fourth Wing, this book gives the forbidden interest, age gap, young relationships vibes. If you like sexual tension and a tiktok baddie, you’ll like this book. If you are into a mysterious shadow daddy and a fast plot but a slow burn you will like this book. I think that this book has an audience who will love it. It has ample 4-5 star ⭐️ reviews.


This book just wasn’t my cup of tea. I also found the tone of the voice actors voice to be hard to process tone wise. As though their voice was like a noise machine

I felt like I was constantly asking myself:
- how old is suraya, again?
- wait what time period or world are we in?
- is this Persian? I thought this was another world?
- hold old is she again?


I also rolled my eyes so hard when we suddenly had the only explicit scene of the book in a random cave and then they exit to a war/ conflict breaking out. Like was this cave in the middle of a town? I thought it was a secluded place he likes to hideaway?

This book lost points for me when it was confusing where we were time wise. When the FMC said “goals” but also somehow spoke incredibly proper. Her weird totally out of context sex dreams at the beginning of the book. And the she was a virgin cringe over the top romance scene.

I am incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to listen to this book in advance and I know this book has an audience that will love it.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperAudio for an ARC of this book.

It is a Romantasy about Suraya who has special powers that fits the prophecy. She attends the evil Crown Prince’s Ball to find a bride, out of curiosity. She meets the prince’s bastard brother, Roshan.

The Ball turns into a bloody arena and Suraya scapes with Roshan and meets the rebels.

Every side seeks the starkeeper’s power to win.

The audio narration is very good, changes with every character and changes with every emotion, making it easy to go through the book.

My problem with the book is the setting. Recently Americans try to make their erotica more exotic by choosing different cultures as settings and peppering their narrative with words from that culture.

This one happens to choose Middle East and India. I am not from India, but I am a Persian and found her usage of my culture as sex toy very disturbing.

The story happens in Kaldari that according to Wikipedia is a village in India. The names are Persian and Arabic which suggests Muslim population. And the part of story that guards try to catch Suraya when her headdress falls supports that.

But they have a bar that serves pints of beer. They Box, which is not a middle eastern or Indian way of fighting and is Greek and English. They should wrestle, that is the cultural way of fighting in these parts.

It is supposed to be in ancient times, since there are no guns and cars or trains or even carriages. But they serve potato for dinner in the Ball, which suggests at most 200 years ago.

It uses Persian language, words like Jadoo for magic, Ezhdeha for dragon and Simorgh for phenix but uses Magi and not Jadoogar which makes me wonder if she speaks Persian.

But people in this world speak English and not Persian and use Latin alphabet because the Prince carves a B on his brother and says B for Bastard, or Suraya thinks of Roshan’s flirting response, as best three syllables I heard.

It mixes Simorgh from Persia with Ezhdaha from China and magic ruins from Scandinavia and Chinese Jade power is used as opium.

The dance in an ancient ceremony in India or Persia or any other Eastern country is not ballroom dancing, specially not an Argentine Tango that Roshan and Suraya perform. But later when they are in the rebel village, there are belly dancers.

They talk about testing for sexual diseases and using protection and I wonder what is the time line of this story?

The mother binding the magic of her child, reminds me of discovery of the witches. The fighting to become future queen, seems like hunger games.

The characterization does not match the setting. Suraya and her friend are millennial American brats, Roshan is an imaginary boyfriend with today’s standards.

The descriptions are cliche and do not help either.

The plot is very cliche, like most books in this genre, no twists or surprises and a very predictable ending.

It is very confusing and seems like an AI generated setting and plot.

I understand that Romatasy fans might not care about the setting or plot or characters. But I do.

The Starlight Heir by Amalie Howard was such a fun escape! The world-building in this book was absolutely amazing—it felt so vivid and alive, like I could step right into the pages. And the premise? Totally unique and refreshing, which is always a win for me.

The characters really stood out too. They had so much depth and emotion that I couldn’t help but get completely wrapped up in their journeys. I laughed, I teared up, and I was fully invested in their struggles and relationships. They just felt real.

The story itself had me hooked, and I already can’t wait for the next book! There were a couple of spots where the pacing slowed down a bit, but honestly, it didn’t bother me much—it just gave me more time to soak in the details.

If you’re into books with epic worlds, emotional characters, and a fresh twist, definitely check this one out. Amalie Howard knocked it out of the park, and I’m so excited to see what’s next!

🌟🌟🌟🌟✨ 4.5 Stars

This was an adventure. As a person who hardly reads fantasy, I really enjoyed this. The audio was done really well!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book went in directions I wasn’t expecting, which was interesting, but everything felt underwhelming and I wanted more. I didn’t care about anything and felt like I wasn’t understanding what was going on because of that.

I have received the ALC of this book. I thought the audiobook was well done. The narrators did a great job with the story. This book is a unique, diverse fantasy romance; it has influences from India and the Middle East, and I have never read anything like it before.
The characters were interesting as well.
Although I enjoyed my time listening to the audiobook, there was still something missing from it, and I can’t quite figure out what that something is
Thank you, NetGalley, the ALC of this title. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book. I thought that the world building was well done. I enjoyed the different places that they had to go and had no issues envisioning them. What I really liked was that it wasn't overly wordy or bogged down by being too descriptive. The other thing I really enjoyed was the magic system. I found that I really liked the majority of the characters. I did find the pacing to be a bit off at times, and felt that it read way more YA than adult. That being said I am excited to see how the story continues into book 2.

I really liked the narrators for this one and felt they did well with making the story come to life. Audio quality was also really good.

Thank you to Harper Audio and Netgalley for an early copy of this audiobook. Unfortunately, this book didn’t work for me, and I decided to DNF at 65%.

My reasons for DNF’ing were mostly disinterest in the characters and the story. I was initially pulled in by the fast pace and premise, but as we went along, I just never felt like I grew to know the characters or the world, and thus didn’t really feel connected to either.

I felt the narration was ok. (By this point in the book, it was primarily narrated by the female narrator, and I thought she did a fine job. The male narrator was good during his bit parts too.)

For those looking for spice in their romantasy, I do think this one delivered (2 scenes by the time I DNF’d, in addition to descriptions of “breath play” and shadows…👀)…but as I wasn’t feeling the connection to the romance, I wasn’t really invested in those scenes either.

Overall, I can see there would be an audience for this book, but unfortunately I am not a part of it.

I was able to check out both the ebook and audiobook - ARC’s courtesy of NetGallery. One of my favorite things about this book was the mythology - it had elements that I haven’t read it other books before so it was fresh and interesting. I really want to know more about Suraya’s world, and the political and magical structure of this universe, so I hope there will be more to come in the future.

I felt like the plot had a good pace - there weren’t parts that dragged so I stayed engaged whether I was listening or reading. Suraya’s character was witty and sassy and I loved her from the very beginning, even when she had some whiney juvenile moments. The slow burn romance was good, and the spice was well written.

The ending had some twists, and it definitely left me with questions and wanting more.

A really fun romantasy all around!

The Starlight Heir is a new fantasy romance from Amalie Howard, an author known primarily for historical romance. I think this book proves that there’s a huge overlap between historical and fantasy romances, because Amalie does a fantastic job crossing over.

The Starlight Heir is set in a Persian-mythology inspired fantasy world that delivers a lot of world building while still trying to feel fresh and fun. It was a bit of a difficult start for me – although set in a fantasy world that feels a bit ancient, the characters use modern slang. And it starts off with our heroine forced to take part in deadly trials to win the hand of the prince – which I’ve read before and didn’t feel super fresh.

However, after we leave the palace the book moves into much more interesting and original territory. There’s a rebellion trying to overthrow the evil rulers, a steamy romance with the “wrong” guy who seems to be harboring secrets, and lots of discovering her magical powers. The pace picks up about the halfway point too and the final third of the book is action-packed and full of twists.

All in all, a fun book for fantasy romance fans! And the audio narration is really top notch.

This story was very well executed and it had me hooked from the start. Suraya, the character with the major POV is a very brave, smart and interesting Fmc. Her character growth beginning to end was intriguing to wintness. Her relationship with Roshan was amusing, swoony and the kind of soul mate connection.
Roshan is the best of all the other characters in the book and i would have loved to see more of his Pov and i really wanted to know what he was thinking at certain moments in the story. Roshan's suffering related to his parents and the way Javed treated him and he still managed to be kind and have a good heart was amazing. Roshan is definitely my favorite character and i cannot wait to see more of him.
The only character that irritated me the most was Javed I hated him from the beginning as was the point of the story.
The narration by Anais Inara Chase and Ramiz Monsef was amazing and it is sure keep you on your toes all through the story.

I received an ARC of The Starlight Heir thanks to NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult, and it was the perfect start to my 2025 reading! The "chosen one" trope doesn’t always land, but here it was done so well, adding depth and excitement to the story. The magic system was fascinating, the characters were diverse and compelling, and there were just enough spicy moments to keep things interesting. I couldn’t put it down and will absolutely be purchasing a copy when it’s released. Highly recommend for fans of fun fantasy!

This world is immersive and well built, set in a desert kingdom where Jādū shards are believed to be the only remaining magic left from the gods. The story is brimming with adventure, magic, political intrigue, secrets, and betrayal as Suraya discovers that the marriage selection she has been requested to attend to choose the bride of the crown Prince, is a competition and death trial set to discover the starkeeper of the gods: her. Someone she previously thought was nothing more than a children’s fable.

Fantasy novels often remind you of other worlds in the genre. While this novel was no different, it also brought a fresh take I haven’t seen much of before in other aspects. The prose fluctuates between descriptive moments and plain language and reminded me of a more YA style of writing. Both the adventure and world building are fast paced, but the author manages to avoid information dumps throughout the novel and even gives you a breakdown of the faction houses of hierarchy at the font of the novel and a glossary of magical terms in the back, which I loved!

Suraya is a loyal, intelligent, and strong woman with a sharp tongue. While I enjoyed Suraya’s character and her journey as she discovers her powers, I would have liked to read more about her learning about, training, and harnessing her gifts. It felt as though she learned to harness the majority of her control from only some sporadic training. I think this would have also opened Suraya up to more personal growth, as I felt that at her core, she did not have much personal character development outside her gifts.

Roshan is a wonderfully layered and compelling character laced with secrets. He is a fiercely loyal protector, and despite being the illegitimate heir to the throne, he only wants what is best for his father’s people. His relationship with Suraya is a slow-burn, with lots of tension, and well paced in a way that makes the connection feel earned.

The book does not end on a cliffhanger, but several threads are left loose, so this could be a stand-alone novel or the first of a series. Hopefully, it is a series as I am interested to learn more about how the god of night ties into Suraya and Roshan’s world.
—
✨Romantasy
🗡️Desert landscape
🐦‍🔥Death trials
✨Chosen one
🗡️Prophecy & destiny
🐦‍🔥Political rebellion
✨Female bladesmith
🗡️Embued magical objects
🐦‍🔥Magic & runes
✨Astrology
🗡️Adventure
🐦‍🔥Magical mythical animals
✨Open-door
🗡️Love triangle?
🐦‍🔥Sporadic 2nd POV throughout
—
Story by Amalie Howard: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narration by Anais Inara Chase:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narration by Ramiz Monsef: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
—
Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager, HarperAudio Adult, and NetGalley for these complimentary ARC & ALC - all thoughts are my own! 📚
Publishers release date 1/7/2025

The narrator of this audiobook did a FANTASTIC job bringing this world to life - I will listen to anything read by her! The characters were perfect, and I preferred listening to reading!

The book itself was really interesting, and I enjoyed it! However, it's really a difficult one for me to rate and review, as I felt very different about the story at different points.

I absolutely loved the beginning and the world-building based off of mythology. It reminded me of Egyptian and Indian mythology mixed, and the magic system was really unique. I loved the side characters and the premise, and it had me hooked for the first 20%.

It kind of got a bit Dune Part 2 toward the middle, not in a bad way... but the pacing just changed in a way I wasn't expecting.

We had some twists and reveals at the end, and it set things up for book 2 quite nicely. I think I would have loved more explanation on what was going on with certain perspectives that did become important toward the very end, though!

I think fans of Powerless would love this book based on the love story and magic system!

One thing I have noticed with romantasy is that many of them keep the world building to a minimum. The Starlight Heir does not. The map needs to be consulted, I could have used a more extensive directory because the one provided was very simplified.. It is especially hard with listening to grasp this world. However, this is still an excellent listen..

The romance is hot with extreme levels of adventure. It was hard to figure out exactly where it was going, although the leader of the Dahaka was pretty obvious throughout the story.

All in all, a pretty enjoyable romantasy with excellent narration.

Thank you to Net Galley, Harper Audio Adult, and Avon and Harper Voyager for the DRC. All opinions are my own!

All I all I liked the narrator but I think the modern slang and the insta-list threw me off the story and I wasn’t able to enjoy it properly.

Can we talk about how STUNNING this cover is? Thank you netgalley, the publishers and the author for my gifted copies of this book. All opinions are my own.

I really loved the premise of this book. I felt like in some ways I knew what to expect and others I did not! I really appreciated Suraya’s strength but would have loved to see her try to control her power more in this book. I hope we see what she can do in the next one!

There is definitely a little instalove..or instalust? I like Suraya and Roshan together but I wish we would have gone a little more in depth on their relationship.

🎧 I will say I loved the narration on this one. Anais Inara Chase did an amazing job narrating most of this book and the little tidbits by Ramiz Monsef were great.

I’m interested to see where this story goes next and the secrets yet to be uncovered! This one is out January 7th and if you like romantasy could be right up your alley!

This was a pretty generic romantasy and doesn’t really bring anything new to the genre. I read the audio and didn’t love the female narrator. Spice was well done but forgettable plot.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

I absolutely loved this book! I had already recommended it to three people before I even finished it!

I need the next book like now!! This book had everything you could want in it…forbidden love, enemies to lovers and secret identity!!

Suraya is a bladesmith who has been chosen to go to the palace as a contestant for the prince’s hand in marriage. We start seeing something funny going on because instantly her dad and aunt don’t want her to go, but she goes anyways. Once there she realizes things aren’t as they seem and she needs to get as far away from there as possible. With the help of the prince’s half brother they start on the run.

The world building in this was phenomenal. This was so fast-paced. I finished it so quick I couldn’t put it down.

4/5 stars and I would highly recommend this to everyone.

This was such a fast-paced and very entertaining romantic!! I loved the chosen one trope we got in this, and the slow burn was so intense and incredible. There is a bit of modern language in this fantasy book that kind of threw me off at some points, but honestly, it fit pretty well in this book that by the end of it, I really didn't mind it at all. There is one explicit scene in this book, but the romance is so good, and the tense is just perfect. I highly recommend everyone listen to this!