2.5 stars
Thank you to HarperAudio and Netgalley for an arc of the audiobook!
Unfortunately, this book was not for me. While I enjoyed the narrator, the modernisms/ modern slang(“book boyfriend”, “thick thighs save lives”, “goals”, “resting bitch face”) felt weird with the medieval fantasy setting. “Don’t prince-splain me” was a particular bad one 🥴 I almost lost a contact with how hard that made me roll my eyes. I also found the dialogue clunky, especially since there was so much exposition inserted in an unnatural manner.
As a character girl- I was also let down in that manner. The best friend's only characteristic is liking sex and the main character is meant to be 25 but acts 15/16. This definitely reads more YA than adult, it’s basically just YA with sex and cursing. The plot, the characters, the pacing, the writing… everything else is YA. And on top of all that it's insta-love. Sadly, I did not enjoy this one at all.

The narrators really make or break the audiobook experience and in my opinion the narrators Anais Inara Chase and Ramiz Monsef were good.
I only finished this book because of the narration. Content wise, I was not expecting this book to have mature content scenes early on. In my opinion they were too frequent and not compelling. There were several uses of modern slang? that I found jarring, “Prince-splain’’ for example. I also found her best friend annoying; I think the intent was just a sex positive female character, but her dialogue came off as crass to me. I found the second half of the book better than the first but the ending felt rushed. The book picks up towards the end, but you still have the heroine spouting things like “toxic-masculinity’’ and “sleeping beauty”. I feel like this book would have been better as YA, it was marketed to me as adult. I never got invested, it was like surface level entertainment.

This book would appeal to people who want a book that reads like YA but has a romance focus with mythology.

Thank you to HarperAudio and NetGalley for the ALC of The Starlight Heir.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the audio ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. Unfortunately I cannot recommend this book to anyone.

The narrative voice, plot, characters and honestly everything about this screamed YA to me. Almost like this was originally written to be a YA novel and the author was forced to pad it out with sex so it sold as an adult Romantasy. It falls short as either genre; with little to no world building, overdone plot lines, “hip” dialogue (“resting Prince face”), and deeply uncomfortable, poorly written sex scenes.

Engaging but Underwhelming – 3 Stars

This book has a great premise, with an intriguing magic system, political intrigue, and a touch of mystery with the old gods. The romance adds tension, and it delivers a YA-with-spice dynamic.

However, the pacing felt uneven, and the world-building, while promising, wasn’t fully fleshed out. The romance sometimes overshadowed the plot, and overall, it felt a little too YA for my romantasy tastes. An enjoyable read, but not a standout in the genre.

Thank you, NetGalley and HarperAudio, for the ALC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a great audiobook! The narrator was fantastic and easy to follow. I loved the story, the romance, and the twists. The pacing was also really well done. As an audiobook, I wished I had an addendum to see how the names were spelled. I don't think either of the main characters was particularly strong or morally grey so I'm not sure they'll stick in my memory but I did enjoy their story.

DNF @ 51%. This was tough in general to get through, I kept giving it a lot of chances to not annoy me and while their were parts that were intriguing, it couldn't take it up past our FMC being idiotfied in order to move the plot and romance forward. The world building was also confusing at best.

I did like the teasers of another romance (or the same? or different?). It did push me to want to know more.

I finally gave up when our FMC whos entire identity seems to be built around her job, asks the MMC who has no experience with her job, how to do her job and HE DOES. This book literally romantizes mansplaining. Thats a no from me and probably many other grown women who know how to do their own jobs thank you.

The narrator did fine on the audiobook and probably got me further than I would have in a physical copy.

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

ARC 🎧 Book Review 🤍

⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was an interesting 🎧 It had many good qualities, but I just couldn’t connect w/ the FMC at all. There were a few cringy, a bit too modern lines in the script as well, but I will say some of it was actually comedic. I did love how her best friend was written though & a lot of the side characters were actually more lovable (IMO) than the FMC. Story wise, I felt it was intriguing, but the pacing was off for me & I just feel like there’s so much that went unanswered.
So, I guess I’m kinda looking forward to Book 2?

📚 Review: The Starlight Heir by Amalie Howard
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5 stars)
🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Level 3 spice)
Tropes:
🗡️ Hidden powers/chosen one
👑 Illegitimate royal romance
💕 Enemies to lovers
🏰 Court politics & trials
🤝 Found family
⚔️ Skilled female blacksmith
🖤 GOD TIER SHADOW DADDY
Quick Take:
If you loved Fourth Wing and are looking for your next romantasy obsession, THIS IS IT! Amalie Howard crafts a spellbinding tale of star magic, swoony romance, and edge-of-your-seat action. The chemistry between Suraya (our badass bladesmith) and Roshan (the illegitimate prince) is FIRE, and the Persian/Indian mythology-inspired world building is chef's kiss.
Why You Need This Book:

Suraya is everything you want in an FMC - skilled, fierce, and not here for anyone's nonsense
The romance is a perfect slow burn that'll have you SCREAMING into your pillow
Star magic system is unique and gorgeously written
Political intrigue that keeps you guessing
That ending will leave you DESPERATE for more
Did I mention the God tier shadow daddy? Because WHEW 🥵

Trust me, clear your schedule because once you start, you won't want to put it down. This is absolutely worth the hype and then some!
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! Loved it so much I bought the Fairyloot special edition for my shelf! 💫

The Starlight Heir was a fun fantasy book with really accessible world building that was easy to understand. I loved the magic and the cast of characters. Suraya and Roshan had a fantastic slow burn with great banter. I'm definitely intrigued by Roshan and all of his secrets. I'm really excited and looking forward to what happens next in this series.

I listened to the audio and thought both narrators were fantastic. Anais Inara Chase was absolutely amazing and brought so much emotion into the story. The male narrator only had a few short chapters, but both narrators spoke clearly and were easy to understand even when sped up.

Thank you to HarperAudio for the advance copy!

This book was such a fast and fun read. it was action packed and I couldn’t put it down. This book has so much potential for a series and I'm excited to see what happens next. I liked that this book was fast paced and didn't dwell too long on one thing. I loved the FMC and the diversity in the mythology and world-building.

I enjoyed this audiobook. The narrator did a lovely job and their pacing, cadence and inflection made for an easy listen even with the unfamiliar names and territories in the novel. The emotions and suspense came across very well and were quite impactful.

Sura is a bladesmith who has the ability to infuse her work with jadu— an illegal source of magic in the realm. She lives with her family, until one day when she’s invited to the palace with 99 other girls to participate in a tournament for the crown prince of Kaldari’s hand. The competition is a cover to find the Starkeeper - the girl who possesses the magic of the stars.

The book started out very fast paced with the tournament invitation and competition. It quickly moved into an escape plot that moved across different realms and with different enemies. I thought the escape plot portion was a little drawn out and the competition portion a little short. The final 20% was CRAZY with so much happening and I am so curious to see what happens in book 2 especially with the addition of another certain POV.

Thank you Netgalley and Avon/Harper Voyager for the ALC.

Huge thank you to @netgalley and @harpercollins for my very first audiobook ARC.

In this brand new romantasy we meet Suraya a talented bladesmith who lives in her hometown with her father and Amma when one day she gets a letter from the royal court in Kaldari. At first she thinks it’s a mistake but soon finds out it is a requirement as the prince is hosting a search for a bride. With hesitation she heads there to protect her family and friends only to be met with anything but a fairytale. The prince and his family are not what she thought they would be, and instead of a bride they are after the star keeper - a girl who holds the magic of the stars in her blood and much power to change the fate of their kingdom.

Thankfully in the midst of all the chaos she meets an ally, the crown princes shunned half- brother, Roshan who sees something different in Sureya.

I really enjoyed this book overall and got pulled into the story and world building quickly! I have never read any Romantasy books with Persian Mythology so when I saw this book I was super excited for something totally different! It did not disappoint and added such a unique flair to this story. I really enjoyed our FMC Sureya and her strength and fierce loyalty to her friends and family. She really grows a lot through this journey and while this story isn’t super long you see a lot of character growth in her!

The romance between Sureya and Roshan was great and you definitely get spice , witty and flirty banter. Roshan comes in with secrets of his own and together they make a great team. There is a political rebellion going on in the city when Sureya arrives as well that takes both FMC AND MMC on a mission to survive. I was rooting for both of them and couldn’t stand the crown prince himself and his evil family.

The audiobook was wonderful and I thought the narrators did a great job really immersing you into all the different characters!

If you enjoy:
• Fast Paced
• Forbidden Romance
• Trials
• Political intrigue
• Indian and Persian Mythology

This one is for you!

I enjoyed this adventurous romantasy by Amalie Howard. Although it’s being marketed as an adult romance, it felt very new adult to me. There is no indication that it’s part of a series, but the ending leads me to believe that there will be at least one more book involving these characters. While I don’t feel any urgency to find out what happens next, I’m curious enough that I will probably check out the next book.

The story is told mostly from the main character Suraya’s point of view. As a village bladesmith who lives with her father and aunt, she is surprised to receive an invitation to attend a ball in the capital city and compete to be the crown prince’s bride. Thus begins her journey of adventure, intrigue, secrets, violence, magic, and romance.

I loved her meet-cute with the crown prince’s bastard brother. Roshan is a wonderful character, and I enjoyed their banter and slow-burn romance, featuring mistaken identity and forced proximity tropes. I also liked many of the secondary characters. Few of them are who they initially seem to be, which kept it interesting.

I liked the premise, the plot was exciting, and the pace was fine, although the story felt a bit longer than necessary. The desert setting with Indian and Persian cultural influences was interesting, although I found the mythology difficult to understand.

I found the use of modern slang jarring, and Suraya’s moodiness annoyed me at times. She’s thrust into dangerous situations that could overwhelm anyone, but her wild vacillations between rage, despair, and overconfidence became tiresomely melodramatic, and she sometimes makes foolish decisions out of stubbornness.

There are occasional brief scenes from the point of view of the mysterious God of the Night. I found those scenes jarring and didn’t see the relevance until the very end.

The audiobook production was good, and Anais Inara Chase’s fantastic narration really contributed to my enjoyment of the story. She’s fun to listen to, with good pacing, clear pronunciation, distinctive voices to suit each character, and the ability to convey mood and emotion effectively. The short segments narrated by Ramiz Monsef in a shiver-inducing growly voice were also well done. The story works well as an audiobook.

Thanks to HarperAudio for providing me with a free advanced review copy of the audiobook through NetGalley. I volunteered to provide an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for ALC!

Fast paced story with an insta-love. It can be assumed that this love interest won’t be endgame though with the talk of MMCs soul bond and the random chapters from the God of Night. The beginning seemed like a good set up, but when it came time for the world-building and exploration of the magic system it felt rushed. I’m hoping the sequel will delve more into those details. Also, as previously mentioned, not a huge fan of the common day slang being thrown into books lately.

Overall, it’s an enjoyable book for somebody who is looking for more romance and less depth to the plot and world-building.

🌟The Starlight Heir by @amaliehoward 🌟

The Starlight Heir is a breath of fresh air—and it had me gasping and clutching my pearls at every twist and turn.

This is such a good Romantasy standalone. I listened to the audiobook for this and I highly recommend the audiobook edition of this book. The narrator has such a fabulous voice—it is smooth and steady, even through such a wild ride of a story.

The main thing I loved about this book was the pacing. It was perfectly paced, keeping my attention through out the entire story and I was surprised when I reached the end. I didn't want the story to be over!

I expected this book to be spicier, but I actually loved that the book carried me all the way through with such little spice.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice: 🌶/5

🎧Thank you, @netgalley / @harperaudio, for the ALC of this book! 🎧

This romantasy was full of twists and turns, adventure, magic, and so much more!! Ohh it was so good!!!!
💕💕💕💕💕💕💕
I loved the story line and the mc so much. Suraya was summoned to participate for the chance to be a prince's wife . Not in the sweet ballroom, kind of way either. There was so much happening. I was trying to keep all the mythology and gods all straight, but once I figured it out, it was easy for me to understand.

If you are a fan of:
slow burn romance
Chosen one
Magic/ powers
Forbidden romance
Enemies to lovers
Dangerous trials
Forced proximity

The audio for this book was great. The voice actors did their thing !! And The ending ......... I cannot wait for the next one !!!

Thank you to netgalley for allowing me to arc read (audio version) of this amazing romantasy...

This story follows Suraya, a bladesmith and commoner. She receives an invitation from the royal palace that the future king is looking for a wife and she is to be one of the attendees. At first, she thinks it’s a joke, but soon finds out she was mistaken. She decides to go to the capital city and soon finds out everything is not as she imagined. The King is sickly and dying, the Queen is not who she appears, and the Crown Prince is vile… not to mention the illegitimate prince Roshan. The invitation turns out to be a quest to hunt for the ‘Starkeeper’ who is rumored to hold the magic of the stars in her blood.

The rebels attack the palace and Suraya teams up with Roshan to get away when it comes to light that she may be the Starkeeper. He vows to help her and they escape together and are on the run. Lines begin to blur and their attraction cannot be denied. Suraya’s powers grow and with that so do her enemies.

I really wanted to love this book because romantasy is my favorite genre, but the wording was too rudimentary for me. Some parts of the story felt forced as well, and I did not love that either. With that being said though, I didn’t hate this book, I just thought that it could have been done better. I did enjoy reading it and would still recommend it to anyone who enjoys romantasy and Persian and Indian Mythology.

I want to thank NetGalley, Amalie Howard, and Harper Audio for the chance to read the audio ARC of this book.

"The Starless Heir" by Amalie Howard presents an intriguing fantasy tale with a unique premise. The story follows a protagonist grappling with legacy and identity in a richly crafted world filled with magic and mystery.

Howard's strength lies in her imaginative world-building and vivid descriptions that bring the setting to life. The plot is engaging, though it occasionally leans on familiar fantasy tropes, which may not surprise seasoned readers.

Character development could be more robust, as some arcs feel underexplored. However, the narrative's blend of action and emotional depth keeps it enjoyable. Overall, "The Starless Heir" is a solid read for those who appreciate fantasy adventures, offering a compelling escape despite some predictable elements.

Thank you, Netgalley, harper audio and harper voyager

I give this book 2.5 stars it just honestly wasn’t for me. It wasn’t what I expected at all. I was expecting trials and tribulations and maybe some slow burn but instead I got more of like Insta love

I wasn’t attached to the main character Suraya at all I thought the language in the beginning was very Gen Z, which made me kind of stay interested and thought it was fun!, but then it completely switched up and how it was describing the magic of the world was so quickly, and just came and went, and there was nothing connecting me to any other characters

It felt very contemporary romance and that’s OK. It’s definitely going to be a lot of other people‘s fan favorites. It’s just not mine.

I think overall it was just an OK story that moved so quickly with no explanation and jumped from scene to scene with no backstory and Insta love is just not my favorite

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Narration: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Duration: 12 hrs 10min
Narrated by Anais Inara Chase; Ramiz Monsef

"A bladesmith blessed by the stars. A prince with a dangerous secret. A god bound in shadows."

* Romantasy
* Chosen One
* Shadow Daddy
* Deadly Contest For A Bride
* Strong FMC
* Touch Her And Die
* Magic

“The Starlight Heir” is a romantasy story that is a slow burn. With magic, political intrigue, forbidden romance, betrayal, high stakes battle, and some spice in the mix. The world and character building was done very well. With mythology and her own spins. Filled with nice twists and turns, women without predictability.

Suraya, our FMC, is a bladesmith who is one of the few who are invited to the palace to help find a wife for the crowned prince. She is very witty, independent, strong, skilled and bold. She was incredible! She falls for the charming illegitimate prince, Roshan. Their chemistry is off the charts. Who doesn’t like a forbidden romance..?

I’m really excited to see what happens in the next book. It was set up nicely to transition into it. Excited for more chaos, vibrant storytelling and more world/ character building.

The narration of the audiobook was perfect. They did an amazing job bringing the story to life. The pacing of their voices was perfect.

Thank you Netgalley and HarperAudio for this ALC. I really enjoyed it!