📖 Stardust Child picks up right where Traitor Son left off—with our favorite war-hardened Duke and his starlit Duchess now married, blissfully in love, and trying to live a peaceful life in Andelin. Keyword: trying.

Because peace? Not so easy when your valley is being overrun by terrifying monsters known only as “devils,” your wife is secretly the illegitimate daughter of the Emperor (and doesn’t know if you’ll still love her if you find out), and you’re both still learning how to heal from lives filled with trauma, loss, and loneliness.

💫 But oh, the love in this book. Melissa J. Cave writes romance the way it should be—tender, hilarious, emotionally intelligent, and so deeply respectful. He falls harder, she grows stronger, and they keep choosing each other over and over again. Every single scene between Remin and Ophele is a masterclass in soft intimacy. It’s sweet. It’s spicy. It’s healing.

🤍 I loved Ophele’s growth in this book. She’s still quiet and kind, but finally stepping into her power. From sweetly tossing hazelnuts at her husband (blaming the squirrels 😌), to quietly saving everyone by researching monsters while no one’s looking—she is everything.

Also? The humor is top tier. Between bathhouse warriors, sarcastic knights, and Remin trying to hide his birthday gifts from everyone, I was grinning like a fool. Melissa J. Cave writes coziness with stakes. It’s giving:
🎯 The Witcher monsters
🧡 Harvest Moon heart
🌙 Minecraft build-your-home and fall-in-love energy

🌟 Highlights:
🗡️ Enemies to lovers to soulmates
🌶️ Tender, sensual spice
📜 Court politics & monster lore (!!)
🐐 Found family
📖 Character glossaries, maps, and immersive details

Cozy romance usually isn’t my go-to, but this series changes my mind.

If you love:
💘 Grumpy/sunshine
🏰 Medieval court vibes
🐺 Gentle giants who would burn down the world for their shy, brave wives
…then Stardust Child is your new comfort read.

Disclaimer: I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for a honest review and I’d like to thank Melissa J. Cave for the opportunity!

**⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ – A Magical Coming-of-Age with Heart**

*Stardust Child* is a beautifully written fantasy that blends magic and personal growth in a captivating way. The story’s world is imaginative and vividly realized, with enchanting details that draw you in. The protagonist’s journey feels heartfelt and relatable, balancing wonder with real emotional stakes.

While the pacing occasionally dips and some plot points could use more depth, the book’s charm and warmth carry it through. It’s a delightful read for anyone who loves magical tales grounded in character.

A strong, enchanting debut that leaves you eager for more.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers & author for a copy of this book in return for an honest review!

I am loving this series so much. This was a perfect accompaniment to the first book. We learnt so much more about each character and the world.

My only complaint is… EUGENE 😭😭😭 (and I wish we had more of Sir Miche in this one!)

I adored seeing the characters grow and continuing to see the city flourish.

The cliffhanger at the end promises an exciting third book that will bring us out of the Andelin and into the city of Segoile…

Second books in series always make me a little nervous because they are hit or miss. This one is definitely a hit! Fantastic world building, political intrigue and great relationships between characters what more could you want??

This is the second great book of the series and what a book. It picks up where we left everyone on book 1 which I like and helps keep the story going.

In this book we start to see Ophele character developed more and rounded out as well as few more points of few from other characters as the author starts to bring in more pov. I was left wondering who the two main characters can trust and so will you be!

There is less fantasy in this book but there are hints and I believe the author will start to bring them in the later books in the series!

Great read.

Loved, loved, loved.
If you want a grumpy male character that would do anything for his sweet wife, this book is for you.

I loved the chemistry between Remin and Ophele. After the first book, I was so happy to see them interact and care for each other. They were so cute. And, most importantly, they finally learned to trust each other fully with their traumas, and I couldn’t be happier.

In addition to that, it was easy and quick to read as I was quite invested in it. I lost myself to the medieval setting the book had going on. You can’t help but feel like you are inside the pages. The knights were as charismatic as they were in the first book and I simply loved the dynamics, between them and with Ophele.

I have to give this book 5 stars. I can’t wait for the final book!!!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Stardust Child is luminous, aching, and utterly transportive. Melissa J. Cave delivers a story that reads like a dream woven through starlight and shadow—a tale about memory, identity, and the quiet power of choosing your own fate.

The world is gorgeously strange, steeped in magic that feels both ancient and deeply personal. Cave’s prose is lyrical without losing clarity, and her characters are beautifully flawed—searching, aching, surviving. There’s something heartbreakingly tender about the way this story unfolds, like a lullaby for the forgotten pieces of ourselves.

At its core, Stardust Child is about belonging. Not just to a place or a past, but to yourself. And that journey? It’s equal parts wonder and devastation.

Poetic. Bittersweet. Brilliant. This one stayed with me, long after the final page.

This is author Melissa Cave’s (https://melissajcave.com) second novel. Stardust Child was published last April and is the second book in her Empire of the Stars series. It is the 36th book I completed reading in 2025.

Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to violence, mature situations, and mature language, I categorize this novel as R.

This novel picks up shortly after the first ended. Remin Grimjaw is about to turn 25 as the story begins. Seventeen-year-old Princess Ophele Agnephus has started to settle into her role as Remin’s wife and Duchess of Andeline. Their relationship has deepened and they now act like infatuated lovers when they get the chance.

The new settlement of Tresingale is still struggling. More construction has been completed including the first part of Ramin’s new home. More settlers are coming into Andeline. At the same time, the magical creatures brought into this world by the Valleri magicians continue to plague the settlement. They seem to torment the settlers more than in past years.

While Remin no longer fears Ophele is a plant by the Emperor, she is still worried that he will discover how inadequate she is. She has none of the training expected of one in her position. She frets that he will feel betrayed when he finds out how ill-prepared she is to be his Duchess. She tries to contribute to Tresingale as best as she can. She has shown impressive thinking skills and Remin asks her to make what sense she can about the beasts.

The soldiers sent to Ferrede were thought to have perished under the onslaught of the beasts. All are pleasantly surprised when they arrive at Tresingale with the survivors. Other soldiers are sent to surrounding villages to check on their survival.

Ramin is determined to find a way to eliminate the beasts. He takes a force on an expedition into the mountains hoping to find their source. While he discovers a cave high in the mountains, he is unable to get close enough to investigate. After losing nearly a third of his force they wearily return to Tresingale.

Sir Miche travels to Aldeburke on behalf of Ophele to retrieve things she left behind when Ramin whisked her away to be his bride. He finds the mansion abandoned by the Hurrells, discovering how poorly the Emperor and the Hurrells had treated Ophele as she grew up in isolation. He gathers all that Ophele left behind and anything he thinks she might want, shipping it all to Tresingale.

Remin must still worry about what plots the Emperor might have against him. He had thought that Ophele would be protected because of her royal lineage, but in light of what Sir Miche has found, Ophele likely is in as much danger as Remin.

I enjoyed the 16 hours I spent reading this 482-page fantasy (romantasy). While there is some magic in this world, it is not something that any of the characters wield. This novel continues with a deepening romantic connection between Remin and Ophele and their struggle to build a new settlement in the wilderness. I also had the opportunity to read the first novel in the series, Traitor Son. They have both been very enjoyable. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 4.2 (rounded to 4) out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

As always, I want to say thank you for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book.

I enjoyed this book as much as I did the first book. The growth of the town and the character were great. It was done gradually throughout the book. I liked that it was not something that just happened overnight. This book focused a lot on Ophele 's struggles with keeping her secret about not having an education and trying to be the best wife and duchess to the town that she can be. Throughout the book, I could feel her struggle personally, and I just wanted to reach into the book and hug her.

I enjoyed the chapter where we got to see the Emperor, Empress, and his other daughter, and get a sense of what their relationship is currently like. I am sure that this going to be a part of the plot once Ophele is introduced to the court.

The growth between Ophele and Remin in this book was enjoyable to read. To see how the two of them have grown to care and show their feeling to each other. As well as their people.

Again, this was a book that I just could not put down.

Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy!

This cozy fantasy romance continues to deliver heartfelt moments and growing tension. Remin and Ophele are a gentle, devoted couple, and it’s beautiful to watch their bond deepen. This book sheds light on Ophele’s painful past, giving more context to her cautious nature and making her journey even more meaningful.

Remin stands out with his emotional growth—he’s becoming more open, brave, and endlessly kind. The mystical creatures feel like a more immediate threat this time, adding urgency to the story.

New perspectives from Lady Verr and the Emperor add layers of mystery and court intrigue. I’m especially curious about the Empress and her possible ties to Remin and Ophele’s histories.

A lovely mix of romance, magic, and political suspense. It’s refreshing to see a couple so firmly grounded in mutual care. I’m really looking forward to what’s next!

Stardust Child by Melissa J. Cave is a beautifully written, star-soaked fantasy that blends myth, memory, and identity into a powerful coming-of-age journey. Cave’s prose shimmers with lyrical grace, and her world-building—rooted in the cosmos but grounded in human emotion—feels both fresh and timeless.

The protagonist’s quest to uncover her origins while grappling with the weight of expectation is deeply resonant. Themes of found family, destiny, and self-worth are woven throughout with care and nuance. There’s a quiet strength to the storytelling that slowly builds into something epic and emotional by the end.

That said, the pacing in the first third was a bit slow, and a few plot threads could’ve used a tighter resolution. But those are small quibbles in an otherwise enchanting read.

Perfect for fans of character-driven fantasy with lyrical writing and a touch of starlight. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on what Melissa J. Cave does next.

Melissa slayed it with this sequel! Whatever complaints I had for the first book, none of them d I've now.

Melissa's masterful storytelling through her interesting writing style is my favourite element of the book! Other than that, there were many new characters introduced added much needed dynamics to the book. Ophele's and Remin's chemistry was quite fun to read with the point of views of other side characters. In fact, we got a mini back story of the emperor himself, and there's mystery veiled around Ophele's parents and the history of Remin's parents. There were parts in the book which I thought were having problem with pacing, and were having too much descriptions which wasn't necessary.

The book ends on cliffhanger, can't wait for book 3 releasing in November.

I absolutely loved book 1 but for some reason this book wasn't as exciting. I think it started off to slow. Not a lot was going on for atleast the first third of the book. It felt more like a romance story than anything fantasy. Still, I'll be looking forward to book 3 and seeing how this wraps up.

The writing is really good. Characters with personalities brought to life on the pages with their interactions with one another, as well as their dialogue. Ophele is depicted as a mousy girl, abused by her foster parents growing up. She is also very clever and well-educated, regardless of those shortcomings. Then there is Remin, a bear of a hero who the king hates so much that his death is always imminent due to his suspicious behaviour.

There are some fantastical elements, such as demons that attack the towns in the area during the summer days. However, there are also a lot of strange cross-references from our real-life world, such as using the Gregorian calendar naming system. It would throw me off whenever a character would say “July”, “August”, etc. Perhaps creating a new calendar system, or simply saying “the summer of year,” “the winter of year,” could have worked too.

The story just fell flat. It could have been so much more. No actual cliff hangers at the end of both books, but a lot of unanswered questions remain.

I struggled through the second book the most and was close to DNFing (I saw the book through only because of the writing and characters, Plot not so much).

This may be to the liking of others who enjoy this kind of story or reading experience.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for letting me review this book.

This is one of my favourite fantasy book series. No doubt. I love everything about this fantasy world. There are so many details and I often find myself longing for more and more information.

And I'm sure there is still a lot more to learn about this world and these characters. Remin and Ophele aren't the only interesting characters, even though they may be the dearest to me personally. All the side characters have their own personalities that are shown through words and details. This is really an immersive reading experience.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for an epic fantasy read with amazing worldbuilding, interesting characters, and some romance on the side.

Includes:
Demons
Interesting magic
Romance
Love in forced marriage
Building a society
Intricate details
The most amazing writing in my humble opinion

Stardust Child has a lyrical quality to its prose, and I can appreciate the care Melissa J. Cave put into building her world. There are hints of creativity, especially in the unique portrayal of the “devils” and how their size varied by region, which was one of the more intriguing elements for me.

That said, I struggled to stay engaged. The pacing was painfully slow, and I found myself waiting for something significant to happen. Unfortunately, that moment never really arrived for me. The narrative felt more like a quiet exploration of place than a story with momentum or stakes, and I nearly didn’t finish the book.

This style might appeal to readers who enjoy thoughtful, meditative stories or themes around town planning and community development, but it simply wasn’t for me. I admire the author’s imagination, but I personally need more plot and urgency to stay invested.

Stardust Child is a brilliant follow-up that expands everything I loved from the first book. Melissa Cave really digs deeper into the characters here—Remin especially goes through some real growth, and I loved seeing his relationship with Ophele evolve in such a heartfelt way.

I did miss seeing more of Miche (he’s one of my faves), but Juste really had his moment to shine, and I found myself more invested in him than I expected. Also, Melissa’s talent for making you question everyone’s intentions? Still undefeated. I trust no one and I’m loving it.

The world-building just keeps getting better. The devils, the Empire, the House—it all felt richer and more developed this time around. Plus, the multiple POVs added so much context and depth to the story. Even though the pacing was a bit slower, I was still completely immersed from start to finish.

Huge thanks to the publisher, NetGalley, and Melissa Cave for the ARC—I can’t wait to see what chaos comes next!

Stardust Child is the second installment of the Empire of the Stars series and the story is a direct continuation of the first book. Ophele and Remin are basking in their marriage and Tresingale is developing rapidly as more and more people continue to settle in, but the mystery of the devils is still unsolved and the threat of the Divine Emperor looms.

This second book in the series focuses a lot on the inner turmoil of Ophele and Remin. We explore more of Ophele’s past and what she endured at the hands of the Hurrells, why she thinks of herself the way she does and how she reacts to things. We learn more about Remin’s thought process as a leader and the anguish he feels at having to make the hard decisions for his people. Interestingly, we also get a glimpse into the Divine Emperor Bastin Agnephus’ past and a couple other characters that have become prominent in Tresingale.

I did enjoy the character exploration but the majority of the book focused so much on that, I felt the rest of plot didn’t move forward at all. I really love Ophele, especially in the first book and was excited to see her blossom in this sequel, but what I saw most of from her was being in despair over her feelings of inadequacy. I understand where that character flaw comes from and why, but it became redundant when nothing really came from it until about 90% of the way into the story. In the first book Ophele is driven to work hard to earn her place in the community and uses her intelligence and cleverness to figure out solutions to problems using logic, but her drive to prove herself seems to disappear in this sequel and almost makes her unlikeable to me. She was so painfully meek that I feel like all the character development we saw went backward. While Remin is away, she spends the entire time (probably 60-70% of the book) upset and doesn’t seem to actually do anything about it until he returns. I get that your significant other can be a huge support and motivator, but it was disappointing that she couldn’t seem to move forward with her own growth without him there. I would have liked to see Ophele become more of her own woman now that she has freedom and a community and purpose.

Stardust child feels like more of a filler and a set up for the third book in the series. Even though there is a big revelation about the possible origins of the devils, they don’t get any closer to actual answers by the end and only more layers of mystery are added to the mix. The different POV from different characters were interesting, but didn’t seem to have much impact on the story - another reason this feels like a filler book. There was a lot of emphasis on the introduction of Lady Verr and I was excited to see her relationship with Ophele, but again, because so much of the story was Ophele feeling sorry for herself nothing much came out of it. Even Remin’s big expedition seemed to not have much reward for how tough a journey it was. I feel like that entire arc could have been cut down, and it would have been fun to see more of Ophele actually learning how to be a Lady. I was also disappointed that there was no mention of the traitors that book one mentioned, that built up so much tension at the end of the first book and I was hoping to see some further development of that plot line.

I am looking forward to the third installment where hopefully all this set up will finally pay off and more questions will be answered. So far I have loved all the new characters introduced, and I think the court intrigue will get very interesting in the next book. I did enjoy reading Stardust Child, I just wish there was a bit more plot development!

A very good follow up to Traitor's Son, stardust Child picks up immediately after the first book in the series, with Ophele and Remin solidifying their relationship whilst also navigating their own challenges, both past and present.

Tresingale continues to grow, as does the mystery of the devils that frequently attack the growing populous. Remin and his knights are determined to find the source of the threat, whilst Ophele takes it upon herself to do her part in shedding light on things based on past encounters. Throughout all of this, Ophele's past continues to threaten the peace she's found, with Remin increasingly determined to shake of the shackles of the Empire.

I really enjoyed this book but as with the first, felt myself much more engaged with the world outside of Tresingale, rather than the evolving relationship of the protagonists. That's not to say that this element isn't well written, because it is. There is plenty of suspense, which builds especially well in the last part of the book, and I flew through the last quarter. The ending really sets things up on multiple fronts and I'm really looking forward to seeing how things unfold in the next book!

A very solid 4 star read.

Thank you NetGalley and Owl & Bear for the ARC!

I am so excited to get an opportunity to read the second installment of this phenomenal series by Melissa J. Cave. This tale is approachable yet incredibly complex and boasts a wide range of characters and conflict. Remin and Ophele are fascinating characters cut from very similar cloths but with vastly different patterns. I have enjoyed the more domestic aspects of this installment as it allowed me to get to know the characters more thoroughly and love them all that much more.

This book, named for Ophele's role in the world really dug into her psychological trauma and the impact it has on her years later. She is mere constantly confronted with her inadequacies that she continues to blame herself for; completely overlooking the fact that she is the victim of isolation, abuse both mental and physical and full naivete and ignorance of the real world surrounding her. Ophele is conflicted between her desire to be better and right the wrongs done to her while at the same time being her worst and hardest critic which Stokes the fear and anxiety that rule her. Her love of Remin actually inflicts the most damage because she feels that she's living a lie and is guilty of some massive crime.

Remin on the other hand is equally conflicted with his desire to build a new world while also confronting his apparent failures and losses. Similar to Ophele, Remin Hold himself accountable for almost all of the wrongs done in his life and to him. He sets the standard of for absolution that is so high and that does not take into account that which he cannot control. This novel focuses more so on his lovely wife but does provide a lot of character growth in him. He becomes softer, more outwardly loving, compassionate, and allows himself the space to feel and experience vulnerability within the sight of those who know and love him. Despite these changes, Remin continues to retain his fierceness and passion for what is right.

The story also had its fair share of surprises and revelations that I look forward to learning more about in the coming books. Within these pages there are many moments of laughter, subtle smiles, sadness and truly some of the most relatable feelings of insecurity and despair that I have ever read.

If you are looking for a novel set in a high fantasy world with some of your favorite romantic tropes along with a truly unique setting, cast of characters and multi-layered villains look no further then The Empire of Stars series!