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!

I loved Stardust Child, the second book in Melissa J Cave's Empire of the Stars romantic fantasy series. The plot and the world building are very stirring and striking. I also loved Remin and Ophele, who are wonderful and complex characters, whose relationship begins with distrust and develops into a great love story. Remin and Ophele's love story is thrilling and emotional. Remin is caring, honest, protective, gallant and principled and Ophele at first is insecure, quiet, went through a great trauma, but she is also strong and sweet. The plot gripped me from the beginning. It is impressive, emotional, romantic and unpredictable. I haven't read such a breathtaking epic romantasy in a long while and I am very much looking forward to the third book in the series.

This is a well written romp through a fictional represenation of feudal Western Europe. It was a pleasant read and I would recommend it to fans of the genre, but it was nothing exceptional.

I often worry after enjoying book 1 in a series that book 2 won't be able to live up to it but, in this instance, that worry wasn't necessary.

I thoroughly enjoyed this journey, because that is what these books are. A blooming romance of a young couple who, on paper should not work but their love and openness means they fit so well. A journey of friendships and character growth. You really live and feel the weight of the responsibility on the main characters shoulders. Enjoying their successes and mourning their losses, feeling their struggles and pride in how far they have come, you cannot help but get entirely engrossed in this story. I can't wait to see where it goes next!

Rating: 3.5⭐️/5

Stardust Child is the second novel in the Empire of the Stars series. It gives me “My Happy Marriage” (anime) vibes. A cozy romantasy with a super shy FMC learning how to be a lady in society with a tough & gruff husband with eyes only for her.

I am someone who relies on a lot of action or plot twisting and so this wasn’t exactly “my kind of book”, but I do think the novel for what it was going for was really well done and the intimate scenes were delectable.

If you enjoy cozy fantasy novels, this one is for you! Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The second instalment in the Empire of the Stars series, Stardust Child delivers another captivating and well-crafted chapter in the lives of Remlin and Ophele. Once again, this immersive medieval world strikes a beautiful balance between the cerebral nuances of political intrigue and the gritty reality of human nature in its fight for a better future.

While gorgeously written, it took me much longer to become invested in Stardust Child than with its predecessor. This was partly due to its objectively slower pace, and partly due to personal preference - there just wasn’t quite as much emphasis on the fantastical as I was hoping for. Nevertheless, this series has me hooked and I’m already looking forward to the next instalment.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I'm going to quote some of my review from "Traitor Son," as my feelings on this book are very similar to book 1.

Plain and simple: I adored this book!!!

First of all, as another reviewer stated, Remin is "now deeply in love, good for him, willing to walk on broken glass for his wife". All the romantic moments and moments they freely professed their love made me swoon! It's SO refreshing to see a romantasy book (or romantic series in general) that doesn't re-tread old grievances, and instead has the mains grow and continue to support each other with the strength of their love.

Second of all, the new POVs were a delight, even if some of them were brief (ex: we only get to see Sir Juste's POV once or twice, but it reveals SO much spying going on behind the scenes and I *really* want to see his POV again in book 3!!). One of the other POVs I really enjoyed was Lady Verr. As another reviewer stated--"I'm not sure what to think of Lady Verr. Do we trust her?!?!" And, agreed!! She seems to have her own motives (as further emphasized in the small preview of chapter 1 of book 3 we got!), but I'm not exactly sure what those are, and if they're going to come into conflict with Remin/Ophele's...

Third of all: the spice, while perhaps not as explicit as it is in other Adult romantasy books, still was delightful and plentiful in this book. AND they utilize new positions, which I know was a complaint of a different reviewer for book 1 (they complained the mains only have sex in missionary in book 1 lol). It actually works well with their relationship development that they're growing and changing up their sex lives in parallel with the growth of their relationship/character arcs, tbqh.

Fourth of all: we get more of the Fantasy aspects in this book--looking more into the origin of the devils, their different types, and where they hide. I'm sure we will do more of a deep dive of this in book 3, perhaps leading to their eradication? (Or at least their creators' eradication? As I suspect, as does Remin, that they're possibly the work of sorcerers).

Fifth of all: the backstory of the Emperor was a delightful addition--I love 3D villains way more than 2D Disney caricatures, and it was SO fun to see him and his miserable arranged marriage as a foil to Remin's very loving arranged marriage. I'm *very* curious to see what hijinks the Emperor, his daughter, and wife get up to in book 3...he and his daughter in particular seem very cunning and perhaps not as evil as we think...

Sixth of all: Miche's side plot in this book was perfect--I *loved* the horror as he discovered Ophele's prior room and how all her trauma from that "home" has shaped her today. Him trying to get a bare minimum of justice for her was just *chef's kiss*. I hope he continues to wreck havoc on her foster "family" in book 3!

Seventh of all, Ophele's growth/arc in this book was very good, as others have stated. It perhaps was a bit slow for my liking, but that didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book at all. It was very realistic given her level of PTSD and trauma--she wasn't going to magically get better and more assertive overnight, after all. Or, quite frankly, completely change her worldview of herself and her foster "family" overnight.

Eight of all, and finally, I'd like to revisit my delight from book 1--that this author is clearly up for a fresh challenge in a sea of very similar romantasy books:
- lots of morally grey sassy MMCs with tons of experience with women and who are very old? Let's write a very principled young MMC who is clueless with woman but has the best intentions.
- lots of MMCs who keep secrets intentionally from the FMC and aren't very good about being honest? Let's write a MMC who is very honest + eager to try to communicate and fix problems in his relationship.
- lots of boring knight in shining armor characters? Let's write a MMC who truly *is* a knight in shining armor, but who is interesting to read and who is disgraced and having to claw back his reputation.
- lots of "Strong, Not Like The Other Girls, Cold and Closed Off" FMCs? Let's write a Fanny Price (ala "Mansfield Park") FMC who is quiet, who has inner strength despite being beaten down/broken by life, a quiet character who needs to *learn* how to be courageous. A FMC who *cares deeply* and isn't afraid to show it. A FMC who is clueless with men but honest about what she wants.
- lots of female bffs for the FMC (or no bffs)? Let's write a male bff for the FMC. (Miche, I love you!!)

Overall, a 5 star read. Another one for the faves shelf, lads. I ordered hard copies of this delight and book 1 and am SO happy to have them. :))

Hope more people read this asap, bc I need to yell about it!! And it deserves it.

This is probably one of the best fantasy books I've read this year, maybe this decade. The world building and character development continues to be top notch. The monsters are scary, the knights do all the brave things. You'll laugh and gasp and cry. The love story between Remin and Ophelia is, honestly, swoon worthy. Such a pure love born out of uncertainty. The way Ophelia becomes such an important part of everyone's lives but takes forever to actually realize her importance is frustratingly satisfying. I can't think of a negative thing to say about this book and can't wait for the next installment ...

This is a book I have recommended to all my friends/family and several perfect strangers. It's that good.

I read book one in this series and was invested in Remin and Ophele’s story. However, it took me a long time to get into this book. Things finally started to improve about 75% of the way through. Mainly I had a hard time with Ophele’s constant insecurity about not being good enough, despite the obvious respect everyone has for her and the value she clearly adds. While I understand that her lack of self-worth was informed by her childhood trauma, it was still frustrating to read over and over again. And because she refused to talk to anyone about it, it felt like an extended form of the miscommunication trope and the pacing was so slow. I almost DNF’d. Once Remin went in search of the monsters and Miche went back to Ophele’s childhood home, things started to get more interesting. The last 1/4 of the book was much better and several things came to a head that left me interested in the progression of the story and wanting to know what happens in the final book of the trilogy.

Even in my little time this month I had to read I put every free minute I had into reading the second installment in the Empire of the Stars series, seriously can't wait for book 3! Easily a 5 star read, I would rate higher if they let me.

We've been acquainted with Remin, Ophele and many of those other lovable characters but goodness, the character growth that all of them still managed in this book was amazing, just as our favorite teddy bear Remin said, "There is no finished person" I thought the writing in the first book was so beautiful and thoughtful and this one was 🌟even🌟 better. Somehow, Melissa J Cave is a wizard for the written word. There were a lot more POVs in this which I found to be super interesting and a nice shake up from book 1. (I MISS YOU SIR MICHE PLEASE COME BACK😭(Very excited to see him roll up with an entire estate though lmao))

A lot of emotional conflict in book one had been nicely "resolved" so to speak and as most series tend to go, new problems present themselves to further the plot. HOWEVER, Stardust Child took an even deeper dive into conflicts that not only we as readers thought were were resolved or maybe would get swept under the rug but many characters as well. I find it incredibly realistic and touching that trauma was presented in such a raw and tender way by Ophele, she is so relatable and reminds me of myself as a child. Her coming into her own strength while remaining gentle and kind is something I love about her. We had a good grasp in Traitor Son, but did not know the full extent of her perils. It fully warmed my heart to a crispy chicken tender to see Ophele sticking up for herself, admitting or struggles and trying to be there for her people, for Remin while eventually telling the truth of all she suffered. "It felt as if a tornado blew through their home and somehow made it stronger."
Remin, while now becoming quite comfy in his role as a loving husband (I said favorite teddy bear for a reason) is still learning things for himself. It was brought up in book one about how he wanted his land to not only be separate from the empire but different from the empire, with their own etiquette, customs, expectations etc. which becomes much more prevalent in this book and I can't wait to follow them on their journey to see what is next.

I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Melissa Cave, Victory Editing and NetGalley!

All opinions and thoughts are my own. 🖤