I really liked the school setting even though it’s become a bit overused. I wish we spent more time at the academy. I mostly wish the book was longer so there was more time to establish different relationships and peoples names. I also kept getting a little confused what was happening.

Think Fourth Wing and Divergent with a dash of Top Gun set against a galaxy backdrop. We’ve got multiple species (including fae, demons, shifters, magic wielders and more), a hidden rebellion, unlocked powers, found family, a disinherited heir, military academy life, slow-burn romance, multiple POVs, and of course a dark, morally gray love interest.

A.R. Schilling weaves dystopian and fantasy elements into a thrilling debut. Honestly, I think she knocked it out of the park. There’s a LOT happening here, and since this is clearly the start of a long series, some things are left open-ended. I expect we’ll see even more worldbuilding and character growth in future books. The timeline did trip me up in places. It took me a page or two to get my bearings, but overall it didn’t pull me out too much.

The FMC, Tara, is struggling to find herself after a lifetime of being discarded. At the Druinov War Academy, she starts to discover who she is and who her friends might be. I love a good bestie, and Vega, her star-bonded friend, is absolute top-tier. She’s a true “touch her and die” best friend, and I am here for it. I’m so intrigued by all the bonds that will develop as the series goes on, and I’m already dying for the next book just to find out who ends up connected to who.

There are a couple of potential love interests, and I think I know which direction it’s heading—but I don’t trust anything until the final book is out. For now, Jasper is my choice (dark, broody, tortured characters are always my weakness).

At the end of the day, I’m here for the vibes, and I really enjoyed this book. Thank you NetGalley for an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Tropes:
🌟 found family
🌟 war academy
🌟 love triangle

I did enjoy this debut novel by A.R. Schilling. We follow Tara as she navigates being stripped of her royal titles and joining a war college to escape her mother after her father, the king, goes missing. During her time at the academy, she is presented with not one, but two love interests - and she doesn’t trust either one of them. With the help of her magically bonded best friend, Vega, and Oberon, the male that secretly loves Vega, Tara is able to better navigate the challenges she faces as she slowly realizes her own potential.

The plot kept me motivated to read it completely through, but I will admit that the writing did make it a little difficult to keep up with the progression of the storyline at times. While there were several clever lines placed throughout the book that had me quickly highlighting quotes, I found it challenging at times to follow where the characters were or who they were talking to. There were instances that I felt there were things missing between scenes and would have to go back several pages to see if I overlooked anything. The world building could use some work, but since I do read a lot of fantasy, I was able to imagine or deduce some stuff as I read. Overall I enjoyed reading it and look forward to the next book in the series!

Thank you @netgalley and Aspin for the free ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you, A.R. Schilling and NetGalley, for the early preview of this book.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Title: Stargazers Salvation
Author: A.R. Schilling
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️
Format: e-book

Review:

Tara is born a Sol-less princess. Her mother, the Queen, has found no use for her. This story of Tara beginning to find her place in the Andromedas System by graduating in one of the five sectors of the War Academy is gripping and so interesting.

This book has all of the pieces to draw you in. I really loved the way the sectors are explained with the political pieces to be considered. Information is given in sensical conversations.

I love love love the friendship between Tara and Vega. And give me that big cinnamon roll Obi before I freaking lose my mind! That man!

I did find myself hoping that pieces of this story weren’t so jumpy.

Spoiler-y info:
I wanted Tara to be able to have a LITTLE bit longer reunion with her dad. I felt it had so much potential for a real heart break moment but it felt rushed.
We jump through the years in the War Academy, and that’s fine in theory… but I feel like I wasn’t prepared for the timeline change without much more story or relationship building? I wanted to get more of the gritty academy experience.

All in all, I really feel this story has tons of potential and I’m hoping we can find out why the Queen is a raging b*tch.

Thank you to Netgalley and A.R.Schilling for the arc.

I missed the ARC sign-ups for this last year and was honestly devastated—but I got really lucky when it became available on NetGalley!

I didn’t realize it had a war college setting, and I loved that aspect. Honestly, toxic dynamics and dark academia go hand in hand, so I wasn’t too surprised when Tara turned out to be a bit of a masochist and still wanted Atlas.

This gave me strong Zodiac Academy vibes overall (which I DNF’d after book 3), but I’m curious to see where the story goes next—especially with Tara and the rest of the cast.

Oh I loved this book so much, such a great story the fmc is such a badass, it is funny and witty and just very easy to read, the world building was a little lacking but the story made up for that

I want to start off this review by asking one question… when the heck can I have book two?!

While I do wish there was more world building, the rest of this book was perfection. The FMC is a TOTAL badass, and the last line of the book proves that she’s much stronger than she thinks.

I have so so so so many questions that I cannot wait to have answers to. What is it about Jasper that causes the colorfulness? Does atlas actually love her or what in the hell is going on there? Why did jaspers eyes turn color? Who tf is the shifter prince? I could keep going forever but for now I think I will go sit and stare at the wall because that’s how the end of this book left me feeling.

I cannot wait for book two, seriously cannot wait.

I really enjoyed this story. I found the world building to be a bit lacking and I would have loved to be able to immerse myself into the setting a bit more with more descriptions. But I really came to care about all of the characters and I am looking forward to seeing what happens in a sequel.

This is a really strong story for a debut author. I really like where this series can potentially go. I enjoyed it with and give it 4 strong stars. I’m excited to read the next book. I need an explanation about Jasper’s and Ajax’s eyes!! Also, WTH is/was Ajax? I loved the side story with Vega and Obi, and how strong their friendship is and the soul-bond Tara shares with Vega. I assume we get at least one more bond between Tara and someone else of importance…#StargazersSalvation #NetGalley

This book is a good intro into Space Opera.

The writing was great, there were a lot of witty lines I really enjoyed.

The FMC Tara and her friends Vega and Obi were the highlight of the book for me.

I struggled most with the pacing of this book. There are time jumps and multiple POVs and if you aren’t paying attention to the dates it can throw you off completely. I had to go back a couple of times to the start of the chapter to orient myself.

I also felt the world building could have been done more successfully. The notebooks with pictures were fun but overdone, it felt like too much info dumping. It should clear the way for more action in future books though!

Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC!

Book Review: Stargazer’s Salvation by A.R. Schilling
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)
Genre: Romance, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Stargazer’s Salvation by A.R. Schilling is a genre-blending journey that masterfully weaves romance, science fiction, and fantasy into a vivid, emotionally charged story. Schilling’s attention to detail is exceptional—each setting feels fully realized, and the writing is rich and evocative without ever becoming overwhelming.

The characters truly shine, with emotional depth and realistic development that make their struggles and relationships feel authentic. The romance is well-paced, and the worldbuilding seamlessly supports the tension and stakes of the plot.

While the novel delivers a beautifully written and engaging experience, the ending didn’t quite resonate as strongly as the rest of the book. It felt slightly underwhelming after such an immersive buildup—but it doesn’t take away from the strength of the journey.

Recommended for: Readers who love genre mashups with richly built worlds, heartfelt romance, and poetic prose. A great pick for fans of romantic sci-fi/fantasy crossovers.

I was really excited for this book when I found the posts on the author’s Instagram marketing the book. Though there are some really good points, I think overall this book was not for me.

✔ The strong friendship between Tara, Vega, and Obi was a joy to read about (though I do wish there was more backstory behind how they got that close).
✔ There is something about the way this author writes that is compelling - it kept me reading to the end despite not enjoying the way the plot was structured.

✖ The plot is both very fast and very slow. A lot of things happen in quick succession at times, but as it feels we are getting somewhere big, the momentum entirely stops and tries to return to the baseline level, which is very hard to follow.
✖ The overall timeline is also hard to follow - the large timeskip feels disjointed and I think takes away a lot of potential for worldbuilding and setting up the characters. We don’t spend a lot of time seeing what would have been formative years for Tara at Druinov which almost makes me feel like I’ve somehow skipped a nonexistent book 1, with all of the confusion following not understanding how we got somewhere.
✖ Speaking of worldbuilding, there were some very interesting tidbits thrown in about the school and the greater world but overall, a lot of things felt a bit either undercooked or not fully explained. The world this author is developing seems very cool but a whole book later, I feel like I know next to nothing about it.
✖ Atlas, Jasper, and Tara’s love triangle gave me very weird vibes - I didn’t feel strongly about either love interest by the end. They both feel like equally wrong choices.

2/5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was a bit of a slow start and I almost DNFed it, but once it kicked in (after the first 30% or so) I was hooked.
One thing that put me off was how much I disliked the MC, but actually I don’t think she’s meant to be likeable to start with but her character does go through a lot of growth that had me rooting for her in the end. I do love a reluctant hero!
It is a super unique story and full of politics and adventure, and once it gets going it’s fast paced and really pulls you in.
I think this is going to be a real hidden gem and I can’t wait to read more form the author.

A fun adventure story set in space mystics. There is a lot of information in the first few chapters to process. Tara is really handling things well. Events between her childhood and her now are talked around a bit and I ha a hard time following. I think that' the point, being bland and not interesting but also not happy or worth talking about.

Finding family in her bet friends fated from the stars it's a wonderful thing. Found family is a theme i really love and they are very fun. A quite type always with a loud or social one.

I really enjoyed this one. When I heard it was for fans of divergent I knew I had to read it and I was not disappointed! I was hooked the first 30% and found the world building and characters intriguing. I like that it mixes fantasy with space, such a cool concept. I also really love the friendship between Tara and Vega. That they would do literally anything for each other. Jasper was also an intriguing character and it was fun to see his and Tara’s relationship evolve. I really like them together. There’s also twists and turns, and of course, rebels! It was very exiting at the end and I can’t wait to see where this story goes! The drawings were also a fun addition to the book and I wish more books would do that. It made it easier to understand and remember parts of the world building.

Even though I enjoyed it overall, I wish we could have had some more world building right away. It is sprinkled throughout the story but it’s also too little when it first comes. I would have liked to know about the other kingdoms/systems with fae, demons and shape shifters from the start, I feel like that’s a vital part of the world building. I also didn’t quite grasp the different bonds one could have so when they were mentioned again after the explanation I didn’t remember the meaning. The time jumping in the beginning was also a bit weird. I wish we could have gotten to know the characters better in the 2-3 years that were cut and how their relationships came to be. I can’t figure out Atlas for instance. First he’s kind and flirty and then he’s super mean, I don’t get it. I feel like Tara was acting a bit weird around him too and gave the reader mixed signals. I also don’t understand how Tara and Vega came to be such good friends seeing as we’re told they hated each other in the beginning. How they became friends I would have liked elaborated more other than that they were bonded and had to become friends kind of? Lastly, I wish we would have gotten more scenes with Tara in her aeronautics class. That’s what she chose even though she was not supposed to but I feel like that fact was a bit cast aside. There were no consequences for choosing that? Hopefully we’ll get some more answers in the next book. Oh and, we’re reminded time and time again that this is a dangerous academy but apart from the one crash and that one character was stabbed at the beginning of the book I didn’t get the feeling that this was so dangerous.

So overall, I like the writing style, world building and characters very much but the execution was a bit messy for me to give it a higher rating.

Review posted to Goodreads and will be posted to Instagram @vicysboktips on Friday 20.06.

A completely pleasant surprise. Initially fearing I was in for a derivative read, and the first third or so does track that way, Schilling’s writing truly stands out, and I kept wanting to come back.

By the time the worldbuilding really starts to kick in, after a bit of a disjointed entry point to this universe, I couldn’t put the book down.

Our protagonist teeters on that edge of unlikable but ultimately won me over. The writing and editorial choices, particularly a few well-placed POV changes, aided in this battle.

The overall story leaves something to be desired, but that can remedied if the saga continues. I happened on this book from interest in the genre, but definitely came away as a fan of the author and will read on.

Thank you to Victory Editing and NetGalley for the ARC. Opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I have had this on my TBR since January 2025 before it was rereleased and I’ve been so excited to read it when it finally was published in May 2025, but I unfortunately had to DNF about little over 30% in. I was really disappointed in the lack of world building and explanations in this book. I love the war college aspect and that we’re in a different planetary world than what we normally see in most of the newer fantasy books, but there was such a lack of development of the world and how things worked that I found myself SO confused. I just wanted more or a deeper explanation for where they are the purpose of it and I felt like I was about to get it when they were teaching the first year and then we barely got anything other than a couple details about a few planets. But nothing about the overall solar system or why it is the way it is and how it’s governed or who’s ultimately in charge. We have royals but where? It sounds like there’s people in charge on every planet but I’m not really sure.

And there’s a bond?. For how often the bond between Tara and Vega was mentioned, it drove me insane that there was never an explanation for WHY they were bonded or how this bond worked other than feeling each other’s emotions.


And then there’s Atlas. I don’t understand this dynamic. At. All. Do we love him? Do we hate him? This relationship felt so underdeveloped and I know it was early on but I have whiplash…I don’t understand if there’s chemistry or not or if this is a love/hate situation or what but it felt so weird.

I wanted to love it and I stuck with it longer than I wanted to in hopes that some of my questions would be answered but when there was a missed opportunity for world building and a totally weird “romantic” interaction with Atlas I couldn’t keep going.

2 stars solely for the fact that I’m hoping I can try reading it again and get into it because I really want to love it.