I went through a lot of emotions while reading this novella. While the stories and Roshani's writing is enough to give anyone all the feels, my own emotions were more or less nostalgic. I remembered "meeting" Roshani on twitter in 2015 in a debut author chat and how excited I was to see a POC ownvoices author writing an Indian fantasy. It's so beautiful to see how much this series and the world has expanded, and I can't help but be so proud as I read the perfect and beautiful wrap up to one of the very first South Asian YA books I have read as a blogger.

Star Touched Stories is a beautiful goodbye to the world and its characters. It gave that satisfying after taste of the finale of a very beloved and long series. The stories had the signature elements of Roshani's lush and evocative writing, her layered and lovable characters and the extraordinary world she has created with the previous two books. The three stories take you through an emotional rollercoaster ride, and it's impossible to stop yourself turning the pages.

While it's phenomenal in whole, individually the stories excel as well. While my personal favourite is the last one, Rose and Sword, all three of the stories are memorable and outstanding.

Death and Night

A prequel to Star Touched Queen, it tells the story of the path to Amar and Maya's love story. Even though you know what's going to happen in the end, you are still hooked to it, as you swoon over Death's love for Night, his efforts ( especially his adorable attempts at courting ) and his pain. When I was done, I wanted to go back and read The Star Touched Queen all over again.

Poison and Gold

I have to admit, Aasha didn't stand out to me in A Crown of Wishes, but as I read her story, I was so surprised by how much I loved her. Curious and kind, she was a perfect Hufflepuff, and that was enough for me to develop a soft spot. The story has a f/f romance to die for, and you'll root for Aasha every step in her way, as you always want her to get everything she deserves.

Rose and Sword

OH MY GOD. This was my reaction to this story. Placing this one at the end was such a good decision, as it took me like an hour to even get over it. I literally can't say anything without spoiling, and this is something you have to go in blind, but let me just say this. Have those tissues ready. I was sniffling so hard throughout.

This is a must read for anyone who has read and loved The Star Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes. It's the closure and wrap up this series deserves, and Roshani delivered it perfectly. I'll miss these characters and the world so much. Now let me go cry over Rose and Sword once again.

I read this book over a period of time. I finished the first one right away, and it took me time to get to the others. The biggest thing I took away from this story is absolute wonder at how gorgeous a writer is Roshani Chokshi. The way she crafts her words and her understanding of human nature and all it’s glory and flaws just blew me away. Each story left me with tremendous joy as well as a quiet ache inside. The first story of Death and Night story was so sweet but I also felt incredibly sad reading it and knowing the trials they had ahead of them. I enjoyed Asha’s tale and seeing her gain confidence in herself and find her place - and someone special. And the final short with Gauri and Vikram was just so lovely and real. I adore these characters so much. Don’t pass on this addition to THE STAR-TOUCHED QUEEN and CROWN OF WISHES.

Just beautiful.
The stories are lush and interesting. The writing is lyrical and absolutely beautiful.
A great addition to the series

Once again Chokshi delivers dreamy tales written in some of the most beautiful pose I have ever had the pleasure to read. You float through reading these stories, grasping for air when you finally come up after finishing only to flip back to the beginning and start again.

SPOTLIGHT: ‘Star-Touched Stories’ by Roshani Chokshi
August 1, 2018 By Katie (Edit)

Roshani Chokshi is back with Star-Touched Stories and we can’t tell you how excited we are for this book! Check out the Q & A and read an excerpt below!

SPOTLIGHT: 'Star-Touched Stories" by Roshani Chokshi
Courtesy of St. Martin’s Press
On August 7th, the next installment of the Star-Touched series will be here! We absolutely adored The Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes. When Death & Night, a Star-Touched novella came out, I tripped over myself to download it to my Kindle.

It goes without saying that Roshani Chokshi is one of my favorite authors, and I adore the tone of her stories and the magical feel I get when I read a single page.

Star-Touched Stories is a complilation of three novellas in set in the Star-Touched universe. First is Death & Night which was released on its on before, but there are two new novellas that will have you swooning, too!

Perfect companion to the rest of the series. My kids will love this one, especially those who were not ready to be done with this world.

What an absolute joy to be back in the world of The Star-Touched Queen series. These stories are as magical and lyrical as ever and this is yet another book you need to savor as your read. They ensnare you and makes it feel like you're really there with the characters. I adore Roshani's writing and she just has this way of bringing this world to life. I will be the first to admit that usually purple prose isn't for me, but there's something really splendid about this series that manages to enrich your soul. I can't help but to fall in love with these stories. These are stories I didn't even know I NEEDED in my life until I read them and I love that the publisher has found a way to print these novellas together into a physical book.

"Death and Night" is a prequel to The Star-Touched Queen, and think reading this story adds so much depth to what we know now of Maya and Amar's story. I've really reading a lot of romance stories lately and this novella is just fluff that gives you the warm fuzzies. It's heart-warming and I love this one so much. There's also really hilarious moments between Gupta and Death and I can read their banter all day.

I almost feel like "Poison and Gold" this was more of a lead-in to "Rose and Sword" (but okay, my faves are Gauri and Vikram, so I'm kind of biased), but it does manage to stand on its own. We met Aasha in A Crown of Wishes and it's lovely to see her story here. I thought this one was really heartfelt as we journey with Aasha and I loved reading her grow as a character. What's really beautiful about Aasha's story is that this is also f/f! So, thank you, Roshani for giving us this wonderful story.

"Rose and Sword", you guys. LIKE. WHAT HAPPENED. MY FEELS. That's just not right. You start off this book with a lovely, sweet novella and then you end of bawling from emotions by the end? This is a story within a story and I really did not expect to be this emotional reading this one. This acts like an epilogue for Gauri and Vikram and I think this story was both wonderful and bittersweet. If you guys love Gauri and Vikram as much as I do, grab a box of tissues.

***Thank you to the publisher for providing me an e-ARC from NetGalley for review as part of a blog tour***

4.5 Stars

Oh my God, the writing... But first, the stories. I'm not so into companion novels (but I do love Levana's story in The Lunar Chronicles) and not also into short stories or anthologies so I wasn't sure what made me request this one from Netgalley. Maybe it was the cover because duh? look how gorgeous it is. But anyway, I'm glad I did request this ARC.

First paragraph on first story, Death and Night, I was hooked. Death is the first narrator and I found his thoughts not only dark but sad. So sad, my heart answered to him right away. And then there's the love story between him and Night herself. It was perfect. I haven't felt true love in so long, I just loved it. Sure there was ssa bit insta-love an dthe plot was a little rushed but we mustn't forget this is a short story.

The second story I couldn't connect that much, maybe because I heard too much from Aasha and I long to hear from the spymaster herself. I wanna read her thoughts too. In fact I want to read hers more than Aasha becaus eshe's much darker and Aasha was all-scared adn I don't know. But I love the LGBTQ+ rep though I wasn't expecting. It's very refreshing.

The third story, I adore so much. It started with a kid resenting her sister but then her granny told her a story. The three stories somehow are connected with each other. And very much connected to the main series, I guess. I haven't read them but I want to now.

The writing is juts perfect for me. I love it. So aesthetic. So Beautiful and magical. See, I really love this kind of writing but lately all I've been reading are books with aesthetic language but said aesthetic language are used only to describe things around. But it turned Roshani Chokshi's writing is art itself. I'm gonna read all her works just for her inspiration. And oh the world. I love the world. I can't wait to read the other books in the series..

I found this book to be amazingly written. Roshani is a great storyteller. I would recommend this book if one wants to expand their mind and get lost in a book.

Death and Night take on human form as they learn to love one another. A woman granted a wish loses her self-confidence as she navigates a world unknown to her. A queen and king, on the night before their wedding, engage in the greatest challenge to their union. Author Roshani Chokshi brings back characters readers will recognize in Star-Touched Stories, a triad of novellas almost too sumptuous for consumption.

In the first story, Death needs a queen but doesn’t want to risk his heart. Due to a curse inflicted on him centuries earlier, he’s destined to lose anyone he loves. He searches for a companion with a proposition in mind. He’ll offer a suitable mate all the comforts she could possibly want but not love. Of course, he didn’t count on meeting Night and falling in love with her. Night, too, becomes enamored with Death, despite his insistence that he doesn’t want a relationship. Together they navigate a territory unknown to both of them until they reach a point where they must decide whether love is worth the cost.

The second story opens with Aasha, a being from the Otherworld who made a wish to live among humans. A close friend to Queen Gauri and King Vikram, Aasha lives in the palace and uses her talents to advise both on matters of state. As the two royals prepare to join their kingdoms through marriage, other advisors complain about Aasha’s proximity to Gauri and Vikram. They offer her the opportunity to train as a Spy Mistress so she can retain an official title as well as a legitimate reason to stay close. With the utmost of reluctance, Aasha begins her training and finds it to be exactly what she needed to center herself. She also finds the opportunity for love in the most unexpected way possible.

Gauri and Vikram become the focus of the third story. Many years into the future, Princess Hira finds herself pouting on the eve of her big sister’s wedding. She runs to her grandmother and former queen, Gauri, who shares her own love story with Hira. On the night before her wedding, Vikram falls victim to a mysterious illness. Gauri learns the only way to cure him is to go to the Otherworld and bring back his last breath. Along the way she runs into challenges to herself and to the strength of her love, which force her to consider carefully whether the journey is worth it.

Author Roshani Chokshi gives readers a chance to spend more time with Aasha, Gauri, and Vikram, beloved characters from her previous novel, A Crown of Wishes. In Star-Touched Stories, as with her previous books, Chokshi bends her prose in ways that will delight readers with its unexpected twists. Many of the metaphors will make readers sit back in appreciation.

Those same metaphors, however, also slightly weaken the book. In many cases, they come too close to one another. The lush descriptions, enchanting at first, at times will overwhelm readers and will force them to step back from the book for a while to breathe.

Chokshi’s talent is unquestionable; her descriptions and world building offer readers a delightful departure from other stories. It wouldn’t hurt, in future books, for her to give her readers a little bit of space in between some of those descriptions. With enough plain narrative to act as the stitching to the rich metaphors, the tapestries of her novels and stories will appear that much more lush.

Fans waiting to find out more about Aasha, Vikram, and Gauri will certainly appreciate returning to their world in this trilogy. Readers new to Chokshi’s work can consider it a crash course in her writing style. I find Star-Touched Stories Bordering on Bookmarking it.

Nice companion to the main series. I enjoyed getting to see more of the characters, both from the past and in the future.

I love Roshani's world of fantasy and magic! An excellent return to the characters we know and love!

*eARC kindly provided by St. Martin's Press via NetGalley*

Death and Night: I could've skipped this one, since I'd already read it, but I didn't want to. It was just as good, just as precious, the second time around. OTP FOREVER. I love this dark and fierce and powerful couple so much. (Still 5 stars)

Poison and Gold: oh my god I loved this one so, so much. first of all, thank you for an f/f relationship, Roshani. It was beautiful and full of learning and understanding and a willingness to try, to look beyond their own pasts and toward a future instead. To be honest, I didn't really remember Aasha from A Crown of Wishes. But even so, I adored her so much. I loved her curiosity and spark, her kindness and refusal to underscore her own passions and desires. I loved that she found herself, and that with Zahril, she also found a love worth a leap of faith. They both deserved it. It was such a gorgeous story. And I absolutely LOVED seeing Gauri and Vikram again. They're my favorites! (5 stars!)

Rose and Sword: oh. oh, this one made me cry. From the first chapter to the last. So simply exquisite in its entirety. A little weighted, a little sad. But also filled with laughter and happiness. I loved the approach that Roshani took with this particular test and adventure, how she wove a tale around the inevitability of Death and what one would do to bring back a loved one they aren't ready to let go of quite yet. But I'm being incredibly vague for a reason. I think this is one you should go into not knowing anything about it. It was, probably, my favorite of the three of them. I feel so settled and satisfied. My heart is happy. (5 stars!)
"To possess even a single line in the legend of you is the greatest wish I could have made."

I am not sure if I needed to read the other books first but I did not. It seemed like a regular story to me. It didn't really have me confused so I assume it is just an extra story in the series that can be read alone. I really liked it. Like I previously stated I haven't read the other books in this series but now I want to after reading this one.

I liked the original series, but not the novellas. I don’t know, they just didn’t do it for me. It took me what seemed like eons (and not a blink) to finish this selection, because they just were so… not intriguing to me. And don’t get me wrong, I loved the original subject material, I love the world, the characters, and even the idea of the novellas, I just didn’t love the follow-through.

My main issue with the first, Death and Night, was that it was filled with so many ambiguous and dramatic metaphors that it was hard to see through them to the actual plot underneath. I didn’t find that entirely necessary. I know having Death and Night as characters presents a lot of potential for fanciful figurative language, but it was so unnecessary. I couldn’t even keep track of the ever-so-slowly-moving plot due to all the strangeness hovering about.

The second story, Poison and Gold, was okay, but it just didn’t call to me. I think the main thing was that I felt like I didn’t get a lot character development, and especially the romantic development just… wasn’t there. Again, it was a fun story, but it seemed like we were totally rushed through her training and the development of her romance and I was left feeling a very surface level of attachment to the story that I don’t love. I like to really dive into a story and, strange as it sounds, I want it to break my heart when I have to leave. After this story though, I just kind of moved on.

And the third and final story, Rose and Sword. I liked it. Probably more than the other two. It was really nice to get to revisit Gauri and Vikram. However, I thought the storytelling/narrative mode was a little odd. I think in the end it might have just been better to tell the story straight up, rather than have long spans of dramatic story and then a short couple paragraphs of Hira saying, “Did that really happen?” and Gauri just being like, “Yep.” That also seemed kind of unnecessary to me. Although, I will say the end is super cute and its fun to kind of see Gauri and Vikram’s lineage to a small degree. I think that could have been done in just a general epilogue though.

Regardless, I think it was a nice collection, but not anything particularly interesting.

I absolutely loved Roshani Chokshi’s full novels The Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes, so when the first short story in this collection, “Death and Night” came out as a novella last May, I was all over it. I won’t go into that story in this review, because I wrote a full review for it last year (and you can read it on my blog). So, when I started reading Star-Touched Stories, I skipped straight to “Poison and Gold” … and I do have to say that it was my least favourite story in the collection. The story revolved around Aasha, a friend that Gauri and Vikram made while participating in the tournament of wishes in A Crown of Wishes, and while I did like her character in that book, I can’t way that I liked her enough to read a short story about her. I did enjoy learning more about the world as a whole, but I wasn’t really too invested in Asha and her interactions with the Spy Mistress, although the ending was a sweet one.

My favourite thing in “Poison and Gold,” was that I got to spend a little more time with Gauri and Vikram. The third and last story in the collection, “Rose and Sword,“ had more of a focus on Gauri and Vikram though, and it was quite a beautiful story. It was also a very sad story though, and I spent most of it crying, while the ending made me bawl my eyes out. I’m actually tearing up while typing this now! Gauri and Vikram had been through a lot in order to “save the day” and be together, so I was very sad to see them have to suffer through another struggle. I would have rather read in detail about their wedding day and night. There were some happy moments though, and I character that I enjoyed in Chokshi’s full-length books made a reappearance, so that made me happy! Also, like I said, “Rose and Sword” was a beautiful story, and all three stories, in fact, were beautifully written in the unique and lush style of Chokshi. I also found that Chokshi’s writing (while great from the start for me), has matured and improved over the years! I highly recommend this short story collection to fans of her work!

I haven't actually read the first books in this series yet but they are on my kindle but I really did enjoy these stories from that universe. Now I just need to read the other books.

We revisit the Star-Touched world, with some beautiful short stories.

I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved the Star-Touched Queen, and Chokshi's vivid and mesmerising descriptions continue with this collection of stories that touch upon some of the characters from the main books.

It was so pleasant to sit and get swept away by the stories that stitch together the Night Bazaar and Otherworld, with the almost-normal humans (almost, as in they can live for hundreds of years, and can possess certain gifts). The writing is descriptive, but effortless, and flows along. It feels like a warm, familiar story; even if its the first time visiting this world.

These stories are solely focused on love. On discovering feelings, and accepting them. On being so wrapped up in love that nothing can harm you. On what these characters would be willing to do for love.
I'll be honest, I'm pretty cold-hearted, and I would have preferred more adventures in the Otherworld. But this was still enjoyable.

And yes for the crazy demon-horse!

I'd definitely recommend trying out this series.

Throughout these stories, Chokshi’s writing remains provocative and sensual – perhaps leaning towards the purple prose side for some readers. I for one really enjoyed her heady descriptions and imaginative metaphors, and any reader who has enjoyed her previous two books in this world will adore this one. It ties in so many stories and characters, as well as presents itself as a final kiss and goodbye to the stunning world that we have visited twice already.

Note: this review will contain slight spoilers to The Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes!

DEATH AND NIGHT

“Love was extraordinary.
Extraordinarily spiteful.
Extraordinarily blind.
Extraordinarily misleading.”

This story is a prequel to Chokshi’s debut, The Star-Touched Queen. In TSTQ, Maya and Amar are given a second chance to revisit their love and correct their mistakes. But what happened when they first fell in love?

I love how Chokshi set-up Death and Night’s characters in this story. Night sold her wares at the Night Bazaar, which consists of this dream fruit that is coveted by many, but at a high price. She wants recognition. Death has been lonely these past years, and he needs to take a bride. The only catch is: he can’t fall in love with her. Despite obstacles and all odds, they meet each other and begin a sweet, sometimes snarky, but altogether delightful courtship that is tested through the threads of time. I loved this little insight to Maya and Amar’s past life, and seeing familiar characters!

POISON AND GOLD

“Of all the human desires and emotions that fascinated her, love was the most mysterious of them all.”

In A Crown of Wishes, we met and fell in love with Aasha, a centuries old vishakanya who despite her age, is still curious and bright-eyed about the world. When Aasha gets granted a boon to become human, she goes back to the courts with Gauri and Vikram. But she still doesn’t feel as if she belongs with them…

I adored Aasha in ACOW, and I loved seeing her story continued in this short story. Aasha finds herself lost, to an extent. She’s no good to Gauri and Vikram diplomatically, while they’re trying to rule two kingdoms, and she just can’t seem to shake off the courtier’s insults. An opportunity to get away from this presents itself when Gauri and Vikram ask her to become their Spy Mistress. The catch? She has to get approval first from the current Spy Mistress, who is a mysterious and apparently cold-hearted individual. But when Aasha begins her training and finds herself completing her tests, she also finds herself drawn to the Spy Mistress and the secrets she told. I loved the sapphic romance this story had, and Aasha’s own self-discovery.

ROSE AND SWORD

“‘To possess even a single line in the legend of you is the greatest wish I could have made.'”

This story brings back Gauri and Vikram’s tale, which hasn’t quite ended yet. It takes place distantly in the future, where a grandmother is trying to cheer up her grandchild in the wake of a large wedding. To cheer her up, she tells the story of another wedding, long ago. A wedding that never happened…

I don’t want to give away too much of this story, but it was as beautifully-written and heartful as the other two. It serves as an epilogue to ACOW in many ways, and I just love how Chokshi tied everything up. There’s an exploration of not only new love found, but retaining this love through thick and thin, and the risk to love despite the pain. Readers of Chokshi’s books do not want to miss out on these three stories, and the beloved characters they bring back.

Thank you St. Martin’s and Netgalley for the review copy!

Roshani Chokshi has a beautiful flowery writing style. Her writing seems rich and decadent to me, and I enjoyed the first two books of this series very much.

This compilation of short stories, while in the same writing style, didn't hold my interest as well as the earlier books. I think that's partially because I'm not a big fan of shorts, but also because I had a hard time remembering the myriad details of the earlier books, and so I couldn't remember all of the characters that were featured here. And I will maybe attribute a bit to the fact that I'm on-the-go so much right now that I think about wasn't feeling the ability to sit down and read such a meandering story.

That being said, if you are a fan of the series and remembered who these characters are, I think you will like these fantastical tales. I'm not familiar with Hindu and Indian folklore, but Chokshi brings the world to life and makes me interested to learn more. I love some of the settings and world-building that I've never experienced before. Though I tend to get more absorbed into the longer stories, as I feel like I get more invested. So I will be looking forward to the next full-length novel.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received from the publisher.