If you are going to write a novella in between books, THIS is how it is done!

I will normally avoid short stories, origins and any other form of novella like the plague. Nine times out of ten I find them to be fluffy little tales of what my favorite characters are doing in between books and I hate it. Rather than bringing me closer to the characters I have grown to love, they tend to pull me away with pointless tidbits that I really don't need to know. Star-Touched Stories not only surprised me by blowing my expectations out of the water but by also giving me beautifully written insights that only made me love these characters more. To say I was impressed is an understatement.

I definitely recommend reading Chokshi's other works before diving into this amazing short story collection, not only because the books are incredible but because you there's so much magic you will be missing out on.

Roshani Chokshi is quickly becoming one of my favorite fantasy writers and I am anxiously waiting to see what magical tale she comes up with next!

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review this book.

I really enjoyed The Star-Touched Queen series so reading more stories from this world was a lot of fun for me. These aren't necessary for people who read the series but it is definitely a fun extra for fans of the characters. That being said, it really would only be a good read for people who have already read and loved The Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes. There are a lot of references to moments that happen in the main books of the series and I don't think a casual reader would care enough about the characters to enjoy these stories if they aren't already huge fans of the other books. I would recommend this book for people who have read The Star-Touched Queen and enjoyed it and want more of that kind of story. Novellas tend to just work this way so it is hard to make it a general recommendation. I will say that I think the first story is my favorite because I always want more of Maya and the Dharma Raja but the other stories were still fun to read as well.

LOVED IT! I felt like a child that was being told the most captivating stories and didn’t want it to end. I wanted more. 3 short stories from the Star-Touched world. Stories of love and death, of overcoming fear, of overcoming insecurities and discovering your true self. This book doesn’t disappoint and will leave you craving more.

If you haven’t read the Star-Touch bookies go out and pick them up. They are so beautifully written that you will want to read it over and over. I know what book I will be giving as a gift this year.

Three magical stories that add so much depth to the world Chokshi has created.
Beautiful writing that winds these stories in a fairy tale fashion that I adore! I highly recommend for fans of the series, I don't want to spoil anything for people who haven't read them yet but they are amazing. I highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The Good
Because these new companion short stories and novellas are trendy, I’ve read a lot of them. I’m generally not a huge fan of them, because in a lot of cases they seem to be a way to make more content, but that content doesn’t add much to the overall series. This is not the case here. Each of these stories adds a lot to the world that Chokshi has built. Things happen here and characters change, even if it all happens in the space of a short story instead of a novel.

Also, Chokshi just writes beautifully, as we know. Her words really create luscious pictures and draw you in to a beautiful world. These stories explore new bits of that world while still drawing on what we’ve seen before. It’s lovely.

Chokshi also includes relationships that aren’t just straight, and works them in without any hand wringing. This was really nice to see and the relationships felt as natural as any other that she’s written.

The Bad
Because these are short stories, there isn’t that much space to develop them, sometimes leaving me wanting more. Some of them do lend themselves to the shorter space, but others could have done with more space to develop and explore the characters. Hopefully the characters and some of the ideas will be picked up again by Chokshi in other works, because there is definitely enough space here to learn more and to explore more. But I guess wanting more isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

The Verdict
If you liked Chokshi’s other books, definitely check this out too. It’s more of what you love, even if it’s in a small space. I enjoyed this and I see it fitting in well to Chokshi’s other work. Look for this book coming out in August!

Roshani Chokshi is such a beautiful writer. Her words are almost lyrical and ebb and flow like they are about to jump off of the page. They are so magical that I thoroughly enjoyed every part of this short story collection.

The stories expand on and are related to Chokshi’s fantastic full-length novels The Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes. They reveal more about some of the duology’s much loved characters and further immerses the reader into the magical world they live in. I highly recommend this collection for people who have read these two books, but even if you haven’t, it could act as a good taster before jumping into the main stories.

The first story is Death and Night, one that I had read previously and really liked. I could have skipped over it and am glad that I didn't. It was just as enjoyable the second time around. The story is about how Death fell in love with Night. Their relationship and interactions were wonderfully written with a perfect balance between romance, humor and heartbreak. This particular story is a prequel to The Star-Touched Queen and explores how Amar and Maya first met.

This is followed by Poison and Gold, which focuses on Aasha, a character from A Crown of Wishes. The story is about learning and understanding, basically believing in yourself and opening up to others. It features a beautifully written female/female romance that I cheered on right from the beginning.

The final short story is titled the Rose and Sword. This story took me by surprise! I wasn’t expected such an emotional rollercoaster as it’s a little bit sad with snippets of happiness and humor. You will definitely need a box of kleenex for this one! It features a grandmother telling a story to her granddaughter and explains the inevitability of death. We all die in the end but how far would you go to bring a loved one back and at what price?

All of these stories were so well written and work together perfectly within the collection. I cannot recommend them enough! Never have I read a group of short stories that left me feeling so satisfied and complete. That truly proves just how talented Chokshi is and I cannot wait to see what she will release next.

I loved this so much. Roshani Chokshi has a way with words and I can't dislike any of her books. She always immerses her readers into her stories and this is no different. I can't say much without spoiling her other books but these novellas continue those stories and fans will not be disappointed.

I loved loved loved Roshani Chokshi.s books and I was thrilled at hearing there would be more stories in her world. These stories are magical and utterly enchanting. Chokshi’s writing is captivating and beautiful. Her world building is realistic and magical all at once. I recommend reading the books first before these stories, but this should definitely closely follow them!

I was so happy to get to read this book last night. I finished one book and decided to start this, the only reason why I finished it so fast is that one of the stories in this collection I just read the prior week. I skipped over that and read the second and third stories. I was maybe a blubbering mess at the end of this short story collection. Chokshi does a great job of having you wish for more stories involving the characters we have been introduced to in this fantastic world she has created.

Death and Night (5 stars)- Not too much to say here besides how much I loved the beginning to Death and Night or how we know them, Amar and Maya.

We read about both of these characters in "The Star-Touched Queen" but we get to read about how they met, how Death courted Night, and how she loved him. We know what will happen next (I read the first full book and only came back to read this prequel now) but it was great to read about how they came to love one another prior to Night choosing to leave him in order to be re-born.

Death is cursed to fall in love with a woman who will leave him. So he decides to just marry, but now love his wife. Until he meets Night and knows that she is the right person for him. They have a great dynamic that consists of challenging each other as well as realizing that the other person is truly who they want to be with.

I did like that we got some backstory on the friendship between Night and Nritti. You get to see why Night loves her so much. She's one of the few who is not afraid of Night.

I also loved how we got to see how playful Gupta was with Death. I maybe laughed at him trying to teach Death how to properly court.

The writing was lyrical and made me laugh at times. You can easily see why Death and Night fell for each other.

Poison and Gold (5 stars)- We got to know Aasha in "A Crown of Wishes". Now that she is living with Guari and Vikram as they prepare to marry and unite their two kingdoms, she is scared that her powers are out of control. If she were to hurt one of them or someone else, she doesn't know what she will do. When she is given a choice to become their Spy Mistress or be sent away forever, she chooses to do what she can to stay with them. She begins training and finds out reserves she never knew she had, all while being brave enough to love someone.

Rose and Sword (5 stars)-A story within a story, we have a little girl being told a fairy tale by her grandmother. The story revolves around a wedding night and death. It also involves some familiar faces to those who have read "A Star-Touched Queen" and "A Crown of Wishes". Seriously though you guys, please get tissues ready. If you can read this story without crying, you are stronger than me. I was a mess. I don't want to spoil for potential readers, but this story hit me with all the feels.

Wow. Surely these are a collection of short stories but they will grip your soul so hard. Chokshi's writing definitely needed to be highly commended, she can weave stories about anything! My favorite would be Night and Death; you would not believe how hard I cried reading this story. It felt so real despite its fantasy elements. If you've loved her Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes, you better get this novella in your hands.

I forgot how much I loved Roshini Chokshi's writing. I thought I would be lost because I haven't read either of her books in such a long time but reading each of the stories I got pulled right back into their adventures. I love how she balances rich prose and dry humor. It works so well for me and I am a huge sucker for Gauri and Vikram's romance. It was so nice to see them all together again. Definitely loved these short stories and I would highly recommend to anyone who loved the other two! 4.5 stars!

I wasn't sure I was going to read this because although I really enjoyed her series I don't tend to love novellas but I gave it a go because I love the authors writing and I am so glad I did because I really loved this collection. The stories are so fun to read and if you have read the other books in the series then you might enjoy them even more like I did. Overall I would highly recommend the writing is amazing.

Roshani Chokshi truly has one of the most beautiful writing styles I've ever read, and the stories in this book are just further proof of that. Each one is amazingly constructed and I have to say I think she's one of my favourite authors at the moment. The best part about the stories in this book is seeing how they slot in between the main novels (even if the third story tried its level best to freak me out) - I loved returning to familiar faces, but also getting to see beyond what happens in the books, into the characters' futures, and also into the lives of side characters. It makes me want to reread the series right from the start (even though I don't have the time), and it also strengthens my conviction that I'll read anything Roshani Chokshi writes ever.

READ THIS AND SWOON WITH ME!

I would absolutely recommend this book to everyone and anyone. It’ll mean the most if you’ve read the prior two novels in the series, but I have found my new happy place in “The Star Touched Stories”.

Death and Night- I LOVED this story. I cannot get over how much I loved it. "Star Touched Queen" is my favorite book, and now get to read about how Night, later Maya, was courted by the Dharma Raja. There were details on how they fell in love, how she offered her "sole" for her dowry, and just how wonderful they were, but this story made my soul come alight with love. Nittri was supposedly Maya's friend, almost like a sister, in a past life in “The Star Touched Queen”, and while I had my doubts how this could be, Nittri was a sweet and wonderfully written character. Much like "Star Touched Queen" this story was written more poetically and full of imagery and metaphors, and I can't get enough of it. I will read and treasure everything that Roshani Chokshi has to say about Death and Night, in any form.

Poison and Gold- This story picks up where "A Crown of Wishes" left off. It focus on Aasha and her next steps- how to fit into the new world where Guari and Vikrim will now be a united kingdom. While they are friends with Aasha, the court will not allow her to stay because of this. She must earn her own place. As with all of Chokshi's stories in the Star Touched Series, this story is full of unexpected adventures and love. I thought that this story also mirrored it's predassor, it was still full of imagery and metaphors, but it was more direct than the writing of the Star Touched Queen and "Death and Night". I loved getting to see Guari and Vikrim with their happily ever after, and getting to know Aasha and see her confidence in herself grown.

Rose and Sword- I didn’t think I could love this series anymore, and yet I did!. Hira is the granddaughter of a powerful ruler, who runs to Grandma at the first second she can escape the wedding plans of her older sister. A familiar woman tells the story of a Bridegroom that was called to Death the night before their ceremony. We get to visit with our sassy familiar horses, Kamala, as she travels through the Underworld with our heroine to save her bridegroom’s last breath. I think I was Hira throughout the whole book, swooning over the details and dedication to love. I want to share my favorite two quotes, but I can’t give away the ending!

Basically, go read this ASAP!

As a huge fan of The Star Touched Queen series – when I heard that Roshani Chokshi was coming out with a series of short stories set in the same universe – I just knew I had to read it.

The three short stories expand on the already existing novels with stories about Amar & Maya and even Aasha. They are about learning who you are, and stopping to be afraid. Honestly, if you liked the two previous books, you will NEED these stories on your shelf.

In the usual Chokshi fashion the stories are lush, vivid, majestic, evoking and breathtaking. I do not know any other writer who writes as beautifully as Miss Chokshi does. Every single sentence is a treat and is sculpted to perfection.

Anyone looking for beautifully written romantic stories, pick this book up, you will not be disappointed.

Since I read both books in the Star-Touched Queen series I just had to read this too! If you have not read this series, I recommend that you don't start with this book. It is meant to be read after the other two.

Death and Night is a short story of Maya and the Dharma Raja and how they initially met. It does not start right before The Star-Touched Queen book. It is way before all that. It was nice to see how their love story all began. It is only their courtship and not anything after that. Poison and Gold is Aasha's story after the The Crown of Wishes ends. Not right after, but sometime after. So you get to see what happens to her, which was interesting! Rose and Sword is mostly the story of Guari and Vikram right before their wedding. It is told through the eyes of Guari as an old grandma telling her pre-wedding trails to her granddaughter.

Definitely a must read if you loved the Star-Touched Queen series!

This is an absolutely stunning book, the use of language in all these stories is incredible and I'm so glad I was privileged to receive this as an ARC.

I loved this book. It gave me insight into characters I already knew and loved and helped to grow the universe of the story. I definitely recommend picking this up if you have the opportunity and loved Roshani Chokshi's other books "The Star Touched Queen" and "A Crown of Wishes."

More beautiful writing from Roshani Choksi set in the world of the Star Touched Queen. I adore her prose and tge way she weaves hindu and indian fairy tales with themes and characters that appeal to a modern audience. Death and Night was my favourite but I lived tge other two novellas just as much. A treat that I devoured in one sitting.

This was a great addition for people who love the series! My favorite was Death & Night! Roshani writes incredibly beautiful, and she just has a way of sucking me into the beautiful worlds she creates!