DNFd because the main character irritated me to no end and I couldn’t take her anymore. Also cognizant of the critiques of Own Voice Reviewers about the negative attitudes about Indigenous people present in this book. It’s sad because I loved Woven but It is what it is.

Written In Starlight by Isabel Ibañez is the second book in the young adult debut fantasy duology "Woven In Moonlight", but I must say that both the books are definitely not bad, but does not hold the hype and the expectations as much as the blurb and the magical cover promises. This book follows an outcast Condesa, as she braves the jungle to forge an alliance with the lost city of gold.

From where the first book left off, this one starts immediately with Ximena and Ameer and some misunderstandings arise between them. But I would suggest you read the first book and then only read this. The first book's main character was Ximena and here we see Catalina, on her own individual journey but the world building was better in the first novel.

The characters are definitely better developed in this book. Catalina, Manuel who rescues her from a Jaguar in the jungle and hence the story begins. The author has a flawless and very smooth writing style. The ending could have been better, definitely. I wanted more romance in both the books. I am not completely happy with this book as much as I was with the first one.

Catalina as a character, has a lot of problems and I would not want to read her as a Main Character in any book. She is unwilling to change and stubborn since day one. Her disrespect towards Indigenous communities in the story, was just off for me as a reader. I wanted a Main Character who would be more loving and accepting and would make me fall in love with the new world that I knew nothing about.
_________

e-ARC was provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 Stars

This is a hard review to write, because there were things I greatly enjoyed in the first book in this duology, Woven in Moonlight. In Ibañez's first novel we are presented with a young woman, Ximena, body double for the Condesa Catalina, who has been indoctrinated into the belief that her people, the deposed Illustrians, are the rightful leaders of Inkasisa. Ximena isn't that likable at the start of the story when she poses as Catalina, who is being forced to marry the Llacsan leader Atoc, a man of palpable cruelty, in order to try to free some of Catalina's captured people. Ximena is open-minded enough, possessed of sufficient magic, and quick enough on her feet to absorb the counterforces around Atoc who oppose and want to overthrow him, in order to install his kinder and justice-loving sister Princess Tamaya in his stead. Ximena and Tamaya become allies. Ximena learns the flaw in any leader can be abuse of power, and of their people. It goes without saying that Catalina views Ximena as a traitor to the Illustrian cause. Frankly, if one heard her say a single time more that she alone was the rightful queen of Inkasisa, one wanted to smack her. Catalina refuses to accept Tamaya as the rightful queen. With little choice other than killing her directly, Tamaya, as a favor to Ximena, sends Catalina out into the jungle, a possibly less direct death sentence. Ximena's lover Rumi escorts Catalina, and tries to provide her with good advice and provisions. This is where Written in Starlight opens.

Catalina has always been a grating character and she is no less so in this novel. She largely ignores what Rumi tells her, gets lost, almost gets killed by a jaguar, and is ultimately saved by her former guard Manuel, who had left the Illustrian camp three years before. Catalina and Manuel have known each other since they were children and it's only natural that this would become a continual back and forth bodyguard and charge/liege love scenario that would occupy hundreds of tiring pages in this novel. So be it. It's YA and there is an element of romance in the first novel in the fantasy, as well. This romance, however, quickly wearied me. I hoped Manuel would run for his life, but no... In any case, it's merely the backdrop for Catalina's brash determination to get the other indigenous people of Inkasisa, the Illari, to give her an army to back her claim to the Inkasisan throne from the first group of indigenous people, the Llacsans. (FYI, the Llacsans are the Incans, the Illari are the Quechuans, and the Illustrians are the Spanish conquistadors.)

The handling of Catalina's interactions with the Illari is so classically colonial as to raise one's hackles. The Illari track Catalina and Manuel all over the jungle as they doggedly seek the mythical Paititi, the Illari city of gold, and its leader Sonco. Sonco eschews the title king, though Catalina continues to call him that even as she ponders marrying him and becoming his queen as a route to get his army to depose Tamaya. Luckily for Catalina and Manuel, an Illari seer, Chaska, cousin to Sonco, is part of the group tracking them, letting the jungle and the goddess Luna determine the worth of their hearts and causes. Even Chaska is flummoxed that the jungle seems to have some use for Catalina, surely the most annoying protagonist I've seen in a while. This entire section of the novel just made me grit my teeth, as Catalina thinks the Illari people are living wrong, worshipping the wrong gods (not just Luna, the Moon, but also Pachamama, the Earth, and Inti, the Sun, oh my gosh!) and not realizing that she, Catalina Quiroga, is the rightful queen of Inkasisa. (How dare they!) I found myself asking a lot of internal questions about #ownvoices writers who yes, are Latinx, but who also represent the force of colonialism so clearly (if not damningly) depicted in this novel. Catalina views herself as the Chosen One, both by birth as an Illustrian, and by her ability as a seer, via connection to her goddess, Luna. And the thing is, by the end of the book, in true (Spanish colonial) white savior fashion, Catalina is the reason the Illari are saved. Her character has the slimmest of redemptive arcs, when she finally acknowledges that maybe Ximena was onto something and a solipsistic belief in her place in Inkasisa might be in error. Frankly, overall I viewed her as an anti-heroine of sorts.

Written in Starlight is also less creatively magical than the first novel. The pacing of this novel dragged miserably for the first third of the book, then drags the reader through Catalina's embarrassing plans while on her way to, and in Paititi, as she struggles with whether she loves Manuel more than her megalomaniacal plans to take back Ciudad Blanca and overthrow Tamaya. (Oh, tough call...) In the final fifth of the novel, we get to the rapidly put-together reason some of the jungle is dying and creatures are (literally) ripping apart Illarians. The moon magic involved was just so sketchy and the denouement so fast, and honestly, if it takes a deus ex machina situation, like being possessed by a goddess, to get your central character to see sense, I think you've got some plot shortcomings.

Ibañez is still a young writer, and this novel, no doubt finished at the start of the pandemic, on a tight schedule, is clearly not the best of her abilities. She's put a great deal of herself into this duology, and shown that she can be creative, both visually and in her worldbuilding. I view this novel as one in which her editors did her no favors. Where was the sensitivity reading about indigenous issues, Page Street? If the publisher is going to tout diversity, they should be prepared to look at diversity in greater depth.

I received a digital review copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I had requested this book initially unaware that it was a sequel. I got so excited when I found out I owned the first book due to a book box company and now had the sequel to read too. Reading through the first book though, I felt uneasy. While I was enthralled with the food and the discussion of culture, Ximena's viewpoint was mean. It was clear that the Illustrians and Llacsans had been fighting over territory, but didn't realize at first that it was based on the Spanish and Incas. I honestly feel stupid that I didn't look into the backstory more, the only thing I knew was that it was "based off Bolivian history" and didn't immediately put two and two together.

While I'm not as knowledgeable in South American/Central American history, I am quite aware of the upheaval and torment brought on by the Conquistadors. And the fact that the main character was based off of Spanish Colonizers just does not sit right with me.

Going into Written in Starlight, I was made aware of the problems in this book. I looked up reviews and was horrified. While I was a bit blind to the backstory of this book, it was very clear that the author is blatantly trying to "forgive" the sins of the Spanish. By placing them as the protagonists of the story, allowing them to "change" and clear their blame, and making the Indigenous based characters have to teach them is honestly sickening. And to read reviews that this book is not only worse in regards to the racist rhetoric, but also just a bad book, plain and simple, I have to DNF at 5%. I read one chapter and knew that Catalina's story was going to follow a similar path to Ximena's, so I'm glad I saved myself the trouble.

The cover is gorgeous. But the cover of Woven in Moonlight was also beautiful, and never has the old adage of "don't judge a book by it's cover" been more true.

I was hoping that this book would handle the issues of indigenous portrayal and colonialism better than the first book, but alas, it was ... WORSE?

While Ximena was at least a character that had some redeeming qualities, Catalina is stubborn, closed-minded, and convinced that she is completely right about everything. All. The. Time. And even as she is banished to the jungle, rather than trying to learn about the princess who has become queen, she decides that all of the Llascans are clearly monsters and can't possibly have any positive qualities, and realizes that the only viable option is to demand her birthright to the throne of Inkasisa. Even though a) her people don't even know that she is the condesa,, b) she has no allies, and c) she hasn't even bothered to see the situation clearly at all.

So she continues on her self-centered path, resulting in the first half of the book being extraordinarily boring, and incredibly unremarkable, other than Catalina consistently describing indigenous tribespeople and their religious beliefs/practices as "monstrous." I was shocked at the sheer amount of dehumanizing language and the colonial savior trope that was present throughout the story. There was so little action in the first half of the story that it was basically Catalina and Manuel just walking around in the jungle, with Catalina having herself a pity party.

I struggled to understand why there were always random Spanish words and phrases thrown into the story when they were speaking in Spanish all the time. There wasn't really any need to insert Spanish phrases to reinforce the Spanish-ness of the story, since the Spanish colonial influence was all throughout the story, especially in how they viewed the indigenous tribes as monstrous and in need of an Illustrian ruler (read: Colonial ruler) to lead them. The emphasis on finding the city in the jungle made of gold and going to any length to find it and make the people inhabiting that city do Catalina's bidding just smacked of conquistadors and left a bad taste in my mouth. And literally every time that I thought Catalina would have an epiphany and show some personal growth? Nope! Just kidding - she'd get soooo close and then continue to stick with her Spanish-speaking white savior mission.

The ending was such a letdown. I was hoping that all of this boring fluff was going to build up to something ... anything ... but instead ... it just kind of petered out with a total letdown that didn't seem to flow with the rest of the story.

I did not like this book. I couldn't get into it. It took a lot of effort to actually finish the book.

Written in Starlight is the continuation of the fantasy series Woven in Moonlight. This was definitely different than most other series. In this novel, we follow Catalina instead of Ximena, who took us on her journey in the last book. I’m not entirely sure if I believe that this novel was necessary to the storyline overall until the very last few chapters. I missed Ximena’s viewpoint.

Woven in Moonlight leaves off with Catalina being betrayed by her best friend Ximena. While both wanted the removal of Atoc, Ximena wanted the best person for the job, which she thought to be Princess Tamaya. After refusing to submit to Tamaya, Catalina is sent to fare in the middle of the jungle. If she can make it out alive, she is absolved of all. The problem is making it out alive, among the deadly beasts and plants, and who knows what else.

Shortly after entering the forest, Catalina runs into someone we have all been curious about: Manuel. Where are all of these girls finding these selfless men and where do I get one?! Manuel is finally ready to return home only to be forced on another journey to find the illusive Illari.

Proving their truest hearts and tackling many obstacles, the Condessa and Manuel prove not only their physical strength, but their mental, as well. Not to mention, some low-key flirting. The growth of Catalina is apparent. The physical and emotional struggles that both Manuel and Catalina face is real and not forced. While predictable, Written in Starlight is a pleasant read for those who want to adventure into the unknown while getting a little into the “feels”.

Anyone else wonder why the King wasn’t saved?

Readers do not have to read Woven in Moonlight, however, it is recommended if you are an order person like myself.

Written in Starlight is a story of one girl who finds herself, can admit when she is wrong, and will do what is best for those around her. Ibanez brings readers a story of adventure, love, and the lasting ties of friendship.

Interesting premise. Likable/hated characters. Cool plot. I would recommend this story to others. Some spots I found that didn't hold my attention, but overall, I still liked it.

I have to say I love this book more than the first. I can envision myself being in the jungle and enjoy the same adventure. I loved the characters and especially and the action. I already purchased a physical copy because I love the esthetic of the book cover.

If you read Ibañez's debut novel WOVEN IN MOONLIGHT, you'll recall that it ends with Catalina being exiled to the forest because she won't swear fealty to the new Llacsan queen. WRITTEN IN STARLIGHT picks up with Catalina's story right where MOONLIGHT ends. It is a journey of self-discovery, independence and taking hold of one's own destiny.

One thing I loved about MOONLIGHT was how vividly Ibañez writes. The way she describes sights, sounds, smells (once again, this book really delivers on the food descriptions), taste, etc. is so so good and it continues on without missing a beat in STARLIGHT. Maybe it's because Ibañez is also a visual artist, but she really can paint a picture with her words. I felt like I was deep in a jungle, traveling along the river, running from bloodthirsty butterflies, and eating crispy fried pork while reading the book.

While the writing was lovely, the actual plot of the book fell a little flat for me, which is why I am rating it 3 stars. It felt like the ending and reveal of the big bad was extremely rushed. I don't want to spoil things but I wish we'd had more than a page or 2 spent with the material the epilogue covers, too. I did enjoy seeing Catalina come into her own and her journey throughout the book was very satisfying. I mostly enjoyed the romance elements but the constant back and forth and refusal to communicate did get a little tiresome after a bit, but not enough for me to seriously ding the book.

All of that being said, I'd still recommend this book to someone who enjoyed MOONLIGHT and will look forward t reading whatever Ibañez writes next!

5 stars!

Isabel Ibanez returns with another wonderful adventure in the world of Woven in Moonlight. In this magical companion novel, we follow Catalina, a Condesa without a country, who is banished to the jungle. Even though Catalina knows her chances of survival in the jungle are very limited, she is willing to try in order to reclaim her throne.

Just as in woven in moonlight, the reader is put through a whole journey in this book! Isabel has a way of hitting all humans emotions and give them the recognition they deserve. Not only that, but the actual story itself is incredibly amazing. The magic! The jungle! The characters! The wisdom! Everything is just so perfect and so hard hitting. Catalina’s character development is some of the best I’ve ever seen.

I love happy stories. Stories that pull at the strings of my heart that demand happiness and reconciliation and better things to come. Stories that depict humankind with all of its flaws but also all of its virtues. Stories that soothe the heart. Isabel’s stories are like this. This is what Written in Starlight leaves you feeling. There’s a sense of fulfilment, a sense of happiness and a sense of hope. Isabels writing is whimsical and beautiful and magical and I never get enough.

I wish there were enough words in the world to describe how much I’ve loved this story, but I’m afraid they all fall short. Just do yourself a favour and please read this book.

As with <i>Woven in Moonlight</i>, I devoured this book in one go. Ibañez's prose really works for me, and I couldn't put either book in this series down. The pacing in this is excellent, the plot full of action as Catalina navigates the jungle with the help of her guard and crush Manuel. Seriously, this was consistently exciting to read. That said, the emotions felt a bit lost here: <spoiler>Catalina's goal is to take back her queendom, but her arc is realizing she shouldn't, which I love in theory, but it feels anticlimactic even though I knew it was coming. The romance is sweet but didn't hit in the feels. The climax is resolved by a goddess, not really by human action, which is unsatisfying. The reunion with Ximena at the end isn't given time to emotionally resonate.</spoiler>

The great news is that my memory is terrible, so I didn't remember much of book one, but you don't need to recall a lot to enjoy this. The pertinent details are recapped enough to get through. In fact, both books could probably be read as standalone novels, since the plots only minorly overlap really. They're more companions than direct series, though the events of this book do follow the events of the prior.

If you're looking for easily readable fantasies that won't require a massive time investment, these are great options.

One of my most anticipated titles of 2021, and OMG all the feels! When I read Woven in Moonlight the first in this duology, I was so moved by the incredible writing, of a wonderful fantasy, with such moving characters. I story so unique, that i was so excited to know the story would continue in Written in Starlight.

In the first book, we meet Ximena, and Catalina, and the events that transpired where Catalina ended up exiled in the jungle. This is Catalina’s story, basically her story of survival, and redemption.

Isabel is a wonderful writer of worlds, and places. I felt like I was immersed in the jungle with Catalina.

My takeaways from this novel, is really more of an inspirational, find yourself sort of thing for Catalina, as her character really developed much more in this novel than the first. There are hints of romance, but don’t be disappointed to know it’s not the main focus of the book. It’s truly much more than that, and you’ll be so glad to have read it. I celebrate Isabel, and her message. Of determination, strength, celebrating women, ALL women.

The cover art is stunning, and it’s beautifully created by the author herself. Truly beautiful, and a series I highly recommend.

This book was subpar. I was expecting a bit more, I was expecting a bit more. I was expecting it to be better than the first book, especially regarding the representation of indigenous people. I really wanted to like this book and delve deeper into the world but at the end of the day, I didn't. I am sorry to say that I won't be recommending this book to people in the future.

I received a digital ARC of this book, not knowing it was the second book of the series. I knew nothing about the series, and when I started looking into what it was all about, I saw many reviews that talked about the problematic themes and stereotypes written into the storyline. I did finish the book anyway. I did enjoy the beginning of the book when it was just Manuel and Catalina in the jungle by themselves. I like survival type stories and TV shows, so that was a positive. But once they came upon other people, that's when the story went downhill for me. I felt like there were a lot of inconsistencies and it was not as compelling. The end of the story fell flat for me, but I really can't put a finger on it to express in detail why I felt this way.

Disclaimer: I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Written in Starlight

Author: Isabel Ibanez

Book Series: Woven in Moonlight Book 2

Rating: 1/5

Diversity: Indigenous Bolivian culture and people, but racist views and statements and misconceptions about the culture and religious aspects

Recommended For...: fantasy readers, ya readers

Publication Date: January 26, 2021

Genre: YA Fantasy

Recommended Age: can’t recommend, dnf-ed

Publisher: Page Street Kids

Pages: 368

Synopsis: If the jungle wants you, it will have you...

Catalina Quiroga is a Condesa without a country. She’s lost the Inkasisa throne, the loyalty of her people, and her best friend. Banished to the perilous Yanu Jungle, Catalina knows her chances of survival are slim, but that won’t stop her from trying to escape. It’s her duty to reclaim the throne.

When Manuel, the son of her former general, rescues Catalina from a jaguar, a plan forms. Deep in the jungle, the city of gold is hidden, home to the fierce Illari people, who she could strike an alliance with.

But the elusive Illari are fighting a battle of their own—a mysterious blight is corrupting the jungle, laying waste to everything they hold dear. As a seer, Catalina should be able to help, but her ability to read the future in the stars is as feeble as her survival instincts. While searching for the Illari, Catalina must reckon with her duty and her heart to find her true calling, which could be the key to stopping the corruption before it destroys the jungle completely.

Review: I'm DNFing this book at 1%. I'm disturbed by the reports I've heard and evidence I've seen about how the indigenous culture and people are mistreated and how the book has a white savior complex. I can't, in good faith, read this book right now. I might come back to it in the future, but right now there’s too much not being taken seriously about the valid concerns of people who are hurt by this book.

Verdict: I’m unsteady about this series from the concerns I read and what I remember from reading it myself. I’m also very concerned about the lack of a statement from the author and the amount of people who have attacked those who voiced their valid concerns about the book. The author isn’t doing anything to help the matter by remaining silent and letting people continue to attack those who voiced concerns and letting them continue to make racist remarks about the people and culture the books are based on.

Recently I found some controversy concerning this book when looking at the Bolivian politics and influences in this book. I've listened to these statements and went into this book with that in mind.

As far as the story goes and the characters I really enjoyed this book. It was adventurous, fast paced, and the development was really well done. That said though, I think this book wasn't exceptionally renewing and some elements felt a little flat. While I would recommend this book, I do think you should keep in mind the controversies and the opinions when reading this book.

Written in Starlight by Isabel Ibañez ✨

Thank you @pagestreetya for the eARC via @netgalley. Written in Starlight comes out on January 26, 2021. 🌙

First off, I recommend checking out the review of this novel posted by @sanjariti. It offers some important and valid critiques of the themes of both of the books in this series.

I read the first book in this series, Woven in Moonlight, last spring and at the time I really loved it. I thought the writing painted a lush, vivid, and unique fantasy landscape inspired by Bolivian culture, and while it featured a mythical retelling of a very real and racist colonial history, I thought the main character Ximena’s journey highlighted her growth and her journey towards coming to terms with the realities of her people’s part in the brutal colonization of the indigenous people of the fictional country of Inkasisa. Unfortunately, the sequel didn’t resonate with me in the same way, as it felt like a less successful repeat of the first. This time, we follow yet another character from the colonizing culture, Catalina, who unlike Ximena in the first book refused to give up her crown to the indigenous leader. For me, Catalina was a sorry replacement for Ximena, and even though the story beats were much the same as Catalina is banished to the jungle and begrudgingly learns to respect the native cultures, none of them hit as well as the first. Even the love story fell flat. Overall, it just didn’t offer me enough new or engaging material to be excited about.

I want to say i really did enjoy the first book but went into it naive and ignorant not knowing the real history of Brazil until I was educated and then it all made sense.

This series/book is a colonist love story. Making indigenous people the villains and the colonists the good guys. There are better reviews that explain it better and I can no longer support this series.

Thanks Netgalley for the e-arc

My original review placed this book and its sequel at a four-star rating for me as there were so many things I initially loved about this story.

Since then, a kind bookstagram friend was gracious enough to send me to some own voices and Latinx reviewers who have pointed out the problems with this book, especially in relation to the portrayal of indigenous populations of Bolivia.

I have chosen to revoke my rating, and I will be highly recommending to other potential reads to seek out those reviews prior to making a decision about reading this series.