Whilst it's predecessor Star Mother was a poignant, slow burn romance this book is an emotional, rollercoaster of a journey as Aija does everything in her limited mortal power to find a way to be with Saigon, or as we know him the Sun ! Having briefly been injured and lost on Mother Earth Saigon has found the love that no other could ever understand but his powers burn and would cripple Aija leaving the couple to travel very different paths. However Aija is perhaps the most stubborn woman to walk the leafy loan that Saigon warms and she embarks on a quest to do whatever it takes to be beside the only male that she has ever loved.
Oh my this story had me gripped not just by the beings Aija meets along the way which truly are varied and imaginative but by the heart rending relationships she forms with others as she doggedly pushes on. This made me smile, it made me want to rage as at times Aija was truly suffering and yet the end just made my heart sing and I can say no higher praises than that !
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

I love how I'm always drawn deeply into Charlie's words. She weaves such magic and her worlds are vibrant. My imagination is filled with images as though I were watching it play before my eyes.
I'm so glad she decided to give us this side of the story.
The toils, the tribulations, the devotion...epic.

This is touted as the second book following Star Mother.

However…. Both can be considered stand alone reads.

There are some snippets of information that cross from the first book into the second book but, you wouldn’t be lost.

That being said: this is certainly a love story. Forbidden romance? Idk I think it would be pretty forbidden if I fell in love with a god.

It was a quick read with a great storyline.

I almost liked this story better? The world building and the adventure as a whole.

Thank you to @netgalley and #47north for sending me an advanced copy of this book! Star Father will be released on March 8 2022!

This was such a wonderful story!
I absolutely loved the first book in the duology, and the second one totally lived up to my expectations.

The world-building in this book was fantastic. Everything was described so elaborately and in grrat detail that the entire story really came to life. Also, the characters fit so well into the story and were absolutely loveable and genuine. Especially Aija's development throughout her journey was fantastic and I was very happy to see the Sun's story being continued after Star Mother. Moreover, the writing really sold this to me. I highlighted many passages that were so raw and beautifully written that they broke my heart, but in a very good way.

The topics of love, family, art and finding your true self were so perfectly implented into the book and gave it such depth and meaning that I was not able to put it down and even shed a few tears. Definitely a highlight for me!!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for kindly providing me with an e-arc!

Another fantastic read by Holmberg! I thoroughly enjoyed this and Star Mother - and love how they're written so they can be independently of one another. Well thought out story line and engaging characters. Loved every minute of it!

This was a really good one

I'm not normally one for romance books so I was looking for something with strong characters and world building in addition to romance. When I came upon this book the cover, combined with that summary? I had to read it. And it seriously blew me away!

The first part begins with Aija, an artist who returned to her family farm to escape war, finding a beautiful and mysterious man by the river. This coincides with the disappearance of the Sun ;) and as she falls for the handsome Saiyon, we get to watch their romance bloom under the threat of the celestial war.

Saiyon must leave and return to his Duties, and the Second part then follows Aija and her loving cousin Zyzi as they search for a way for Aija and Saiyon to be reunited. This leads us to a number of destinations and meetings with Demons, Gods, and godlings.

The lore of this world is absolutely beautiful, and there were several times I wanted to weep for Saiyon, Ist, Tereth, and the eternal power of love. I also absolutely loved the depiction of the ace character, the support she received from Aija, and her whole vibe in general.

Really just a beautiful and enchanting book.

Charlie N. Holmberg continues to be one of my favorite authors and this book was so good! It took me a while to get through it only because of a formatting issue I was having with my e-reader. Once I was able to fix that, I raced through the ending.

I loved how real Aija is. There are times where she struggles, gets frustrated, feels sorry for herself, wallows in her feelings, even gives up for a time. But always eventually the strength she has inside and her love makes her pick herself up and start fighting again. And boy, does she fight. She goes through so much to win her way to be with the one she loves and I can only admire her for it.

Her fierce grandmother, the various godlings she meets on her journey, the jealous and hurting moon, and especially her snarky but whiny but steadfastly loyal cousin all add their own flavor to the story and make it that much better.

Such a fun and ultimately uplifting read and I'm thankful to Netgalley for making it available for review.

The world building in Star Father was incredible and the characters were rich and loveable. However, having not read the first book in the duology, I found myself feeling like something was missing, so even though you don't strictly need to read the first book before Star Father, I would recommend it. This feeling also made some scenes drag.

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for providing a copy.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

This dualogy really surprised me. Although I loved Star Mother more, there was still much to recommend Star Father. The relationship between Aija and the Sun was pure magic, and I thought Aija was such a strong protagonist. She fought tooth and nail for the love she believed in. I did wish we saw more "fight" from the Sun's end, but I understand the restrictions in place for him. At times this book moved quite slowly, but the last 2o% was really riveting, and it was satisfying to see these two get their happy ending. I also really loved all the callbacks and references to Cerese and her impact as a Star Mother. Charlie Holmberg is another author I'm excited to read more from!

I seriously love everything Charlie Holmberg writes. Fantastic world-building, strong characters and an intriguing story all come together perfectly in this book. Although part of a series, I read this as a standalone and still enjoyed it. Bravo for a great book!

I really enjoyed this sequel, the world Charlie Holmberg has created is amazing, all the characters have good development and the relationships are well achieved. But my favorite part its def the world-building, this epic world could have many stories and still be amazing.

It's not strictly necessary to have read Star Mother before reading Star Father but I do recommend it. I have been a fan of Charlie N. Holmberg's for years, ever since I discovered the Paper Magician series and the Star Mother duology did not disappoint.

Star Father picks up much later than Star Mother and it's Saiyon's turn to find happiness. I loved Aija as a character. I really appreciated that she was older and had seen some of the world. It makes it all the more believable that she is willing to go to such lengths for love.

Charlie Holmberg created a magnificent world to fall into and I wouldn't mind if she expanded on it a bit more with another book!

Thanks so much to Netgalley and 47North for the e-arc!

This book was everything. As a sequel to Star Mother this book had some really high expectations to live up to and it delivered. Not only that but In my opinion it surpassed it in many ways. I had always been curious about the Sun and why he was the way he was in the first book. In Star Father I got to have my questions answered as well as got to watch him live out his own epic love story. Ai was a beautiful character and I loved her development throughout the story. The world building was top notch. My favorite however was the descriptions of the gods and godlings. Some of which left me quite speechless as my brain scrambled to put together such original ideas. I will admit I did sob a bit at the end of this one too. The ending was absolutely poetic and I can’t fathom that there could have been a better way to wrap up a phenomenal duology.

Man, Charlie Holmberg knows how to end a book. Star Mother was the best book I’d read in a long time, and this sequel did not disappoint. The world she created is just beautiful, and I love the way she fits an epic adventure and love story into a book of this length. It is SO refreshing to read fantasy with a truly adult woman rather than just teens or young adults (though I truly believe these books would appeal to readers of all ages), and to see motherhood and the desire for it in a female protagonist is so beautiful. Ceris and Aija both go down as some of my favorite characters in all of literature. Cannot recommend this book and Star Mother enough!

Wonderful follow-up to Star Mother. I ended up enjoying this book even more than the original because of how much I loved the main character, Aija. She was strong and capable and also caring and had a beautiful depth to her. Her journey was so difficult but I appreciated that her spirit was never broken and she was able to earn her own happy ending. We need more strong female leads like this. I have enjoyed all of Charlie Holmberg’s books, back to the Paper Magician, but honestly this was her best work yet.

This book is beautifully written, I really enjoyed the first part. I could see it being a classic in a few years.

Star Father is yet another fun book by Charlie Holmberg, set in the same world as Star Mother, and although it certainly helps to have read that book, I think it's probably not really needed. This is not a sequel or a series in the sense of any sort of continuous story, but rather two books set in the same world with one key character in common.

It's definitely a romance and a love story, but above that, it's first and foremost a beautifully written fantasy adventure in a world Holmberg has clearly spent a lot of time thinking through and populating with a variety of fascinating people...and other things.

The one weak point of this book (and it's a pretty small one) is that at times it felt almost episodic, like watching someone play through chapters/levels in a video game. Quest 1, subquest A, side quest, etc. At times the book lacked a flow as a whole. With that said, I want to emphasize how fun and well-written this book generally was. Note that I'm still giving it 4/5 stars, and I tend to rate on the stingy side!

I read and enjoyed Star Mother so I definitely wanted to read Star Father too.
It didn't disappoint. It was just as enchanting as Star Mother. ✨✨✨

{4.5 stars}

Did I need another book after Star Mother? No. Star Mother was this lovely, perfect, unique story in a world that was absolutely spellbinding. When I heard about Star Father, I thought that I wouldn't enjoy a story about Saiyon. He was not the most compassionate character in the first story. But I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this story. I mean, it's Charlie Holmberg, she could write the weather and I would enjoy it. She gave us a whole new angle on these same characters, The Sun, The Moon and Mother Earth and I enjoyed every page of it.

This time, our heroine is Aija who is in her 30's and living on a farm with her mother and grandmother when one day the sun fails to rise. The world is struggling to cope with this new reality when Aija finds an injured man who she nurses back to health, falls in love with and then realizes he's The Sun and she can never be with him. I'm paraphrasing but you get the gist... she spends the rest of the story trying to find a way to achieve immortality so she can be with him. 

Boy, does this girl commit when she makes a choice. She is the most tenacious, resilient character I have ever seen. Whether He was worth it all, I don't know. I really think this story needed another name because it was not really about Him but the love of him and what it drove Aija to do. The depictions of the celestial characters was even more beautiful and amazing than the last book. I also really loved how Aija's art was described and how it played into the overall plot. In the end, I loved this book even more than the first.

Thanks to Netgalley for early access to this novel. All opinions above are my own.

~Thank you Netgalley and 47North Publishing for allowing me to receive an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!~

5⭐𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬
•This book was very unique and even though it is shorter, it has so much packed into it and the love the author poured into it clearly shows through.

𝐏𝐥𝐨𝐭
•The plot took place over a long time but I still felt the pacing was decent and some moments led up to the climax and created such a good ending. The events introduced and the story behind them was so rich and full of life and it gave the plot the ability to be so compelling. There were twists and unexpected moments that kept me wondering what would happen next and there were many instances where I feared for the main character.

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬
•As this book focuses on gods and celestial beings I expected a lot of unique and layered characters and I was given exactly that. The protagonist has a motive that makes sense and is extremely driven to complete it. She isn't perfect and makes mistakes but learns from them and still pursued her goal. The celestial characters all were unique and gave the feeling of actually being a divine presence.

•Creating characters and these different races also added depth to the story and each one was unique and was properly fleshed out. Characters were definitely my favorite part of the book.

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠
•The author created a world so intertwined and full of lore I just wanted to learn more and more. The tasks and trials and weaving different characters into this history enriched the story so much. Certain characters even got added depth from this lore that helped them appear to be more realistic and alive rather than flat divine beings.

𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥
•This book was stunning and right up my alley, and I definitely do recommend it for anyone looking for a unique and intricate world to read about.