This book was... Interesting. We begin the story by following Anora as she starts a new school, having clearly left the old one due to some as-yet unknown conflict. She sees dead people. There's definitely something spooky going on with her. At this point, I was very excited to see where things were going and ready to be surprised.

I'll start by saying St Clare's writing is definitely more suited to YA, in my opinion. This story feels like a classic YA paranormal fantasy and employs a lot of the tropes you'd expect to find in one. In fact, if you told me this was fanfiction for JLA's Covenant series (which reads like Vampire Academy fanfic) I'd believe you!

Main character who's not like other girls: Check.
Love interest who can't be with her because he's a dhampir/pure/valryn and they just CAN'T: Check.
Weird powers that they don't really understand/can't control: Check.

That's not to say this book doesn't have good moments or that it wasn't an enjoyable read, but it certainly wasn't anything new. Would still recommend for fans of this particular genre and authors.

I was really excited when I got approved. for this because I read A touch of darkness by this author and I really enjoyed it! I was intrigued to see one of her YA books. It did not disappoint!

Anora can see the dead and turn their spirits. into coins. She doesn't know why and doesn't really understand it but she knows that she has to keep it a secret to start her new life as a normal person and not as a freak. When she sees a dead girl on her first day of school, she starts to worry that keeping it a secret will not be as easy as planned. On the first day of school, she claims the soul of a dead girl and loses the coin. What she doesn't know is that the coin can give the ability to others to steal souls. After one of her classmates ends up dead, the murder weapon becomes quite clear. She must find the person who stole her coin before other people end up dead.

This book started off slow but once it picked up I couldn't put it down. I love the plot and the forbidden love story. Gave me Romeo and Juliette vibes. I liked that there was a whole anonymous gossiping aspect which added to the intrigue because we never knew who was destroying people's reputations. I did figure out who. was behind it. but I was still surprised by how it ended.

If you liked the sixth sense you will love this! Highly recommend if you love paranormal mysteries!

I really loved this exciting, YA fantasy by Scarlet St. Clair! This book definitely gives off more of a paranormal vibe at first but the world building quickly expands beyond just the paranormal! It was fast-paced and full of plot twists that I would think I figured out..until another twist happened! I really liked all the characters including Anora, Shy, Lilly, Natalie and Thane! I might not have been a fan of all of them by the end of the book..but they were all well written! I loved at the end of the book when Anora finally excepts her role and starts to make her own rules and expectations! I can’t wait to see what will happen in the next book!

Thank you netgalley for providing me with this book!!


I will start by saying there is a TW for this in the beginning of the book but I want to mention it here as well This book contains scenes that depict suicide.

The book had the vibes of early 2000 YA paranormal books and I really enjoyed that.

I’ve read all of scarlet’s books and I know she loves to write romance but what I love about her books is that all of the couple she writes about are interesting as individuals first. I think I see this in a lot of book couples where they are interesting as a couple but not as individuals.
Both POVs were interesting to read, I loved learning about shy and his friends and how they were trained. I loved learning about Anora‘s past and learning about the Eurydice and Valryn.

So the book was A little slow at first and I think that Anora and shy’s romance needed more. It took time for them to get together which is fine but I still think it needed more developing.
It was very intriguing and my curiosity kept me reading because I had so many questions
I still have questions but I think she’ll answer more in the next book which after the ending I’m actually really excited for.

A very important honorable mention of thane who stole the show in my opinion I really enjoyed his character!!

Finally I think this book is perfect for fallen and daughter of smoke and bone fans!!

A fun book with some unique twists. I love this type of story! I read this all in one sitting and couldn't put it down

This book was so fun! I read it a few weeks ago and found this art at the museum just seemed to fit.

Anora can see the dead and trying to hide this fact at her new academy is proving difficult. As there are weird happenings in this town and a curfew at night due to spirits and such.

Sky, the class hottie, is helping her get acclimated to her new school but also he's keeping an eye on her.

This was an interesting reimagining of Eurydice with the gold coins and souls.

There is a whole secret Order that now has her under watch since odd things are happening (outside their normal odd) and she's new.

I'm very curious to see where this book goes into book #2 due to the ending.

This is a YA book and it has a slow, clean burn.

I am LOVING the death!girl movement in YA right now. So far, it hasn’t done me wrong.

St. Clair brings us to Oklahoma, which is not a place I thought I’d be revisiting after a certain vampire-witchy-angel-boarding school mashup series left me there with nothing but a bad taste in my mouth and a lousy t-shirt. Metaphorically. Back to the point: this book makes Oklahoma seem perfectly gothic in a way I haven’t seen it painted yet (any recommendations? I’m all ears), and for someone who can’t read a book if the setting isn’t right, St. Clair didn’t just do it right—she did it RIGHT.

The plot itself and the thriller aspects of it were good, enough to keep me reading until I had all the answers I wanted (and some I didn’t—I was rooting for you edgy boy!). I finished this book between coffee #1 and coffee #3, which is basically a 3 hour window. I couldn’t put it down. I wasn’t expecting chapter 2, I’ll say that much without spoilers. I liked the surprise, though. Well done, whoever did the back summary, well done indeed.

Which is saying something, considering the romance is a big part of this book. I’m not a huge romance person, and even in books where romance is THE plot, I still find myself focusing on the other aspects. Luckily, despite this being romance-swoon-soulmate heavy, the other parts of the story were good enough to keep me interested. Even if I ended up rooting for the wrong boy (as always). The friendship and family ties were well written, and I’m excited for the next book, because hopefully we’ll see some more of the politics and society issues that St. Clair introduced too.

Overall, not bad for my first trip down Scarlett St. Clair Lane. Looks like it’s time to add her other books to my TBR.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this eARC. All thoughts and feelings are my own and given honestly.

I loved the last book this author did and this one didn’t disappoint. Definitely had all the elements I was looking for in a book. I’d definitely recommend this to anyone

Rating: 2.5 stars

Why I Decided to Read This:
I'm pretty sure I read the description of this one and it sounded good.

Plot:
Anora can see ghosts, but when she moves to a new school to get away from her past, she learns that she isn't the only one who can see them. I thought the plot of the book was good. It definitely reminded me of some other books I've read, but I still didn't think the plot was bad.

Brief Thoughts:
When Stars Come Out is a cross between the Fallen series and Gossip Girls, but with ghosts. Overall, I just didn't love the combination and there was a lot of loose ends with this one.

Characters:
First you have Anora, who could see ghosts but doesn't know what she is. Then you have Shy who was some creature that can turn from human to a raven. It's all a little strange, but I didn't love or hate either of the main characters.

Writing Style:
This was written in first person. It actually switches between Anora and Shy's POV, but you don't actually know that until like 7 chapters in, which I thought was strange.

Likes:
- Fallen vibes: I loved the Fallen series, so I loved that this one had elements to that story.

Dislikes:
- Too Rushed: The ending seemed too rushed and didn't really make sense where it ended.
- The Relationship: I just did not understand the relationship between Shy and Anora. It was forbidden, but they were lovers in past lives, so that's why they decided to get together? Did they get together? I'm not even sure. It was too confusing and still doesn't make sense.

Recommendation:
You might like this one if you are 12 years old and love ghost/fantasy stories.

What’s in This Book & Trigger Warnings:
- Forbidden love
- Suicide
- Death
- Car accident
- Ghosts
- Reincarnation

I have loved all of Scarlett St. Clair’s other books, but this one just might be my favorite. I honestly want to reread it again already! Sometimes when adult romance authors take a stab at writing for a younger audience, it can feel like something is missing, but this was every bit as captivating. It has all the best YA elements: a mysterious school, a governmental body with questionable motives, and a compelling romance, all with the modernized mythological themes that St. Clair is known for. Who could ask for more?

Seriously, RUN, don’t walk, to grab a copy! You won’t regret it!

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks, Bloom Books, Scarlett St.Clair, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an arc copy of When Stars Come Out.

Here is the thing about Scarlett St. Clair, she is my favorite author. So anything she writes, I will automatically love. So maybe I am biased but I don't care because she is god tier. Now, I am not a YA reading. There are times where I do enjoy a YA book (mostly when it is mystery focused) but 98% of the time,I will not read YA because I need the spice! With WSCO, even though there was no where near the amount of spice that I enjoy/need in a book, the story itself sucked me in. I am now obsessed, but did you expect anything else? I hope the series continues no only for the story but because Scarlett said that it will transition into a NA series. GIVE ME THE SPICE!!!!!! Romantasy, lets go! I can't wait to hopefully see more of these characters. Another hit from St.Clair but let's be honest, does she ever write anything that is not a hit?

3.5 Cocktails

I think I was attracted to this book because of the cover.   A retelling of Greek mythology further enticed me.  

I don't generally read ghost stories (mainly because nothing compares to the Charley Davidson series) but this was a good story.  Anora and Shy were likable characters and I found myself rooting for the two of them.  I didn't really like any of the other characters and I'm not sure if that was by design by the author or if it was me.  Natalie was a little bitchy, so I didn't like her.  Jacobi seemed cool, but we didn't spend enough time with him to count.  It seemed as though the author spent a lot of time ingratiating the bad guys to Anora or killing off others that we weren't left with a lot of option to rally behind the good guys.

I'm not sure if I would read any additional books in the series.  We'll see when book 2 comes out.

5/5 ⭐
0/5 🌶️

When Stars Come Out surprised me in all the best ways. The characters are great; fun, unique, mysterious. The storyline was the same and the world is just fascinating.

Anora Sibley can see dead people. "No, [you'll] just think I'm quoting The Sixth Sense. [She] can see souls." She can also trap the souls into gold coins. After having a bit of a breakdown and her mom not believing a word she says, they move from New York to Oklahoma to start a new life. Only she runs into more of the same when on her first day she turns the school ghost into a coin and loses it. She soon finds she has more in common with the new students than she first thought.

I love, love, loved this world. It was so unique, especially with the Greek mythology elements with Charon, Eurydice and The Underworld. I love the Valryn, especially that they have 3 forms. I love Anora's power to see and capture souls with her thread. It was all just so unique and like nothing I've read.

The characters were great too. Lots of depth to them, I felt like they were real fleshed out people. I wanted to be friends with them and felt hurt when we discover they were betraying Anora.

The storyline had me captivated from start to finish. I usually take a few chapters to get sucked into fantasy books as I try to learn the world, but I was hooked from the first pages here. The twists and turns and suspense had me reading with a vengeance, I couldn't wait to figure out what was happening. I had theories that panned out, but many more were thrown out the window. It really kept me on my toes.

While the ending wasn't a cliffhanger, I have so many more questions and I hope we get the next installment!

4/5 stars.

Scarlett St. Clair’s YA novel was a lot of fun. If you are expecting this to be like her other adult novels, you won’t find what you are looking for. What you will find is a well built paranormal fantasy based on the Orpheus and Eurydice myth. It follows Anora, who has the ability to see the dead and capture souls. She moves to Oklahoma and discovers there are not only more who can do see the dead, but a secret world of elite fighters. As she learns more about herself, she also learns there are dark forces who seek to eliminate her. As the number of students who end of dead increase, Anora must learn who to trust and how to stop the dark forces at work.

I definitely enjoyed this novel which had great world building and an engaging pace. The novel was well plotted, well written, and perfect for YA paranormal fans.

Ohhh. This is very reminiscent of JLA's early YA series. The main characters remind me of her Harbinger series while the plot is giving more Wicked trilogy vibes. So if you enjoyed those books in all of their urban paranormal glory, then this is something you will want to pick up.

This is being pitched as an Orpheus x Eurydice retelling and, honestly, I don't agree. There's nothing in this that retells any of that myth. That being said, this IS a spooky adventure about the dead and the afterlife. It's pretty much everything you could want about a group of teenagers who can see souls and trying to figure out a mystery. It's full of intrigue, high school antics, and sticking it to the adults.

I will say the narrative is a little odd at times. Usually with first person POVs, the reader learns things at the same time the MC does. But with the world-building here, the MC is already aware of certain things but the reader doesn't find out about it until later, meaning some elements of the plot are a little murky for only the reader until it's eventually revealed, which I found to be a bit of a weird choice as makes the beginning a little slow..

But regardless, this is a fun and entertaining book overall!

A unique spin on the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice that sucked me in and whose characters will stay in my head for a long time. I truly enjoyed this book. I was unsure about reading it at first because I don't read a lot of urban fantasy, and I did have a hard time with how the book began. It was a while before I got into its groove, but when I did, wow. I loved the world building and the characters. Some parts felt repetitive like we were just going around in circles, but overall, it's good. Would recommend to YA fantasy readers.

First off, thank you to SOURCEBOOKS Bloom Books, Scarlett St. Clair, and Netgalley for the advanced readers copy of this one. I greatly enjoy Ms. St. Clair's books for dark but quick reads that I look for on a rainy summer day, and When Stars Come Out did not disappoint.

Anora is a recently transferred freshman with a dark past and the ability to see and speak with the dead, an ability she wishes would just go away. Shy is the star quarterback who is pulled to the mysterious Anora and with his own secrets and burdens to bear. And the town they live in? Well, it's got some secrets of its own.

This was a fun twist on the Greek legend of the path to the afterlife. There were some great twists and turns and pleasant surprises, especially in the first half of the book. The characters felt like teenagers and I appreciated that and there were hints of mental illness not only in the dead but also a parental character that I hope is explored more in future books.

The end felt a bit rushed and the build up to this book's villain was a bit heavy handed at the start. It felt a bit obvious to me who was betraying who and what some of the big secrets were. But also, this book's audience feels more geared toward the young adult crowd (as opposed to new adult or older) and so in reading it I felt like that age range may actually not see the reveals coming or would be more accepting of Anora's surprise at the revelation.

Can't read the next book in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

I'm already a huge fan of Scarlett's other series' so I was very excited to get to read this book as it rereleases. All I knew going in was it was a retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice, and it was a fun one.

I love Anora and her powers; how she can see the dead and turn souls into coins is both fascinating and slightly terrifying. The relationship between her and her mom was a tough but interesting one to read, and I think quite a few people will relate to it. Once the main plot and details surrounding the school started to unfold, I was hooked. The characters I all found very interesting, and I loved learning more about them as we learn about what they all are and can do. I am very excited for the next book and to see Scarlett build out this world even more.

I loved this book so much. It was gripping from the start. It was an urban fantasy mixed with a little bit of everything. I loved the dark academia vibes, the Order of the Valryns. I also loved how there was some Greek mythology mixed in. I cannot wait for the next book in the series to come out because I already have a book hangover from this one. This kind of reminded me of a YA version of Ninth House so if anyone liked that book I would definitely recommend this one!

Thank you source books and NetGalley for an earc of this book in exchange for my honest review. Honestly I really loved this book, it was very fast paced and the characters were well written. I really liked the world and I want to know more! I hope there’s a 2nd book coming!