When Stars Come Out is a fantastic YA sci-fi about a girl who can see the dead and finds out she has abilities far beyond that. It is written with alternate POV chapters between Shy and Anora which flowed perfectly. The characters were very well written and it was great to see how Anora and Shy really came to trust one another as time went on. The story itself was really cool and the high school setting was perfect. I am unfamiliar with the story of Orpheus and Eurydice so the mythology part was new to me. I found the premise interesting and the mystery of who is doing the killings solid. I highly recommend this one, it was well worth your time.

When Stars Come Out is a YA book by Scarlett St. Clair who is most well known for her Hades x Persephone series, A Touch of Darkness. This book originally came out a few years ago but is now being republished by Bloom Books.

When I got the arc of this book, I am going to be honest, I didn’t have the highest expectations for it. I thought it would be an easy read. I read the first two books in the Touch of Darnkess series and I wasn’t super blown away or anything but I am always willing to give an author another chance. And I am so glad I did with this book.

When Stars Come Out is an Orpheus and Eurydice reimagining with a super unique magic system. Our main character, Anora, can see the dead and turn souls into coins. She feels very alone in the world after her poppa died and her mother doesn’t believe anything she says. When she moves to a new school in order to start fresh, she quickly realizes that maybe her abilities aren’t as unique as she originally believed.

We also get chapters from Shy, an extremely popular boy who is well known for never dating anyone but is very curious about Anora.

I’m not going to go more into detail about the story because I went in pretty blind and really enjoyed it. I will say that this book is very different from this author’s other books. It is a YA book with no spice so don’t go in thinking that it will be similar. I really loved the magic system in this book surrounding most of the characters. It was super fun and had a found family aspect to it that I always really enjoy. To be a 400 page book, I think it was very well paced. I was able to get though it pretty quickly without getting bored.

If I would have read this in high school, I probably would have made it my whole personality. I am actually very excited to read the second book to see where the story goes.

Points > Paragraphs

Overall 5
Spice 0


• Starts with a bang.
• Republished YA
• Reads as Older YA almost NA
• Dark Themes
• Check Trigger Warnings.
• Beautiful Cover
• I Love How Scarlett Weaves a Story.
• Boys With Wings!
• Secret Society
• Fast-Paced Action-Packed

Thank you to Bloom Books NetGalley and Scarlett St. Clair for an ARC of When Stars Come Out. Scarlett can do no wrong in my book. I LOVE her Hades & Persephone series so this opportunity to read the beginning of her republished YA series was such a treat. From the very first page, I was completely invested. Reimagining familiar myths while remaining within a modern setting and giving you enough twists and turns to keep it fresh is a perfect combination. I cannot wait to read book 2.

• Review will be posted on Amazon GoodReads StoryGraph during the following window: 7/18-7/26
• 3 post review spread for Instagram will go live during the following window7/18-7/26
• A release day post will go live on 7/26 on Instagram

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC.

This author can not do any wrong. I absolutely devoured this book, it was amazing, if not even more so than her Hades x Persephone series (though very different). The characters are interesting, the premise is original and before I knew it I had finished the whole thing. I need book two like yesterday.

thank you to netgalley and sourcebooks bloom books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

who would’ve thought. whew. <b>when stars come out</b> is a fresh and enjoyable YA fantasy from scarlett st. clair. i was hesitating before picking this book, because i’m afraid this was too ‘steamy’ for YA standard. turns out, this is a very great young adult retelling fantasy, about a girl who can see dead people and turn them in to coins. don’t get me wrong, the hades & persephone series was ok at best, but this was truly a fresh take. the worldbuilding isn’t too hard to follow and the problems the characters have aren't dragged on. they aren’t the best but at least not too shallow or one dimensional. in fact, i quite enjoyed their developments. i appreciate the content warning from the author too. <b>when stars come out</b> is great mythological retelling that i enjoyed immensely and i would definitely recommend it to other people that have same interest as me in fantasy.

3.5⭐️
This book was really good and hooked me in all the way through but it was lacking something. Having loved the A Touch Of Darkness series, I was hoping it would be another winner.....but it wasn't up there. I loved the storyline and the characters were good, but it was definitely a YA book rather than adult.

I really enjoy reading this book. It was different that the books I have read so far.
Anora Silby running from her past stumbled upon a new future she couldn’t imagine being a part of. She could see the dead and spin a thread that turned souls into coins but she didn’t know that she was a part of something bigger.

Truly amazing. I am loving every single thing Scarlett writes. There's so much adventure and imagination in reading her books. I will definitely be recommending

First I’d like to say a huge thank you to Sourcebooks Bloom Publishing for giving my this E-ARC. As always thoughts and opinions are mine.
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When Stars Come Out follows 16 year old Anora Silby who is able to see the dead after the death of her Poppa. Months after his death Anora and his mother moves to a new school and town hoping to star anew but all that changes when Anora stars to see the dead on her first day of school.
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Y’all the way I ate this books up was ungodly no cause I need to sequel to this book immediately miss st. clair Idk how I never came across this book when I was in my YA phase in high school but nonetheless this book was sensational.
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The plot and writing was so good I am already obsessed over anything Scarlett writes I fell in live with her previous books. I really loved the darkness that this book has even for being a YA book I mean you get past spirits, reincarnation, fated mates, and boys with secret identities, but also a bad ass female main character who can kick ass and starts to find who she is within all that.
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Also the relationship between Shy and Anora was so cute and really was giving me young love nobody will tear us apart at some moments and I ate that up.
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When Stars Come Out is available on all major retailers on July 26th run and go preorder now!

Thank you to NetGalley, Scarlett St. Clair, and Sourcebooks Bloom Books for providing this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was SUPER excited to read another Scarlett St. Clair book after loving Touch of Darkness! I was pulled in from page one and could hardly put it down. The haunting mystery kept me wanting more. The story was unique and creative. I was unfamiliar with the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, so I enjoyed it greatly!

I would 10/10 recommend this book to those that love greek mythology type stories. Can’t wait to read it again!

This review will be posted to my Goodreads and Amazon accounts immediately and to my instagram account @ginganinja333 upon publication on 7/26/2022.

When Stars Come out is a well thought out YA paranormal fantasy filled with ghosts, shifters and secret governments. First off, let me just say that I could not put this book down. it was addicting and I already need a book 2 (this is my plea for Scarlett to write another!).

Scarlett does a wonderful job of weaving a creative storyline together that had me turning the page and wanting to know what happens next. Anora can see the dead and happens to have the power of turning spirits into gold coins. Her first day of school is rough, she accidently turns a ghost on campus into a gold coin and then subsequently loses the coin. Now Anora needs to get her coin back and also figure out how to navigate high school while hiding her secrets from those that want to use her.

The plot was really what kept me coming back for more, it gave me the one more chapter feeling every time. Scarlett gives us a mystery that slowly unfolds. We learn along with Anora what is really going on and all the twists and turns were surprising and I don't feel like I ever year guessed what was going to happen next.

The characters were well written although I did feel there could have been a little more depth given to the side characters. For instance, I felt that we never really learned what was wrong with Anora's mother or much about Jacobi or Natalie besides very surface level interactions but they appear in the book a lot. I did enjoy Anora and Shy and felt Anora was easily relatable. She is a teen that just wants to fit in but keeps getting faced with tough choices. She must navigate feeling constantly alone in her world with the dead and knowing who to trust.

I loved the message of this story - mainly to learn how to trust people and don't be afraid to ask for help. There are some big trigger warnings in this book so please do read them before giving this one a shot!

recommended for those that love paranormal, shifters, secret governments, a little YA romance and for fans of books like the Dark Elements series by JLA.

Overall, I loved this story, I don't often find paranormal stories to be as enchanting as high fantasy but this one proved me wrong and I eagerly await a 2nd one.

thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Bloom books for this E-ARC!

This book was so good! The fantastical aspects were really easy to understand, the mystery was gripping and kept making me question who was responsible for the events, the characters were all interesting and has their own stories, and I loved the forbidden romance between Anora and Shy.

I loved reading this book. Anora can see the dead. I like the relationship between Anora and Shy. It was different read for me. The school Anora is at is different and she needs it! I need more!

4/5 ⭐️

WOW wow wow! First of all this cover is stunning, okay - solid choice for a cover change because wow 😍
I literally did not know about this book until I saw it on NetGalley and hey I love Scarlett St. Clair, I love fantasy/mythology and I love YA it’s the perfect storm!

There was so much about this story that enticing! It was the mystery that kept me thinking about this book until I could read it again! That part of the book was so well paced, so good on Scarlett St. Clair for that one. I do however feel like some different aspects of the book could have been fleshed out a little better but that can totally just be a personal preference thing.

I think one of the biggest things about this book that I didn’t love and why it did not get 5 ⭐️ is that this book probably would have made more sense if the characters were just slightly older, like this could have been NA instead of YA.

All and all pretty good book! Plot was good, pacing was good and the characters were interesting!

Thank you to NetGalley and Source Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Anora can see and speak to the dead. After fleeing New York with her mum, Anora is desperate for a new start, and to be normal but after a ghost appears on her first day at Nacoma Knight Academy, Anora realises it's not so easy to be normal...

After binging the A Touch of Darkness series I just needed more from @authorscarlettstclair!
When Stars Come Out, however, is very different from ATOD - this is very YA. That being said, I really enjoyed this book. It gives us the perfect ratio of life as a teenager at school with all the electricity of a YA fantasy.

This was a fabulous read and I cant wait for more!!

A unique reimagining of Orpheus & Eurydice that leant to a really cool magic system. St. Clair has a very easy writing style that you get lost reading.

"I'm struck by this feeling that she's the embodiment of my heart, and she's walking around outside my chest, and I'd do anything to protect her, no matter the cost."

“Rule number one: ignore the dead”
“Then it’s just me, the school, and the dead girl. Well, crap”
“And there goes rule number three: Don’t capture souls in Oklahoma”
I love Scarlett St Clair!!!!
The first book I read, written by her, A Touch of Darkness, captured my heart and it still has in a tight grip and when the opportunity to read this one presented itself … I couldn’t not try and take the chance !!!!
This book was almost as good as expected … maybe even more!!!!
I fell in love with the plot, the characters’ dynamics and the world building, with the magic system and the romantic theme in it!!!!
I genuinely couldn’t put it down!!!!
And the fact that the story may not be over … the excitement grows !!!!
The story of a girl who can see and capture souls and who finds herself in a strange and uncommon school with people and situations she cannot understand, while trying not to catch too much attention on herself.
And the story of a boy who somehow stars doubting everything his Institution says.
Great, great, great reading !!!!
If you haven’t read the book when the author first self-published it, you absolutely have to do it now !!!
“The shadow knight who breaks her heart or the ones who breaks the rules?”
“My words flood the air between us far past midnight, when stars come out and monsters come to life”

DNF @ 40%

The pacing just wasn’t working for me and unfortunately I couldn’t get much further than this, and getting to this point was really, really slow.

The characters were not vibing with me unfortunately either, I didn’t love them despite how much I wanted to.

I loved her Hades and Persephone series so I’m gutted that this one just wasn’t for me.

From gothic to magical, ghosts, Ravens and dark academia. I young YA romance, but I wanted more, which would have moved the story further, The premises of the book was enjoyable, maybe I have invested more into the NA writing of the author.

This was such an amazing debut YA by St.Clair!!! The mythology component was genius! I loved the Shadow-Knights, and how they fit with Anora’s role as the Eurydice. I wish I knew more about some of the backstory… Shy and Anora’s past lives, her time in New York, etc.
I could also see a potential for Roth to have his story told as well! I couldn’t put it down!