Member Reviews
I’ve previously read St. Clair’s work, so I was excited to read something else from her. However, I believe this is a case of it’s not the book it’s me. I was expecting more romance like her previous books and this one did have some, but it wasn’t what I was expecting. Plot wise, this was dark and gave off a dark academia vibe. There were times where I felt as if I needed a bit more clarification on certain parts of the past and Anora’s gifts.
Like I said before, it was a case of “it’s me and not the book”.
When Stars Come Out is a fantastic dark fantasy young adult novel involving ghosts, a new high school, and a mysterious organization that governs the dead. I am a sucker for secretive organizations, so Ms. St. Clair immediately snagged my interest with this one. Add a spooky town and a girl who can see dead people, and I was a goner. While it might not be as spicy as her adult novels, When Stars Come Out delivers in every way. Anora is a great heroine, emotionally fragile but strong in many other ways. I appreciate her fractious relationship with her mother and the desire to improve it, especially as a mother of a teenage daughter. The Gothic tone is also appealing, while the story's pacing is intense. This is yet another story for which I am excited about the sequel!
I was pleasantly surprised! I think it was one of my favorites by Scarlett. It was exactly what I needed at the moment. Was it original? No. But what is. However, it was fun and it kept my attention the whole time.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this story!
An interesting story - a reimagining of the legend of Orpheus and Eurydice with a rather intriguing world and powers
If you want to plunge into the golden era of young adult like in the 2010s, this book is for you.
I liked the story, light, small, plunged me into those times when I was still a very beginner reader.
It was very nice to remember these feelings, and of course I look forward to continuing this story!
I can always count on a book by Scarlett St. Clair to catch my attention, and When Stars Come Out is no exception. A striking YA fantasy about Anora Silby, a teenager who can see the dead and turn them into gold coins, whom is starting over at a new school hoping her past doesn't come back to haunt her. Or those men who were chasing her. She'd rather avoid them too. However, at her new school, things prove to be just as challenging when she turns the spirit of the school's resident dead girl, Vera, into a coin on her first day. So much for laying low. Events unravel from there and Anora finds herself caught up in a fascinating web not of her own making. I found this novel compelling and it had me hooked till the very end. I give it 4 of 5 stars.
I have heard of Scarlett St. Clair, especially on BookTok, these past few months and was excited at the opporunity to review her work. However, while the Hades x Persephone series has garnered much attention, I didn't know much about "When Stars Come Out." I did think her writing was relatively enjoyable and the characters were well drawn out, but didn't think it necessarily stood out. Overall, it was an entertaining read and I could definitely see myself picking up the next book in the series.
i thought this was interesting! i've read a touch of darkness and king of battle and blood from scarlett, and i loved kbb and disliked atod so i wasn't sure how much i'd enjoy this one. i'm happy to say that i quite enjoyed it for the most part! it doesn't really give me greek mythology retelling, but rather an entertaining spooky adventure. it was a bit slow to begin with and took me a while to get into, but when things picked up i started to enjoy it more and more.
oddly enough, even though this is a YA story of hers, the characters here seemed a bit more mature and developed in comparison to those in her hades x persephone series, which i enjoyed quite a bit! i'm interested to see what happens next in the series for this one.
Anora can see the dead. But doesn't quite know what that means for her. After moving to a new school, she discovers she's not the only one.
I've read Scarlett St Clair's other greek retellings, and love them, and this was no exception. I don't know the story of Orpheus and Eurydice so this was all new to me. I really enjoyed this book and can't wait for the sequel to come out to see what happens.
I was very curious about this title as I'd been making my way through the author's Hades and Persephone retellings and was intrigued to see what a YA offering from them might be like. Particularly as I believe this is a retelling of Orpheus and Eurydice, which you don't often see!
This was something nostalgic about this book for me, like it really put me in mind of some of the older urban fantasy/YA book series that I used to love when I was a teen like Fallen and the Starcrossed series! Or even my beloved JLA YA series! It just gave me such vibes that kind of reminded me of that type of book which is something I really liked about it!
It was also intriguing given the mystery surrounding why Anora had to move and Anora's power in general to be honest. It was also easy enough to read and initially, there was quite a bit to grab your attention from the general premise put forward to Anora and the ghosts. Then we find out all about the Order and the Valryn and I had super high hopes for this.
Unfortunately, I found my attention wandering to the extent I kind of wanted to DNF this but I pushed on because I still had some shreds of curiosity left. Perhaps it was my general mood as it's been a bit of a rough time lately, but I just found myself struggling to focus on the book. I wasn't all that interested in a lot of the characters, I thought the relationships between some of them could have been fleshed out more and made less superficial, and I wasn't particularly feeling the romance if I'm honest. I felt like things were dragged out a bit too much, though they did pick up again towards the end but ultimately this book ended up being a bit eh for me.
ARC provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Un libro para devorar, ligero y juvenil.
El conflicto es bastante sencillo, pero son los pedacitos de mitología que abarca, los que lo convierten en una experiencia oscura e intrigante.
Tristemente, los personajes principales no me enamoraron, me resultaron planos y predecibles; solo el villano fue ,tal vez, mi favorito
A book to devour, light and youthful. The conflict is simple enough, but it's the bits of mythology that it encompasses that makes for a dark and intriguing experience.
Sadly, the main characters didn't make me fall in love, they were flat and predictable; only the villain was, perhaps, my favorite.
This one just really wasn’t for me. If felt like a <I>Fallen</I> version 2.0 but less engaging. The writing was clunky, and in the 57 pages I read absolutely nothing of interest or importance happened. However, I was told the MC sees dead people approximately one thousand times. Just in case it wasn’t clear the first time.
This book was almost a DNF for me, but I pushed through. It was just a little bit too YA for my taste, and it ended up being just "okay." I was really excited about it because it was marketed as an Orpheus and Eurydice retelling, and I just didn't see that. So I was a little bit disappointed. But it isn't BAD by any means. It was just okay for me.
I throughly enjoyed this novel. In fact, it’s one of the few lately that has held my attention throughout the entire story. While I could see a few things coming, I never felt like rushing though it. I would definitely recommend it to friends.
Readers craving a paranormal read should come to a dead-stop and pick up St. Clair's When Stars Come Out. Featuring a heroine that is easy to love and a story that is filled with mystery, this story is sure to keep you up at night!
When I saw a Scarlett St. Clair book available on NetGalley you know I jumped at the chance to read it! I loved her Touch of Darkness series and King of Battle & Blood so thought I would love this. Unfortunately this was really slow for me.. I didn't find a whole lot of chemistry between Anora and Shy and with this being YA it didn't have any of the spicy elements really that the author is known for to pick up the rating for me. just a really typical high school romance. I will probably not continue this series but will continue with her adult books no doubt.
Thank you so much to Sourcebooks for providing me with an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you Netgalley and Sourcebooks Bloom Books for the E-arc of “When Stars Come Out” by Scarlett St. Clair in exchange for an honest review.
Modern-day paranormal high schooler: CHECK
Hiding true identity and powers: CHECK
Accidentally losing a magical coin that enables the holder the ability to steal souls: CHECK
The split POV between Anora and Shy was perfect. The moment it changed narratives I’d audible say” What?! No! Not Now! I have so many questions.” But by the time Id finish the next POV id say the same thing. This defiantly kept me going when the story was moving a tad slow for my taste.
This book was defiantly a bit scarier than I had anticipated, and I’m not mad about it.It is one of my favorite spooky reads of October.
4/5 Stars
im a big fan of scarlett st clairs adult novels so i was excited to give her YA series a try. This was a very fun action packed novel with a really interesting plot. A quick and easy read with really likeable characters. A brilliant set up for a future series.
When Stars Come Out by Scarlett St. Clair
⭐️ ⭐⭐️ ️ ⭐/5
YA/ 🌶5
SYNOPSIS:
Anora Silby can see the dead and turn spirits into gold coins, two things she would prefer to keep secret as she tries to lead a normal life at her new school. After all, she didn’t change her identity for nothing.
QUOTE:
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.
MY THOUGHTS:
First I would like to thank Net Galley for providing me with this e-copy in exchange for my honest review.
Now lets get to the nitty gritty of this review. To sum this up, I devoured this book, I read it in about 3 days (I usually read few books at the same time but I actually put the others on hold so I can get to this one instead!). Even though this book is YA, and in high school setting, it kept me entertained and on my toes.
This book was mysterious and captivating from the start. Anora can see the dead and moves with her mom to a different state to start a new life and forget the past. There are many questions when you start reading and slowly the secrets are being unraveled, however the more you read the more new information you get and you will have even more questions ;)
I really enjoyed the Valryn and learning what Eurydice is and what can she do. I found the fact that Anora can see the ghosts intriguing and terrifying at the same time- Sixth sense movie anyone?
The book is set up that you have multiple POV (Anora and Shy) and it worked well for this book. The book ends in a good spot (not a cliffhanger), however Scarlett St. Clair will be continuing the series which makes me really excited because I still have a lot of unanswered questions!
Im realising how much I love Scarlett St Clairs writing! I've loved other books I've read from them and this si no difference. This is the first ghost whisper type of story I have read and I really loved the premise!
The world building, the charcters, the story line I loved it all.
I'm a big fan of Scarlett St. Clair and when I heard she was coming out with a YA novel, I could not contain my excitement!
When Stars Come out is an entrancing story following Anora's journey as a death-speaker. The dual perspective between Anora and Shy makes the story whole and more than the romance, I was more captivated by the world that St. Clair was building.
I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel to see what happens in the rest of their story!