I thoroughly enjoyed Lightlark. It gives me the vibes of Hunger Games, luminaries, and All of Us villains, where you are unsure who to trust, and your life is on the line. Like any good fantasy novel where a game for your life is at stake, you're going into the story being told half-truths, something has to be found, a prophecy needs to be unraveled, and a vast major twist will happen. I thoroughly enjoy this story, even though I know how the plot will go. Someone is going to betray someone; some big reveal will happen. I am always shocked by the reveals and the twists. I get lost in this kind of story trying to figure out the trail of breadcrumbs and how the main character we follow will save everyone. Lightlark is a delight and ready for the sequel.

This book wasn’t anything special. It was very predictable and reminiscent of other YA books. It was just a fine book overall.

The narrator is great but the story is riddled with plot holes. The characters' portrayal lacks depth. The side characters who were supposed to represent the minority groups faded into the background and had zero contributions save for a line or two. All in all, there are better books to read and listen to.
To be fair: the positives about this book were: 1. fast to go through. 2. Juvenile writing that doesn't require you to engage intellectually. You can just listen/ read if you're tired and not in the mood for dense fantasy.

Although many people have had mixed reviews on Lightlark, I absolutely ENJOYED this book. From the uniqueness of each realms curse to the plot twist at the end I was in love with this book. My favourite character was Cleo even though she could be very mean at times. I'm glad I read this book and I'm looking forward to Nightsbane!

I saw all kinds of early hype for this book so I was eager to check it out. I listened to the audiobook and did enjoy the narration. However, I didn’t love this book.

I didn’t think it lived up to the comps or the hype at all. It was predictable and cheesy. I think if I had gone into it without the expectations, I’d have enjoyed it more but with comparisons to ACOTAR and THE HUNGER GAMES, I expected more and this story did not deliver.

I think the most disappointing element was the obvious editing errors in the story. There were elements that didn’t make sense as well as actual grammar issues. This was an ARC reading so perhaps these were fixed before the final copies were printed but I was listening to it and heard mistakes in the ALC. This was disappointing considering the author works in the traditional publishing space.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I requested and read this book well before I ever saw any of the hype about it. I saw the author would be in Austin for her book tour and decided to make a long weekend trip and attend the signing.

Now to the book, overall I actually enjoyed it. I listened to the audiobook version and I feel it wasn't the best narration (I actually didn't finish the book until had the hardcopy in hand and ended up reading instead of listening to the last 75 pages.)

I enjoyed the uncertainty and twists. I could never figure out what was about to happen. I see a lot of complaints about the prose...that wasn't an issue for me at all. My biggest issue was the choppy timeline and the lack of urgency with any of the situations.

I enjoyed the love-triangle and the big twist that went with it. I will definitely pick up the sequel.

I really enjoyed this book, I though the premise was different! Initially a bit slow, but then it really gets going and is non-stop! The story and the characters were fantastic. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for a sequel!

I had such a blast reading this book! The synopsis sounded intriguing, and I wanted to know more about these realms and the curses that they were under-and the lengths that they would go to, to be free of the curse. I couldn't put it down!

Before going in, I do know that there were some criticisms about this book, about how it got published and why. The book itself, it's pretty good, it just could've used a bit more polishing, some of the phrasing was weird, some things were described weirdly. But other then that, it's a pretty enjoyable story!

With the Centennial, and the curses, the history and the magic of this world were pretty interesting. I mean, they've spent 500 years trying to break the curses, but part of that means that one of the rulers has to die (which will also kill all of their kind) I had a great time watching Isla maneuver around all of the politics, the secrets and the lies!

There's quite a few things that are open for the next book. There's Cleo and the Moonlings, given the breaking of their island from the mainland, and the army they seem to have built, that's going to be trouble. Then there's Grim, and the memories that he took from her-that he seems to think will bring her back to him once she remembers everything. Plus there's whatever dark things that would happen without Nightshade magic. And finally, there's whatever is inside the vault. It was very cruel to end it with it opening up!

I really enjoyed this book, and I can't wait to see where the sequel goes!

Since this book was in the form of an audiobook, i think it only fitting to review the book in two parts: 1.) the actual story and 2.) the audio.
1.) The story was pitched as a mix between the Hunger Games, the Selection, and the Shatter Me series. Although the book did not quite live up to my expectations, I did enjoy some aspects of the book. I personally really enjoyed one of the love interests, Oro, I thought he was well-written and had a great role in the plot. I also enjoyed the world, since islands are not overused in YA books. But I'd also like to add that the plot and writing seemed better fitted for a middle grade novel.
2.) I really enjoyed the reader of the audiobook. She really made the story come alive and was exactly how I imagined the main character, Isla, to sound.

I enjoyed the concept of this book. I didn’t feel like the author was misleading in some of her advertisement for this book . I didn’t see many of the enemies to lovers themes that she had said there would be in there. However I liked the plot line and the character building.

"There are lies and liars all around you" INDEED. My goodness. Such a fun, YA fantasy read.

I think this book would have thoroughly benefited from further character development. I feel like I understood Isla the most, as she was the main character, but I felt like wanted I wanted to be more invested in the other characters. I was intrigued by them and felt like I only got a small gist of who they were as rulers. Being more invested in them would have made Isla an even stronger character, which would have created a stronger novel as a whole. I wanted know more about Grim, Oro, and all the other rulers. Hoping for more fleshed out character development in the next one.

The plot was creative and fun with all the twist and turns I love in a fantasy book. I enjoyed the rules surrounding the centennial and enjoyed reading the intricate curses surrounding each of the rulers/their realms.

I listened to the audiobook alongside reading my book and the narrator was fantastic! I enjoyed her timing/pace as a narrator and she kept me invested throughout the novel.

Did it read/feel like a debut novel? Yes. Did I enjoy my time, flaws and all? Yes. Will I read the next one? Yes. Is there always room for improvement?? Yes! Always! I'm so excited for the next one and I'm excited to see what Alex conjures up next. I didn't go into this book with any expectations other than "ah yes, it's time for some YA Fantasy" and I had a great time.

Thank you to NetGalley, Alex Aster, and RB Media for the audio copy!

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Oof okay this is going to be harsh and I’m sorry in advance.

This is probably one of the worst books I’ve had to sit through.
It’s not that it’s badly written per say but it’s so clunky it’s hard to enjoy.
The plot itself is the main problem. The world building is hazy at best with lots of info dumps that don’t make any sense when examined at all. Like the entire point of the centennial doesn’t make any sense for example. The reason for it seeming to be to break the curses which is only possible when they can go to lightlark which is called the mainland but is actually an island. The reason this can only happen every 100 years is because there’s a constant storm which makes the island uninhabited.
Except for all the people who live there all the time apparently as that then gets mentioned like two chapters later.

The names of the groups are like something got from a name generator: starling, wildling etc. except the darkness one as we can use darkling since grishverse so nightshade. It’s absolutely laughable and reads like a fan fiction not a full novel.

The characters are poorly constructed and everyone’s curses make little sense. The main characters curse is she’s too beautiful but actually she’s the only special one to have no magic…so clearly sending her to this was a great choice. All in all, this was laughably stupid and the main character falls to her death bc she’s startled and then wakes up again which is how I wanted to deal with it too.

I finally finished 'Lightlark' the audio version. I'll admit, I'm not a huge lover of audio books, but I have only listened to a handful and so I really wanted to give this one a go. Mostly because its a Fantasy, but also there was a lot of buzz on social media. While I started listening to the audio version, I ended up borrowing the e-book from my library and finished it the old fashioned way. This is nothing against the voice actor, but I have concluded that I do not enjoy that format, nor does it hold my attention.

Now, getting into this controversial book. The first few chapters were slooooow, It is a different fantasy setting and I felt there was a lot of world building, yet by the end, I didn't really know much. The fmc is Isla, ruler of the Wildlings. She has gathered for the centennial, a 'contest' that occurs every one hundred years with the aim of breaking the curses on the six realms. The other attendees include the 5 rulers of the other realms: Celeste (Starling), Grimshaw (Nightshade), Azul (Skyling), Cleo (Moonling) and King Oro of Lightlark and ruler of Sunling. Each ruler has their own powers, with one exception - Isla was born powerless and has kept this a secret.

The rulers have to break the curse within 100 days and have a prophecy to fulfill. Alliances are made and broken, backstabbing galore and romances bloom and wither. Overall, by the time I reached the midway point, I was all in. The story is a little young (low on spice, no smut), but it still held my interest and I will warn - ended on a cliff hanger. I will likely read the second book in the series and give this one a solid 4/5 stars.

What an incredible story! The moment I turned on this audiobook, I was hooked. The world building and the character development was phenomenal and I am excited to read more of Alex Aster's stories one day!

I received an audio ARC from the publishers through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It has not affected my opinions.

I listen to the book at the speed 2.0, which is normal for me. I listen to audiobooks while doing daily day stuff. The narrator did a good job

I actually liked this audio book, it's interesting and kept me wanting to know more. It has some twist and turns, and also an interesting take on the story.

I can recommend this audio book/book.

I had really high hopes for this book and it just fell flat for me. there were a lot of times where i was confused on what was going on or what was the purpose for certain information the author gave us for context. a lot of moments and events seemed random and out of place, or even again brought about confusion for me as the reader. i wont be continuing the series

So, like many of you, I’ve seen the tiktoks and reviews stating that Alex was advertising scenes in her book that weren’t in the arc, personally I’d agree that a lot of those scenes were not in the arc. I’ve also seen some people who’ve read the final copy and said some of those scenes were in it so take that as you will. I would’ve tried to read the final copy but I cannot put myself through that again-
The first part of the book was sooooo slow, the only part I actually enjoyed was the last 150ish pages but it took way too long to get there

Plot holes. Let’s start off with the many many plot holes one of my booksta friends and I have talked about. *Please note that this will have minor spoilers*
If anyone can answer my questions please let me know :)

1. I feel like throughout multiple points in the book, Alex and her Editor forgot that the island appears every 100 years, I’m going to hope that some of these points are not in the final book. How is Oro the king of Lightlark when it only appears every 100 years for 100 days? Does he just stop being king after 100 days? There was a scene in the book where he stated “I searched for decades on this Island,” how does one search an island that disappears after 100 days every hundred years. (this is from the ARC so it may have changed in the final copy after editing). Also, there are citizens on the island- can someone please tell me where they go after 100 days?!? Do they disappear or what?

2. Another point I feel like no one has been talking about is the curse that Celeste's kingdom has. Their curse is that they all die at 25 right? I swear most people don't even have children by 25 so how do they still have a population- are they just having kids as teenagers?!?!?????? And that means most of the kids are orphans right because their parents die at 25????

3. The Wildlings curse is that they have to eat a HUMAN heart every month. Where the heck are they getting all these hearts for their entire population? Also are wilding babies expected to eat hearts???? Another thing is that they can’t fall in love, does that mean they have babies with random people to populate their realm?!???? Also because they can’t fall in love does that mean they don’t love their child?!?!?! Like that poor child, their parents don’t love each other and they can’t love them or else they have to kill each other-

I feel like there are definitely more plot holes I may have missed-

WHY IS ISLA A NEWLY 20ISH OLD’S LOVE INTEREST BOTH 500 YEARS OLDDDD. I feel like that was so unnecessary and the only similarity this book has to acotar. Also did not see any hunger game aspects except for the trials they went through which was vaguely like hunger games.

My last point (I think):
Sometimes this book just reads like a middle grade book and not ya 😭
“Starstick” “yolky” the overuse of the word “thing”

Also if anyone who’s read this wants to talk to me about the ending, aka what the lightlark heart is, my insta dm’s are open

I really really wanted to like this book. I saw the tiktok that got alex her 6 figure deal and I was really looking forward to it but I feel like they rushed this too much so that the type for lightlark doesn’t die out. Once lightlark 2 comes out, I want to give it a try and hopefully it’d be better then this.

The narrator was really good tho!!!

Unfortunately, this book has many controversial reviews and mine is not a good one.

I really wanted to like this book, the expectation was extremely high, especially due to the marketing made on TikTok. I was expecting something like the hunger games with a little bit of a spicy romance in it. I decided to read this because I was expecting something where the main characters would fight for their lives and murder each other constantly.

Unfortunately, the writing did not work for me, I think the idea was there but it was poorly written and developed, extremely slow and boring at times and when I got to the last 80% of the book where the actual plot happens, I had already lost the interest and it didn't make a difference that things were finally happening, I could care less about the character.

I was sad it didn't work for me because I really wanted to enjoy this book but I think if you go into it expecting a different thing it won't disappoint as it did with me. I advise reading a few reviews where it explains better what the book is about so that you will have a better reading experience.

Thank you netgalley for giving me a chance to read this book

3.5/5 Stars

500 years ago, a curse put on the 6 realms caused each region to be affected in varying, devastating ways. Every 100 years, the Centennial occurs lasting a total of 100 days on the island of Lightlark. In order to break the curse, one ruler must die, which in turn will kill everyone from that realm. Isla Crown, leader of the Wilding realm has decided that this year, she will be the one to free the realms, and restore power.

I enjoyed this for the most part, but do think the story dragged a bit at some parts. I was a tad confused with some of the plot points, mostly surrounding the Centennial and the rules. Each ruler had their own secrets and hidden abilities called "flairs" that no one knew about. I will say that some of these rulers were more developed then others, and some were cardboard cutouts with no personalities. I enjoyed Isla as a main character, although some choices she made were questionable at best. I liked both love interests, and thought they were both intriguing characters. Big fan of dark, mysterious, broody boys... but also a fan of enemies to lovers, so I was here for either of them. I did like the plot twist in the end, and genuinely was surprised by it. I'm a sucker with books featuring betrayal and backstabbing, and this book had plenty.

This book! I don't have enough words to explain how much I enjoyed this book! It included quite a few of my favorite YA tropes (a powerful heroine, enemies-to-lovers) and characters I really liked. My favorites were definitely Grim, Isla, and Oro.

The world was so interesting, six rulers of six kingdoms who each have different abilities and have to come together every 100 years to compete in the Centennial. You never know who you can truly trust and it seems like everyone has secrets.

"there are lies and liars all around you Isla Crown"

The ending of the book really blew me away. So many plot twists and revelations. Many of which I suspected but seeing them unfold still took my breath away and there was one big one that I sort of expected but not in the way it happened.

Also the romance! This is probably the first time a love triangle hasn't made me cringe. I definitely have a favorite (Team Grim!) but I have a soft spot for the other one as well and I still enjoyed the relationship and I don't want them to get hurt!

This book definitely felt like everything I love in a YA book and I can't wait for the next one. Its definitely got Hunger Games vibes but I wouldn't say there's a direct comparison and this book definitely has more fantasy in it and stands out as its own thing.

So basically I loved this book. 5 stars and I need the second one like YESTERDAY.