I would sell my soul to go back and read this for the first time again. It absolutely lived up to the hype!

So the main plot of the story is that every 100 years, the island of Lightlark appears to host the Centennial, a deadly game that only the rulers of six different realms are called to play. The invitation is a summons-to embrace victory, ruin, and blood. The centennial offers six rulers one final chance to break a curse that has plagued the realms for centuries. Each ruler has something to hide. Each ruler is uniquely wicked and vicious. To destroy the curses, one ruler has to die.

I haven't ever read anything by Alex, so I have nothing to compare to of her previous work but Alex's writing is so beautifully done compared to some of the other authors I've read. She promised twists and turns and she delivered tenfold. I am doing my best to not spoil anything for readers, but WOW...prepare for lots of deception and ruthless ruler politics. Lightlark is a deadly beautiful island. It was full of so much more than I expected and I loved it. Each realm was described so beautifully from the colors of the clothing to their specific heritages and what makes each realm set apart from another to the powers and personalities of the characters. It is incredible to me that Alex created this whole world inside her head. So in my own subjective experience reading this I see this book being a good mixture of ACOTAR, Hunger Games, and Howls moving castle all wrapped into one fantastical goodness of a story. That's honestly what I think of when I think of this book.

As for the characters, I absolutely loved Isla. I never once thought her annoying, she definitely grew into her wildling ruler position and had great character development. I found myself rooting for her a lot in the book. I want to talk more about the other rulers but honestly, it would spoil a lot for you guys and I definitely don't want to do that. I will say that my views on each character changed CONSTANTLY throughout the entire book it was crazy and I loved every minute of it.

Overall, Lightlark is one of my most favored reads of 2022 and one of the best YA fantasies that I have ever read. It's refreshingly new to the space and everything I dreamed it would be. Lightlark comes out August 23rd so run DONT WALK and preorder now to get your own copy.


Happy reading everyone.

Incredible! This was such a good book. I’m just astonished at how much I loved it. This was one of my most anticipated reads this year and it did not disappoint. I originally seen the author on TikTok and loved how she markets the plot. An island that appear once every one hundred years. A game where 6 rulers compete to break their curse. Every single ruler doing whatever it takes to win. One realm must fall with their ruler. Isla has to lie and betray her way through the game. There were so many twists and turns throughout the story. I couldn’t stop reading it. I already have it preordered also! One of the best fantasy books I have read in a while.
*thank you to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I have to admit this book started off slow, but ends with a bang! The last ten chapters have all the drama and excitement and left me dying to read the next book. It took me a while to warm to the lead, but by the end I understood and loved her. I think the book is made this way because until the end Isla doesn’t even know herself. A five star read for sure!!!

Lightlark
Thank you NetGalley and RB media for an audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I just finished this audiobook and I am not ok. Not ok in the slightest. I must have an abusive relationship with books at this point because I’m adding this to my list of series I will be spiraling out on and thinking about constantly until I know what happens next.

I had high expectations for this story. I followed the author before she got picked up by a publisher and was absolutely obsessed with the concept of this story.

It did not disappoint other than having to remind myself this is YA/Upper YA and teenagers can be dumb. I also wouldn’t really call it similar to Hunger Games other than how the leaders come together is kind of in the same spirit. But that’s also being a bit nitpicky.

Isla is amazing. Sure, she’s young and dumb and way to trusting despite fearing for her life, but man did I fall in love with her. She’s fierce and her greatest secret should make her less-than the other leaders, but she proves she is just as powerful and a true queen, in more ways than one. The other characters each bring unique problems for her to face both in the centennial and interpersonally. She goes through so much and every time I thought she was going to catch a break, well, she didn’t. Seriously, girl cannot catch a break.

The tropes in this book speak to my soul. Touch her and you’ll die, enemies to lovers, betrayal and constant plot twists. Some of the plot twists were obvious, and sometimes they were completely out of left field. Which is perfect. It kept me in constant whiplash in the most delightful way.

I absolutely can’t wait to read this again and pour over what I might have missed. I did appreciate that while this seemed like it was going to end on a massive cliffhanger we did get some peace while still hinting at more to come.

A few things to note specific to the audiobook:
One thing I did struggle with is how similar some names were with main characters. If I wasn’t paying complete attention while listening it would be very easy to get confused and have to rewind. I will definitely be reading this again in book format. The narrator is great to listen to and it’s very well done, but I definitely think it took away from the experience a bit getting confused by similar sounding names and behaviors and having to go back a bit to make sure I didn’t miss something.

Received an ARC, that does not affect my personal rating at all. i enjoyed this book, it was interesting. entertaining but starts off a bit dry. fell in love with the characters but i do not feel like i was fully focused so this rating will definitely change once i decide to rr it. 3.7 rating, definitely recommend, reminded me a lot of ACOTAR and twilight.


these characters must go through trials to save their people. they face various of challenges. keeps you motivated to keep reading after a bit.

Lightlark is a highly anticipated Tiktok sensation by Alex Aster. This book takes place during the time of the Centennial, a deadly game that only the six rulers of the realm participate in. The Centennial takes place on the mystical island of Lightlark which only appears every 100 years. Isla Crown is the ruler of the Wildlings who comes to the island with secrets that would put her at a disadvantage if the other rulers found out. What she discovers is she may not be the only one that has secrets to hide.

I loved this book. This is a young adult book that felt both fresh but also nostalgic. This book reminded me of the first time I read The Hunger Games in the way that I was so immersed in this world. There are so many twists and turns throughout this book that even at the end, I was still left guessing and I need the second book immediately.

This book is packed full of classic tropes that are done very well. Rivals to lovers, enemies to lovers, not like other girls, and so many others that I don’t want to spoil for anyone. But I promise, you won’t know what to expect! This was just such a fun book and reminded me why I still keep picking up YA books. I cannot wait to pick up a physical copy of this because the cover is absolutely stunning.

Thank you NetGalley and RB Media for the audio-ARC of this book.

Every hundred years, rulers of the realms convene at Lightlark in this fight-to-the-death style convention to try to save their own respective realms. The catch: one ruler and their realm has to perish, along with all of its inhabitants. In this game, no one is exactly as they seem. And, as many characters lament throughout the book -- "Love is a dangerous thing on Lightlark."

I think my hesitancy about this book is mostly my fault: I don't typically like love triangles and I truly didn't understand Isla working with/trusting both of these rulers at the same time, despite them opposing each other...? That's not the fault of the book just for using that trope, it was just a personal thing. I also typically don't like YA/NA books where the main character is out of the loop about literally everything. Most of Isla's character is just "young ruler who is so young in comparison to these other rulers and everyone knows more than she does which gets her into unnecessary trouble."

I fully believe this book would have been great for dual/multi POV. I felt like we had this whole Centennial concept (which was so cool!!) but for most of the book we followed Isla's adventures away from the actual game. With all of the secrets and betrayals I would have loved some dramatic irony where we got some of the secret reveals before other characters. Hopefully we get to see more POVs later in the series.

That said, I really did think this book was atmospheric and it sucked me into the world of Lightlark. I sometimes wasn't completely sold on why we were going to a certain place, but by god if it would help Isla save the world then I was here for it and interested to see what secret would be unveiled this time. I, like many readers, am still recovering from the last 8% of this book.... WHAT (exclaimed in a good way.) I am... in shock. The twists were well built up and didn't come out of the blue, but wow was my jaw still on the floor.

I'm giving this 3 stars for my personal rating, but I do think it's an interesting fantasy world that readers of SJM, JLA, and Kerri Maniscalco would love.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

lightlark was easily one of the most anticipated and hyped up releases of 2022 and in my opinion it was also one of the best. i will certainly re-read it again and fill up this review with quotes which i can't do now because of spoilers.

synopsis: every 100 years, the island of lightlark appears to host the centennial, a deadly game that only the rulers of six realms are invited to play. the invitation is a summons — a call to embrace victory and ruin, baubles and blood. the centennial offers the six rulers one final chance to break the curses that have plagued their realms for centuries. each ruler has something to hide. each realm’s curse is uniquely wicked. to destroy the curses, one ruler must die. isla crown is the young ruler of wildling — a realm of temptresses cursed to kill anyone they fall in love with. they are feared and despised, and are counting on isla to end their suffering by succeeding at the centennial. to survive, isla must lie, cheat, and betray…even as love complicates everything.

saying that this book had me on the edge of the seat the whole time would be an understatement. going into this book i expected it to have plot twists but nothing could have prepared me for the stuff that occurred. i’m talking about the multiple betrayals that will leave you doubting everything you think you know. i wasn’t able to trust any character except for isla and hoping that she makes the right decisions. it didn’t help that every single ruler had secrets and hidden abilities that came with their powers. my suspicions of one character turned out to be true and that plot twist didn’t shock me as much as it was supposed to but some other stuff did.

i always have to mention just how much i love a good love triangle and this book had a very compelling one. one ship in this book had insta-love/instant connection kinda vibes which i didn’t like even though the love interest was the dark and mysterious villain. his actions were icky and i didn’t enjoy his character at all. i can’t even count how many times i rolled my eyes at him. my full attention was set on the second relationship which was between oro and isla. they served slowburn enemies to lovers, forced proximity, knife to throat and so many more of my favourite tropes. and also, they had chemistry. if i had to sacrifice myself for these two i would do it without hesitation. the only thing i need in the sequel is more moments of them.

isla is one of my new favourite female mc’s. she was strong and smart and most importantly interesting. she never bored me and i love how real she felt. a real badass fighter. i wanted to scream through her whole duel scene, that’s how much i love her.
i have to point out that cleo is the side character that intrigued me the most and i hope to see more of her in the future.

alex aster's writing was beautiful and very articulate and she menaged to create one of the most fascinating and complex fantasy worlds that i have read about. comparing this book to the hunger games makes sense but lightlark has the uniqueness that makes it phenomenal on it's own.

to conclude, lightlark is a fantastic dark fantasy full of action, romance and betrayal. perfect for fans of acotar, it will leave you empty and wishing that you could read the sequel immediately. it’s also being adapted into a movie which is just one more reason to read it as soon as it get’s released.
#TEAMORO

A whimsical dark tale.. The romance is top notch.. I really liked this book..the world building and the interaction between the characters

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for providing an audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review.
Lightlark releases on August 23

4/4.5 ☆

This was a highly anticipated read and it definitely delivered!

Lightlark, an island that only appears once every 100 years.
6 realms. 6 rulers. All cursed differently.
The Centennial — a game where the 6 rulers are invited to have the chance to break the curses that overshadow their realms. But to destroy the curses? One ruler must die.

Isla — Wildling
Celeste — Starling
Cleo — Moonling
Azul — Skyling
Grimshaw — Nightshade
Oro — Sunling

I read this via audio and the narrator (Suzy Jackson) and diction were done exceptionally well, and that’s being said by someone that normally finds it really hard to process via audio.

For a fantasy, the world building in Lightlark was approachable, easy to digest, and not overly complex.
I did find the middle to be a bit slow in terms of pacing, and expected there to be more cutthroat action between all 6 rulers. However, the plot twists towards the end fully made up for that (chapters 53 & 54, I’m looking at you).

Although there were 6 rulers, not all were a main focal point in this story.
The character I came to love the most was hands down, Grim. The tension and mystery surrounding him was off the charts! If I had to reread any chapter between Grim and Isla, they would be 33 & 49.

Lightlark has tropes that include:
- a love triangle
- rivals to lovers
- forced proximity
- he falls first
- “who did this to you”
- healing wounds
- nicknames that are anything but their given name
- lgbt characters
- banter, tension, romance, betrayal, lies, secrets, and plenty of twists

Can’t wait to reread my physical copy, watch the movie adaptation, and for more details on the sequel!
[unrelated to the actual writing—but the marketing and preorder incentives for Lighlark were extremely impressive]

If you liked any of these books, I think you’d enjoy Lightlark:
- The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
- A Darker Shade of Magic
- Three Dark Crowns
- Throne of Glass
- ACOTAR
- The Hunger Games

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy of the audiobook! Lightlark was a great fantasy read. It centers around Isla, a young ruler who is attending the Centennial, a game that each of the six rulers attend in an attempt to break to curse placed on each of their realms. There is adventure, a morally grey love interest, and great twists along the way. I am hoping for more world building in the next installment, but this is set up to be a great series. This will definitely be a popular read!

I'd like to thank the publisher and netgalley overloards for this advanced copy.

Where to begin?

I picked up this book because of tiktok. This book got picked up by a publisher because of tiktok. This book is a tiktok success story, an amalgamation of all that tiktok has to offer, and by extension, all the books that are popular on tiktok before it. Calling it pastiche would be kind. Each scene felt very reminiscent of something out of another YA book. Many, many YA books. So much of this book is borrowed from ACOTAR that any differentiation from the plot of ACOTAR felt like a subversion of story even if it made perfect sense within Lightlark's narrative. Also, I can proudly say that any comparison to the Hunger Games is unwarranted. It's a terrible comparison that sets up false expectations. More accurately, it's ACOTAR meets the Selection. Yeah.

Before I really lay into this book, I'll say that I understand why people would like it. I understand the appeal. Some people like reading 100 different versions of the same kind of book. I get it. It's comforting. I am also that way with certain genres of books or types of movies. But comfort, familiarity, they're not tangible measures of storytelling quality. It's possible to be comforted and find excitement in something that suffers from flaws. So, make peace with that.

I'll work my way up.

The building blocks of story are prose. Aster's prose is not bad, but undercooked and sometimes repetitive. Unique metaphors are one-hit wonders, if you pull them out again, we will notice (hair like ink on his brow, buttery sunlight). It does not read like fantasy prose and feels entirely too modern. That was a problem deeper than prose, but certainly evident in the writing style. I had the privilege of consuming this novel on audiobook, and without the narrator, many writing faults would be more evident. (Also, I don't know how to spell any of these names because I read it on audiobook. So sorry for that.)

That being said, it is consumable. I could get through it. I feel like I had an okay sense of where the characters were spacially. I knew where they were mentally because the author would just tell us. It's a common vice in Young Adult. The blatant explanations of Isla's struggle in her internal monologue and the faux femininist ideology of this book that would've been standard in the early 2010s really highlighted Sarah J Maas' writing as inspiration. Which kind of sucks, because her prose isn't good either.

Now onto the premise. There are six rulers of six different realms trying to break their curses by competing in a Centennial, a game that takes place on an island that only emerges every hundred years. Simple enough? No it isn't.

Listen, I am a seasoned fantasy reader. More than that, I was a Supernatural fan in my heyday. I have made sense of many things that do not make sense.

This book did not make sense.

First and foremost, it's impossible to get a real grasp on stakes. These lands have been suffering with their curses for five hundred years. And some of the curses are gnarly! The wildling's curse is that they have to eat a human heart every month to survive. But then, the people here live to be very old? Which, presumably means that they don't have very many children. The population can't be that high, because it wouldn't be sustainable if people are living longer. So how do they have even a year's supply of hearts? It's explained to us that the wildlings are dying, that their realm is losing power, that they don't have enough hearts to sustain them, but it's so hard to have a good grasp on exactly what's going on because there are so many variables that are vaguely explained. Are they at half their power, a tenth? How big are they compared to other realms? How many people do they lose a year? We need to understand the stakes! Please!

For example, both of the love interests in this thing are over 500 years old. Yet, the starling curse is that their people don't live past the age of 25. How- I can't even wrap my head around it. In a world where people are living centuries, you give them a quarter of one, and barely explain its repercussions. Every single person in that realm was raised by teenagers. They're all young parents or teen moms. Saying that's the curse and that obviously it sucks and that's why their numbers are dwindling is not good enough, because I cannot understand the stakes. I don't understand how this was sustainable for 500 years and it's not anymore. I don't understand the ways the world has changed in a way that has material impacts on the average person besides "yeah they'll die early". Some of this stuff was touched on, but not developed. I feel like I'm missing something, but I'm reading it with other people who got the arc, and we're all missing something then.

Okay, slight tangent, but it's clear that this world was not thought about at all. Because, naturally, I feel like there would be more inter-realm interaction if they were all weakened? The wildling realm could get their hearts from starlings who die early. Starling would not be much of a realm of its own, but instead be an orphaned diaspora at risk of fizzling out. Other realms would take advantage of their naivete and lack of mentorship. And so on and so forth.

There was some bending over backwards to explain away magial heirs and create the stakes that if someone dies in the game, their realm dies. We don't find out until like 75% throughout the book that people begin to age when they have kids because of passing down magic and heirs and whatever. She mentions elders, but then what would an elder be? How old would they be? If someone can live to a thousand without having kids and still look like they're in their 20s, is that an elder? How long do people live after they have kids? I feel like naturally, that would disincentivize having kids which once again begs the question where tf are the wildlings getting their hearts? I read this book with someone who spent the majority of it convinced that [redacted] was Isla's father, which wouldn't have been possible if any of this was actually made clear. I also might have missed it, but maybe only the realm rulers live hella long. I doubt it though because it seems like everyone in this world connected to a realm has powers. The fact that I can't tell really just proves how convoluted the worldbuilding was. My confusion effectively killed the stakes for this book, and I could not find a foothold for the forthcoming tension.

I could keep going for like five pages trying to talk about how the worldbuilding was thoughtless and an active detriment to the story. Also how it feels ACOTAResque. I did not want to live in the Lightlark world. I don't even want to visit. I don't have a good grasp on how much magic is in the world, how they lived so long with the curses, how many people live there, or even what it looks like. I was imagining traditional fantasy stuff until homegirl mentions a bra and then I was like hold the phone. Hairclips and scrunchies don't even exist in this world, and she's out here with a BRA?

The main character, Isla, is insufferable, though I've read worse. Her entire thing is not having agency, but then she'll regularly let her emotions get the better of her and make the entire situation worse when she does make decisions. I did not care for her. I felt like a lot of internal character logic was warped for the sake of plot or love interest situations. Not a fan! It's somehow more frustrating than the miscommunication trope, and not in a good way! Small knit pick, but I hate how her name was pronounced Ice-lah. Like, if it's not gonna be pronounced like Isla, just spell it differently. Eisla. There. Fixed it!

The love interests. I have nothing else to say other than Grim is Rhysand from ACOTAR and Oro is Prince Maxon from the Selection if he was OP and had hella magic. That perfectly encapsulates both how their written and the extent of their dynamics. It's so reminiscent of ~other stuff~ it's difficult to see them as their own established characters, especially Grim. They're both like 500 years old and have a rivalry.

I don't know who finds the 500 year man and 18 year old girl romance appealing, but I'm so tired of it. It's laughable. Even if they look 20... seriously? Every time I remember the character's ages, and how they actually act in the book, I have to laugh. Even just the fact that she beats them both in combat. It's like... okay. Both of these men led their armies in a war against each other 500 years ago and have been practicing fighting since and they just got their asses beat by an 18 year old. She wasn't even doing anything new that they haven't seen or her puting her own spin on it. She just beat them. Funny. I know it's YA and the main character needs some quality that gives her worth like that, but it's just so jarring.

Grim's dialogue is attrocious. I can't even tell if the other dialogue in the book is alright, or if it just looks fine next to whatever comes out of his mouth.

Pacing of this thing was excruciating. It slows down a lot at the 30% mark, and doesn't pick up again until the 70% mark. Basically, the second act is a slog. Once you reach the midpoint, it feels like it should be the break into the third act, but it's not. A lot of this felt like filler. Aster could've combined scenes easily. The trials were boring to read, and felt like there were no real stakes or reasoning behind them. They were there to give structure to the book. I don't get why the centennial was pitched as a competitive game. All realms but one benefit from the curse being broken, so why would they all compete against each other so insularly? Realistically, yes, they would've competed but it would be more political intregue, alliances and whispering behind doors, and less of whatever this is... the Selection trying to be sold as the Hunger Games.

Now, the plot twist. This thing has been teased up and down. The plot twist! The plot twist! Does the plot twist make sense? Tecnically, after like 10 minutes of explanation, yeah. Is it good? ... No. I thought the plot twist would make us re-examine a lot of the relationships that the entire book spent cultivating. It would add new insight. It did play with our perception, but it felt really out of left field. A good plot twist adds nuance. This. This was not that. This book was so entrenched deeply in plot and love interests that it lost track of like... theme. And now the things that happen in the plot are meant to inform theme. How the plot twist should reflect on theme. Maybe I'm the dumb one here, but I just thought the twist was cheap.

In the hands of a more competent author, this could've been an intriguing high fantasy. Maybe it could've been written in multiple POVs and really intereacted with its characters as rulers of dying kingdoms, and the character motivations that go along with it. I want to see what Cleo's secret was! I wanted to see how Azul faced his fears! I wanted to see how the world's consequences and the rulers' motivations interacted and intersected and led to unlikely alliances and power plays. Or, at the very least I wanted to see some cool action scenes. Even within the context of what it is, as a female-led YA book, I would've wanted... something new. Something different. Something other than another sheltered girl who's really good at fighting and falling in love. Lean into the fantasy, lean into what makes this book different. Because it just feels the same. At least define the atmosphere to be unique or noteworthy, because for all that convoluted worldbuilding, nothing feels new.

MINOR SPOILERS//
I saved this paragraph for last because it has to do with the plot twist, so if you're avoiding spoilers, look away. I won't say exactly what the twist was, but I will say by the end of it, there are no morally good female characters in the book besides the MC and a servant girl who gets two lines. And when I say not morally good, I mean they're like straight up evil. Backstabbing betrayal. Any betrayal or misstep by a man is handled with miles more nuance and forgiveness than anything a woman does in this book. The women's motivations are cartoonishly handled, and in the end, the ones responsible for the MC's plight. Very, very boring. Very tiring. Their decisions don't even foil the MC. It doesn't inform theme. It's. I don't know. It's just... in 2022? Really? We're doing this? I'm gonna have to add more stipulations to the Bechdel test because come on.

I don't want to write a conclusion, so I won't. Thanks for the arc. My curiosity has been quenched. Tiktok will love this book. I can't imagine that it's translation to film will be good. I say that as a film reviewer who doubles as an avid reader. Things aren't looking good.

This book was beautifully crafted. Alex Aster did an amazing job! I found that I couldn’t stop listening, the story compelling me in every chapter. The twists, lies, and betrayal in this stunning world were crazy. So many details put together to create something truly magical.
I never suspected the ending, it completely caught me by surprise! I could probably talk about this book for hours, and will definitely push all of my friends to read it when it’s released!!!