Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley!

I really enjoyed Castles In Their Bones so I was thrilled to be approved to read the sequel. And I have to say that I did quite enjoy it! The concept itself is so intriguing and the world that is built just draws you in.

What I enjoyed most was the character growth Beatriz and especially Daphne goes through. I loved both of their arcs and I can't wait to see where their characters go in the third one. I need the sisters to finally team up and take their mother down.

I also loved the way the relationships were crafted in this book. Daphne and Bairre really won me over. And Beatriz and Pasquale's relationship is so sweet and pure. I also really enjoyed Violie and Leopold's relationship though I'm getting the vibe it could potentially go romantic in the third book (if you know you know) and I'm still not sure how I feel about that.

And let me just say that I really like the star based magic system in this world. Such a unique system.

All in all a great sequel with romance, politics, court intrigue, and a cliff hanger that will leave you wanting more!

Stardust in Their Veins (Castles in Their Bones #2) by Laura Sebastian is a YA fantasy romance sequel I was really looking forward to reading since I enjoyed the first book in this proposed trilogy. I'm so lucky to have been approved for this one as well because it's pretty great. As with the previous installment, I love that this novel really immerses you into their world. The world-building is outstanding and I loved following along with it's magical Tudor Era-esque court politics and political intrigue. I'm glad that we got to hear from the each of the sisters via the multiple POVs. The only thing I wasn't as interested in though was the romance. I just didn't care about the guys as much. Oh well, the political aspects of the fantasy world, thanks. That said, I can't wait to see how the final installment will wrap everything up.

I can't get enough of this series! Laura Sebastian really knows how to keep the story going. I loved getting to see character depth for Daphne and Beatriz.

This sequel to Castles in their Bones does not disappoint, although it does leave readers on a cliff hanger, making it the traditional middle book in a trilogy--ie little resolution and lots of filler material. However, there was enough suspense to keep the plot moving, especially as the end of the book drew near. Three princesses, Daphne, Beatriz and Sophronia, have been raised to take over countries in order for their mother to build her empire. With the death of Sophronia in book 1, Beatriz and Daphne are struggling with what to do now. Do they follow their mother's instructions (which will likely lead to their own deaths) or do they turn against her?

Laura Sebastian continues to grow as an author which each installment of the Castles in their Bones series, a far cry from her debut series.

Having to keep track of so many moving pieces is no easy feat, but Sebastian does it with grace and poise as we follow our favorite three, whoops, two, sisters in their quest to undo everything their mother has set out for them. The series is full of heart, self discovery, betrayal, and while the final twist of this book was not too hard to know where it was leading, I did appreciate the lengths she went to to convince us that Sophronia was indeed dead, but she is in no way gone from the remaining sister's lives.

I am eagerly awaiting the third book, please it my way asap!

First of all, I really wish they had kept the same cover scheme as the first book. They had the chance to show each of the three girls wearing the traditional clothing of that country, one on each book and they blew it. This cover did nothing for me and if I were looking in a bookstore, I wouldn’t have given it a second glance.

That being said, I really liked the whole premise of the trilogy. Three princesses brought up from birth to be the queens of these countries. Practically bred to be the perfect match for the three princes. Naturally, when put to the test, things go sideways. We find out in the first book, that things aren’t what they seem. With the cliffhanger of last book, I expected things to be explained away in the second book. Expected some miracle explained and things would be fixed. I mean, they can wish on stars. Surely, there would have been some creative thinking that could have prevented it or some planning put in place to prevent that outcome but no.

This book was like watching someone who has learned how to play chess, has a good understanding of the game and wins most of the time, play against a master. Mommy dearest has been three steps ahead of her children the whole time but we get to watch them play and learn thinking they have a chance. When in reality, Mommy could have ended the game five minutes ago but they just don’t know it yet. This book ends in a cliffhanger too. Naturally that is to be expected as the middle book. Not gonna lie, I will be reading the last book regardless, I want to know how it ends.

The thing that bothered me, if Leopold was so in love with Sophronia, why after her death, and traveling with someone who looks so much like her, does he not have some kind of reaction? Some breaking point? Grief did not come into play at all. That was a missed opportunity as well. I did like the book, but it didn’t drag me in. I just hope book three does.

Thank you NetGalley and Laura Sebastian for this Arc in exchange for my unbiased review.

I am absolutely loving this series so far. This one has points of view of Beatriz, Daphne and Viole and it picks up right after book one and the aftermath of that shocking twist at the end of book one. Stardust sees on sister re-enter the lion's den as she simultaneously deals with coming into her power and the other is left questioning everything she believes. The writing here is good but I flew through book one and felt this one was a little slower going for me. Still the payoff was worth it because Laura Sebastian throws us another curveball at the end of book two that perfectly sets up the next book in the series. One of the better YA fantasy series I've read in a minute. Will definitely be picking up book 3.

Stardust in Their Veins is the sequel to Castles in Their Bones, and picks up where the first book leaves off, with chapters told in rotation by Daphne and Beatriz, as well as Sophronia's maid, Violie.

Beatriz and Daphne's mother, Empress Margaraux, is a manipulative, power-hungry woman who will use anything she can - anything she must - to reach her goal of domination. She has trained her daughters from birth for the roles she wants them to play - but will they follow her direction, or will they rebel themselves, as they enter the world and meet other people?

Told by each primary character in rotation, like the first book, this is a tightly-interwoven novel, with the events in occurring in each young woman's life interacting with the others. The star magic in this world allows the gifted to wish for things, within reason, and it is explored in greater depth in this volume than in the previous one.

If you enjoy intrigue and magic, shifting alliances and rebellion, you will enjoy this novel, as there is plenty of all. The final chapters contains a twist which sets up - or so I hope - a third volume, which I hope to read soon.

I received an advance review copy in return for my honest review, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Stardust in Their Veins is the second installment in author Laura Sebastian's Castle's In Their Bones trilogy. Key Characters: Empress Margaraux, Princess Beatrix, Daphne, and Violie, a new character who was a secondary character in the previous installment. Violie was witness to Princess Sophronia's murder 5 days before this story begins. This is a world with 4 main Nations: Temarin, Friv, Bessemia, and Cellaria. Princesses Daphne, Beatriz, and Sophronia trained their entire lives for one purpose: to bring down nations.

Their mother, Empress Margaraux of Bessemia, is determined to rule the continent of Vesteria, and her daughters are her weapons. Promised for marriage since birth, they are her ticket across enemy lines. And also her decoys. As the story beings, Sophronia chose her own fate and has been executed. As Sophie was my favorite in the initial installment, that blow really took me as a shock. Thanks to the events behind what happened to her, things are now going in a direction that I don't think anyone will figure out until the final installment is released.

Beatrix has been sent to Cellarian Prison while her husband Pasquale has been disinherited and imprisoned in yet another prison awaiting judgment. Beatrix has the unusual power of wishing on a star and making wishes. Her wish reunites her with Pasquale where they will eventually find their way back to Bessemia where Beatrix will begin her own plan to gain her revenge against her mother while learning more and more about her gifts, mourning the loss of her sister, and finding allies in the most unlikely of places.

Meanwhile, Daphne in Friv is preparing to marry Bairre. Daphne’s story is also intriguing, though she isn’t as quick to turn against her mother. This isn’t surprising considering she is probably the most similar to the Empress. However, we do see her attitude change as the story progresses. It’s interesting to see how she deals with new and surprising revelations, the grief of losing her sister, and her conflicted feelings toward Bairre. Daphne is forced to choose between what she wants, and what her mother has trained her to be.

To add even more mystery, Violie, who was Sophie's maid, has escaped what happened to Soph with King Leopold. Violie, curious enough, was hired by Margaraux to be her spy. She has a quiet strength about her, and a determination to keep her promises to Sophie. We see her and Leopold and the tension at the beginning of their relationship, as they both feel great guilt that they could not save Sophie's life. We slowly see the beginnings of a friendship between them, built on their shared grief, and grow on the hope that they will make Sophie proud.

The first half of this book is slow. There’s a lot of traveling to get our characters from point A to point B and we have to read about all their traveling even though not a lot of interesting things happen while they travel. The pace picks up in the second half of this book, which was necessary. I do believe the third book will be the best of all three, and I am trusting the author not to let me down in my expectations. A Certain Empress must pay for her machinations.

Spectacular sequel! Loved getting back to all the characters from book one. Gang of friends and intense sister dynamics are always a treat to read. Lots of suspense and fun dialogue to look forward to.

As a reader of the first book, this second one was a wonderful continuation of the story thus far. The same level of twist and turns in intrigue and suspense. You literally never know which characters you can trust, sure some of them are obviously not great people. But since the ending of the last book I have trusted nothing with how this story is going to go, I just sort of hold on and enjoy the ride.

The characters are fantastically written and jump off the page. The romance is lovely but doesn't take over the whole story. And the pacing is absolutely perfect. I cannot wait until the third book, I need to know how this is going to end so much!

I received this ARC free in exchange for an honest review.

I so enjoy Laura Sebastian’s writing. I enjoyed the story line- but there were so many POV’s that it made it hard for me to keep up with everything. I am however looking forward to the next book. Ready to see what happens to the “3” princesses.

This story started out well but sadly it just became stagnate and boring. I wished that I would have loved this one like book one but it start to really drag and I starting not really caring about the characters. I do kind of want to know what happens with these characters but not enough to read through 500+ pages that made me want to just go to sleep.

great book and such great characters. I enjoyed the mystery and some romance. I also enjoyed the journey of the characters. I didn't know what to expect with this book but I enjoyed it .

Definitely didn't see any of that coming! I'm not often surprised by a book, but this one (and the first in the series) held my interest and kept me guessing. Will be putting copies of both books in my classroom for my high schoolers to pick up during independent reading--love more examples of strong female leads!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for allowing me to continue reading this series! I loved the first book and I adored the second one! The story/plot is so interesting and suspenseful! The romances are cute and tense. The relationship with the sisters remind me so much of my own relationship with my own sisters. Please give this series a chance! I can’t wait for the next one! 4.5 ⭐️ stars.

Loved this book! Highly recommend this series, you will not be disappointed. I will buy a physical copy for my collection.

thank you to net galley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for the advanced reading copy of Stardust in Their Veins by Laura Sebastian. I did not realize this was a sequel but I got through it pretty well for that. gleaning what information I can of reviews from books one. I really enjoyed this and will absolutely order this and the first for my bookshop.

Thoroughly enjoyed, though not as much as the first. The subtleties of the political intrigue were still present, but much of the book was a personal, intimate journey for the characters, and while I'm typically fond of such plot lines, I did find this one to drag a bit, I might have felt differently if there had been a more notable antagonist like there had been in the first installment, but without that, the book lacked a bit of the urgency I loved from Castles in Their Bones.

I still quite liked the book, and will definitely continue on to see what happens in the third.

3.75 rounded up to 4

This is the sequel to Castles in their Bones, so I wont put too much info so that it doesn’t spoil the first one! I struggled with getting into the first book because it was mostly political drama but this one had a tad bit more action! I felt like I was holding my breath for every twist and turn. I definitely think the second was better than the first and can’t wait to see where the third one leads us because that cliffhanger killed me.