The Stars of Mount Quixx is the first book in an upcoming series, so I was excited to have the opportunity to read it early on! I liked the concept and characters in the story, but the storytelling and plot fell flat for me.

The small town location, fantasy fuelled romance and let’s be honest, the cover, drew me to this book instantly. But I’m going to be honest, it didn’t deliver quite as I’d hoped. The story left a little lack lustre, the characters needed a bit more oomph and overall I felt it was more a drag myself through it rather than a page turning enjoyment. I understand this is book 1 in the series though, so I will be up for trying book 2 to see if the story develops better with more detail on the characters. I think it has great potential.

The Stars of Mount Quixx was a cute YA, LGBTQIA+ tale with a diverse cast of characters and pretty accurate representations of mental health. While it look a little while for me to get into the tale, the second half really drew me in. I loved the character dynamics and the ending was very satisfying.

This was a Netgalley review.

This is a fast-paced story once you get into it; it takes a bit to get past the beginning. Constance Ivyweather and her sister Ivory (who prefers Ivy) arrive in the town of at the base of Mt. Quixx, the mountain behind the boarding house their parents have sent them to for the summer. They begin to explore the mountain, and find all manner of unusual inhabitants and equipment, much of the latter harking back to an astronomer who built and observatory on the top of Mt. Quixx some fifty years earlier.

During their explorations of the mountain and the town, Constance and Ivy both explore themselves as well. Constance, always obedient, is, at 18, preparing to leave for college, where her parents expect her to follow their plans for her and find a compatible person to marry. Ivy, however, is a rebel, disappointing her parents as well as the succession of nannies hired to raise the pair as their parents engage in other pursuits. Together, the sisters discover a steampunk-style installation atop Mt. Quixx, designed to blow away the ever-present mist that covers Quixx so completely that the sky is never visible, and its most unusual operator. But that same operator, once revealed to the townspeople, causes a significant and negative response, for both his actions and his appearance. In trying to save him, both Constance and Ivy learn about themselves, their preferences, and their strengths.

I was so excited for this and although the premise and characters were fab and the writing style nice to read I feel it fell a bit flat for me and was a bit underwhelmed. I’m hoping it’s going to be a series but we’ll see!

The Stars of Mount Quixx follows the Ivyweather sisters and their adventure in the town of Quixx and the mysterious mountain where it is rumored monsters live. All in all, I really enjoyed this one, although it really took me until Derrek joined the story for me to really get into it. He is so wonderful. The monsters themselves are all really special. The worldbuilding and representation in this story are great, but it is a little slow, so if you are looking for a thrilling fantasy you may want to lower your expectations. I look forward to reading more about these characters in future books.

I was very excited to read this novel, but unfortunately the archive date was not made known until a few days beforehand, and I was unable to download this novel in time. I look forward to picking up a finished copy when it is published.

So I loved the whole mystery/fantasy aspect of this story. But other than that, I felt that this book fell a little flat.

I quite liked this book, however I can see why some people struggled with it. It has a lot of dull moments where nothing much seems to happen. That being said, I liked the characters and the story itself. I finished it and I would recommend.

I think there's a lot of potential and some great moments but there's also a lot of moments when it drags.
I'm on the fence as it could become a very good series
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

It took me a good while to get into this one. Overall, it had good moments but felt bit forced in places, like trying too hard or taking itself too seriously. Just ok for me.

The fact this took me 4 attempts to start shouts loudly. I couldn't get into it at all. I'm glad I finished it as it did get better but still wasnt better than 'okay’, the writing flowed well but overall unremarkable. Wouldn’t recommend this one but I would still try anything else by
this author. Overall three stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

eARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a good while to get into this one. There were some moments that were magical like the small town in the shadow of the mountain and the monster love interest, but they were not as many as I would have liked. I loved the concept of the story, but it was a different read than I was expecting from the synopsis. Overall, it had good moments but felt bit forced in places, like trying too hard or taking itself too seriously. Just ok for me.

#StarsofMountQuixx #NetGalley Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this novel.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

With a promising premise of unnatural creatures brought upon by an ever present fog, The Stars of Mount Quixx by S.M. Beiko was unfortunately my lowest rated book of the year and DNF’d at 10%.

Following two sisters on vacation to the bizarre Quixx, a town full of oddballs and apparently the girls’ parents, this novel sets up for an interesting read. However, between juvenile writing and snooze worthy characters, this book does not deliver.

In the small portion I did end up reading most of it was filled with unnecessary dialogue of the main character’s surroundings and inner thoughts of the people around her. Pair this with bad writing and the main character becomes insufferable, acting far younger than her apparent age.

This book does a great job is saying everything and nothing at the same time.

In summation, I have rated this book 1 star for its interesting premise and little else.

tl;dr
A very dreamlike story that focuses on a sister relationship and the difficulties of growing up. Easy to lose grasp of the plot in places.

About
The Ivyweather sisters couldn't be more different. Older sister Constance is the perfect picture of societal expectations on the outside and roiling anxiety on the inside. Energetic younger sister Ivory doesn't care in the slightest for societal expectations, and spends most of her time alone exploring nature. It's their last summer together before Constance has to leave for college, and they're spending it in the town of Quixx, a strange place where the fog never leaves and the residents whisper about monsters that live on the nearby mountain.

Thoughts
About halfway through the story, Ivory comments that the events in the book are "Curiouser and curiouser," and I feel like the reference to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is apt. There's a very slippery strange logic to the world and the people in it. Physics don't always work as expected, time seems a little out of joint, and no one in town seems to take notice of this. Events unfurl into each other with little direction as the two leads move through a very dreamlike story. The biggest difference in this case is that instead of Alice, we get Constance and Ivory. Ivory embraces the strangeness wholeheartedly, running directly toward adventure and danger. Constance attempts to play the logician, hoping that if she manages to control herself, the rest of the world will also fall into place. The friction between the sisters forms the foundation of the first third of the book, with the rest of the book about them slowly finding their common ground again. As this is the first book in a set of five, we don't get a lot of answers, so the development of their relationship is the core of the story's progression, to the point that the plot takes a back seat more often than not. The blurb for the book describes it as unabashedly queer, and I can confirm that is the case, with multiple sexualities and gender identities written into the canon and handled with respect. Also, there is definitely a monster romance in here. So if you like that, congrats! And if you don't, now you know.

The Stars of Mount Quixx is the first of a quintet of books, although I'm not sure where the story will go from here.

Constance and Ivory Ivyweather are spending their summer in Quixx, a strange town at the foot of a great mountain. Years ago, there was an explosion on the mountain, and now there is a giant crater at its base, and eternal fog covering the entire town. No one has seen the sun, moon or stars in years in Quixx, and some of its residents are moving away, going to the bigger cities.

Constance is a poised, proper 18 year old woman who worries about doing The Right Thing at all times. However, in her heart, she knows she doesn't want to follow the typical society path of getting married to someone who is rich, like her family. Her younger sister Ivory is wild, and doesn't hide her ambitions to be a scientist or inventor or something entirely unsuitable for a society maiden.

When Ivory runs away, and Constance finds her on the mountain in the presence of a monster, she is horrified and fears for their lives. But when that "monster" speaks perfect English, wears a suit and is the perfect gentleman, Constance's opinion slowly changes.

This book has some positives - it deals with hatred of the other, sexuality and transgender issues, and women's place in the world in a positive light. However, sometimes you feel like you're being hit over the head with the author's opinions. The writing is clunky at times, and the story is mildly interesting, but not captivating. I almost stopped reading it, but pushed through, and the second half of the story was better than the first.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy of this book.

This was not my cup of tea. The author put a lot of thought and care into this book. I struggled with the pacing and the tension between the characters. I really did not like the two quarrelsome townspeople and their part in the story didn’t make any sense to me until the end. Although I am not part of the LGBTQIA+ community, I knew at the start that this would be a pro LGBTQ+ story. The author managed to convey several alternative relationships in a way that I think others will find supportive and open-minded non LGBTQ+ individuals might be willing to be stretched.

Stars of Mount Quixx
Earc:NetGalley
Publisher: Ecw Press
Publication Date:25th April 2023
Genre :Teens and young adult


For starters, it was purely the mystery-fantasy element that drew me out of the book's description. I always finish fantasy romance books. But the Quixx mountain star wasn't precisely what I Expected. It Lacked some elements, and I didn't think the pace worked.

The book is prolonged, and I found it difficult to continue reading. But there is one thing I appreciate about this book, like the bond between the two sisters and the atmosphere of a small magical town. I liked the way he wrote S.M Beiko. I feel like this book is aimed at the incorrect age range. It would suit a younger audience. There was also the issue of writing the characters themselves. Three times the personalities of some characters were too similar for me to distinguish them.

Also, I wouldn't say I liked that most of the story was told through dialogue rather than an actual description. It was done through conversation, which made it difficult to do in this book. Overall, the story lacks character growth and feels aimed at the wrong audience. I think young viewers will enjoy this story.

The language was weird to get used to, as the story seems to be set in a quaint, quirky town in the 40s and 50s. It didn't help that the characters felt so young. It sounded like she was 11 or 12, but she was trying to look older.


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Thank you to the publishers for sending me an EArc of this novel! This was an utterly adorable book! This is definitely a book perfect for teens, it had the romance and the suspense that any good book has. I loved the queer representation in this, it just made the characters seem more alive. Constance and Derreks relationship was so incredibly wonderful and I loved the messages it told. I also loved Ivory and Constance’s sister-ship it was told incredibly well. This was just a find yourself and let’s work together story, told with some amazing magical moments. I have to also love the little science aspect of this book because of the way it showed that we shouldn’t judge someone and sterotype people based on their looks. I will definitely recommend this to younger teen readers!