I have mixed feelings about my rating for this one. Was this book for me? Absolutely not. Did it do what it set out to do? Absolutely. Would I recommend this to my friends? Probably not...unless a friend told me they wanted to read a novella about strictly-hetero horny elves, and then I would say, "Boy, do I have THE book for you." It was a light, fun. fast-paced romp, and outside of a few personal icks, completely harmless. I have not read the series this book is a spin-off of, but it works as a standalone.

Thanks to NetGalley and BHC Press for the advanced copy in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

This is a spinoff novel that features characters from the Firebird Faerie Tales, which can be read independently of the other books in the series (but now I want to go back and read the whole series). There is some insight into Norse Mythology, which is one of my favorites but admittedly don't know as much about it as I'd like to. Asta is grieving the death of her mother and trying to get answers on the strange and mysterious book she inherited from her mother. She doesn't expect to clash with Dr. Søren Madsen, the arrogant, rich doctor who comes in asking for help. We realize that Søren isn't exactly who he claims to be when they are attacked by dark elves. But Søren and his brother Aramis also believe Asta isn't who she believes she is, either.

I fell in love with the characters in this series. I think that Amy Kuivalainen did an amazing job with this spinoff. Like I said, I didn't read the main series, but I am definitely adding them to my tbr. The concept of the book is really fun and I liked the authors style of writing. I think that there was a lot of world building happening, that might have been easier to understand if I had read the other books in the series. I liked the characters more than the plot. I understood what was happening but it was hard to follow in some areas. Overall, I do recommend this one, I think it was probably a good edition to the series and I wish there was a sequel coming to hear more about the ending of the story. I feel it left a lot to desire.

Thank you to NetGalley, BHC Press and Amy Kuivalainen for the eARC of Of Starlight and Midnight in exchange for an honest review. Publication date for Of Starlight and Midnight by Amy Kuivalainen is set for 19 March 2024.

Just to preface this review - I admittedly know little to none about Norse mythology and I also have not read the main books that this one is a spin off of. The concept is great, honestly, burly elf brothers, touch her (either hers) and die vibes, found family, fmc coming into her newfound magic, good banter, couple of spicy scenes, interesting read with two equally main couples, multi pov, adventure, action. It just seemed too slow, but equally too fast for me.. if I can make that make sense. The overall plot seemed slow, not a whole lot happens, but then the relationships of the two main character couples just blasts on by. Instalove, professing our undying love in a week after being single for 2k years type of instalove. I was just a little lost at times and maybe that was due to not reading the main books, but there were some strange (for me) change of scene that seemed to flip out of nowhere and some characters who probably have more backstory. It made it hard for me to really get into and emerse myself. Maybe just needs a little more editing to make it flow easier and I need to read the rest of the books

Thank you to NetGalley, BHC Press and Amy Kuivslainen for the opportunity to read and review this arc

This book had so much potential and I was definitely so excited to jump into it! The plot was really interesting and as a first time reader of this author, I found the world was tricky for me to get into, mainly because it feels like while it's a standalone type book, there is tie-ins from another series which this stemmed from.

Not to say this book wasn't good, because I had a lot of fun enjoying it for what it was! There was magic, norse mythology, and a whole heaping load of "who did this to you?" trope (my favourite!!). This was a ton of fun, and I will definitely be keeping my eye out for the next book!

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I absolutely loved this story from start to the very end! Not only was there magic, elves, and romance -there was Norse mythology. The characters were well written and I felt a connection from the start. The end felt a little rushed but otherwise it was a great read.

This was thoroughly enjoyable. I loved Tyra and Amaris especially, which is ironic considering that Asta and Soren are supposed to be the leads. There is a lot of world building happening, and while I got confused at a few points I was overall able to follow. The writing is strong, though I think there were some dialogue moments I would have liked to see worked on a bit more. Sometimes the dialogue between Asta and Soren felt really forced, and did not have a clear voice. Tyra and Amaris’ voices were more clear to me.

My biggest problem is that the plot is…not that strong? As much as I loved the story, I didn’t feel a sense of rising tension. There was a lot of dancing around what the actual conflict of the story would be, and it didn’t give us a lot of time to understand Asta’s inner world. Overall I do recommend the story but there is some editing I wish I had happened.

Oh boy I did not enjoy this.

One of my biggest reading pet peeves is modern speak in fantasy settings. For Asta, yes. Go for it. But for beings that are thousands of years old, there is no excuse for them saying things like "you're too vanilla" or "all up in my business."

I usually love a good "who did this to you" moment, but the moment came far too early for it to be remotely impactful. There were many things that were so incredibly forces that the trope fell flat for me.

"Soren's no wolf, he's a goddamn panther." *cue Cavaliers fan squinting up into the sky*'

"Made Tyra's womb clench." I don't think that's what wombs do.

"So is the clap." FOR. WHY.

Of Starlight and Midnight is a companion book to an established series and world, which takes a new characters and plops her into the heart of a centuries old conflict between forces that are beyond her belief. Little does she know, she’s the most powerful of all the mystical creatures she will meet.

I appreciated how the author made it fairly easy to understand the general world and magic for a reader who hadn’t read the previous series, but you can tell there is history and knowledge that the characters have that the reader is not privy to.

The story overall was fairly pedestrian, and there was no dimension to the characters themselves. Each story beat just happened after the prior one and didn’t feel like a natural progression from the motivations of the characters, and a lot of what happened felt like magical deus ex machina rather than logical development.

There are better fantasy reads than this story, and it lacks too much in character and plot to live up to its complex world building.

This is an ARC review.

This book is a standalone spin-off of the Firebird Faerie Tales series. I have not read that series, the other stand alone, or this author before. I will absolutely be checking out this entire series though.

I loved this story from start to finish. We have Norse mythology, magic, dark & light elves, multiple pov, romance, found family. I felt connected to the characters and loved the romance! I felt the pace was fairly fast, at the end it felt a little rushed. I am sad that it ended and doesn't have a sequel coming. However I do also feel like the story was tied up decently even though I definitely wanted more. I'm excited to pick up the rest of the series and find out more about the worlds and magic and other characters!

I gave this 4 stars.

Of Starlight and Midnight, a novel, by Amy Kuivalainen. Standalone Novella, elves, Norse myth.

I rate this a 2.5 (3).

I wish I had known that is was a spinoff/standalone/novella, I would have probably enjoyed it more if I knew about the other characters, from the series. There was more romance and less plot. I do think that this book has potential but things felt very rushed and the story incomplete.

I do think I will try her other books, to understand more about this world/characters.

Thank you, NetGalley and BHC Press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I would have given this a 3.5 rating if I could. I liked it well enough, but it sort of felt like reading a fan fiction because of the romance vs. plot development balance. Perhaps I would have appreciated it more if I had read other books from the broader universe Kuivalainen has developed? I think it should be clearer that this is a standalone novella written as a complement to a series.

Plot:
Light-elf brothers Aramis and Søren are searching for books and relics that are scattered on the black market. Following a lead on a book of magic, Søren meets Asta, a tiny librarian with sass for days and fire in her heart—and knows right away that she is hiding something. Soon after, they are attacked by dark elves, and Asta’s (badass) cousin Tyra must team up with Aramis and Søren to protect her while trying to learn the truth about the mysterious books and Asta herself.

The romance vs. plot development were not balanced, with too much emphasis on romance. I mean, why create such a nice story and great characters only to focus on their relationships? I wanted to know more about the relationship between the two brothers, see Asta discover her magic and identity, follow Tyra through her healing process. Also, I felt like much of the drama was due to lack of verbal communication between the characters, and the miscommunication trope is among my least favourites in romance. Finally, the ending seemed rushed.

Characters:
I was confused as to who were the FMC and MMC, as it starts strong with Søren and Asta, but then Tyra and Aramis take centre stage—which was a good thing, because I much preferred their characters. I was pretty indifferent when it came to Søren and Asta, initially thought Tyra was “too much” (but ended up LOVING her), and fell in love with Aramis right away. (Picturing him as Lee Pace’s Thranduil probably helped, tee hee!)

The chemistry between the characters was *chef’s kiss*.

However, I think there were wayyy too many mentions of Anya. If this book was meant to be a standalone novel, there shouldn’t be as many references to other characters.

Writing:
There were parts that were magical and evocative, others that felt a little flat.

Bottom line, I feel like this book had strong potential, but it felt rushed and under-edited. However, Kuivalainen’s compelling storytelling, intriguing world-building, and use of Norse mythology elements were great, and they made me curious to read more of her books.

Overall Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Worldbuilding: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Characters: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Plot: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you so much to Amy and NetGallery for allowing me to have a copy of this to read in exchange for an honest review! It’s the first book I’ve read on here.

Spice: 🌶️ 🌶️ 🌶️ (those spice scenes were mmmmmm spicy 🥵)
Themes: Folklore, dark elves, mythology, action and adventure, chosen family, fantasy
Characters: multiple POVs
Type: fantasy romance/forbidden love /chosen family vibes


Storyline💬:
Asta works as a librarian at the University of Oslo. Caught up in the grief of her mother’s passing she tries to adapt to her new way of life living with her roommate, cousin Tyra, who is a whirlwind of chaos with a happy go lucky personality - no tasked with being the one person who will do anything to protect and keep Asta safe. Asta never stays in one place for long, in fact - this is the longest time she’s lived somewhere without running away.

Her life takes a turn after the inheritance of an unexpected book, which starts to make her ask questions. One day whilst she is working at the library she is approached by a tall, long haired, startlingly handsome man, Søren who enquires about a book he is searching for. Posing as a student, she reluctantly agrees to help him, enticed by his charm and whit - when things take a drastic turn and she becomes involved in secrets and a magical world she never could’ve have imagined.

As the story begins to unravel, each character has their own motivations behind their choices and why they have chosen to hide secrets. Asta discovers there is a lot more to her identity than once thought and she uncovers that there is a secret that her mother has hidden from her all her life. When these secrets begin to unfold, the lines begin to blur between allies and hidden agendas. In the background there is a war brewing, and Aramis, Søren, and Tyra must make choices in order to keep Asta safe….


What I liked ✨💜✨
* I loved the Norse Mythology elements in this, in fact that was what caught my interest from the beginning
* The dynamics between the relationships are great, I did feel that things developed naturally and nothing was forced - I enjoyed the character chemistry 🧪 ❤️
* POWERFUL WOMEN do I need to say more??
* This book DID have me hooked, I genuinely read the first 50 pages last night and read the rest in one sitting today!
* The aesthetics of the world building fleshed out some really good visuals I could completely imagine when reading


💫 What could be improved 💫
* I felt that the final sections of the book were quite rushed which was a shame - I STILL enjoyed it, it felt like there was a large jump towards the end
* from my understanding this is a stand-alone so it would’ve been better to just make the book a little longer? to expand and flesh some other things out - my complaint honestly is I WISH it was longer and in truth this had great potential to become a series
* I do feel we needed to know a little bit more about each characters background, to develop the characters a little further I think this definitely could’ve pushed another 100 pages or so

Additional note:
I did sometimes get the feeling that this was possibly connected to a broader universe that I should already understand? (So I will be delving into the other books to get a more rounded feel of everything)
* I wanted to know MUCH more about the book IN this book felt like we only scratched the surface about it


Note: my focus is always to provide a review over on NetGalley first, with a follow up review at a later date on my instagram page @pageturningseasons❤️

I was immediately drawn to the captivating cover of this book. As a fan of Norse mythology, I found myself thoroughly enjoying it. However, I did notice that the characters were quite focused on their romantic relationships and at times felt a bit rushed. The lack of direct communication between partners became repetitive and somewhat silly, relying on others to convey their feelings. Despite this, I still found the book to be an enjoyable read, especially for those who appreciate dark elves and mythology.

I was originally drawn to this book because of it's ties to Norse mythology and elves. I love fantasy books and this did not disappoint. In this multi pov book, we follow Asta, a grieving librarian and her cousin she only recently discovered, Tyra. Tyra will stop at nothing to protect her cousin.
Enter Soren and Aramis, two broody dark elves looking to reclaim objects stolen from them, including an heirloom that Asta's mother left her when she died. This book follows the four through their adventure, budding romance, and friendships.

The use of Norse mythology may have been what initially got my attention for this book, however the writing, world building and characters are what kept my attention. I will say that there are several references to previous books, characters, and plot points from the series this is a spin-off of that I didn't totally understand as I have not read the previous series, however it was not a detriment to the overall understanding of this book in particular. Overall I give this 4 out of 5 stars and was definitely worth the read.

Thank you Net Galley for giving me the chance to read this for an honest review, and thank you Amy for creating such an exciting world and fantastic characters.

Thank you to Amy Kuivalainen and NetGalley for giving me a copy of this book.

Of Starlight and Midnight combines adventure, romance, magic, and Norse myth and shows that some Fates are worth fighting for, especially when the Norns get involved. It's been two years since light-elf brothers Aramis and Søren fought beside Anya in Russia. The Álfr mountain city of Svetilo is safe once more, but their books and relics are still scattered on the supernatural black market. When Aramis gets a lead on a book of magic, he and Søren decide to investigate and find more than they bargained for. Librarian Asta is still grieving over the death of her mother. All she wants to do is hide at the University of Oslo, unravel the mysteries of the strange book she inherited, and hang out with Tyra-the cool Norwegian cousin she never knew she had. The last thing she wants is to help arrogant Dr. Søren Madsen work on his book, no matter how good-looking he is, but she doesn't want to get fired so she reluctantly agrees. Søren knows Asta is hiding something and when they are attacked by dark elves, he and Aramis will stop at nothing to learn the truth about the two mysterious women. But Tyra has a past of her own, and she'll do anything to protect Asta's secrets, even if it means siding with the dangerous light-elf brothers in a deadly war of dark and light.

I thoroughly enjoy reading this. If you like dark elves and mythology, this is a great book to read.

3 stars including 1 entire star for sexy dark elves. This is a solid mass market fantasy romance book. I admit I am a bit weak for the norse and the dark elves, and had a lot of fun with the mythology elements of the story.

This is a standalone novel in a broader universe which I was not familiar with, and there were a lot of references to other characters and plot points that were lost on me. But it works to focus on the two main couples in the story.

The characters are a bit lusty and insta-lovey and mostly defined by their feelings for their respective partners. It did get a bit repetitive, especially with their noticeable lack of verbal communication skills (really, the fact that the partners in each of the couples could not talk directly to each other and needed their brother/cousin to explain their feelings is just silly).

Overall, I recommend for anyone familiar with the series already and/or into dark elves. Either will do. Thanks to netgalley for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is, unfortunately, one of those books I failed to connect with. I think that, even though it can be read as a standalone, the story is hard to follow for someone who hasn't read the series it stems from. The story itself is quite interesting and I loved the writing style, but as I said, I just couldn't connect with the characters as much as I would've liked.

Loved the mythology in this one! I'm a sucker for mythology retellings especially ones that veer away from Greek-Roman stories. I also really love found family tropes and this is one of the best examples that I've read recently. The romance was really well done too without taking away from the plot. I thought the balance between the two was pretty much perfect. Recommend this one to anyone who is a fan of Norse mythology!

Of Starlight And Midnight is a multiple pov fantasy book filled with adventure, romance magic and norse mythology.

The book follows a grieving Liberian Asta who lost her mum and her newly found cousin Tyra who will do anything to protect her. Asta goes on adventure where she founds out about her mums hidden past and how that will now change her life forever.
Due to a heirloom Asta mum leaves behind she meets two mysterious men Soren and Aramis who are hunting down objects that were stolen from them, the heirloom being one of them.
The four of them test new friendships, romances and adventures in this amazing book.

This book had me hooked from the first word. I struggled to put it down and there was never a moment I was bored. The norse mythology had me trapped and the characters had so much chemistry that I could feel it rolling of the pages. This is one of the best books I have read this year. I definitely recommend for all fantasy lovers. It also hits all the right tropes that get you giggling and rolling around your bed.
The only downside is the book was too short and now I have to wait for the next book. I guess the only way to fill this void is to read the authors other books. This book is a spin of from one of her other series which I didn't find out until the end so I will definitely be getting on that.

Thank you Net Galley for giving me to opportunity to read this book for a honest opinion.

A unique, fun read! I enjoyed the Norse mythology aspects. The university aspects gave dark academia vibes. Overall a fun adventurous read with romantic subplots.