Dnf @ 30%. I was very optimistic I would like this—the summary sounded great and if you’re a big fan of romantasy this is for you. It just wasn’t for me and that’s okay.

I believe I received an email suggesting this book and it was an automatic download. If it wasn't for this I wouldn't have gotten it. It's kind of marketed as a standalone but without reading the other books, I felt like I was missing some context of the world. But nonetheless I tried to read it as is and DNF'd at 15%. It's not a world or writing style that I want to dive into and I honestly should have put the book down when the second word of chapter one was "male".

Thank you to Netgalley for an early review copy in exchange for an honest review. I was so excited to see I was approved for this novel. I devoured the first two and could not wait to see what was next for Brie and Jas. This story follows two main point of views, Jas and Felicity, a shifter of sorts. There are rumors of Mordeus rising from the dead and together but separated, they work to discover how to stop this from occurring to get the rightful Queen of Elora on the throne. Jas travels with Kendrick and his crew while Felicity, disguised as Jas, lives with Misha in the Wild Fae realm trying to locate the portal to the Eloran palace.

I really enjoyed this book! I was happy to be back in these realms and cannot believe Lexi just left us hanging at the end like that. Sprinkle a little romance, a little betrayal, and a lot of magic and you have this book. I highly recommend this book and These Hollowed Vow to YA fantasy lovers. I cannot wait for the next one!

This book-- this story! 5 stars! Stunning! I loved everything about it! Right from the prologue I was utterly hooked, all the way through to the end. And let me say no one does a betrayal twist like Lexi Ryan-- "What do you mean you're not a poor human boy, but a (hot) fae prince?! How dare you?! The audacity! You know I hate (hot) fae!" *chef's kiss* Perfection.

Fan-girling aside: I read the original Vows/Bonds duology and enjoyed it very, very much. But this follow-up/return-to the same fantasy universe is incredible. The story feels so rich and thick, like a delicious treat, with callbacks and echoes to the original, that make everything feel both familiar and fresh. It's like something old (Brie! Finn! Bash!) something new (Natan and Remme-- my hearts!), something borrowed (compelling side characters, found family, rebellion) and something blue (I'm looking at you, Hale, with side-eye). Reading it I could feel such growth from the author, a command over the storytelling abilities, and a confidence, that left me in awe-- and wishing on stars (cursed and otherwise ;-) that I can one day achieve an approximation.

I received an arc copy of this book. This was actually my first time reading Lexi Ryan and I really enjoyed her writing. Without having the background of These Hollow Vows, I think she did an amazing job conducting this book as a standalone. I never felt confused about the world or characters, just motivation to learn more about them and wanting to read her other series. The characters were all very likeable and the plot was intriguing. The cliffhanger though was brutal, I need the next book immediately. I’ll definitely be reading more by her.

Beneath These Cursed Stars is a tale about Jas, a princess with a magical ring that grants her the dark magic of “deaths kiss.” When rumors arise that the evil king Mordeus is resurrected, Jas decides it’s up to her to end his life forever. She teams up with Kendrick, a fae. Being a princesses means that Jas cannot leave he kingdom, which results in Felicity, a fae shifter taking her shape and place.

Rating: 3.5 stars ⭐️

This was very close to a 4 star rating. I enjoyed reading this book the majority of the time. There were times that it just couldn’t grasp my attention. I found myself drifting off. I liked Jae and Kendrick’s story, but I was much more invested in Felicity and Misha.

The writing is good, I had no problems with that. The cliffhanger ending felt rushed and made the end of the book feel unfinished. I know that’s the point of a cliff hanger usually, but in this case it doesn’t feel like there’s enough to it. Hopefully that makes sense!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Beneath a cursed stars was the perfect continuation to Lexi Ryan’s faerie world. I’ll admit, at first it was hard to get the pace of the book and get myself invested in the book. But I gave it time because I knew Lexi doesn’t disappoint and once I got the hang of the characters it was easy to remember everyone’s role in Jas’s story.

I liked how Jas is trying to get over her past, even when it’s so hard since she feels broken. And at the same time she is trying to make peace with the fact that she has faerie blood and will turn into one at her 18th birthday, but there’s nothing she hates more than the fae. But once she meets with Kendrick things start to change; for the first time she is able to see a future, and she starts to believe she is stronger than she first thought, but things are not as easy as they seem, she made bad decisions based on fear and revenge and she can’t undo them now.

My favorite part of the story were the scenes involving Misha and Felicity, I loved the conflict within Felicity about her role in the story, especially since Misha thinks she is Jas and she starts to get jealous of herself. The chemistry between characters felt natural and right paced, and their relationship was the best thing in the book, more so because I didn’t really like Kendrick and Jas’s relationship. It feels a little forced and I’m still not sure if I like him.

The ending was so good, I admit I didn’t see it coming but it was the perfect cliff hanger and can’t wait to get my hands on the next book in the series.

I really enjoyed the These Hollow Vows duology so I was I was very excited for this book. However this one just fell flat for me. The characters and their relationships just felt a little underdeveloped. The 2 love stories didn’t really have much emotion which caused me to grow bored a lot throughout this book. I was missing the tension and chemistry for both. Overall, the plot was a bit predictable. I think this just wasn’t the book for me. Thank you for providing me with an arc!

OH MY GOD WHAT THE FFFF, I NEED THE NEXT BOOK NOW 😭😭 THE CLIFFHANGER IS KILLING ME

So I haven't read These Hollow Vows, and this is set in the same universe -- it took me a couple of chapters to understand the context and the lore but it was pretty to understand everything after that!

I absolutely loved the writing and the pining and the angst. In fact, the angst is gonna slowly kill me till the next book comes 😭

TWs - murder, torture

-- ty to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy!

This is a good beginner fantasy book and perfect for the intended audience which is young adult. I think it gives the bones and a taste of what fae fantasy is and allows readers to enter that world without feeling overwhelmed by it. The story telling is slow, the characters are a little stale in that they don't have direct motives, and I didn't really care for the story overall. I do, however, think that has more to do with me as a reader and what books I usually gravitate to which are adult fantasy. I would recommend this book to younger readers who want to read fantasy without being overwhelmed with a complex world.

This book was a bit of a mess. It was super confusing and the main plot made absolutely no sense. Like someone else acts as the main character while she goes off on another adventure? The beginning was great and adventurous but then it just took a tumble and I really just couldn’t follow. I wasn’t excited about the plot sadly, and was not able to finish this after about 20%.

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy, Romantasy, High Fantasy
Spice Level: Foreplay on page and thoughts of sex
Language: Some profanity, including an f-fomb
Representation: Side characters are gay
Format: Multi-POV
Content warning: Torture referenced frequently, murder

*BENEATH THESE CURSED STARS* is perfect for fans of YA fantasy. You've got angst, lots of attraction, and a diverse fantasy character cast.

I thought it was an interesting choice to show Jasalyn and Felicity's point of views. This breaks the story into two plots that intertwine. Jasalyn is recovering from being a prisoner. Felicity has been running from who she is. BUT there are so many secrets that come out and surprise revelations, that I really can't say much.

The world building is rich and nuanced—something I love to see in fantasy. We get some politics, social structure, a bit of history (spiritualism), and interesting foliage and terrain. The fae world is unique but draws from traditions in Europe.

This book ends on a cliffhanger (that's the one thing I don't love about fantasy books). I can see it might wrap up in book two. I think fantasy lovers are going to want to read this. The ending twists are *chef's kiss*.

Happy reading!

After falling in love with These Hollow Vows and These Twisted Bonds, Lexi Ryan has become an author I am incredibly excited to read. This fantasy romance delivered. As a dual-POV slowburn, forced proximity romance, I felt like I knew what to expect but it was still a fun ride. I tire of insta-lust a bit, so I was hoping for more there, that being said I still really enjoyed it and am excited to continue this new series. Lexi is a great writer and I'm excited to have all her books on my shelf together!

Thank you to Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

"And what if you find yourself living beneath nothing but cursed stars?"

I ate this book up! It was so addicting, one minute I was at 10% and then before I knew it, I was halfway through the book! This is definitely a third-ish book, you should not read this book without reading the previous duology. If you read this without reading the other two books you will one hundred percent be confused and probably not like it. This book is also a dual POV between Jas and Felicity.

This story picked up three years from the ending of These Twisted Bonds and you follow Jas & Felicity on a journey to attempt to overthrow Elora's overlords with Kendrick (Hale), Skylar, Remme, and Natan. While Jas is trying to help Kendrick and his friends, Felicity, Kendricks little sister, is in Jas's place at the Wild Fae Court. Felicity's mission is to make Misha fall for her so that he will spill his secrets to her for the Elorian benefit. Felicity and Jas assume everything is going to plan and they are more than a pawn in this mission, until everything begins to fall apart. This book is filled to the brim with the best tropes:

-force proximity
-trauma bonded
-found family
-fated mates
-secret identities
-slow burn
-betrayal

There was tension galore in this book and it was killlllling me!!! But the betrayals in the end make me nervous for the next book. The only thing I warn over is this book ends on a cliff hanger and if you do not like that or like waiting, I would suggest waiting for the second book, but this book is definitely worth the wait. The stories of Jas and Felicity and their trauma is so heart wrenching, we also get a lot more world building and information about Elora that we were not aware of nor given in the duology prior. Ryan really laid out the puzzle pieces that finally came together at the end and made the whole journey make complete sense. I cannot wait to see how this story ends in the next book.

I want to thank NetGalley and Harper Collins for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great spin off from These Hollow Vows. I loved that duology so much and I was thrilled when I saw she wrote another book. When I realized it was Jas's story after the fact I was even more excited. I love getting more of the characters we saw in the background before.

I loved the dual POV between Jas and Felicity. I also loved the romances going on in both. I love a good slow burn. I enjoyed the adventure that Jas and Kendrick went on as well as the mystery behind all of the things happening. I can't wait for more!

I really wanted to love this one because I am a huge fan of the original duology, but this one just fell flat for me. It took me a really long time to get into it, but nothing was really driving me to finish it. I am sure others really loved this boo, but it just wasn't for me.

No public review given as I do not want to hurt someone else's chance of reading the book based only off my review.

Probably a 4.25 rounded up.

this is a spin-off of an existing series, which I didn’t realize before I picked it up. I actually think it can be read as a standalone as long as you are okay not knowing every detail of the backstory of some of the characters, as there is a bit of a catch up infodump in the first few chapters.

as a spin-off, I found this to be fairly enjoyable YA fantasy. you have one FMC suffering from PTSD who experiences some predictable but genuine character growth throughout the book, a second FMC who knows she is doing awful things but does them for the sake of the greater good (and I am absolutely rooting for her), and lots of twists, turns, & betrayals. the romances follow familiar romantasy beats without a ton of new or unique elements, but they fit the overall story well & add more to the story than their predictability takes away. I do think there are a number of unanswered questions about the world & magic system but honestly I can’t judge that without having read the other series.

is this a perfect book? no. am I absolutely going to read book 2 when it comes out? yup. I actually want to go back and read the first two books now to get a better understanding of the world.

I really loved the concept of this book! The voice of both POV characters were distinct and I found myself truly caring about the characters. I did not know there was another series before this, so that most certainly affected my enjoyment of this book as I felt there was a lot of information that was lacking--but now I've found out that it's connected to a previous series, it's less a fault of the book and more a fault of I didn't know there was a companion series! It will definitely have a sequel which I think is very good to know going into it. This book wasn't necessarily for me--I wanted more fae trickery and mischief, more revenge arc, more chemistry between one of the sets of love interests (the other was great though! so much tension!), and less calling people "the male" and "the female." However, I could 100% see this easily being someone's favorite book, and a lot of care and love went into this book. I loved the disability rep with Jas's struggles with anxiety, depression, and PTSD! It was so authentic, and I'd love if that's given more screen time in the future! We desperately need more disability in fantasy, and with how much others love fae romantasy, I'm SO excited for this book to find its readers! I'd definitely recommend this for someone looking for books with fae, revenge, and romantasy, and for someone who loves the replaced identities trope--especially when the person being impersonated has given their consent for it!

I'll give it 3.5 stars!

I soft DNF'ed this book. - I will be coming back to the book eventually.

I got 10ish pages in before I realized that I needed to have read two other books before this one despite the advertising. This is a new series by the author and they should have kept it in the same series just following different people/couples.

I will eventually come back to this book which is why I soft DNF'ed it. I just don't have time to read another book just to get to this one and trust me you NEED to read the book to understand things.

From the short pages that I did read I enjoyed seeing that description and the trauma. I can't wait to come back to this series just not right now.

While it took me a minute to get onto this book, by the end, I couldn't put it down.
There are definitely some triggers in this book for abuse, but it is well written.
The book focuses on two fmc and switches between their pov. Both have very different journeys but are building towards the same climax. The end of the book leaves on a big cliffhanger for both characters, and I can't wait to see what happens in the next book.
If you have read these hollow vows, or just enjoy ya fantasy, this is a great read!