The YA and Cruel Prince girlies will love this one. It has a familiar faerie setting, but with some interesting twists.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Overall I think this story has a lot of potential. I loved the world and the idea of this storyline. However the plot line was a little rocky at times and I thought that it needed some world refreshing. The beginning was a bit slow but the last hundred pages had me hooked. It was an easy read and I finished it in a day so for that I’ll give it 3.5 stars

BENEATH THESE CURSED STARS is a book with a lot of potential. Building off the These Hollow Vows Duology, I felt that the book could dive more into the world, while offering new perspectives through the multiple POVs. However, I feel that Ryan fails to utilize any of the opportunities in the plot to do MORE with the story, leading to slow pacing, confusion, and underdeveloped characters.

I will say that for some YA readers, this could be a great book. It has magic, faeries, instalove, an enemies to lovers vibes, mistaken identity, and revenge. These are some really great tropes and ideas! But for me, this potential fell very flat in a way that was disappointing.

To me, this story had a ton of potential with little to no follow through. I just read the author’s previous duology to make sure I knew what was going on. However, for the first half of this book, I was confused and frustrated as a reader. Terms and relationships were just thrown in here and not fleshed out or developed. Or they would be thrown in there and then explained much later. I actually checked multiple times to see if I missed something while I read. It was frustrating because I felt that I didn’t understand what was happening as I read. I appreciated that the author wants to expand upon the world she created, but she did so in a way that was unclear. It then impacted the pacing because then information dumps happened and the plot stagnated for the first half.

It is like us as readers are supposed to know these character’s full backstories when we do not, as the author just plops us into the world. This means that the characters are underdeveloped. I think splitting the POVs did little for either Jas or Felicity, to two FMCs. I think a focus on one character would be much better than the narration approach taken.

This book is being marketed as a stand alone, but relies HEAVILY on understanding the previous duology. And while this would be a great book for YA readers, to an older age group, I think that they would be disappointed and underwhelmed.

Thank you to Harper Teen and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Book Name: Beneath These Cursed Stars
Author: Lexi Ryan

ARC
Thank you to Netgalley and HarperTeen

Stars: 5

Book 3 in ***These Hollow Vows… marketed as a spin-off book but it isn’t its book 3 with new FMC focus***
Cliffhanger!
Fast Paced
Dual FMC POVs (Felicity and Jas)
High Fantasy

- Thoughts.
- hard to differentiate between FMC’s in the first 30%
- Not what I expected
- Original Series is must read
- Angry FMC (feels DONE)
- Hidden Identities
- Prophecies
- Secrets
- Miscommunication
- OVerocming Trauma
- Misha
- great chemistry between characters

Lexi Ryan puts some sort of addictive additive on her writing cause my intent at 35% was to DNF. Why?… Well….The book was mis-marketed as a spin-off… it's actually a continuation of the series. There was no world-building and the rage-filled Jas felt kinda boring with the rest of the characters leaning heavily into miscommunication and secrecy. Even with those negatives I had to finish the book. And… it's a solid 5 cause Misha OMG and the aforementioned addiction! I am in love!

3.5/5
It took me a bit to get into the story as I was trying to recall all that happened in the prior two books. I think even though this is kinda marketed as a new story it has many of the previews characters in it and the story relies a lot on that plot too so I think to would be better to read These Hollow Vows first. With that being said after I got into it I read it pretty fast. The story is told from the POV of princess Jasalyn who is trying to avenge what was done to her and Felicity a shifter pretending to be the princess. I was more invested in Felicity's story with Misha and their connection. Jasalyn sometimes came across as immature and judgmental. She went through a lot and that's understandable, I'm sure there will be more of a character development in the second book. Is is a slow burn romance and more character driven than anything else. It felt fast paced but also felt like not a lot was accomplished at the same time. Overall I did enjoyed it and will be reading the sequel.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the ARC, all opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this book!

Great characters, great story and just an overall easy read. It was such a treat remembering some of the characters from the main series.

This book was fantastic. My big issue with this book was the lack of refreshing on the world and characters after the these hollow vows series- I LOVED that duology but read them over a year ago and I had a hard time getting into this book and remembering the world details.
If this book is supposed to follow the other series, I think it is understandable, but usually separate duologies can be read as a stand alone, and I think it would be hard to dive into this world without the previous two.
To expand the audience, I think more world building would be necessary.

Otherwise this book was fantastic, I loved the slow burn, I loved the star crossed lovers trope, and especially love the dual POV. I love all of Lexi’s books and can’t wait for more!

I saw the Cover and fell in love. Then I saw the authors name and knew I wouldn’t be disappointed. Then I read the paragraph and was drawn into the story, unable to put it down until I finished the last page.

This was the book I wanted without knowing I wanted it until I read it.

It’s not often a spin off can meet or exceed the charm of the original, but Lexi managed to pull it off. I loved seeing Jas and following her story. Her her part in the original series was small, so I enjoyed seeing her character fleshed out.

I really hope the author continues to write in this world.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was an interesting concept! I liked the plot and the characters, though I felt it got a bit convoluted at times.

Lexi Ryan DID THAT! She wrote us a book following Jas and giving us a glimpse into her many layers after she suffered such devastating torture and turned into a shell of the girl she once was. We also get to see more of Misha and tbh, I would read literally anything about him.

I personally found this book to be very engaging and honestly could not guess where the plot was going. At times, this felt a little confusing and I wondered if I was missing something since I read the previous duology probably 50 books ago, but I don't think that's the case. I think many people are saying that the plot is too choppy/confusing/etc because they don't understand or don't appreciate that we are SUPPOSED to be confused. We don't know everything about the dynamics of faerie or of Elora because they haven't been revealed to us (or Jas, really)! I loved the twists and turns this book took and the introduction of some new, beautiful characters.

It is not often that I truly enjoy a dual POV from two very separated characters but this one was wonderfully done. I was never dreading a new chapter and always wanted to know what was happening next whether that be to Jas or Felicity. I canNOT wait for the next book. <3

Thank you Lexi Ryan & NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. :)

3.8⭐️
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I enjoyed the previous forays into the world from These Hollow Vows, and this continued with this further story.

It was a bit slow to start, but the last 150 or so pages sucked me right in and I finished it very quickly from that point. The cliffhanger got me though!

I really enjoyed seeing more of Misha, and I preferred his chapters and Felicity’s chapters over Jasalyn’s chapters (as I found Jas’ character a little bit annoying). It was also nice to have some cameos from other characters in These Hollow Vows.

Overall an enjoyable read and I’m looking forward to the next book!

Princess Jasalyn has been sneaking away from the palace at night with an enchanted ring that allows her to assassinate her enemies with the kiss of death.

Shape-shifter Felicity is fated to kill her father, but she has been doing her best to avoid the prophecy.

As rumors of the evil King Mordeus’s resurrection spread through the shadow court, Jasalyn declares she will defeat him once and for all. Felicity agrees to assume the form of the princess, allowing Jas to hunt Mordeus covertly. Jas teams up with charming and handsome Kendrick and his friends on their mission to discover Mordeus’s hiding place. Felicity finds herself growing closer to the Wild Fae King. As the girl’s missions progress, so do their feelings and soon their hearts and fates are at risk.

Read if you like:
- dual POV
- slow burns
- found family

I have yet to read These Hollow Vows, but that didn’t stop me from picking this up. This can definitely be read aside from the original series, as the author does a great job with storytelling for both the knowledgeable reader, and the newbies like myself.

I loved the dual POV and how the plot lines ran right into the next. I found I liked Felicity’s POV more, especially since we learn so much more about Jasalyn through her dreams. Jasalyn is a multifaceted character, but she is also very emotionally blocked which makes it difficult to connect with her. Felicity on the other hand, is super interesting and we get glimpses of the real her as she pretends to be someone else. I am rooting for her and Misha.

After that cliffhanger of an ending I have one question: when do we get the sequel???

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins / HarperTeen for a free digital copy of this book. This is my honest review. Publication date: July 30, 2024.

Thank you Net galley, Lexi Ryan, and Harper Collins for this ARC.


All I will say is, there better be a second book.

You cannot end a book like this-I need to know now what happens next.

This was a great read!!!!

The characters were amazing.

~Slow-Burn
~Enemies-lovers

I was absolutely enthralled by this book. I loved the dual storylines and romances. I was giddy with anticipation, cringing with dread, and all the way through kept on my toes trying to predict where things would go next. I am devastated at the cliffhanger ending and don’t know how I will be able to wait for the next one.

This series is great for young adults getting into fantasy! I love the world that has been set up and I think this is just a good book for kids too young for other booktok books. It’s sweet, entertaining, fun, and the plot is well developed!

This series is great for young adults getting into fantasy! I love the world that has been set up and I think this is just a good book for kids too young for other booktok books. It’s sweet, entertaining, fun, and the plot is well developed!

Wow that ending ???? Madam how can you be so rough with me ???

Not going to lie the first few hundred pages weren’t appealing to me and kind of scared me but then I became invested in the two plots and the two relationships. Then during the last 200-150 pages it was really a rollercoaster I was so into it I couldn’t stop scheming. The foreshadowing was driving me crazy and dear lord now I’m so excited for the next book!!

Before this I hadn’t read any of Ryan’s books (though I know a few have been popular in the last few years) so I went into this book with no expectations. It follows two girls: Felicity who is trying to infiltrate a fae court to look for the portal she knows is hidden inside and Jasalyn who goes on a mission to destroy the corrupt king that is rumored to have risen from the dead before he has a chance to take back the kingdom.

I really liked the dual POV in this book and how each plot line wove into the next. The magic system was interesting and complex but introduced well. I also really enjoyed that there was a lot of history with each of the characters that we got to learn throughout the book. Jasalyn also suffers from ptsd from the war before the events of this book and I felt like her journey was well thought out.

It’s fast paced, interesting, and thought provoking. I think my favorite part of the book is the discussions on who creates and controls history. It integrated well into the plot and was also just an overall intriguing discussion.

Beneath These Cursed Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you @netgalley and @harpercollins for this ARC!

These Hollow Vows duology was one of my absolute favorites, and I am SO excited to receive this ARC from @writerlexiryan !

This book is set in the same world as These Hollow Vows and follows the sister’s journey! It has a duel POV storyline, lots of adventure, trauma, healing, romance, and a “who did this to you” moment! 😍
THE BETRAYAL had me shook and I can’t even talk about the cliffhanger. I’m ready for the next book and this one isn’t even out yet 😂
I would suggest brushing up on the details from These Hollow Vows/These Twisted Bonds before reading this. I didn’t and I had trouble remembering specific details and found myself stumbling through some of it trying to remember the backstory. I’m so excited for this book to release on July 30, 2024! I will definitely be adding a physical copy to my collection. Have you read any of the books in this series?! 💍⚔️✨

#bookstagram #bookcommunity #bookrecommendations #bookreview #booktok #bookworms #read #readersofinsta #booksofinsta #booksofinstagram #beneaththesecursedstars #beneaththesecursedstarsbylexiryan #arcreview

This was amazing! Was so glad to be back in this world. Definitely need to read the first series to be able to read this. Can’t wait for the next one!