I loved this book!! I loved all the characters and the relationship building. The storyline was fantastic and kept getting better with new things revealed. I'm only mad that I have to wait for book 2!

i love this
fantasy pretty much
romance pretty much
the book is so good, i can't put it down like seriously

2.5 stars

What a big disappointment this book has been. I have loved These Hollow Vows, and when I got the book request accepted, I was so excited.
It took very little time to change my mind, though. It's like we are in a different world, with different magic, information thrown at us as we're supposed to know it. You're just dumped into the story and you have to fend for yourself to make sense out of it.

The plot is non-existant, a lot of words and no substance. The characters have no development, they repeat the same things over and over again, you could see a mile away what was going to happen and the book proceeds at the slowest pace I've ever seen.

I was not interested in Jasalyn's story in the least. Felicity's was a bit more entertaining, but I got fed up right away as they were basically duping Misha and I did not like that one bit. I know where the author is going to go with this, it's obvious, but I don't like it at all.

I'm going to read the following book because now I've started this duology and I need to complete it, but I'm no hurry.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the eARC, these opinions are my own.

LOVE ME A CLIFFHANGER.

There’s something about a well executed cliffhanger that makes me all the more excited for book two. I think this delivered in that aspect. I saw one twist coming from the beginning (you will too), but the other one was this slow reveal that had me GOING. I can’t wait for the fallout.

I really enjoyed this spin off that follows Jas (and a new character). The romances had a bit of an insta vibe to them (or were lacking in general build up), yet they grew on me. I think it can be fostered even more in book two.

What I did notice was the lack of world building. This is really leaning heavy on the assumed fact you read the previous duology (These Hollow Vows). Which, since I have, was MOSTLY fine, I did stumble a bit trying to remember some of the court and politic dynamics that were created prior.

It’s still an engaging story and I enjoyed coming back to this book each time. I loved that the characters were someone I could root for that had weaknesses and strengths. There was a lot of beautifully tough moments seeing Jasalyn work through her past and facing some of those moments head on.

Overall audience notes:

NA Fantasy Romance
Language: low
Romance: one vague open door
Violence: moderate
Content Warnings: past torture and associated trauma, murder

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. First of all, I was under the assumption that this is a standalone, but it's actually a spin off of a prior duology. That's on me. I had a hard time getting into the story and connecting to the characters. I would've liked some more world building, which is probably in the other books. Idk, this just kind of fell flat for me and the ending took a turn I didn't really enjoy either. It leaves off with a cliffhanger but I don't think I'm interested enough to read a 2nd book.

Beneath these Cursed Stars kept me in my toes the entire time. I was a little worried about the dual POV but I loved both Jasalyn and Felicity’s storylines. They flowed well together and I genuinely can’t wait to see what comes next. My only complaint is that this is a story within the same world as the original series but it doesn’t explain much from those. It’s been a while since I read them so it left me a bit confused in the beginning.

Set in the same world as "These Hollow Vows", "Beneath these Cursed Stars"follows Brie's younger sister, Jasalyn. Jasalyn is desperate to find some peace after her traumatic ordeal at the hands of the evil Mordeus. So too desperate are a team of fighters, anxious to free the human realm, Elora, from the Seven.
A dual POV, "Beneath These Cursed Stars" is another delightful adventure, weaving in elements of classic faerie tales, modern mental health issues, and plot points from the previous duology.

While I felt like this story took a while to get going, once it did, the plot held me tight and didn't let go for the duration. It has all the elements of a classic Lexi Ryan book; adventure, romance, betrayal and beautiful backstory to keep the reader entertained.

I thoroughly enjoyed "Beneath These Cursed Stars" and look forward to the sequel!

Oh this book was so much fun! I devoured this story, and I am starving for more! Before we get into it, I have to say, if you haven’t read the These Hollow Vows duology, I definitely recommend doing that before picking this up. It’s been a while since I read them and things came back to me quickly, but some things may be confusing if you haven’t read them. Beneath These Cursed Stars follows Jasalyn, Brie’s sister. She is struggling with crippling depression and anxiety after her time as a captive. This book is dual POV but I’m going to not touch too much on the second character because I liked being surprised by her and her story. We get to see glimpses of characters from These Hollow Vows, which I always love. Also one of my favorite tropes, one horse, was coming in very strong! I loved the MMCs in this book, and the twists and revealed secrets I did not see coming, I feel a little betrayed by one of them 😅. The ending shook me and I wanted more immediately, so when does book 2 come out Lexi? 😂 The authors note at the end really spoke to me, and I found myself relating to pieces of Jasalyn and her mental health journey. Beneath These Cursed Stars is a Young Adult fantasy, I personally think 14-16+ for some sexual situations although not explicit.

I’m having NO luck with fantasy lately it seems 🥲. Beneath These Cursed Stars really let me down. Let me start by saying I LOVED These Hollow Vows and was extremely excited for this spinoff. However, when I picked it up.. I felt very confused! I know it’s a spinoff but I felt like there should have been some more details from the previous duology and SOME world building but there essentially was none!! You were dumped into the story trying to figure out about fae, humans, queens and what the heck was going on.

Besides that, literally nothing happens through MOST of the book. It was actually quite boring and I found myself dragging through the story. The most entertaining aspect was Felicity pretending to be Jas and Misha falling for Felicity/Jas. That kept me going but it was literally the only thing.

Overall, I’m probably in the minority here but this book did not work for me sadly 😭.

Beneath These Cursed Stars
by Lexi Ryan
4 ⭐️

forbidden romance
princess switch situation
secret identity
dual POV

I was really intrigued by this book but I did not expect it to be so SO good! This is coming from someone who paused These Twisted Bond literally last year (I’ll get back to it someday even tho it’s been spoiled, I just really hate love triangles) I don’t consider it a dnf bc I do plan to finish eventually. Anyways I really really enjoyed this!! I could not put this down if I tried! The last chunk of the book is full of suspense and plot twists!

I was a big fan of the romance between Misha and Felicity and while I really liked Jas and Kendrick, I think their romance could have been better. I feel like Felicity overshadowed Jas a little bc she was a much stronger character and I kept wanting to get back to her POV.

Even though I read book 1 and 15% of book 2 of the original series, I was really lost in terms of worldbuilding. This is one of my only issues with this book bc it felt like the author was continuing a series rather starting a spin off. I had no idea magic existed in the human realm of Elora or how they even have magic bc that’s never explained.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for this gifted arc!
*review will be posted on IG on 7/11/24*

AMAZING. This book captivated me from the first chapter and I found it hard to put down. I found the a characters and the story unique. I already want the next book!

A big thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins, and Lexi Ryan for an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! It was so nice to dive back into the world of “These Hollow Vows.” This story follows Aribella’s sister, Jasalyn, as she deals with the aftermath of being tortured by the evil fae king Mordeus and rumors of his possible return from death.

What to expect:
- dual POVs (two different FMCs)
-forbidden romance
-forced proximity
-hidden identity
- a kiss of death
-cliffhanger

As much as I LOVED the “These Hollow Vows” duology, I’ll admit this one was hard to get into at first. I’d say this is a 4 star for me. The ending has my attention and I want to read the sequel!

Loved the progression of Jas and Brie's relationship and seeing the aftermath of These Hollow Vows. Found myself eagerly rooting for both Jas and Felicity (which is not common when there are multiple POV protagonists in fantasy books for me, there's usually one POV i want to skip forward to read and this time I wanted both). Great world-building and hinting at how Mordeus returns, and the perfect cliffhanger to leave us anxious to know how Misha and Felicity rekindle their spark!

Set three years later after Jasalyn was tortured by the now dead fae king Mordeus, Jasalyn fights her inner demons by making a deal with a witch to gain a ring that gives her the kiss of death. But when Jasalyn is ordered to leave the kingdom by the Queen for protection, she trades places with an Echo and goes on her own adventure to help restore peace in her previous human realm.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5
Spice: 🌶️ 1/5

Tropes:
Hidden Identities
Forbidden Love
Epic Adventure

Triggers:
Flashbacks of torture
Mürder
Reference to death of parent

My Thoughts:
I fell in love with Lexi Ryan after coming across “These Hollow Bonds” last year and when I saw she was writing another fantasy series, I immediately preordered it without even reading the synopsis! Imagine my surprise to find that this series is set in the same world! I love the angst and forbidden love of these characters, as well as the world building. My only regret in reading this is that now I have to wait for the next book.

This was sooo unique and I genuinely haven’t read any books similar to this one! Dual POV with two (slow burn) romances happening at the same time and I really loved it!

I really really enjoyed this but man the ending 🤯 I need to know what is going to happen!!

If you like
Ya romantasy
Hidden identity
Dual pov (felicity + jasalyn)
Slow burn
Who did this to you
.. you will love this!

(Very little spice. .5-1 🌶️)

Book: Beneath These Cursed Stars
Author: Lexi Ryan
Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

I thank the publisher, HarperTeen, for sending me an ARC. Lexi Ryan is an author who I have heard of, but never read. I did enjoy this title a lot. I understand that this is in the same world as her other books, but I didn’t have any trouble following what was going on. This is one of those books that while it isn’t a new favourite, I did enjoy reading it a lot.

In this one, we follow Jasalyn and Felicity who could not be more different from each other. Jasalyn is a princess with a secret. She has a ring that turns her kisses into deadly weapons. Anyone she kisses dies. She is now using this to track down and kill her enemies. Felicity is a shapeshifter, who needs a miracle. She is to kill her magical father. However, rumours of Mordeus’s return have been spreading around. Jasalyn decides that it is time to end the shadow king once and for all. Felicity agrees to be glamoured like the princess to gain access to the royal fey court, while Jasalyn goes on the road. Romance is not on either girl’s mind, but it finds them. They don’t need it, but, yet, it opens the world up to them. Yet, they find that secrets can destroy everything.

The world is very interesting. We have humans, fey, goblins, elves, and pretty much every other type of fantasy being here. They all have to live together in this world. It may seem like a lot, but it’s not. I enjoyed seeing all of the races brought together, as well as seeing how they each have their own culture. Now, this is young adult, so it’s not as detailed as some of the adult fantasies that I have been reading. I found that it worked. We get what we need to know about the world when the time is right. It’s not overwhelming and it’s not underwhelming. It’s right for the story.

Jas and Felicity’s dual point of view also helps expand the world. These two don’t have much page time together. Both are on their journeys and doing different things. Again, this may not sound like it works, but it does. It allows us to see more of the world and get more of the plot without slowing anything down. We get to see the impacts of Mordeus on both the court side of things and out in the world. We see how many moving parts there are to the world, but we aren’t losing any of the pacing. That is the key to this book. We get a lot but it’s not too much.

I liked having two points of view. I thought it was a nice structural element because it kept the story going. I am going, to be honest here for a minute. There were times that I thought Jas and Felicity’s point of view was too similar. I knew who was in what plotline, but there were times when it felt like their voices were blending. Now, this couple be because of things to come. I would have liked to see them have more of their voice. This doesn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy points of view. Both of them have been through so much. Instead of letting them bring them down, they use what has happened in the past and draw strength from it. Instead of tearing them down, it lifts them.

The romances were solid. I like that it was a slow burn and not insta love. I see that so many times in young adult. I like that we saw these romances bloom and blossom into what they became. Again, it felt right.

Overall, I did enjoy this book a lot. It does have a cliffhanger ending.

This book comes out on July 30, 2024.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/gKs_S1VUz8o

I enjoyed this book very much! These Hollow Vows duology was fantastic but it's been quite some time since I read those. While I do agree with some reviewers, that there was not a ton of back story and I completely forgot all details from the former books, I was still able to glean enough from what was discussed to figure out what was going on. And I loved it! The twists and turns, the love interests and lies - kept me turning the pages as quickly as possible. The dark magic manifestations was a nice touch, and I did not see the ending coming. I hope there will be another one following this because I love this world that Ryan has created!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read this book!

It was so great being back in this world and getting to see the characters from the These Hollow Vows duology. I was so happy to see Misha again especially! This story feels so unique and was so interesting seeing both story lines, even though I found myself preferring one slightly over the other. Can’t wait for the next one after how this book ended.

This was good but I feel like I need a refresher on the other books to better understand what is going on.

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Collins for the chance to read this eARC

I was so excited to get this arc as I absolutely loved these Hollow Vows duology.

I have to say the first 50% I was really bored. There wasn't anything really going on that kept my attention. The next 30% it was okay. I still struggled to finish it. Once I hit 80% everything just took off. The book pulled together and made more sense.

I am so glad because I did not want to dnf this one as much as I loved the other series. I wouldn't rate this one as high.

3.75 stars for me

It was just okay.