Thank you Netgalley and Harperteen for the download arc of this title. I absolutely adore Lexi Ryan. And I loved her first duology of These Hollow Vows and These Twisted Bonds. This book was well written as well, I just wish there was more to hold me captive. The story was good, the characters were lovable, I guess I just wanted more action and intrigue. I'm assuming (hoping really!!) That the next book will have more romance/intrigue with Jas and Kendrick, but I was really hoping it would've developed more within this book. Although it did end with a cliffhanger... So who's to say we won't get our happily ever after in the sequel?

First of all These Hollow Vows was on of the books I credit for creating my love of fantasy! The series as a whole is an excellent intro into fantasy as a genre! But I really feel like this spin off has grown from what Lexi Ryan learned with the original! It still feels like beginner fantasy and probably more for someone younger than me. I can definitely see this series being popular with teens. But at the end of this one it truly feels new and exciting! I want to read the sequel whenever it comes out! Which is great because coming back to what stated my love of fantasy feels really nice even though my tastes have changed since then.

I started this book off with extremely low expectations. This was my first by Lexi Ryan, and for a book that is not a sequel, there was little to no world building. The entire premise of the world is dependent on knowing it from the previous series, and in my confusion I thought there was no way I would enjoy this book after that first chapter or two.

BUT.

My jaw is literally on the floor. Perhaps I am just slow or sleep deprived, but the twists in this book had me gasping every single one of the last 30 pages. Never before in my life have I been so confused and genuinely furious (in a good way) to see the word "acknowledgments."

On the rest of the book, I found the romances absolutely adorable. Misha might be one of my top book boyfriends now, and that is saying something. The relationships (romantic and platonic) did move fast, but I think I just poured through the book so quickly that I didn't give it a chance to sink in. The plot was not super action heavy, but for a girl who loves some fluff and some trauma, I was satisfied and flew through this book. It's currently 2:00 AM, and for me, this is staying up way too late. I should have gone to bed half a book ago, but here we are!!

On a separate note, this was my first e-ARC! In all honesty, this was a horrible book to read as a first e-ARC, because now not only do I have to wait from release date to release date, I have to wait EVEN LONGER? Guys, I am telling you, I was emotionally invested in this book, and the cliffhanger is NOT for the weak.

Jasalyn hates the fae, and after what Mordeus did to her in his dungeons while her sister Brie finished her trials, who could honestly blame her?

Felicity wants nothing more than to save Elora but she can’t follow her destiny without killing her best friend and brother Hale.

Felicity and Jasalyn switch places so they each can follow at least one path leading to their futures but both those futures are at peril of crumbling due to two different males.

Honestly, this book was a rollercoaster of emotions. I should have known after what my heart got put through in the last two books but I honestly didn’t think I was going to like Jas’ story. At first she felt so completely different from the Jas in Abriella’s books that I was a little put off. But then you learn WHY she is so different and it is truly heartbreaking.

We also get to see Misha again in Felicity’s story and let’s just say, I never even had second thoughts about him in the earlier books and now I can’t stop thinking about him. My heart aches for both of them.

I am almost sad I received this book as an ARC because knowing it’s not even released yet and that means I have to wait a long time for the next book is breaking my heart right now.

4.5 ⭐️

I went into this with high hopes after loving These Hollow Vows so much and for me personally it did not disappoint. Some twists and turns, romance, betrayal, magic, dual POV from two damaged FMCs and I couldn’t put it down. Both POVs end on a big cliffhanger and I’m sitting on the end of my seat waiting to find out what happens next.

My only complaint is this is yet another book added to my high ranking list this year with no book 2 in sight.

Thank you netgalley and HarperCollins for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars. I was so excited to have Jasalyn POV. She is such an exciting character. Loved her development in this story! I couldn't put the book down! The slow burn romance is awesome. I will say the cliffhanger has me anxious for the next one!

While I enjoyed "These Hollow Vows" from this author, this one missed the mark for me. It has been a couple of years since I read the original duology, and I felt this book assumes that the reader will have memory of that story. Because of this, I felt a little lost at times. I also didn't really like our main character Jas, she just didn't carry the story as well as Brie's books. Overall, I think teens in the target audience will enjoy this one, but I'll be recommending they reread the first two before diving into this one.

This book exceeded my expectations following These Twisted Bonds and reminded me more of These Hollow Vows in the sense that the pacing and foreshadowing were both stronger. This was an enjoyable light read. I generally liked the characters though I was absolutely looking at the chapter headings each time and hoping to see Felicity rather than Jasalyn. Both were likable, but Felicity felt more relatable in terms of emotions and reactions to situations. I also enjoyed getting to know more about Misha in this book. Overall, it was a decent read and I do want to know what happens in the next installment, but would not reread this one. If you enjoy fae romantasy, this is a solid read but well within expectations for the subgenre.

This is the first book in a spin-off series from the These Hollow Vows duology and occurs about three years later. Although this could be read without the first series, I think the backstory from the original series is helpful in jumping into this world.

This dual point of view story follows two characters on their interconnected paths. We learn through flashbacks what happened to Jasalyn during her time imprisoned in the original series. We slowly learn Felicity’s backstory. Their relationships with Hale and Misha, respectively, go through all the phases. There are oracles, prophecies and magic.

The betrayal and the angst! I am looking forward to the sequel and following these characters.

I was given a copy by the publisher via NetGalley (thank you!) and all opinions are my own.

I admit that when I picked up this story from Netgalley, I had no idea that it was in the same world as the Hollow Vows duet (which I really enjoyed!). I was 15% in, thinking, why does this seem so familiar, before I realized it was going to focus on Abriella's younger sister as a follow up to the original story (plus a handful of side characters, old and new). And it was so fun! Court intrigue, shifters, fae shenanigans, and an epic finish that made me say, "Oh f*ck!" out loud, which scared my dog. 😬 I am genuinely excited for the next book already! 🤣🥰

Two magical sisters find themselves in unexpected alliances when a mission turns unexpectedly.
You really need to go into this book blindly, because it has so many different elements. Lexi Ryan knows how to write an intricate fantasy romance book, which made me so excited to jump into her newest series. It was just as great as I expected, possibly even a bit more.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperTeen for an eARC of this book.

I loved the first to books in Ryan’s series and her third novel, Beneath these cursed stars, is just as wonderful. First off, keep in mind that this novel is young adult. It includes themes of the YA genre and does mot get spicy on purpose. I’ve also read that some people feel as if magic should be explained, but I think these people just didn’t read the other novels or have very little understanding of seelie/unseelie magic.

I did love the themes. Three years after book 2, Jaslyn is dealing with the trauma of torture under Mordeus’ rule and struggling to find her place in a new world.

Felicity is dealing with trauma of her own and as a rare echo, she can transform into anyone she likes.

When Jas decides to help mortal mages from the mortal realm fix the problems with the that world, Felicity takes on Jas’ appearance and travels to Misha’s court to look for the famed room of portals. Both girls are thrown into a sparking romantic relationship and worry that everyone will find out their secrets.

Ultimately, I loved and devoured this one!

Princess Jasalyn, armed with a deadly, enchanted ring, eliminates threats to the kingdom and seeks revenge for the fae that helped her captor, Mordeus. She sets on a mission to hunt down Mordeus with a fae shape-shifter, Felicity, who is trying to change her prophesied fate. Felicity decides to impersonate Jasalyn in the Wild Fae Court so the princess can hunt down Mordeus and get rid of him.

The book is from Felicity's and Jasalyn's POV. I enjoyed both of the characters and felt that they were relatable. I could understand why Jasalyn was so angry and wanted revenge after what happened to her in the previous book series. However, she seemed to be blinded by this trauma at times. The beginning and ending were fantastic. I prefer a medium to fast-paced book. The middle was too slow, but I was engaged enough to want to know the ending.

This book is a spin-off from another duology. You should read the previous series because so much is referenced or reflected on from the other books that it was difficult to get started, and I felt lost at times while reading. I was at a disadvantage because so much of the book's world-building, politics, characters, and magic system was set up in the other series. I did add the other series to my TBR list.

I received an Advanced Readers Copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and HarperTeen.

Beneath These Cursed Stars

Lexi Ryan never disappoints! I have been wanting to get my hands on this arc everywhere! I’m so happy NetGalley offered it. I immediately started reading and devoured this book!

This book has dual POV and is a spin-off of These Hollow Vows duology. I strongly recommend reading the duology before starting this book.

Here’s what we have:

This book is set three years after These Hollow Vows, Jaslyn grapples with trauma from her imprisonment in Mordeus's dungeons, leaving her emotionally closed off. Secretly, she uses an enchanted ring to assassinate the cruel Mordeus's supporters.
While Felicity seeks to avoid a prophecy that fates her to kill her magical father, using her unique abilities to evade this destiny.

My thoughts:

I liked Jaslyn a lot more as a FMC. It was great to see her development from the start, and she wasn't making decisions that made me want to throw my Kindle across the room. Jaslyn has so much depth that made her feel more real and relatable. In her position I don’t think I would have done a single thing differently. I felt from the very beginning that her feelings were 100% valid!
I really enjoyed this book; it was a fun read. I LOVE the found family dynamic with Kendrick, Skylar, Remme, and Natan. I can't wait to see more of them.
I felt a lot of frustration for Misha throughout the book. He didn't deserve a lot of the treatment he received. I hope he gets better treatment in the next installment.
Now the ending??? It really threw me! I was not expecting the twist!! I can’t wait for the next book!


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

From the same world as These Hollow Vows, we follow Brie’s sister Jas as she navigates her conflicting past and present while new unexplained unrest is sweeping the lands.

Immediately, Ryan continues interweaving the same themes as in her previous series—secrets, deception, magic, and romance while adding a deeper layer from the consequences of the events from the preceding books, trauma.

I loved seeing Jas’s character come to life. She is incredibly inspiring and such a force to be reckoned with. Her devastating past is very present in this book and vital to her growth and journey—even though at times, it was hard to read. She stands on her own as a fierce, beautiful heroine, much like her sister—and her character was my favorite part of this story.

This book follows two POVs—one being Jas and another a new character introduced. I felt at times that the two were a little conflicting with the overall story and kept me from feeling completely immersed in the book. Also, I absolutely LOVED seeing some familiar faces, and, once again, Ryan leaves me instantly wanting to pick up the next book ASAP!

3.25/5

*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.*

This series was described as a standalone, but had I known it was a spin-off from the author’s previous duology I wouldn’t have requested an early copy.

Having no background from the previous series, I felt completely lost at sea when starting this book. There’s no world building or explanation about the magic systems (at least up until the part I read), and there appear to be major spoilers to the duology.

This is listed as a YA novel but reads more middle grade to me as well, which isn’t my preferred genre.

I think if you enjoyed These Hollow Vows you should definitely pick it up, unfortunately this one wasn’t for me. Because I did not finish the entire book I have chosen not to give a star rating on Goodreads especially since I feel this book stands as more of mid-series book than standalone.

Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Collins Teen, and Lexi Ryan for the advanced e copy of this book to review.

My over all rating for this book is a 3.5 stars. Where I really enjoyed the book for the point of it being spun off of These Hollow Vows (which I LOVED!) there are some things that seemed would be problematic to readers who skipped that duology and jumped right into this one.

So jumping for that let’s cover parts that were missed for me then I’ll go over what I loved.

There was so much about this book that was almost expected of the readers to just know. Very little of the world and their magic etc. was discussed. Having read These Hollow Vows I had a fine time keeping up but I would have been SO confused had I not. I also feel like the pacing was a bit slow with a lot of repetition. It was almost as if Ryan was trying to set up for a cliffhanging ending that there was a lot of filler leading up to that where as so much that happened towards the end could have easily been placed mid book and had more action packed into the end and still someone ended with a cliffhanger.

This I enjoyed in the story was seeing Jasalyns perspective of what she had to go through while being held captive although he characters personality was a little bland. I think having experienced Brie then going to Jas was a bit underwhelming.
I did really enjoy the bits with Felicity and Misha and I am anxious to see where their storyline plays out to.

I am hoping in the upcoming book we will see a little more action as I think this one set up for a lot of potential to come.

Beneath These Cursed Stars follows the dual POV stories of Princess Jasalyn (sister of Bree from the first two books) and shape-shifter Felicity. After the trauma she faced in the first two books, Princess Jasalyn has taken it upon herself to ensure that she never becomes a prisoner again. Making a deadly bargain with a witch, Jasalyn acquires a ring that allows her to exact revenge on Mordeus’s followers. But not everything is as it seems in this world, with rumors of Mordeus’s return swirling and a mysterious illness wreaking havoc across the kingdom. Enter a band of rebels who kidnap Jasalyn and convince her to allow Felicity to pose as her at court so that Jasalyn can embark on a journey with them to take steps in deposing a corrupt faction in the human realm.

While I really liked the first duology with Bree, I found the plot of this one and the interactions between characters to be even more compelling. I loved the twists and turns and the dual POVs. Jasalyn has become such a fierce character, and it is fascinating to see this world through her eyes. Felicity is also a fresh voice, and it is interesting to see her navigate court with familiar characters from the previous duology.

Highlights:
✨ YA Romantasy
✨ Dual POV
✨ Friends-to-lovers
✨ Hidden/Secret Identities
✨ Magic
✨ Prophecies
✨ Found Family
✨ Slow Burn
✨ Forced Proximity
✨ Secrets & Betrayals
✨ Cliffhanger

Note: This story does mention previous characters and most of the world building takes place in the first duology, so I would strongly recommend reading the previous two books first if you want to better understand the magic system and the courts.

Thank you NetGalley, HarperTeen, and Lexi Ryan for the eBook ARC of this book!

I have not read Lexi Ryan's other books and did not realize that this was the start of a spin-off series. So, I am a bit bummed that there were some big spoilers in this book to the prior series. Take that as a fair warning if you plan to pick this one up.

This book is a dual point of view, Felicity and Jasalyn. Jas had a horrific time in the dungeons, and she is obviously dealing with some trauma, but she has given up something to gain power over her enemies and is doing ok.

Felicity is running from her past and they just keep showing up. Now they need her power, which is to take on the body and dreams of others so that she can take the place of Jas. Jas and Felicity trade places both in an attempt to help Kendrick attack the reigning seven in the human realm.

OK, so there was a lot just there even to wade through... and I am with you, really confused. While I enjoyed this book, there was a lot of world building that was completely left out because of the prior series. The magic, the systems, the politics, were all left unexplained for the most part. It is also important to note that this is not a standalone - it ends on a pretty big cliffhanger, a few actually. Can you see them coming... kinda, but also some were so left-field.

Overall, I liked the two POVs, I liked the overall plot and pacing, but it fell a bit flat on the explanations for me. I wanted to learn more, and probably could have had I don't more research into where this book fell in her overall series. If you are looking for something that has drama and mystery in addition to magic and crazy overlapping worlds, this could be for you.

Oh to be back in Lexi Ryan's world of the Fae. I was so excited when I heard that Lexi was writing Jasalyn's POV and we were entering back into the These Hollow Vows world.

~*I will say right away, you will most likely not enjoy this book if you have not read the These Hollow Vows duology. These characters, the initial world building, the background and some of the initial character development of Jasalyn as well as another character Misha is there. You will not understand this world, the struggles depicted and the emotional turmoils if you haven't read it. I would not consider this its own separate series but much like ACOTAR when we switched to new main characters in ACOSF.*~

That being said, I absolutely enjoyed this book. We get brief encounters with Brie and Finn again as we start out three years in the future to the end of These Twisted Bonds; While also being introduced to a new cast of characters and a dual POV that is actual not the love interest.

Starting out on the slower side, this book definitely is more character focused and feels like a building block to get us to the bigger plot. Our two main characters, Felicity and Jasalyn are both struggling, traumatized characters trying to outrun their fates and I have a feeling that their futures are more intertwined than the surface level we have at this point. I feel both characters development and growth are vitally important to the overall plot and I am glad we focused more on the relationships, their growth and inner struggles and turmoils for the first book. I am excited to see how they grow further and follow their stories as the series continues.

This book absolutely ends on a cliffhanger with some big reveals, both our girls are in perilous situations and the level of plot twisting that happens keeps you on the edge of your seat. I was honestly blown away. I need Book 2 now because leaving us on that cliff was honestly rude and uncalled for.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperTeen for the ARC