I love discovering a new comfort read. From start to finish, I ate this story up. The tension between characters and groups was absolutely perfect, and there are just enough threads that the story of this land will continue to intrigue me. Can’t wait to see what happens in the next book!

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am so appreciative to #NetGalley and #vanessaranasen for allowing me this ARC to read in exchange for an honest review!

This was my first book by Vanessa Ranasen, and I can say with complete confidence that it won’t be my last! I really enjoyed Lieke and Connor’s story. It was a different take on mates and I really enjoyed it.

The reason I didn’t give this 5 stars was because for me, the book moved slowly until past the halfway make, but once it took off, it took off. I just felt like something was missing when I finished, but I can’t exactly put my finger on it. I think I was just wanting…more?

Vanessa did a great job with world-building without making it overwhelming and also her character growth was great! I really enjoyed watching both Lieke and Connor, as well as some secondary characters, learn to trust themselves and learn from mistakes. It took a hot minute for the tension to hit, but once it did, I was here. For. It! There is spice in the page, but not super descriptive and was very well done!

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and can’t wait to read more from Vanessa

WOW!! this kept me hooked all the way through! i love connor and lieke so much i haven't been able to stop thinking about them! everyone go read this when it's out i know y'all will love connor and lieke as much as i do!

This book was absolutely fantastic. I loved the characters so much, and felt their pain throughout, this book hit different.

I loved Lieke, and absolutely adored Connor and loved watching the relationship build over the course of the story.

This book had fae, Magic, one bed, shifters, fated mates, a fake engagement, and more. I honestly can’t wait to have this book in my hands physically, and I’m so excited for the second book.

As soon as I saw this story compared to the film Sabrina, I knew I had to read it. I adored that film and its swoon-worthy slow-building, love story, and there are some wonderful nods to it throughout the novel. The story also uses some of my favorite romantasy tropes, and I loved it!

Lieke is a human girl living in a fae castle after her mother dies, and she is in love with her fae best friend, Prince Brennan. But when Lieke kills a fae, it’s Connor, Brennan’s older brother, who comes to Lieke’s rescue. Connor is delicious. The author described him as a grumpy Captain America, and that’s totally how I pictured him. He’s honorable and caring, and he’s selfless to a fault.  A prince and heir to the throne, Connor shoulders a lot of responsibility, even more so when he arranges a fake engagement to save Lieke’s life. I love that under his tough exterior is a young romantic who believes in soul mates and yearns for his own happily ever after. 

The slow-building love story between Connor and Lieke is EVERYTHING. I’m not a huge fan of love triangles, but in this case, I thought it was fantastic. Of course, it’s clear who Lieke should be with, but I enjoyed her growth as she learns who truly cares for her and what she really wants in a partner. Her relationship with Connor is filled with sexual tension, chemistry, delicious banter, and some humor. My word, some of the things Connor says to her made my knees weak! 

Other relationships in the story are also intriguing. Connor’s complicated relationship with his brother, the multiple relationships Lieke has within and outside of the castle, and even the princes’ difficult relationship with their father are layered and compelling. There are some fantastic, laugh-out-loud moments sprinkled amidst the intense and suspenseful scenes. So good!!  

The story is well=balanced with developed characters and an equally layered plot, and it’s a little heavier with the romance than it is with the world-building and fantasy elements. The political intrigue and brewing rebellion make for an intense and potentially dangerous backdrop to the story and highlight the social inequities that Lieke and others experience. It’s well-paced and suspenseful, and I found it hard to put down.

I would definitely recommend this to romantasy readers. It was one of my first reads of the new year, and I have a feeling it will be one of my favorites of 2024. Special thanks to NetGalley and Crab Apple Books for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.

As soon as I saw Vanessa's videos and posts about Until The Stars Fall I knew I needed to read this - it is right up my street with what I love to read. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to ARC read it.

I loved this, I think it was a little slow to start but certainly picked up.
Lieke and Connor's interactions were frustrating at times because of miscommunication or misunderstandings, but my heart felt happy once it was all sorted out and they were on the same page.
Brennan irritated me to begin with when it came with his interactions with Leike.
I loved Matthius, I would love to get to know him better, and Raven too.
I have to say, I did predict the bit about Leike's family but it was so well done.
I would definitely love a follow up or even a book that centres on another couple but you get to see how Leike and Connor are doing. Basically, I'm not ready to be done with them yet.

Thank you so much Crab Apple Books, Netgalley and to the author Vanessa for the arc of Until the Stars Fall.

If you love a story where you get a lovely atmosphere, heartache, fated romance, humans and fea, you really should pick up Until the Stars Fall.

I loved it! Beautiful written and what I really appreciated were the short chapters. My mind love shorter chapters as I read more easily so it made it to a fast pace read for me.

Saved many quotes which also are a sign how much I enjoyed the book.

A great plot, lovely characters and beautiful written. Highly recommend it!

I was excited about this book! I love shows/books like The Vampire Diaries and The Summer I Turned Pretty and even Red Queen, where the FMC has to choose between two brothers. And I LOVE fae stories but this one was just dragging for me a little bit. I had a hard time getting into the story at first. It picked up a little later one but the love triangle just felt a little forced to me bc they had no real showing of Lieke and Brennan being best friends even though she said they were several times. I did love her and Connor together and just wished it was more about the two of them and not the love triangle

I also wish there was more world building, the world building is one of my favorite parts of fantasy!! And felt like pacing was a little off for me. I can’t see why people would absolutely love this book but it was a bit of a struggle for me.

I absolutely LOVED and DEVOURED this book! The story is told in dual point of view, which I love in books and is told between the characters of Lieke (who is a human) and Connor (who is a fae prince). Lieke is a servant in the castle and is sentenced to die after fatally stabbing a noble fae, when Connor steps in to save her with a fake engagement.
Until The Stars Fall, hands down has the best tropes. Fake engagement, enemies to lovers, fated mates, forced proximity and a slow burn romance. Reading Lieke's and Connor's romance play out in the book was simply beautiful.
There's nothing I love more in a Romantasy than characters bonds finally snapping into place with eachother and realizing that they're mates and would truly do anything at all costs to protect one another! Vanessa does a stunning job world creating, telling a story with an amazing plot, beautiful descriptions and all around writing a stunning book!

I was very excited to receive access to an e-arc of this one - not only did the characters sound intriguing, but it also had so many of my favorite tropes (engagement of convenience, he falls first, fated mates, etc).

I was pulled in from the get go - Lieke, our FMC - is in love with Brennan, the second son of a fae king. He’s a notorious philanderer, who besides a childhood friendship with Lieke, has basically forgotten she exists. Brennan’s older brother Connor, however, has not. And when Lieke kills a fae royal in self defense, it’s not Brennan who comes to her rescue as the king sentences her to death - it’s Connor, who claims she’s his bride to be.

This book follows Lieke and Connor’s journey from frenemies to fated mates, with all the slow burn yearning (plus some political intrigue) in between. Connor is protective and yet noble, Lieke is sunshine but also a fighter. It’s a fun romantic fantasy and I’ll definitely be reading the next book in the series!

This is hands down one of the most romantic and swoony “fantasy romances” that I’ve read. @vanessarasanen — you have bewitched me!

Now let me preface this review by saying I’m picky when it comes to fantasy romance. I’m newer to this genre, and I have struggled with past reads that felt clunky, awkward, and cringey to me. That is certainly not the case with this one!

Until the Stars Fall more than delivers with a dazzling and dangerous world blended with delicious tension and banter between Lieke and Connor. A truly addicting read with short chapters 🙌🏼 — I could not put this down! Until the Stars Fall is written for the hopeless romantic and left me swooning for Connor.
𝘔𝘺 𝘙𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨: 5⭐️

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁:
✨Fated mates
✨Fake engagement
✨Short chapters
✨Slow burn
✨One horse
✨Dual POV

Thank you to NetGalley, CrabApple Books and author Vanessa Rasanen for the advanced reader copy. Opinions are my own.

4.5/5⭐️

This was my very first Vanessa Rasanen book and it seriously did not disappoint!! I have heard nothing but amazing things about Vanessa and I completely understand why! Her writing is addictive and will have you not wanting to set the book down for even a minute. The story was so so good and the romance will have you both swooning and wanting more. The book is very very slow burn but so engaging.
I loved Lieke!! She is our strong and witty FMC. She is sunshine but she is not afraid to put the prince in his place despite is title and status. Through the story she faces many forms of heartbreak and fear but that does not break her determination and her will. If she wants something, you better believe that she will stop at nothing to get it. She also has a very sweet and warm side to her which I loved seeing. She puts others feelings and protection before her own and you can tell how deeply she cares for others, especially the ones she loved.
NOW for our MMC, Connor Durand. This man will have you nonstop SWOONING. Wow some of the things that he was saying. I loved Connor. He always put others happiness first, even if it means sacrificing his own in the process. Through the story he struggles to put himself first. He has gone through so much and seen so many terrible things, I just wanted to give him a big hug during so much of the book, though I doubt he’d let me cause he is such a grump LOL.

Until the Stars Fall is the first book in an interconnected fantasy romance series that you don’t want to miss! It releases on February 13th and I would definitely recommend checking it out if you are a fantasy reader who loves fae romance, slow burn, fated mates, fake engagements, and grumpy protective men.

This is a slow burn romance and a novel filled with twists and turns to keep you on your toes. I felt a bit of swoon at the quippy remarks and was invested in this relationship from start to finish. The world building was well done and easy to understand which is a common critique I have with fantasy novels. There are politics involved but overall was done so in a way that was approachable. Fated mates is a favorite trope of mine which was one of the key reasons behind me requesting a copy of this. In doing so I was introduced to a romantasy series that I will be following along with as the series progresses. I am intrigued by the concept of it being a standalone series and am interested in seeing what the second installment will bring.

This romance forward story set in a fantasy world was enthralling, fast paced, and easy to follow. This is the first installment of an interconnected standalone series. I would describe this story as Downtown Abby-esk with fantasy sprinkled in. It’s very romantic-tension driven with enough banter to keep me deeply engaged. There’s also some palace intrigue and low depth politics.

I enjoyed every page. I will warn anyone that if you don’t like predictable stories, this may not be for you. The reader mostly knows what’s going to happen for the main plot-line (especially with how specific some of the teasers are that are out there) from the start. This aspect didn’t bother me; the details were more than enough to keep things interesting. In typical, well written, romantasy fashion, I was squirming from the silly decisions our cast makes. I laughed with them. My heart broke with them. So enjoyable; easily a new favorite comfort read. I’ll be anxiously awake the second installment.✨

eARC - thank you netgalley, Vanessa Rasanen, and crabapple books

I loved the premise of Until The Stars Fall and was so excited when I got approved for it but it did not work for me. It was slow moving and it felt like nothing really happened. A lot of things didn't add up for me in this book like, Leike's infatuation with Brennan or why Connor was Brennan's nursemaid of sorts. It didn't make sense that the king was focused on a marital alliance with another kingdom that didn’t involve his heir. It had short chapters which I love and usually has me flying through books but for some reason this one was a slog fest. I've been reading this book more than a week and I'm only at the 27% mark. I've put it down several times and read other books only to pick it up and put it back down almost immediately. I want to know what's going to happen but it's not holding my attention so I'm DNFing.

I loved this story. It had me feeling so many things. There is so much loss and love. Learning that even in the heartbreak, the love is worth it anyway. I wanted to scream at the characters sometimes, JUST GET IT TOGETHER! I laughed with them at all the fun parts, and I fell in love-of course. I want to run in the woods, I want to knock on my handsome prince's castle door, and I want to ride horseback (1 horse😉)! Take me back 😭.

“I’ve got you, Lieke. Always. It’s us together.”

“Until the stars fall, I live for you and you alone.”

Well… this wasn't my favorite romance fantasy. The POV characters needed more depth. I just did not feel a connection to them. this was a slow, slow burn, with a lot of action.


Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book for my honest opinion

I love Vanessa Rasanen writing style and this book further shows me that I will read anything this woman writes!

This book was more focused on romance, as in the romance between the main characters was the main focus of the book rather than the other plot followed in this book, this isn't a problem or done badly but out of personal preference i just prefer when the characters interact more with the plot.

This is a great romantasy story that will pull you into the world right away!

I am not sure I can praise this book enough! Vanessa Rasanen is a genius and I happen to know she is humble, as well. Gosh, I loooved this book!
Until the Stars Fall has everything you want in a fantasy romance:

*strong fmc
*shifting mmc
*fae and magic
*suspense and mystery
*slow burn
*angst
*political intrigue

I was immediately drawn in, right from the first page. I really appreciated the minimal world building in the beginning. It was a nice breath of fresh air, not having to stretch my brain around intense world building. This was such an easy read for me.

Around 80% in, I wasn't sure if everything was going to be able to be wrapped up, but it was done in just the right way. I absolutely loved the dynamic between Lieke and Connor. Their relationship went around and around and came together so beautifully.

This was a FIVE STAR read for me! Thank you to netgalley for allowing me to review.

I love this author so it was an automatic request for me. This book was so good! I love an enthralling fated romance that is hard to put down. Connor is what book boyfriends are made of and I’m here for a snarky Lieke. I can’t wait continue this series!