The story begins with the protagonist, who remains unnamed throughout the book, meeting her husband for the first time, despite having been married to him for some time. This intriguing premise sets the stage for a tale filled with mystery, suspense, and romance. Milo Arris is a complex character, both handsome and cruel, and the author does an excellent job of portraying his conflicting emotions towards the protagonist. The protagonist, on the other hand, is a strong and resilient character who is determined to uncover the truth behind her missing memories and the strange occurrences happening around her. The world-building in Lost Crows and Fallen Stars is impressive, with vivid descriptions of the two planets ruled by Milo and the luxurious palace where the story takes place. The author's attention to detail brings the setting to life, making it easy for the reader to immerse themselves in the story. As the plot unfolds, the reader is introduced to a cast of intriguing characters, each with their own secrets and motivations. The palace servants, with their hidden burns and mysterious behavior, add an element of suspense and intrigue to the story. The murder of a maid at the ball further heightens the tension and keeps the reader guessing about the true nature of the danger lurking in the shadows. One of the most compelling aspects of the book is the protagonist's quest to uncover the truth behind her missing memories. As she delves deeper into the mystery, she uncovers a web of deception and betrayal that threatens not only her life but also the lives of those around her. Overall, this book is a must-read for fans of romance, mystery, and science fiction.

“Lost Crows and Fallen Stars,” by Abelia Sumpter

Margot has lost her memories, now she has to meet her husband for the first time once again. Her husband Milo is the ruler of two planets. He chose her to be the Columess even though he seems to hate her more than the invaders who wiped her memory. The servants keep having mysterious burns and a maid is murdered, Margot is determined to figure out what is going on.

This book was wow! The space theme and the world building were super interesting. The characters were well written, and I was interested in them as well as the main characters. The romance was dynamic because of the amnesia aspect and also the enemies to lovers going on. And the most important part is the twist at the end was amazing and made me love the book so much more, it was perfect. This book is perfect for someone who wants to try sci-fi books but with a heavy romance enemy to lover’s vibe that is seen more in fantasy romance books, which is exactly what I was looking for. I can’t wait for book two! 5 out of 5 stars.

Thank you for the free copy, Netgalley.

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. I really liked this book, however it had some parts that I would have liked done differently. Firstly, it took me a handful of chapters to get invested in the story, which I normally put a book to the side and start something else when I can't get into it right away. I also love/hated the MC's and didn't really see much of a legitimate connection between the two of them. I had fun reading it for sure, but would have liked a few things smoothed out to keep the reader invested the whole way through. A more formal review will be available on my IG/TikTok and Goodreads.

Margot wakes up in the medical bay of the space station Imnicus, severely injured with no recollection of who she is. She soon discovers that she was attacked by terrorists from the planet Lavenai which wiped her memories. As if that weren’t shocking enough, Margot learns she is the wife of the Colum, ruler of 2 planets.

As she attempts to re-adjust to her life as a ruler, suspicions keep creeping up from the back of her mind. Why would her memories have been wiped? Why does her husband seem to despise her as much as the terrorists that attacked her? Why does no one seem to be investigating the burns servants keep appearing with, even after one is found dead?

Dive into Lost Crows & Fallen Stars to see if Margot will be able to face reality if all of those questions have the same answer.

I was not prepared for this book. I do have to admit that it started slow for me, but around chapter 8 I started DEVOURING it. After finishing this book and reading the teaser at the beginning of the synopsis again -

“For dark romantasy readers who want to dip their toe into sci-fi, this enemies-to-lovers thriller will enchant you before it breaks you.”

I honestly cannot think of a better way to capture how this book made me feel. I was enchanted and then just like Margot, I was broken. I loved how twisty the story was and there were so many things I didn’t see coming. I honestly cannot say more without spoiling anything. What I will say is to take this review as a sign to read this book!!!!

I’m already thinking about re-reading it to catch things I missed in the beginning. I cannot wait to see what comes next in this series and from Abelia Sumpter!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Rose & Lavender Press for allowing me the chance to write an honest review of Lost Crows and Fallen Stars!
#LostCrowsandFallenStars #NetGalley

Rating:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5
🌶️🌶️🌶️ / 5

My review was posted on Goodreads, Instagram, and Amazon on 5/8/24.

(The review might take 24-48 hours to post to my Amazon profile as it's currently in their review approval process)

I was sucked into the story of Lost Crows and Fallen Stars pretty quickly. Amnesia stories bring intrigue from the questions immediately thrust upon the character and the reader. Margot wakes up from what appears to have been an attack where she was tortured for information. She doesn't know who she is, but her lady's maid is brought to the hospital to help her figure out who she is. We learn that she's the Colum's wife (Colum = King).

Let's pause here and discuss this world. This is a science fiction story. The Colum, Milo, is the ruler over two plants, Lavenai & Ashtanabo. His home is on a space station, type of ship, or something that hovers near both planets. His father was Colum before him and conquered Lavenai. From what he shares with Margot, it seems like Lavenai just wants its independence back and is causing problems for Milo and his rule. He paints the picture that he's just trying to help Lavenai get back on its feet after the war, but they are rejecting all his attempts to aid them.

Milo has a group of special, military type of soldiers that he keeps close called proditors. They have superhuman abilities that deal with the mind when they touch other people. I got the impression that each one has a little uniqueness to their abilities, but only one was discussed in detail as to what that proditor could do. These people are stronger than the Colum but are his most trusted warriors, I guess. I'm struggling to find the right description for aspects of this book. There are five of these proditors that live on the Imnicus (the ship/space station where the Colum lives) that are the strongest and closest to Milo. I'll come back to them in a bit.

There was so much about this book that didn't make sense to me or didn't feel fully fleshed out. Margot wakes up from her amnesia and only remembers her first name. She gets immediately annoyed when she learns she's married and her husband hasn't come to visit her. It felt like she wrote him off immediately based on that. The two have a combative beginning. She's told they fell in love, but she's annoyed by the smallest things that he does. At one point, he even tells her that he hated her even before the amnesia. So how did they have this whirlwind love affair that resulted in their marriage while simultaneously hating each other? Aside from that, Margot makes several assumptions about life and other people in a way that doesn't seem to make sense given her amnesia. Granted, I don't fully understand how amnesia works, but I felt she was too opinionated over things she didn't know anything about.

Margot takes down a proditor that snuck up on her. They explain that her body has this muscle memory that her brain might not realize is associated with past memories. She's told she was a soldier who quickly worked up the ranks to become a spy. Apparently, she was extremely good at this. Later, we find out that Margot wasn't all that athletic when it came to physical fights, so how she had the muscle memory to take down a proditor doesn't make sense. The muscle memory thing is not over yet as far as not making sense. She opens a locked tablet with a passcode that her brain doesn't remember, but her fingers apparently do. She's ultimately sent on a spy mission for Milo. Before the mission, no one is particularly concerned about her amnesia because "don't worry, her muscle memory will take over." I feel confident that spies probably use their brains and training just as much as any muscle memory. The goal of a good spy would be to never need to be in a combat situation, right? Anyway, the only opportunity the reader has to see Margot spying is that she once follows Milo around for a week, trying to sneak up on him. He tells her almost immediately that he knew she was following him. And then we learn he even knew where she was so she didn't catch him off guard. This could be explained away with some spoilers, but I don't think the explanation makes any more sense than anything else about this book. Not to mention that we do learn that Margot wasn't all that capable of a spy in the first place.

Margot and Milo supposedly fall in love. I say "supposedly" because there are no events that happen that should create any deep connection between these two. Sure, they have several surface-level interactions. But there's no depth of feeling involved. There's no analysis of the other person's character that inspires any emotion. It's just like we're told they fall in love, and so we're supposed to believe it. Perhaps this is a telling versus showing problem. If anything, I believe there was some attraction and lust, but I didn't experience anything that would lead me to believe these two were in love at all.

Back to the proditors. The term crows is used about the proditors and their abilities. Someone's crows are sick. Someone else's aren't powerful enough to give them full proditor abilities. These guys are so confusing. There are 5 of them on the Imnicus. Two Margot has an immediate liking to. They feel like old friends in a way. One of them, she doesn't meet until her spy mission, and then he is only mentioned in passing. This HAS to be set up for some piece in the future of the series because otherwise, he was entirely unnecessary. One appears to hate her for no reason she can determine. One keeps getting her drunk and seems like he just wants to hang out with her. How their abilities work, how they work for Milo, nearly everything about them is just confusing. What in the world do crows have anything to do with anything? How many crows are there?

There's a giant twist that should make things make more sense. In some ways, the twist does, but in other ways, I just ended up with more questions.

I read Lost Crows and Fallen Stars really quickly. I was driven forward to keep reading because I wanted the answers to Margot's memories. Who was she before all of this happened to her? But so much of this world and the events of this story didn't make any logical sense. I had more questions after the book than I did to start with. And I can't fully say that I loved any of the characters. Margot was made out to be some top-level spy with an epic love story with her husband that she doesn't remember yet falls in love with again. Milo seemed like a good enough leader with perhaps a short temper, yet I couldn't find anything in his character to draw Margot to him. And I couldn't see why he came to love her either, except perhaps she showed a little spunk. There are plenty of spoilers I can't talk about, but I have to say that I'm not sure if I'll continue this series or not. I'm curious about what might happen next, but with so much not making sense logically and with characters that I don't really care about, I am not sure I'll find the desire to continue the series all that strong when the time comes. I'm giving Lost Crows and Fallen Stars 2.5 Stars. Have you read Lost Crows and Fallen Stars? What did you think? Let me know!

I did not have high hopes for this book. But I was pleasantly surprised. The story was very well thought out and it was very easy to read. I also enjoyed the romance a lot.

The book surprised me! I'm actually really interested to know what happens next. The characters were really fleshed out, and the plot had me hooked and trying to guess what was going to happen from the beginning. Can't wait for the next one!

**I was provided this book as an e-ARC. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this story and provide my honest opinion on it.**

I am not typically a big fan of sci-fi, but this was the perfect mix of your more traditional fantasy with a little sci-fi mixed in and let me tell you... I LOVED it.

This is one of those books where you're not quite sure if you love, or hate, or maybe both, the main characters which I feel always lends itself to an interesting ready. By the end, however, I was rooting for Margot as she faced first the challenges of reacclimating to her life following her memories being wiped and then coming to terms with what she learns about herself and her husband, Milo, as those memories return.

Lost Crows and Fallen Stars kept me turning every page excited to see what came next all while making up my own wild theories and guessing at the meaning of certain events. I'm very much looking forward to reading the next installment by Abelia Sumpter!

Lost Crows and Fallen Stars
------------------------------

Rating: 5 out of 5
Plot: A million stars
Spice: 3 out of 5 spiciness
Emotional Damage: I can’t even right now like holy freaking spaceballs this was so damn good. I am so happy I happened across this. The morally grey mmc, the angst, the ReyLo vibes. True enemies to lovers (back to enemies) I was on edge from beginning to end. I couldn’t sleep and it’s 2 in the morning. I had to finish this. The cliffhanger?? Omygosh I need book two immediately. I am not only emotionally damaged I am emotionally wrecked! How does one sleep after this?

-MORALLY GREY WHAT CAN I SAY? GREYS MY FAVORITE COLOR-

Queue my next obsession. I need book 2 stat!!! This was immaculate. I would love a whole bookcase of books that remind me of ReyLo and this would be the staple. Milo was a Kylo. Hot as hell and greyyyy as well. We go through such a seemingly sweet story from the beginning and we our utterly ripped from it towards the end. As someone who saw some parallels to the ReyLo dynamic I foresaw some things coming but it only made me even more excited for it. But even the end still had me oh so shocked. Milo’s mother was not who I thought she was going to be.

I am too tired to make this review not sound insane and the butterflies in my tummy are going crazy.

I was obsessed from the first page. This story had me in a choke hold, I finished the whole book in about 12 hours.
When Margot wakes up with total amnesia and has to remeet everyone in her life, including her husband, it had me falling in love with all these people who care about her and try and make her feel comfortable. I was rooting for her and Milo from the moment he walked into dinner.
The twists in this book had me completely bamboozled. I could feel the heartbreak radiating off of Margot when her world ups upside down. When the pieces started falling into to place I had to lift my jaw off the floor. The ending has me anxiously waiting for the next book.

So I almost did not read this book because the cover is a photo of an IKEA Mirror (google it) with words photoshopped in. I generally do not read books that don’t value artists enough to get a real cover. But it had good reviews, so I picked it up.

I read this book in 24 hours. It was very addictive. Yes, I could figure things out pretty early, but that didn’t really diminish the story. Margot wakes up from a coma and a brutal attack by space terrorists. Things are confusing, and you slowly pick up worldbuilding of two planets and a government that is not getting along, not to mention bits and pieces of science and magic. I couldn’t put this down. I do wish it was a bit longer with a little more focus on some relationships and world. But I look forward to book 2.

Thank you for the ARC! I really enjoyed this book and cannot wait to read more of the series Abelia has written!

I couldn’t put down Lost Crows and Fallen Stars, I finished it in a matter of 2 days. The plot twist of this book had me in chokehold! I enjoyed the dynamics between the FMC Margot and the MMC Milo.

The pacing of the book is fast and I wish parts of the book could have been flushed out just a tad bit more. I feel that Lost Crows and Fallen stars creates a new category of books themes that I find myself gravitating towards now and day. The book is a dark, Sci-Fi romance with hints of romantasy - all of my favorite genres in one.

I am so excited to read book 2 and can’t wait to see where the author takes the story next.

With thanks to the author and NetGalley for a copy of this eARC. These are my own thoughts and opinions.

I wanted to enjoy this sci-fi romantasy as an entree to the genre however, it fell short for me. As a sci-fi fantasy this ticks the boxes - space, magic, planets in peril and uprising. There is a strong mystery subplot underpinning the main characters. The romance was not a subplot I enjoyed. The overall concept and idea is fantastic. The execution left me underwhelmed.

We begin with Margot waking up in a sterile hospital room on a floating space palace with no memories of her past or how she has arrived here. Her body tells a story of physical assault. Margot is fed a backstory of an attack perpetrated by insurgents. The story then follows Margot as her “recovery” takes place.

The first half of the book was flat. I was using much prior knowledge of pop culture to fill in the space ship city and masked uniforms we encountered along with the “magic” held by select individuals. Beyond the FMC, Margot, most characters sent up red flags as being either underdeveloped or, being introduced for further plot points that didn’t play out. While some plot twists were interesting, a number of the segues were conveinient without really adding to the overall story.

The latter third (70% onwards) of the book felt like it was a self contained fanfic novella. This was good. The dark twist was excellent as it was uncomfortable and had emotional effect. This had me wondering if using those chapters as flashbacks might have worked better for reading enjoyment. There were some silly typo’s throughout that should have been picked up (for example: the gull - the gall; to shoe - to shoo; baloney - balcony, brother - brothel). The story ended on a cliffhanger with further books to come

ARC Review

Lost Crows and Fallen Stars by Abeila Sumpter is a sci-fi fantasy that takes the reader into the life of Margot. After waking up from a coma, Margot finds out that she’s the wife of a Colum, the ruler of two planets. While dealing with being the columned, Margot tries to gain back her memories of when she was a soldier. Behind the shadows lurks something more dark and sinster that has Margot feeling that she and everyone abroad the ship is in danger.

Rating: 4/5 stars ⭐️

The plot of this novel was so interesting that I was engrossed the whole time! I loved the amnesia plot line and the plot twists that came along with it. Margot was great and I enjoyed following her through her training and trying to regain her memories.

The pacing is fast, so I was able to read this this very quickly. There are some points that I would have liked to be flushed out just a bit more. For example, when Margot is in the library. Though it’s not a huge part, it would have been nice and felt more authentic if it was flushed out. There’s also a lot of days skipped, so it feels much faster.

The romance could have been built up a bit more. I found myself only routing for them at the end, and not really feeling it any time before that.

Thank you to NetGalley and Rose and Lavender Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As of April 9th, 2024, this books is already published so check it out!

Great sci-fi romance! I really loved the writing style and world building. It took no time for me to feel connected to the female main character. I couldn't put it down and cannot wait to read more about Margot and Milo!

There was in depth torture that was hard to read through but the romance was soft and caring which helped ease the darkness of the book.

Such a great book! I literally finished it in less than 2 days because it was so engrossing. A dark romance, Sci-Fi book with a bit of spookiness. I really thought the writing was great. Rhe world building and plot were unique in itself. I can't wait for the next one!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️

This was an incredibly fun read that I finished in less than a day - I could not put it down!

Lost Crows and Fallen Stars follows our MFC, Margot as Lady of the Colum. She wakes up in a medical ward, unable to access any of her memories. While she tries to remember events during the book, she grows close to the Colum, Knox, and Lleu.

Things start to go awry when maids have mysterious burns, and a maid is found dead during a ball. Who is doing this and why? Is it someone who is against the Colum?

I knew this was going to be a good book when this quote was in the very first chapter: “The water turns into an endless ocean. In the distance, sitting on the ocean floor is Death, tipping his hat to me, then reaching out a hand.”

You guys - I cannot. I SCREAMED when I read the plot twist; I was literally in shock. I 100% did not see it coming, and I was absolutely heartbroken. I grew to love seeing Margot happy with the Colum.

**SPOILER**

The genius of how early in the book Margot gave them the code to the tablet!? I could not believe it.

This book ends in a way that it will be able to go on to a second book, which is very exciting! I received this book as an ARC through NetGalley (thank you!), but I will definitely be buying a physical copy of this book to support the author. I haven’t had this much fun reading a book in a long time.

This book really took me by surprise. What I thought was going to be a simple sci-fi romance turned into a dramatic thriller.

The book definitely started off slowly but the amnesia plot line was enough to keep me interested. As you get further in and you start to find out the mysteries of Margot’s live I was hooked.

The dramatic reveal that she was actually a rebel spy all along was perfectly crafted. It took it from being a book I was interested in to a book I was really enjoying and reframed the whole narrative. I would definitely recommend this book to other people.

The only reason this book wasn’t five stars for me is I simply did not care much for romance between the characters. Whilst it was a dramatic moment I would of been more shaken if I was more invested in them as a couple.

I loved this book a lot more than I thought I would. Honestly, out of the 46 books I have read so far in 2024, I think it is in my top 3. I am not a science fiction reader, so I was a little skeptical at first, but I am so glad I picked this up. The author describes it as a dark romantasy in space, so it's like dipping your toes into scifi. This story kept me absolutely enthralled from beginning to end. It is a little bit of scifi and a little bit of fantasy, but in a super palatable and easy to understand world. You will love the mystery of the storyline, the romance and spice is good, and the plot twist is so great! I would highly recommend this to romantasy lovers, especially those who like morally gray love interests. I cannot wait to read more!