As far as debut, fantasy books go, Sarah Page hit this one OUT OF THE PARK. This will for sure be in my top 5 for the year. Her writing is done SO well, and the story truly sucks you in. I loved the realness of Isabel, she was so easy to relate to! And Erik's angst was like no other. You could literally feel it coming off the pages. Don't ask me how, but it did.

After reading, I couldn't believe this was Sarah Page's first book! She has such a gift! And even when Amazon CANCELLED all of her ebook pre-orders, she didn't give up, and asked for help and support on Instagram, and she got it!! Because people LOVE THIS BOOK!!

And if you don’t know whether to trust me, Illusion of Stars has become the 18th most requested book on Netgalley, and had 400+ Goodreads reviews on release day!! Like seriously, if you like fantasy or romantasy, RUN, don't walk, to order this book! Go! Now! ;)

I received an arc of this book from netgalley and Shadow Forge Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

This book is about a young woman who's struggling to prove herself good enough to be the palace physician in a pretty rundown kingdom. Weird political stuff happens, she doesnt know what's going on, she's drawn into it as a "spy".

I thought this book felt very young at parts and light... some of it could have had a bit more world or story building. But ultimately I found myself wondering what was going on and reading more chapters than I planned before bed. I feel like there's a lot more to the world than we know yet, and the magical systems seem super interesting. This book was definitely addictive and I am all ready for the next one.

Illusion of Stars: An exploration of loss, self -acceptance and connection wrapped in an enemies-to-lovers romance

'Illusion' starts off quite cosy. We perceive the events in the book through the mind of Isabel, the female main character. She is an apprentice court physician in a young and already unstable kingdom.
The whole book is, ostensibly, Isabel's confession Of what and why, we don't find out until much later. So we have no choice but to strap in and follow along.

Scenes flow into each other and have a very nice cadence to them - dialogue and descriptions are well-placed and well-timed, which easily absorbs the reader into the book.
Relationships and developments are slowly hinted at and then unfurl like flowers - one petal at a time. I'm used to seeing this style in fantasy, but Page does it beautifully, makes it feel natural.

Where Page truly shines is in her characterisation and in how those characters exist in their world. The smoothly implemented representation of Bi, Pan and Achillean (MM) relationships is just a cherry on top.
From their very first introduction, I feel attached to Isabel and her friends, like I can feel Isabel's love through "her" writing. I know from the blurb I shouldn't get attached, but I do, anyway.

Through her main characters, Page touches on the raw and vulnerable edges of loss, grief, loneliness and longing and connection. Page never forgets how young her characters are, and they deal with emotions and each other accordingly. Sometimes brash and unforgiving, sometimes playful and teasing. Both filled to the brim with the outward confidence and inward insecurity of young adults. This is especially true for the male main character, Erik, a foreign enemy general, who's culture and family values strength and success.

Neither Erik nor Isabel is looking for someone else. They're looking for themselves. This coming of age aspect, the learning who you are beyond and despite who you grew up as, strikes a beautiful contrast to the slow-burn growth of affection.

Page makes her characters feel *real*. It's in the way Erik cackles and accepts the invitation to dance, in the way Isabel has panic attacks, the way Signey hates being left behind. It's in the way both Erik and Isabel fiddle with sweater sleeves. No one is sacred, perfect, inhuman or untouchable to Page, and all shine from this treatment. I think it's this - seeing young people truly acting the way young people would - that brought this book so close to me. That made me experience it, rather than just read it.

And when the plot thickened about 2/3 in...I truly couldn't be torn away, I was so absorbed. In their fates. In the fates of their kingdoms, their people. It's the non-physical intimacy that really had me done for, I think. And the ending....well, let's just say, I am awaiting part 2 of this Duology with baited breath already.

I received a free copy of this book as an ARC to review and ...wow. It's safe to say I devoured this book within a day and thoroughly loved the experience. Warm in style, touching, true to each character and emotionally gripping, Illusion of Stars is a read I'd recommend wholly.

"Do you know how to use a cup?" This summarizes everything about this book!
An amazing world and magic system, this story already starts making you laugh about "the screaming" and you get instantly hooked.
Sarah makes an amazingly smart job of blurring the villainous characters, showing you how easily you can misjudge someone. Isabel is a real character, with her doubts, pains, grief, but also her intelligence, her determination, and her character. Erik is so much like Isabel, in all the ways that make them human. The side characters complements the story and the twists and turns are excellent!
Beautiful story, beautiful characters.

"I see you. You matter."

I unfortunately DNF this book. I was captivated at the end of chapter one and felt excited to see how the story unfolded. I was intrigued by the FMC’s arc and journey but couldn’t push past 33%. I liked Sarah Marie Page’s writing style and would be open to other books from her. This one just wasn’t for me.

I am shook!!!! Why does this story feels like i am a part of this???
It is a story where two people who do not like each other at all , builds walls around them only to break them!!
But it not only talks about romance. It is so much more than that..
a journey of believing that you are enough, that there are people who love you and it is not your fault.
I love how everything plays out and i need the second book!! (kidding i am going to let it all soak in.)
But if you love to read enemies to lovers with secrets and politics and magic, you must read this book.
You are going to love it.

This is beautiful! I couldn’t put it down!

“I see you and you are enough.”
I loved watching the relationship between Isabel and Erik. Two people who have been failed and mistreated by people who are supposed to love you.

The magic world is easy to understand and the magic a little unique to other stories

If you like slow burn, enemies to lovers, women who learn resilience and overcoming demons this is for you!

There is also heart break and betrayal.

I read lot of historical fiction but "Illusion of Stars" was refreshingly different. A different time - I couldn't quite put my finger on but modern phrasing popping in throughout. Plenty of fast paced adventure set against rugid landscapes.

In this enemies-to-lovers romantasy, Isabel becomes a spy for her tribe. While she is sent to woo, a slow-burning romance blossoms between herself and Erik (who sounds dreamy!) the neighboring kingdom of Volgaard's second-in-command, plotting to over through Isabel's people.

Such clever use of mystic powers, blurring reality with illusional magic along with Isabel's gifts with herbal medicine, make for a fantasy environment.

Raw emotion and a sense of struggling with self worth, past loss and personal trauma make for an intense inner-conflict. Many instances of edge of the seat drama - will Isabel be detected as a spy? The lines between truth and deception are very fine. And the saucy foreplay hints at steamy romance against the quick witted too and fro between Erik and Isabel - they certainly are a match for each other!

This is the first of a duology and I would definitely want to read the second installment - as I was left in suspense and wondering......

Thanks to NetGalley, Shadow Forge Publishing and Sarah Marie Page for my copy

This is such a fun read! The magic was really appealing and kept me wanting more. I especially love the banter between the main characters. The way they bond over echoes is super cute. My favorite part of the storyline is seeing Isy’s character development while facing so much adversity.

Okay, this was fun! I really enjoyed it. It gave me SJM vibes here and there which is NEVER a bad thing. It was definitely a slow burn (the romance AND the story) but it was never dull or boring. I even laughed out loud a few times. I think people will really take to this one - especially those looking for a YA romantacy type feel.

the fantasy parts of this book were so well done and i loved reading about erik and isabel so much. the world building was good and i don’t really have any complaints but it didn’t quite give me that 5 star feeling. definitely would read a second book for this

Actual Rating: 3.5⭐

Illusions of Stars is a very emotional book, the author did a great job in conveying the emotions that the characters are feeling especially about Isabel’s grief over losing one of her best friends.

I really like the world building and the magic system, I found it very interesting. It was a bit hard to understand at first but it got easier once the story progresses.

I really like the sweet and tender moment of Isabel and Erik starts opening up to each other and find that they’re not so different after all. The moment where they said ‘I see you..’ that’s one of my favorite!
HOWEVER, I still felt like something was missing – there’s no spark between Isabel and Erik which prevented me from shipping them 100% together..

As much as I like this story, some parts of the book felt like it dragged on with repeated descriptions of a couple things throughout the story.
I also felt that the storyline has too many sub-plot to follow that could deviate from the main plot which confused me and sometimes pull me out of the story.

Nevertheless, this book was still an enjoyable and fun read to me!
The ending was unexpected seeing how Isabel broke through and became a completely new person, I can’t wait to find out what happens next!

⚠️ 𝐓𝐖: grief, parental infidelity, parental abandonement, hazing, death of a parent and a friend, brief mention of sibling death, brief suggestion of being raped, self-harm ideation, self-harm (non-suicidal), strong language and brief mention of torture

For starters, I think this'd be perfect for fans of ACOTAR. It gave me a very similair feeling.

I ADORE the writing. Some parts even had me wheezing laughing, which is a huge bonus.
I also quite enjoyed the small time jumps - no unending boring things. My ADHD is grateful haha.
And then the ending? It kept me on my toes until the very last pages. Aside from the epilogue, it didn't go how I expected AT. ALL.

I would fucking LOVE a second book!!

Ugh how is it going to end like that!? I really enjoyed this book, there were parts that were kinda cringey but it was easy to overlook those! I liked the development of the characters and how Isy made friends with the other characters, it was giving “found family”. I also really liked the banter and teasing between Eric and Isy. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book!

This is a great YA Fantasy novel. Thank you Netgalley for giving me an arc of this author's debut novel! This book is such a fun adventure! It was a slow start for me and I wasn't sure about it at first but after the halfway point it really started picking up for me. I loved the magic system being illusion magic, it was a neat and unique way to use magic in this romantasy. I feel like a lot of romantasy novels use similar magic systems and this one felt more unique and fun. I also found the slowburn romance to be so well done! Isabel and Erik's banter is perfect! It made me smile and laugh throughout the book. I really enjoyed the fmc in this book. She goes from being a physician's apprentice in the castle to going on an adventure and being a spy. As the adventure goes you meet more fun side characters and get to watch Isabel grow in confidence. The overall message in this novel of 'You matter' is very well done and great for a YA Novel. I thought this was a well written, fun, easy to read, book with a great character driven storyline! I would definitely recommend this book! What a great debut novel! I can't wait to read more books from this author!

Isabel is a royal physician for an ill Queen and a mad King. When her best friend is found murdered on the beach, Isabel is thrust into the role of Spy as she attempts to find justice for her friend and help her Kingdom from neighboring Kingdom, Volgaard's, supposed deadly weapon. As she joins the enemy's company to seek truths, she is tasked to woo Erik Lothgarson, the general's son with illusion magic and gain truth and knowledge. Isabel finds herself not only on an adventure to find revenge and answers but one of inner strength and worthiness.

This is one of the better YA Fantasy books I've read recently! Enemies to Lovers, slow-burn romance, spying, and kingdom conflicts...all the tropes we love. It had just enough magical elements, an intriguing plot, and engaging character relationships to remind me of Divine Revival vibes. It has a sweetness that keeps you swooning and smiling. I read a few descriptions labeling this book with Dramione vibes... although personally, I feel that might be a little bit of stretch. I did love the flirtation, banter, and slow-burn romance that occurred between Isabel and Erik. There were some beautiful poetic elements to the writing, and the character arc that Isabel goes through to understand her worthiness and enoughness is relatable and inspiring. For anyone who has ever been told they aren't enough, lean into insecurities, and dream of more in their life...this book is for you. The way that the plot unfolds toward the end had me wanting more. The concept of illusions throughout the book mirrors the illusions that we often create for ourselves... the beliefs and stories we tell ourselves about our shortcomings and weaknesses. Can't wait for more!

Unique magic system with a slow burn romance. The story was a bit slower paced than my usual preferred story, but it touched on difficult types in a respectful manner and was beautifully written.

Brilliant book with brilliant writing. I have no words. AND THAT ENDING! OMG! This story was so epic, I couldn't put it down. There was so much going on, so many shocking twists--it was insane. I loved this book--simply AMAZING.

Illusion of Stars has a good storyline that ties in elements of fantasy, mythology, and enemy to lovers romance. The story follows Isabel, an apprentice physician who is tasked with spying on Erik, the general for a distant enemy. There’s a number of twists and turns throughout the book. It was a bit slow for me at the beginning but it picked up toward the end. I think there were some aspects that were confusing (certain parts of the writing, descriptions/events that don’t connect back to the plot). However, I am invested in Isabel and Erik’s story and want to see what happens next. Thank you NetGalley and Shadow Forge Publishing for the eARC.

Really enjoyed reading Illusion of Stars by Sarah Marie Page and I look forward to reading more from this author. The characters that Sarah creates are very likeable. Loved the character building and development, the plot development. I definitely went through all the emotions with this book: sadness, laughter, anger, shame, distrust, love. Great book, with lots of unexpected plot twists! Definitely recommend for anyone who enjoys romantasy style books!