I think this book is perfect for the people who love a romance story and want to get into something with a bit of fantasy. The world building is easy, the premise of the book easy to follow and the MCs were likeable.

Elara and Enzo had a really gorgeous love story and really gave off ‘in every lifetime’ vibes despite their kingdoms being enemies. I wouldn’t say they’re particularly enemies to lovers BUT his father did send his guard to kidnap her so they weren’t friends 😂.

The magic system felt original and was easy to understand. I liked the lessons in magic and the gradual growth Elara had throughout.

The pacing of the plot sometimes felt a little slow and at odds with the storyline. She’s being hunted but I didn’t feel any suspense or feeling of urgency from the characters. The last 20% of the book had insane plot twist that I never saw coming and set up for the next book in a really positive way. Whilst it sounds very emotional, Elara is in a different mindset and the plots moved in way I think will propel the story forward.
I think the rest of the series will be good!

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the copy for review.

I have never read a netgalley book so quickly before. Only took me 2 days to finish this book as I was hooked from the first chapter. It was just what I needed in a Romantasy book. Great writing, loved the plot line and loved the characters. Great for throne of glass and a court of Thorns and Roses fans

I will definitely be reading the 2nd book.

Now this is a romantasy!! Man I’ve been waiting for a book like this! Perfection, I loved the celestial vibes, the worlds, Elara and Enzo’s hate in the beginning and the way they fell and fated together. The ending was epic and I loved every damn second. Cannot wait for book two!

I inhaled this book, INHALED IT!!! Could NOT put it down. The world building was amazing and felt very well thought through, The two main characters, Elara and Enzo are wonderful, their interactions and banter full of chemistry and the slow burn was brilliant, the angst and build up was a sweet torture. The spice, when it finally came to it, was just right and the plot/storyline was super immersive. I am invested in these characters and their love story, I can't believe I have to wait so long for the second book. In a nutshell, from someone who in the last year has been thrown into the romantasy genre and have read SO MUCH of it, it was exactly what I wanted. Very impressive debut. Highly recommend. One of the best enemies to lovers I have read in a very long time.

Immensely enjoyable, if you are a fan of the genre you will LOVE this. Happy reading!

Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for my review copy, all opinions are my own.

Absolutely fantastic read, I cannot wait till the next one comes out - enemies to lovers, friendship, loyalty and bucket load of magick

I absolutely loved this book! It was a slow start but the magic system, the scenery/setting and the intricacies of the whole novel were just gorgeous! I loved all the twists and turns in each chapter and Enzo definitely stole my heart very early on. Elara was a beautiful female character and her strength and determination fell right off the page and into my soul.

I’ve read this book as indie and I couldn’t wait to see all the changes for the trad publication

Lorenzo being the crown prince is a prick 😂 and we love him for that until he meets Elara. She’s the only one that as a Princess and because that how she is, won’t step down for him and just love bickering with him.

Their bartender through the book is juts chef kiss.

Enzo is such a cute pie and no one can tell me otherwise. All the things he does for her. Can I have him ? And when he gets jealous 🥹🥹

Their relationship starts as “enemies” and then turns out in something else.
Of course because female characters are the way they are, she’s the last one to finally admit her feelings or juts considering the fact that they are not friends 😂

The found family was amazing. The way they both choose their own family and not the one that was given to them. These group of friends was just so genuine and how they always help each others out😍

This book gave me a lot “we hunt the flames” vibes and I loved it for it.

All I have to say is that those last chapters were illegal.

I loved this book. It was a unique concept and something that I had no read before. I stuggled with the pacing throughout. Bur the romance aspects were good and it had some of the classic tropes - morally grey main charactersC banter, slow burn etc.

There was enough familiarity in the tropes and this kixdd well with the unique magic system and in depth world building.

I am happy this is a series were the characters can be developed more and we get to understand more about the world.

This book wasn’t my favourite but it was definitely worth a read. This book is a new adult fantasy romance about star crossed lovers and fate. I enjoyed the concept of stars being people but I am not a lover of romance and I didn’t realise when I requested this book that it would be a major part of the plot. Overall great fantasy world and if you love romance definitely recommend.

I have mixed feelings about this book.

On the one hand, I found it pretty original and certainly entertaining. On the other, however, the pacing was off and I often felt like it wasn’t making much sense.

Overall I’d say I had a fun time.

Heavenly Bodies by author Imani Erriu is a complete change to my usual crime/thriller reads and I absolutely devoured it - I literally loved it.

We meet main characters Elara and Enzo, these two completely took me out of my comfort zone and I loved it.

The descriptions and the way that the main characters interact was just sublime for me personally. A world that is completely new (to me) and completely enjoyable and written by the author very well.

Very much a star-crossed lover situation and very racy.

Thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for allowing me an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Heavenly Bodies by Imani Erriu follows Elara, Princess of Asteria, whose kingdom gets overthrown by a Star called Ariete and she manages to escape and the prophecy that links the two to their death. She is kidnapped by the neighbouring kingdom who is her sworn enemy, born to hate one another. She is offered refuge by King of Helios Idris, where she is to be trained to become a weapon if the Stars is to invade and start a war by his son Prince Lorenzo ‘Enzo’, the Lion of Helios. With many training sessions, prophecies, contrasting magic and secrets, they begin to uncover their feelings and realise perhaps they are not enemies after all.

For a debut novel with such amazing world building, magical systems and slow burn between our two main characters, I was in absolute awe. I will admit, I did have a hard time grasping everything at the beginning as I was getting to know the two kingdoms, the difference between Elara’s shadow magic versus Enzo’s light etc, but once my mind wrapped around all the wonderous concepts, I was absolutely HOOKED.

The enemies to lovers, forbidden romance and slow burn all tied together and developed, I was just in love. Elara is a determined, badass fc who wants to reclaim her throne and kingdom from the usupers. She is witty, morally grey yet she does what she can to save and protect those she loves. Enzo is sarcastic with such an arrogance it’s lowkey funny at times. He also isn’t afraid to be a little flirt whenever he wants.

The romance, the magic, the celestial and mythological references, the political dynamics, the twist and turns that keep you on the edge of your seat. There is a lot to take in, but it’s too good and worth the journey and I cannot wait to dive more into this world and after THAT ending? I need to know what happens next !!!!

If you like romantasy and similar vibes to Once Upon a Broken Heart, then I’d recommend this as your next read and to pick it up now !!!

I love a good romantasy, and with it's star-themed setting this one had potential. The world building was good and it started out well, but then it took too long for things to actually happen and the plot started to drag. In the end I didn't dislike it (although I wasn't a fan of the MMC or the romance aspect of the book) but thought it needed a bit of work.

I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

I came into this book expecting to genuinely enjoy it so I was disappointed with how much I didn’t like it. Heavenly Bodies is not a bad book per se, there’s just nothing particularly unique or interesting about the plot or the characters.

The MC has just escaped a seriously traumatic incident at the start of the book but she seems remarkably unaffected by witnessing a mass murder. I never believed her fear or desperation and this lowered the stakes of the book for me straight away. There are also some really jarring moments like an attempted sexual assault scene that is just, not addressed by the other guards? And again doesn’t seem to leave much lasting trauma on the MC. Considering this is YA I wouldn’t expect too much detail or anything but she never seems to feel more than nonchalant distress towards deeply disturbing scenarios.

I feel like this surface level character depth affected most of the characters in the book, which is perhaps why it felt so generic to me. I struggled to connect to any of them, and ended up DnFing the book close to the half way mark. I did genuinely like the concept of having gods chasing after her and starting wars over fate, but I felt like I was rereading a cycle of other YA books instead of something new sadly. However I can still see people enjoying this if they are really into the YA genre and want a fun easy read.

This has to be one of my favourite books this year!!. The writing is perfectly paced, full of excitement and detailed imagery.!!

I devoured this book in two days. It’s one of the best things I’ve read in a while, Full of a budding romance and so many twists I was unable to put this down, the characters story is so beautiful and well thought out that I can’t wait for the next one!


If you love fantasy romance I would highly suggest you add this to your TBR ASAP!

Rated 4.5/5 stars

I’m not even sure I have words right now. Heavenly Bodies takes starcrossed-lovers to a new level, the longing and fate-damned destinies leaving what can only be described as a riot of emotions. Elara is our impulsively feisty heroine, Enzo our arrogant romantic, and I am but a reader weeping on the sidelines of their story.

Guess I’ll go rock in a corner until the sequel :)

These are always fun reads between heavy novels. While it didn't really separate itself from other romantasy books (writers seem to create around tropes rather than the other way around at the moment) this was a fun read. The Light and Dark was a fun magic concept but I wish we had further explored it in depth.

Enemies to lovers, celestial gods, magick, a doomed love prophecy. This will definitely be popular, but it wasn’t for me.
For fans of The Book of Azrael and The Serpent and the Wings of Night.

Elara is the Queen of Asteria following her parents death by her realm’s celestial god - the King of Stars following a doomed prophecy - Elara will in love with the King of Stars, and it will kill them both.
Before she is killed herself, she is kidnapped by her enemy kingdom - to use her as a weapon to kill a Star.
The Lion of Helios, Prince Lorenzo, must dive past her shadows to unlock her true magick.

’You know the most dangerous kind of villain?' she whispered. 'A woman with nothing left to lose.'

Personally, there were too many cringy moments. A seduction competition ball scene, way too many thigh slit gold gowns, seeing each others’ worst nightmares, ‘good girl’, ‘you can take orders’, sex scenes at critical moments….

I think this will be very popular for these very things, but it really didn’t work for me.

Learning to trust, dark past and secrets, hidden trauma, slow burn, a hint of love triangle at the start… yep, there is a lot of troupes for people to love!

’Because Elara, I may be a monster, but you make me want to be a saint.'

The celestials are listed at the start with what they are known for (war, seduction, etc), but I acknowledge learning the distinctions may be overwhelming.

Just because it didn’t work for me, I am sure it will find its right romantasy ‘burn the world down’ audience.

Thank you to Viking Books for the physical arc in exchange for a review!

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Loved it! beautiful written plot and multidimensional characters. I liked the world building and the magic system and thought the enemies to lovers trope was executed very well and I am a big fan of those. Quick and easy to read! So excited for the special edition of this one! 5 stars!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.
4 stars book from me. Loved the plot and the storytelling in Heavenly Bodies and relatable, likable characters,. Loved every single second reading it.