This book was so hard for me. I wanted to like it and at points I did, but the world building was difficult for me to understand. It was overly complex and presented all at once making it hard for me to digest. I also couldn't get behind the dark god's point of view. I feel like I spent most of the book confused.

Rating: 3/5

Note: thank you netgalley for this arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I am not quite sure how I feel about this book. Overall, I think it was a good story and I think that
the overall idea and plot of the book was good and I really like the characters and the magic
system. I can’t put an idea as to what exactly I am not fully liking about this book but I think that
it has to do with the second point of view from the dark god. I didn’t really get it and it made me
question if I was missing something or if it was going to be a book 2 sort of deal but I think
because of that I couldn’t really get fully invested in the story.

The Starlight Heir is a cosmic rollercoaster of magic, destiny, and star-powered drama! From the moment the protagonist learns they’re not just a regular teen but the heir to a celestial legacy, I was hooked. The world-building sparkles (literally), the plot twists hit like meteor showers, and the characters? Total stardust icons. If you’re into secret lineages, magical battles, and a dash of romance written in the stars—this one’s for you. 10/10 would pledge allegiance to the stars again.

I so wanted to love this book. It has so much potential. I may reread it to see if I love it the second time around. I really enjoyed the world building in this one!

Suraya, a bladesmith recieves an invitation summoning her to the palace. But it’s the princes brother who grabs her attention.

I enjoyed the twists of this one, but honestly I went in with such high expectations and it just didn’t hit the way I was hoping. I liked the world building, the magical creatures, and the deadly trials.

Read if you love:
* Forced proximity
* Slow burn
* Hidden identities
* Deadly trials

I liked the banter, and the mystery of the god powers, loved the mix of differed mythologies. The twist with the rebellion and who leads them totally threw me. The crowned prince needed a good throat punch lol

I started this book with the best intentions and high interest in the storyline. After reading about 30 pages, I decided that this book was not for me. The writing is very wattpad and that can be a bonus for some, but it is not a reading experience that I enjoy. Thank you for the opportunity to read the arc!

The Starlight Heir is an adventurous romantasy story, with secret princes and secret powers. The overall story was good, with lots of twists and revels throughout. At first I was getting some Red Queen and Selection vibes because I thought this was going to focus on a competition to see who would win the hand of the king. But that part of the story was actually pretty short which was kind of a bummer. The rest of the book was okay and had some good action and spicy scenes. I would probably pick up the next book just to see what happens.

Thanks Avon for the ARC.

Thank you, NetGalley and Avon/Harper Voyager, for this advanced reading copy. It was indeed a pleasure to read! The imagery and world-building, focusing on Indian/Persian astrology and mythology, was everything!

The book's opening introduces the reader to Saraya and her blacksmith abilities. The author wastes no time when the crown prince invites Suraya and one girl from each province to the royal castle to choose his bride. From there, Suraya begins her journey to the kingdom but is rudely surprised when she has to compete in deadly competitions to win the crown prince's heart. Unexpectedly, a hidden power is unleashed in Suraya that she has never known, catching the crown prince's and his mother's attention. When the rebels attack the kingdom, Suraya and the crown prince's illegitimate brother, Roshan, go on the run, and Suraya is tasked with honing her magic and skills to join the fight. But the reader is in for a surprise when it is revealed that not only the crown prince is hiding secrets but also his illegitimate brother.

I think I am getting into my romantic/fantasy era! I loved the forbidden love interest and the sexual tension between Suraya and Roshan. Besides the whimsical world-building and storytelling, one thing I enjoyed about this book was the hidden agenda unveiled towards the end. We know Javeed and his mother are looking for a bride, but they are looking for so much more in their search! The character development is good as well. Roshan was the most shocking of all! I loved the book's pace and am looking forward to the rest of this series (I'm praying there is another book)!

Suraya Saab is a fiesty heroine - she discovers her star magic or akasha in an encounter with a crone... Each geberation, a starkeeper is born with powerful magic that keeps the god of death, Fero at bay using power from Saru, the god of Light.. Her growth in understanding the magic and the concepts of the gods and star keepers kept me glued to the story. There is spice in the tale, which, for me, detracted from the main tale rather than augment it...
Sura gets invited to the Palace in search for the bride to the new King of Oryndhr - Saved, and falls instead for his roguish brother, Roshan. The politics of the Kingdom with the various houses, the rebels who are unhoused -the Dahaka, and the Scavs, a legion of drug addled mercenaries, serves a major plot line in the story... I felt the houses interplay at court could have been explored more as well..

The book is the first of all series and ends on an almost HEA. The principles of magic stemming from emotions and the discussions of belief and atheism held much promise..

The Starlight Heir by Amalie Howard is a fast-paced, magical ride that blends rich world-building with a strong, fierce protagonist. Suraya, a badass bladesmith with a secret celestial power, is invited to a deadly competition for the crown prince's hand in marriage—only to find out it's actually a hunt for the Starkeeper, the girl with starlight magic in her blood, and surprise, she’s the one they’re after. The mix of Persian and Indian mythology adds an exciting layer to the world, and the magical elements keep you hooked.
Suraya is the kind of heroine you root for. She’s tough, loyal, and doesn’t back down from anyone, which makes her journey engaging from start to finish. The romance with Roshan, the prince's half-brother, has great chemistry, though it’s more of a slow burn than I expected. It’s sweet but could’ve had a little more punch. While Roshan is likable, there’s a bit of room for more depth in his character. The plot moves quickly, with plenty of action and tension, though the ending felt a little rushed, and I wish there had been more focus on some of the magical creatures and side characters.
Overall, The Starlight Heir delivers a gripping adventure with solid character development, a fascinating magical world, and a romance that keeps you invested. It’s a strong start to a series that leaves you wanting more.

Got both the audio and ebook and loved this. The characters were wonderful and the story interesting. I bought a signed copy of the paperback as soon as Amalie posted about them.

I am always so hesitant to dive into new fantasy worlds because it takes a bit to learn the world and physics rules and such, but this one sucked me in from start to finish. With ACOTAR and The Trial of the Sun Queen vibes, this is a go-to for fantasy readers!!

Wow. I loved this. It is quintessential Romantasy. I had so many theories about where it was going and I was wrong. Some of it is very predictable but not in a bad way. I loved the humor of the FMC and I am SO intrigued for this upcoming triangle for the next book!!!!

i loved this, it’s so fast paced and i got sucked into Suraya’s journey immediately. Suraya is a powerful fmc who doesn’t let anyone push her around and is fiercely loyal to the people she cares about. Roshan is the illegitimate brother to the crown prince and isn’t perfect with secrets of his own, but he’s also a gentleman who just wants to protect Suraya to the best of his ability. I found both her and Roshan easy to like and Roshan especially was so witty and a big flirt, the tension between them was soooo good. the conflict with the royals and the rebellion had me at the edge of my seat, especially when Suraya and Roshan were on the run. i couldn’t stand prince Javed or his dusty mother, i was sincerely praying on their downfall the whole time. i liked the other side characters though: Aran, Clem, Laleh and Amma. I thought the magic was very creative too— that addition of another certain pov had me wanting to know more, i cannot wait for the sequel now.

This book was fine. I didn’t hate it nor did I love it. I had to force myself to finish it at the end and even then I was skimming it. The last chapter was enough to get me engaged and potentially continue the series.

Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I wanted to like it because I liked the premise, but the delivery just did not work for me.

The Starlight Heir follows Sura as she traverses the perils of court. She is pulled into the Crown Prince's web by being summoned to participate in the ball where he will choose his bride. The book has magic, courtly intrigue, romance, fighting, dances with princes, and so much more. I highly enjoyed this book because Amalie Howard took the time to make it accessible to a wide audience while still keeping the pace fast and the story flirty.

If you like Sarah J. Maas, check out The Starlight Heir!

Unfortunately, The Starlight Heir wasn’t for me, but I anticipate I’m in the minority on this one! As a fantasy and romance reader, the premise sounded so promising, but the execution was a bit disappointing for me and ultimately led me to putting this down instead of finishing. The writing in particular came across juvenile for an adult romantasy and the characters fell flat.

That all said, I’ll certainly be trying this author’s future works.

I received an advanced copy of The Starlight Heir from Netgalley and the publisher and am leaving this review voluntarily.

I'm confused. In fact, I think I spent the entirety of The Starlight Heir confused. Was this entertaining? Absolutely. Despite considering not finishing, I read it to the bitter end. But I fear the entertainment factor was all this story had going for it.

I've read a lot of rushed plots. However, this book took it to a whole new level and is where most of my confusion stems from. We did not sit on one plot point for more than a chapter. Maybe two. The plot was a frustratingly uncatchable bouncy ball, hopping from one point to the next before you even knew it had bounced away. There was no development, emotional impact, or real connection to the things happening because we weren't given the time to process what happened before we moved on. It felt like the author tried to simultaneously fit every popular romantasy plot into the book, but it wasn't working. Because of that, the plot was highly predictable and messy. Half of the points could have been cut out, and the overall plot wouldn't have even noticed. Essentially, the plot was underdeveloped. In fact, the whole book was underdeveloped.

There was some world-building, but it was extremely bare bones. Did I know enough to get me by? Yes, but many things would have made way more sense had we had more information. The magic was interesting but confusing. We didn't really know how everything worked, so Suraya having all this magical power didn't have the impact it was supposed to. And the characters? Oh boy.

Suraya made me angry in the worst possible way. She was so oblivious that it hurt, and her decisions in the book's last half had me banging my head against the wall. I could not fathom how anything she did made any sense because her character was so wishy-washy. She's this, but she's also that, and even though those two things completely contradict each other, it's fine because main characterrrrr! She's so strong, but she's also weak. She's a spitfire, but she runs away from confrontation. She's been taught how to fight, but "how do I use a sword again?" She's having weird sex dreams with this shadow dude, but "he's obviously not the one I want (but please don't stop weird shadow dude)." Pick something! Please! I could overlook it if there were one or two things that were a little off here and there. But it was constant.

The other characters were forgettable. I don't even remember their names, in all honesty. And also, what was the point of the shadow dude's chapters? And the epilogue? Throughout the book, there was no hint that there would be a second book, and then, BAM! Epilogue! What was it even talking about? Did I miss something? That's entirely possible because of how fast everything moved, but I feel like I would have remembered something along those lines mentioned earlier.

If you're looking for a quick romantasy read, The Starlight Heir might be for you. However, I had too many issues to enjoy it, and I will not be picking up the second book.