I struggled with the plot of this book. This first third of the book was pretty pointless since the royal family knew who Soraya was all along and then suddenly she’s off with rebels. The dialogue was also quite jarring with frequent modern references that took me away from the fantasy setting. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the book for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.Unfortunately, Starlight Heir didn’t live up to its potential. The premise of the book seemed promising, but the execution left a lot to be desired.First and foremost, the main character was difficult to connect with. She came across as unlikable and lacked depth, which made it hard to care about her journey or her struggles. The pacing also felt rushed. The plot moved quickly without enough time to develop key relationships or build meaningful tension. Events seemed to unfold too quickly, leaving little room for the story to breathe or for the reader to become truly invested in what was happening.Additionally, the book didn't manage to hold my attention. It felt more like a chore to read than an engaging escape.

When Suraya is summoned to the palace to compete for the heart of the crown prince, she does not expect anything more than an interesting trip before returning home. Ultimately, she discovers that the prince is a brute who has brought the group of women there for a very specific reason that has more to do with gaining power than a true marriage. While there, she also meets the illegitimate son of the king, Roshan, who she is quickly drawn to.

I really wanted to like this, but it feels very similar to any of the other books in this genre without much to set it apart. The magic system was a bit confusing, and what really took me out of it was the modern language for much of the first third of the book that felt entirely out of place in the world. The romance also felt quickly rushed through and through some hints in the book, it seems like it may be doomed to failure in the rest of the series so it was hard to get fully on board with that, as well.

ARC provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Starlight Heir's cover reeled me in. I love a good romantasy and this seemed up my alley. It follows Suraya who is invited to the castle to participate in a contest for the Prince's hand in marriage. During the process, she discovers that they were looking to claim her as more than just the Prince's bride.

I enjoyed the world building, the plot and the romance. There are tons of tropes that I LOVE and while I found parts to be confusing at times but overall I enjoyed this book and am excited to see if a second book comes.

3.5. The Persian and Indian mythology was one of my favorite parts of this book. There are many interesting magical characters and components which I really enjoyed. The MMC and FMC are both great characters and I liked seeing how their story played out. Some of my favorite parts were the trials at the beginning. There was a lot of tense moments that had me furiously reading to find out what would happen.

While I did enjoy many parts of the book I found the writing not exactly to my taste. It read more like a YA book with spice. I read a lot of YA so that is not an issue for me but many of the phrases came off as very young sounding which took me out of the book in some scenes.

Overall, I will say that I really enjoyed this book. It didn’t have that slow down in the middle that some books suffer from. The entire story was gripping and keeps you on your toes. The last quarter of the book you won’t be able to put down. But I have no idea where things are headed after that ending!

“To save the realm from eternal darkness, she’ll have to choose between the truth and the lie—stand and fight or kneel and die.”

What an amazing romantasy debut from this author. I absolutely loved it. It was fast paced without going too fast and it really held my attention. You feel this book everywhere when you read; heart, mind, and senses.

The characters are complex and multi-dimensional in the best way. You can really feel the tough questions they have to ask as they focus on the choices they have to make. I cannot wait to see where the next book goes.

A very special thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I gave The Starlight Heir 3.5 stars and rounded up to 4.

Suraya is chosen to participate in a competition for the prince's hand in marriage. She is excited to leave her small town to see the capitol city, but things arent as they appear. During the second task, a part of Suraya is revealed that even she didnt know.

I felt that the story was rushed, there were a few plot holes that could have been addressed earlier, and characters made some illogical decisions. I liked the world-building and the magic system. Very good premise.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for my honest review.

Love the premise, worldbuilding, and the cover, but ultimately I did not connect with this story. The modern language in the fantasy setting was not it for me and while I liked the MMC, it was annoying that he knew everything and how to do pretty much everything. The characters are mid 20s which was a nice touch but they still acted like 18-19 year olds. I think this story has good bones and good ideas but ultimately was not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Harper Voyager for providing me with an egalley of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I've been a lover of Howard's work for a long time. I especially love when she delves into the fantasy world. So to say I was excited to read this one when given a chance is an understatement.
I'll start with the cover because how cay you not? Even if I didn't know Amalie's work, I would pick this book up and buy just based on the gorgeous cover.
Amalie continues to impress by building a unique magical world within her book. I'm always excited to be introduced to new folklore and this one definitely fit that bill. I don't know much of Persian or Indian mythology but Howard does a nice job of creating a world where we understand the background and what it means to the characters and their development within the story. So many different concepts to explore and enjoy.
The pacing was well done with this book. I didn't feel bored when reading it and I definitely wanted to know what was next every time I had to put it down to do something else.
The FMC, Suraya Saab, is well done. She's funny and interesting and easily relatable for the reader. I liked her view on life and also loved her loyalty to family and close friends. I loved her profession but, being a bladesmith seems like it would come with a bit more "badassery" than I felt from the actual character. She wasn't strong in that respect, kind of keeping to herself when I felt like such a character would be a bit more brash and loud mouthed. The MMC, Roshan, was most of all funny. I loved that he could easily get Suraya to laugh. I will say the romance seemed just a bit forced for me. I wanted a bit more development and conflict with the characters but it wasn't truly there. He fell for her a little faster than I would have liked but at the same time his knowledge of who she was and what she could possibly do for him were floating about. It seems his intentions were not all on the up and up from the get go. But their banter is really quite fun and it's what made me feel the relationship was true.
I really enjoyed the secondary characters. Some I was sad to see go and others I wanted to see GONE! There's definitely villainy in this story. There's even a bit of a Hunger Games feel to how the book begins with the girls needing to prove their worth to the crown prince in order to become his selected wife.
So why not 5 stars, you say? I know the book is marketed as an adult romantasy and in all honesty, I just didn't get that vibe with it, despite the characters being in their 20s. It really did had a younger feel to me even with the spice infused into the story. If that spice was not there, I would not have thought of it as anything but a YA fantasy. I would definitely tell people this felt more like an older YA or even NA book with adult themes. This part of the execution fell a little flat for me. I'm hoping the second book leans more towards that adult theme the author was going for. I also found some parts of the story to be rushed. While Howard does a good job showing us the world, I needed to spend more time in some of the spaces to really understand the mythology behind what she was presenting.
Overall, I'd recommend this one and I'm excited to see where Howard is going to take the second book in the series.

Such a beautifully written story! I loved the characters and found them so interesting. I always love a good self-discovery storyline. The world building and pace of the book was good. I haven’t read much Persian mythology inspired books, but that part was really interesting. Overall, a good story and I’m interested in seeing where things go from here.

eARC Review: The Starlight Heir by Amalie Howard 🌟

Look, when I see a blurb that says something remotely like “inspired by ______ mythology/folklore” I honestly don’t pay attention to anything else. This is one of those occasions, and I can happily say I’m quite pleased with how this one turned out. ✨

The story follows Suraya, a 25-year-old self-taught blade smith who gets a mysterious summons to the palace for a bride competition. Much to her horror, it turns out to be anything but that. I overall liked her characterization: tenacious but with a level head on her shoulders and while quick to anger, she’s still looking for the good in people. I really hoped to have gotten more insight into how she got so well with bladesmithing with no outside help, but oh well. 🗡️

The main love interest of Roshan is charismatic and the holder of a lot of secrets. I felt like the attraction between the two felt a little rushed here and there honestly and would’ve enjoyed a slower burn between them. But again, this is just a personal thought as I find myself more drawn to uber slow burns of romantic fantasy than anything. 👑

The other little thing for me was the pacing. I kind of feel like the action comes right out of the gate and then lulls for a bit in the middle. I think if the beginning was a little more drawn out, I might’ve enjoyed the whole “battle of the would be bride” more. 💍

All in all though, I liked the use of star charts and the stars themselves, and the sprinklings of Indian and Persian mythology here and there. I’ll definitely need to dive deeper into Persian mythology as it’s one I’m not familiar with, but would love to be more acquainted with in the future! 😍

Big thank you goes out to Harper Voyager and NetGalley for accepting my request to read this in exchange for an honest review, and to the author, Howard, for a great start to an exciting duology! Can’t wait for the sequel! ❤️

Publication day: January 7!

Overall: 4/5 ⭐️

So this book was marketed as adult romantasy. But as I was reading it, it seems like should be marketed as an YA fantasy without the adult themes.

There was a lot of moments that just screamed YA and not adult. So after 16%, I did DNF.

I don't think the book was necessarily bad but I have never been a fan of YA fantasies so this wasn't a win for me.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me this arc!

I'm not sure what happened. I had such high hopes for this, and maybe that was where I went wrong. But something about this just didn't hit for me that way I thought it would. It had all the right elements and yet . . . I think it was the pacing and the abundance of modern slang and phrases that really did me in. I felt like the book dragged, but that could just be a me thing. I'm not sure if people would disagree or not, but there were several times that I found myself wishing things would just pick up. As for the modern slang and phrases . . . well, this is a fantasy world. I don't mind a few, but there was a lot in here. In my opinion, if you want to use modern slang and phrases for a fantasy world, you should modify it so it fits better in the world.

The MMC was probably the only reason I stuck with the book until the end---that and I liked the world as a whole. I thought it was well developed and I enjoyed the magic system, even if there were a few times I was a little confused (which, honestly, might have just been my small brain not working). Otherwise I would probably have DNFed it, which would have been disappointing, but not every book is going to be a hit.

I think that if you enjoy slower paced books and a rich fantasy world, then you'd like this.

Loved the POC aspect here and the middle east and Indian influence were beautifully depicted. That said, the plot and pacing could have used some work and overall, I was left slightly disappointed with this book. But I think I will be continuing the series if there is a sequel announcement. Also, the modern slang was grating at times

gorgeous fantasy romance with some interesting vibes. a few problems: some VERY modern words/phrases don't really fit, and parts of the plot feel a hair disjointed. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The Starlight Heir by Amalie Howard is a first person dual-POV romantic fantasy. Suraya is one of the young women chosen to compete for the attention of Crown Prince Javed, even though she has little interest in doing so. When she arrives in the palace, she meets Javed’s half-brother Roshan and falls for him instead. But ancient cogs are moving and there is a reason written in the stars why Suraya was brought to the palace in the first place.

I have always loved astronomy and space and constellations so seeing the houses be named after the brightest stars in the western zodiac was very fun. There are also star charts, the use of jade as a drug akin to opium, and ancient prophecies with sleeping gods. All of these together made the worldbuilding feel like a mix of hobbies that are spiritually-adjacent that have been so popular with my generation (astrology, crystals, etc.). It’s more of a vibes-based worldbuilding, but there is a glossary in the back to help any readers who might get lost if they take a break from the book and forget a term or two.

The dialogue sometimes has a meme-y quality that makes it feel more modern instead of medieval-ish or Victorian. There isn’t modern technology and the court system feels 1500s-ish, but there are romance novels and sex-positive attitudes. All of these things together create something that is more anachronistic and isn’t strongly coded to one particular time period or culture but there are influences from the author’s Caribbean, Indian, and SWANA background as per their author’s note.

Roshan and Suraya’s relationship is on the spicier side and Roshan is quite focused on Suraya’s satisfaction. There’s a lot standing in their way to be together, particularly with Roshan’s brother’s fixation on making Suraya his bride and Suraya’s own destiny. Their relationship took up a lot of page time so I struggled with whether or not this was a romantic fantasy or a fantasy romance, but ultimately agreed with the romantic fantasy classification because the structure was more about Suraya coming into her own power rather than the romance itself.

I would recommend this to fans of romantic fantasies that are more anachronistic and fans of spicier Romantasy that prefer themes of destiny and choosing your own path

The Starlight Heir is a very solid start to Amalie Howard’s new fantasy romance series! I really liked how the Indian and Persian influences were included in this world and its fantasy elements. I loved reading this new genre from Howard after having enjoyed her historical romances. The ending of this book left me super intrigued for the next book in this series and a potential new love interest. I think fans of the Heart of Night and Fire Quartet by Nisha J. Tuli will love this book!

Thank you to NetGalley & Harper Collins Publishers for the ARC!

The blurb and stunning cover for The Starlight Heir immediately drew me in. I went in with few expectations and left pleasantly surprised, but also slightly disappointed.

My favorite thing about this book was the diverse character representation. The romantasy space is severely lacking when it comes to representing people of color, but I felt the author did a beautiful job of crafting this world that drew from Middle Eastern and Persian lore. I also did enjoy the mc’s for the most part, but their relationship felt very insta-love, rushed at times, and therefore somewhat unbelievable to me. However, I did struggle to connect with and understand Suraya. She’s given this badass power, but struggles the entire book to control it, but then suddenly she just *gets it*. And then she’s suddenly dissociating from her corporeal body and doing all these neat tricks, but 10 pages ago she couldn’t control it at all. And don’t get me started on characters who just magically start meditating and master it (that’s more of a personal pet peeve). Roshan was sweet and giving golden retriever energy, but the miscommunication trope kills me every time.

The plot was fast paced and fairly entertaining, but at times some things just seemed too convenient, or just inconsistent with Sura’s abilities. In one instance, Roshan asks to teach Sura fighting techniques and she feigns ignorance. But then in another scene, she just casually mentions that he father has actually been training her for her entire life…I believe the overall ideas are definitely there, maybe just a little lacking in organization.

I think my biggest issue with the book (and another personal pet peeve) was the varying vernacular used by the author. There were plenty of modern phrases used that just didn’t quite seem to fit within this story’s environment and seemed more suited for a contemporary novel or rom-com. But then when the mc’s are flirting and actually being lascivious, the wordage used was more in line with that of a romantasy novel. If that makes sense? Lol

All of that being said, the story has potential and some of the author’s writing was truly captivating. I look forward to reading more diverse romantasy stories that bring these vibes.

WOW! AMAZING Romantasy debut for Amalie Howard! She has some serious range being able to write amazing regency romances to then spring board into The Starlight Heir without missing a beat and still manage to keep the same high standard of witty banter and swoony romantic plot lines.
I thoroughly enjoyed The Starlight Heir and fingers crossed we get a sequel announcement soon...because I think there is another interesting character that is going to bust onto the page....and I am here for it.
Thank you, NetGalley and Avon for an ARC of The Starlight Heir! Pub Date: January 7, 2025

Absolutely riveting read with all anyone could want out of a novel. It brought emotions, cliffhangers, and most wonderful- such a rich culture and mythological perspective that was unique to any other book I’ve read.