I unfortunately feel like this book was not the right match for me, so I'll refrain from rating it and reviewing it on public platforms.

So I finished reading Starlight’s Heir by Amalie Howard and I have some thoughts.

I felt like the main character couldn’t decide on a personality. I get that people change, but they don’t usually do a 180 in one chapter and then switch back to something else in the next. Right? Or is that just me?

Also, the whole plot was a mess. If Suraya had made some smarter choices, well, the book wouldn’t have happened. So I guess that’s just the lot we readers are forced to deal with sometimes.

The book starts with a lengthy explanation of the different houses, but they have almost no relevance to the story. I wasn’t really sure why they were included in the first place. Speaking of setting, it seems to be in a desert kingdom reminiscent of classic Persian tales.

Near the end of the book, the main character was constantly dropping the f-bomb, both in her internal monologue and her speech. That kind of brought me out of the story. Maybe 1st person points of view are not for me anymore. The ending also hinted that this could be a series, so yay.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher, for giving me the opportunity to review an early copy of the novel.

Had me hooked at the first chapter.

I love the attitude of Suraya and the adventure of the story. It's fast paced and an easy read. The MMC is way too sweet, swoon worthy, really. I adore him. I'm looking forward to the next book and where the story goes although it does end on a happy place.

I'd recommend to anyone looking for a fast paced adventure that's written well and an easy story to digest. I loved the storytelling and the world building gave away enough to understand the world without bogging the reader down. A pleasant read that had my attention the whole way through!

despite being rather new as a category, romantasy is well-trodden and highly unoriginal as a genre. books often blur together with little to distinguish them— the same tropes, characters with the same appearance, the same kind of fantasy worlds. amalie howard manages to stand out beautifully; with a rich, intricate world and a unique love interest, she’s reignited my excitement for this genre. also, the trials in this book were fun! we need more trials that are fun to read in romantasy!

This one just wasnt the right book for me. I had trouble settling into the world and the story. Thanks for letting me try!

This story exceeded my expectations! The development of the characters was really great and I loved how Suraya went through not only finding love but herself as well. The magic and world building in this novel is really good and very engaging. I can't wait to see how the rest of the series plays out. I think now that the base is developed it will only continue to get better.

If you are looking for an engaging mythology/magical and strong world building story then look no further!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the e arc

ARC review: I am giving my honest and unbiased opinion.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins.

This romantasy novel has great bones. The magic is intriguing and although confusing at times flows well. The four houses are a nice touch but don’t seem to influence much in this novel. The characters I feel are well developed. I love Roshan. His banter and personality make him easy to love. Suraya is a great flawed main character. She is a little dense and overreacts at the worst time. I’m hoping in the sequel she’ll become a little less hot headed. The evil villains are well developed and are well evil. I was hoping for more of the ultimate evil, but I see there may be more in the future. Last but not least the third character that seems a mix of Rhys and Xaden. I see a future love triangle and I’m scared haha. I can’t wait to see how it all works out.
Summary:
A girl gets selected out of the few to bid for the prince’s hand. Suraya heads to the prince’s palace to find she and the others are participating in a cruel selection. Athough the prince is terrible, his brother is anything but. The prince’s attention pulls to Suraya and she finds herself engaged to the Prince because of her odd magical abilities. Suraya and Roshan (the princes brother) must escape the prince’s evil schemes and an ancient prophecy.
A great read with a beautiful cover. I can’t wait to read the sequel.

I absolutely loved this. Suraya is a strong FMC and I loved her. I immediately disliked the crown prince. Prince Javed was fun. Overall this was fast paced, gripping and suspenseful. Would recommend to all adult fantasy lovers.

Woo hoo! What a ride! Amalie Howard is one of my favorite writers of historical romance, so when I saw she had an ARC available for her first fantasy novel, you bet your butt I ran to request it.

I’ve read her entire backlist, so I know she’s a fantastic writer. I was curious about her fantasy talents. Lawd have mercy. She’s so good at what she does.

This world she’s building using her brain inspired by Persian and Indian mythology is intricate and beautiful and deadly.

Suraya is the daughter of a tavern owner and has a true talent for bladesmithing. She’s stunned when she receives an exclusive invitation to the royal court. The prince has decided to marry and 100 women have been invited/summoned to court. While there she meets Roshan who is perhaps more than he seems to be.

There is a stunning amount of violence, deception, betrayal, and romantic tension. All the things that make a great romantasy.

There were a few things that threw me out of the story (some modern turns of phrase mostly), but overall I am well-pleased and am champing at the bit to get to the next book.

I received this eARC via #netgalley and @avonbooks. All thoughts are mine alone.

#tomance #fantasybooks #fantasybooks #romantasy #thestarlightheir #amaliehoward #bookrecs #bookreview #bookstagram

It took me a little bit to get into this book, but once I did the story really moved. I found the plot intriguing and the conflict kept me guessing.
Something I had trouble with was the use of modern slang in a fantasy world. It's not my cup of tea, but still not a deal breaker when the plot is this interesting.
I had a lot of love for the MMC. He is very charming, and I can easily forgive him for his wrongdoings because he had good reasons. The FMC, on the other hand, had me annoyed at times, but in the way where she has a good amount of room to grow as a character, and I look forward to seeing her journey.
Near the end of the book I started to wonder if I'd been mistaken and it was a standalone, but then it made sure to remind me about all the loose ends still out there and got me very excited to read the next book and see where this goes.
Overall, a solid series starter with an interesting magic system and lots of intrigue.

Thank you to Avon, Harper Voyager, and Netgalley for the ARC.

Book Fort Rating: 3 Stars
Is it building the Book Fort? It's welcome to visit, but... nah.

Let's first start this rating by saying that Amalie Howard has a great imagination, and her ideas for <i>The Starlight Heir</i> are really engaging and creative. I enjoyed the world that she's starting to build here.

Now that that's said, let's get into it - the good:
- The world of Endara is beautiful. I honestly wish I'd gotten more descriptions of the world and the setting, because every time we did I was so interested by how vivid and beautiful everything was.
- I overall loved our main character, Suraya. She's witty, strong, and (most of the time) isn't taking crap from anyone. And this isn't done in the "main character who's just 'THE BEST AT WHAT S/HE DOES'" way - she starts out rather ordinary, only to find out that unbeknownst to her, she really is extraordinary.
- The villain of the novel is actually frightening - and a bit stomach-turning, honestly. I do not want to get caught with them in a dark alley, and that makes the book feel like it has much higher stakes. In general, the characterization of the book is done well.

So why 3 Stars?
- Honestly, my biggest gripe with this book is the pacing. I think this could be due to the fact that it's the first in a series, but I frequently had long stretches of the book that seemed to drag. Then, just once I thought the plot had really picked up, it slowed down again. The effect here is that events feel almost out of order and rushed (especially at the end).
- As a fantasy reader, I was really thrown off by some of the diction used. There was a lot of code-switching from more formal, high fantasy-esque language to very modern and uncouth turns of phrase. It was jarring for suspension of disbelief.
- I was really thrown off by some of the interspliced chapters with clearly a future main character. I think the point here was to show the connection that exists between them and Suraya, but unfortunately it felt like a lost plot thread at the end of the book.
- Lastly, I think one of the main goals of the book is to focus on the effects of choice, and our ability to make choices for ourselves (rather than following fate/destiny). But some of those interspliced chapters and the general *vibes* of the book make me think we could renege on that in future books, so I couldn't fully attach myself to that "lesson."

Overall, I did enjoy The Starlight Heir, but I do think as a reader that I am more drawn to fantasies with romance elements, rather than romances with fantasy elements. I think the series will also better hit its stride in book two. If you're a fan of rivals/guy annoying the crap out of a girl to lovers, mythology-based romantasies, flawed/realistic (and lovable) characters, and light fantasy world-building, give this one a look!

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager, Netgalley, and Amalie Howard for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this one but I struggled to get through it and eventually had to DNF @ 30%. I believe this story is for someone else but not me and that’s okay!

Spicy and entertaining. I like that the MC is a blacksmith and fuller figured. I also like the occasional viewpoint from "God of Night". A lot of really cool concepts, too, like soul-fated and the bits about the gods and hierarchy of them as well as the different Houses and what they represent.

First, I'd like to extend a big thank you to the author, Amalie Howard, the publisher, Harper Voyager, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced reader's copy of this YA romantasy (lower spice)/enemies-to-lovers novel. I will share my review to Amazon, Goodreads, and Barnes & Noble upon release. I was immediately caught by the cover, which I think has a cool color scheme and drew my eye. I like fantasy novels with elements of romance, and this one checked all those categories.

When an invitation to the palace in Kaldari shows up to Suraya's door, she is thrust into an adventure she should be forever changed from. Suraya is imbued with one of the last forms of magic in the realm. She finds out there's a deeper meaning to the contest she's been invited to, and then also finds herself running away with a love interest (Roshan) and they have great flirty banter surrounded by some Persian mythology and worldbuilding. There's some good action and adventure, but overall, I felt the writing style aligned more with a cozy fantasy than higher fantasy or mythological fantasy style. There's good pacing and the plot moves forward at a brisk pace, I just wish there was more worldbuilding, political description, or I felt more deeply about the characters by the end. The main character wasn't my favorite,

I would recommend to those who enjoy YA romantasy that don't like too much detail or description but are in it for the plot

3.5 stars, rounding up!

Did I finish this book in one day? Yes
Did it meet my expectations? Unfortunately not

The premise of this was initially what drew me in. A fantasy romance with Persian and Indian mythology- that and the amazing cover! A fox with wings?? Sign. Me. Up. Sadly what was inside didn’t equate to the premise or cover. I was left…wanting more than what I got.


I liked what we got of the worldbuilding, though it could have been executed better. The inclusion of the different gods and star charts was a nice touch. The big problem for me was the writing.

The writing was pretty bad. The story is fast paced but oddly I was left wanting more?? A lot was happening but at the same time felt like nothing at all? It was a reoccurring plot. We run for our lives, we talk, we get distant and repeat. I kept hoping something more would happen to no avail. The trials were a twist and something I didn’t expect, they were enjoyable.

The dialogue of the characters felt like it didn’t fit into the time the story takes place. We’re in a time of royalty and people are sorted into houses…yet they say things like “champ”, “princesplain” (instead of mansplain), “don’t threaten me with a good time”, “touché”, etc. All things too modern to fit into the timeline of the story.

The pacing while fast paced, was thrown off during these insanely weird and makes no sense random chapter cut scenes with the FMCs shadow daddy??? And we get virtually little to no explanation about those. And they only are about 3-4 pages long. HUH?! This really threw me out of the story, literally- I was practically thrown out of a 3 story building reading these. Also for mythology being a selling point in this story, I felt there wasn’t much of it.

I liked the characters…enough. The romance felt bland, like everything we’ve read before 20 times over. The FMC got on my nerves a few times. For supposedly having intelligence, whenever she would question something about the MMC she would end up making excuses for him and move on with her life. Then when the big thing happens, she’s shocked?! Girl, he was behaving off. The. Whole. Time *proceeds to do a strangling motion* I can’t do this today. Oh and let’s not forget the princes mansplaining at times. That was a joyride.

Overall, I liked the premise of the book. Points to the author for it. I feel it would’ve benefited from a slow down, to really take the time to dive into a deeper story with then explanations needed for readers to fully comprehend what was going on.

~ A special thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to receive an ARC of this book~ 😊

This was a 4 star for me. I thoroughly enjoyed the world building and the story development of this book. The Persian and Caribbean mythology was amazing. It kept me interested. I loved the character development of the FMC and the cliffhanger for the MMC. I love that this book gave you closure while also leaving you wanting more. The FMC is the Starkeeper, she holds a powerful being inside her and has to learn how to wield that power. Meanwhile she’s falling for the illegitimate heir of the King while the legitimate heir is trying to force her into marriage for ulterior motives. The FMC & MMC escape and have a whole adventure while they’re on the run, and things come to a head with a great battle scene at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this arc.

There was much to enjoy in this YA fantasy romance, and enjoy it I did. The Persian-inspired fantasy world, the FMC who was fully-realized and wholly likable, the enemies-to-lovers aspect of the romance full of tension and banter, and the pacing were all well done. Truthfully, though, and what kept this book from a 5th golden star, is that I feel that I've read this book before, in dozens of different iterations. There was no truly unique aspect to it, nothing surprised me, and the writing was simplistic and average, doing a bit too 'tell' vs. 'show'.

That said, it was an enjoyable and easy read, and I do recommend for fans of YA fantasy.

Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Voyager for the ARC. I'm always excited to read fantasy inspired by Indian and Persian culture, so I immediately requested the book. Unfortunately, I think only people who have never read a fantasy book will like this story. I liked the prologue as I am a fan of stuff from ancient history is actually really relevant today trope. I also don't mind chosen one and prophecy tropes. In fact I like a lot of the so called cliches typically found in YA fantasy as long as the execution is done well. But this book was just cliche after cliche, the closest it came to originality was the fact that the food and names were inspired by Indian and Persian cultures, but beyond that, there was nothing that interested me in this book. The main character is a classic example of I'm not like other girls. The love interests are just beautiful cardboard cutouts of people. The plot is infuriatingly boring and generic.

Amie Kaufman brought up a great point.
A duology or story with more than one book should have a good arc conclusion in the first book and overall arc conclusion of the entire series.
I felt like the main POV didn’t have much growth in this book. Her internal struggle was just so hard to relate to because she was being a hard head and stubborn.
Overall it was okay story telling but the world building was nonexistent and ending was okay? It fell flat for me. I heard this was a duology but I’m not interested in proceeding further with this series

The Starlight Heir had a solid basic plot. I think I was just disappointed by how the plot was developed. Sura is a bladesmith. She gets invited to the palace, along with many other women, because the Prince is looking for a wife. There are a series of trials which the women are told they must pass successfully in order to be considered. Sura isn’t interested in marrying the Prince. She just wanted to see the palace, along with its forge and library. She catches the eye of the Prince’s illegitimate half-brother Roshen, who is way better than the Prince in every way. Sura finds out the real reason behind these trials- the Prince and his evil mother are looking for the Starkeeper, someone born with the power of the old gods, a matrilineal trait that has been nearly eliminated from the population by the royal family. The evil queen wants to use this power to resurrect the god of the dead, Fero, and use the god to rule over everyone. Rebels attack the palace and Sura and Roshen escape. Their relationship develops during their escape. They team up with the rebels and are pursued by many people. Sura learns about her powers and how to control them. There are a few plot twists that weren’t really surprising. There is one explicit spicy scene and one mild one, although there are several scenes where characters talk about sex or just traded sexual innuendos. The setup of the plot and the setting seemed like fantasy (villages, palaces, royals, horses, blacksmith as a trade, taverns, swords) but some of the conversations were more modern with phrases like “thick thighs save lives” and referring to a female character having “resting b**** face”. I really enjoyed Amalie Howard’s Queen Bee so this was kind of a let down for me.