There were some elements of this book that I loved, mainly the romance. I loved the characters and the growth between them; the banter was delicious and the build of their relationship was a joy to follow. I'm very invested in their relationship. However, a couple of other items fell a bit short for me. I loved the Persian & Indian mythology but found some of the world building confusing. There were also a couple of stylistic elements that really felt out of place. (Asking a character if she reads "berserker romances" was clearly an allude to connect with romance readers but didn't make any sense for the characters or even the setting). The romance was amazing but some of the fantasy elements fell short and there were some clear attempts to drive familiarity with the reader that were awkward.

I will be honest and saying I had high hopes for this one, but it just really didn't do it for me. The characters felt too contemporary for the fantasy world that she tried to build and they just didn't vibe with the story for me. I'm hopeful for the next in series for a tighter, quicker paced plot along with some refinement of the characters and plot.

Rating: 3.75 ✨ rounded to 4

Thank you, Avon, for this eARC of The Starlight Heir by Amalie Howard!

The Starlight Heir follows Suraya, as she is invited to join a contest to be the prince’s potential bride. However, from the start she forms a connection with his younger, illegitimate brother. There is banter, magic, fates, political intrigue, fighting, secrets, and of course- romance.

I always reach for books that are based in different types of mythology, astrology, or any combination involving destiny or fate. This book happened to have all of those! What makes this story unique is the depiction of power and magic. I greatly enjoyed learning more about the world and its magic system through Suraya’s eyes. The only detraction from the story overall, was the balance between the political aspects and sexual innuendo. It wasn’t a huge issue, but definitely felt unbalanced or out of place in some instances.

I’m interested to see what happens in book two, with how the author left things at the end. There is a lot of potential for new storylines and character development. Be sure to read this one when it comes out in January 2025!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced eARC.

I was excited to try a new romantasy with BIPOC main characters and a BIPOC author. This book has great promise, especially the first 60% of it, however, the rest of the book fell flat for me. There seemed to be a lot going on and the plot felt lost in the last half of the book. I will say that the banter between Roshan and Suraya was great and overall, they were interesting characters. I don’t really understand the inclusion of the chapters involving Darius and even his connection to Suraya, but I’m guessing this may be answered in the next book if the series…

Overall, an okay read.

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!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled to get through this one. The premise of this story is what initially drew me in! I love a good plot with my romance, but I think I just didn’t vibe with the execution. The main character and her power were intriguing and piked my interest until it didn’t. The language used by the characters also felt too modern. I love a fantasy world, but I love it for its fantasy elements including the setting and language.

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~ 😊