The book is fine: meaning, the characters were the typical overidealized "unique snowflake" and "gruff but sweet male love interest" that is so common to the YA genre. It was hard not to roll my eyes at all the clichés or shake off the feeling that I've read this so many times, just different window dressings.

Story: Nieve is born into an island community of minor Earth mages but has no magic of her own. She longs to adventure and steals away on a ship as soon as she can. For the world is dying, her people are slowly starving, and she thinks she has the clue from old fairy tales on how to save everyone. Besides, no one will miss her because she has no magic and is useless anyway Cue 'pirate' love interest who helps her out.

So yes, another unique snowflake who thinks she doesn't have any magic but suddenly realizes near the end that she is the most powerful person in the world and can save it. And yes, a pirate captain comes along to help her and be a heart of gold savior in her time of need and carry her to where she needs to be to do the world saving. Cue instaluv and some adventures along the way.

I think the problem for me will always be that the protagonist just does things that frankly should get her killed but only serves to provide an opportunity for the love interest to save her. The world saving gets to be a silly set of circumstances at that point and the heroine looks too stupid to be alive, all action with no thought or brains behind them.

The best thing I can say is that it is an easy and quick read and certainly completely inoffensive. Great for younger audiences, then. But lacking sophistication, depth, and originality to appeal to more mature or experienced readers. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Such a captivating story! I could not put this book down for anything! The author had a great writing style! Will for sure be diving into more of this author!

This was a slow start that took me to about 45% to really start enjoying and getting into a flow which is why I am
Giving this a 3.75 ⭐️ and rounded out up to 4.

This of a YA high fantasy which is female strong. There is the
Romance plot line which from the MMC’s perspective was an insta love which is a trope that I don’t enjoy. But I was able to read past it

This definitely read like a YA book meant for teenagers. There are YA that speak to a broader adult age range but this wasn’t it. I think it is a great entry for teens to her swept away into high fantasy’

I am thankful to have gotten an eARC for free from Netgalley and Entangled Publishing to enjoy which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

This title is out now!
My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

Nieve is a breath of fresh air. She’s strong and brave but also raw and at times timid despite the many masks she outwardly wears. She is not the overconfident and brazen lead like many FMC’s we experience in Romantasy books. Oh, and the MMC? An absolute cinnamon roll, delicious, 10/10, adore him and the things he says…the love at first sight trope here was done so well.

This unexpected journey to save the world as Nieve knows it despite being what she is (or is not) and shunned by her own people is filled with world building, interesting magic, lies, heartbreak, love and adventure. If you’re looking for your next YA fantasy/romantasy/romance read add this to your list!

I really really wanted to love this book but man it was such a let down! The cover is gorgeous & the synopsis sounded interesting but the execution of the story didn’t meet the mark for me. It was sooooo slow & honestly felt like nothing was happening! It got pretty confusing & it just couldn’t keep my attention! To be honest I had to skim the last half of the book because I can’t DNF, because I’m afraid the story will get better. However, with this one that was not the case. I’m realizing not all fantasy books are for me! I just need more going on to keep my attention!

So if you are more into fantasy books then this may be more for you than it was for me! Please give this book a chance because it does have good reviews & this may be more your cup of tea!!

This book just wasn’t for me. It had so much potential though. I wish we learned more about the magic the talin posses and the world. Like why was the king mad? Why is he out to get the elder wrights?
I also felt there were a lot of inconsistencies. Maybe these got fixed before publishing, but there were instances where it was said a character was away from what was currently being written about, but they suddenly were there?

I really liked the premise of this novel, but it just fell a little flat for me. I DNFed at 50%.
I thought there were some interesting worldbuilding elements, and the characters were fine, I just got bored!

This book has it all, magic, action, adventure, pirates, and a slow burn romance.

The story follows Nieve, a young Talin girl who has been ostracized by her village for being the only one of them to not have water powers. As the Elder Wrights disappear, the world is beginning to fall into disarray. When the mysterious Kier Manseray arrives at her harbour, Nieve is presented with a chance for adventure and the possibility of saving her people.

I was immediately intrigued by this story, I found it to be very unique, especially when it came to the world building and magic system. Nieve and Manseray stole my heart, I loved the slow burn romance and tension between them and the way the story alternated between their points of view. I loved seeing Nieve’s character development throughout the story.

I will say that I felt the pacing was a bit odd at times, but it didn’t affect the overall enjoyment of the story for me. There are many twists and turns throughout the book that truly keeps you on the edge of your seat. Also, the writing feels very lyrical in a way, adding to the magical and captivating atmosphere of the story that I absolutely adored.

This is a book I could see myself reading again. It is truly a thrilling and magical YA fantasy that will keep you hooked from page one.

This was a great YA fantasy romance. I enjoyed the plot and the characters. The magical world was immersive and unique. The author really did a great job with connecting the plot to the suspense and intrigue. The FMC was my absolute favorite in the book and I can't wait to see what's next.

This was a fun read! Thank you to Entangled for this arc.

I really liked the world building we got and the magic system. It sucked me in! I enjoyed reading about Keir and Neive and their relationship. I’m all for the insta love! This book is captivating and held my attention throughout the whole story.

This was a fun, twisty read!

Starling's Weave follows Nieve, an 18 year old woman who is shunned from her village due to her lack of powers in a town full of water magic users. However, when an opportunity to bring vitality back to her village arises, Nieve is determined to do her part to save her people. Her plans are changed after meeting a mysterious stranger, setting her on a new course full of adventure, twists and turns and love,

I really enjoyed the world building and magic system, I found the history of the Elder Wrights to be so intriguing and was so eager to watch everything unfold. I also really enjoyed the dynamics between Keir and Nieve, there is a bit of insta love involved which I ATE UP. I also really liked Arisame, what a punchy character!! Overall I found the book to be engaging, especially once we'd learnt more about the magic system and politics, the action was great as well! The book is dual POV and switched from First Person with Nieve to Third Person with Keir, I feel this is worth mentioning as I know it isn't for everyone! Looking forward to reading more from L.E. Sterling in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing for providing me with an eARC in return for an honest review.

L.E. Sterling writes good YA fantasy. I’ve read a few of her books and they’re always intriguing.

In Starling Weave, Nieve is heading to sea on an adventure. With magic, romance, action and pirates what could go wrong? This book is full of twists and turns that will leave you hanging on the edge of your seat.

An enjoyable journey to save the world.

Such a great book

So, this book is full of action, adventure, plot, and great characters. There were a few times that I felt like it was sort of all over the place, but I think that was in order to solidify the back stories.

This was definitely worth the read.

Starling's Weave by L.E. Sterling was an incredible adventure. A fantasy novel geared towards youth I fell in love with another world crafted by Sterling. Nieve is the only Talin girl in around 14 thousand years to be born without magic. Growing up feeling rejected and outright discrimanated, Nieve still wants nothing more than to save her people, because the world is dying. Plants will not grow, nets cast turn up empty, and theres a sickness spreading through the land.
So let me go on a tangent here and say theres this cool world building but still the author chose to go in the direction of a romantasy so here we go. When everything looks bleak, who shows up in a suave super cool way? a handsome pirate with a mysterious past. Because its clearly meant to be a romance with a dash of fantasy, personally I felt like the book and plot suffered from a predictable fate. The ending came rushed because we spent so much time focusing on the main two that the fact there was a dying world seemed to be forgotten until the last minute.
The book itself was wrapped up neatly per say and can work as a stand alone novel. I loved the writing and prose from Sterling and will look forward to her next novel, whether its in this universe or another.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc!
So you’re telling me i’m not getting a book two?! I feel like the world building and story of this book have SO much potential and that it can be built on so well! I liked how the romance wasn’t exactly slow burn since that wasn’t something I felt like reading but was more like a crush that turns into love, it was so cute and I was chanting “kiss, kiss, kiss!!” half the book. Sterling (her name matches this book so well omg) also made this cool decision when it came to narration view, the boom is dual pov and in our main character Nieve’s chapters it’s first person while our second protagonists chapters (Manseray) it’s third person. I do feel like Sterling can do better with a certain thing in her writing and that’s explaining actions it felt at times like I was lost because she only mentioned side character features once or if Manseray said or bobbed his head or something it wasn’t explained well and left the reader confused but I must say the way she wrote the Kiro island and the tree nymphs was beautiful.

Other than that and the semi-weird stuff that happened during the sea battle this book was great!

This book whisked me away on a magical escape I didn’t know I needed. Nieve is an outcast in her village and has big dreams of collecting stories. She meets a ‘pirate’ who isn’t what he seems and she quickly finds herself on an unexpected journey. This book had a hold on me from the first page – I couldn’t wait to find out what was happening and where Nieve’s story would take her. This was a fun and unexpected journey that reinforces the idea that you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover. Thank you Entangled Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC.

Sterling masterfully weaves in themes of betrayal and sacrifice, reminding us that not every legend ends happily. With nods to beloved fantasy worlds like Shadow and Bone and Dark Water Daughter, Starling's Weave is a thrilling upper YA fantasy that brims with vibrant lore, high-stakes conflicts, and beautifully haunting prose. Fans of dark fantasy and high-seas adventure won’t want to miss this!

YA Fantasy
Pirates
Hidden Magic
Mystery
Romance
Slow Burn


Nieve is an anomaly, the first and only Talisman born without magic.
Her aging grandmother teaches her the ways of the Talisman mages in the form of potions for healing and tries to offer her some sort of future for a Talisman without magic. After the death of her Grandmother, Nieve goes on an adventure on a pirate ship with a handsome Pirate to seek the truth of a story that could save her home and her people from a deadly disease that has swept in to kill everyone including her friends and family.
Keir Mansory needs the help of Nieve and her magical friends to free Edsel Bo from prison and save the dying ocean and magic. He is immediately smitten with her beauty and her incredible ability for storytelling. She is the key to help him save his dearest friend from a prison that comes with daily torture and a very low survival rate.
This a magical pirate adventure that is suitable for young adults. It has action and a little romance but the whole story needed a little more detail for me to fully enjoy it.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Teen for a free copy of this advanced copy of this e-arc in exchange for this honest review.

The plot and the main characters in Starlings Weave are absolutely phenomenal. I love books with strong fmcs that don't rely on the mmc to help them stay alive until the end of the book. I also love when books have unique plots... This book has both!

Now the reason for the 3 ⭐ rating, the book, while being well written, was a slow read. It didn't engage me in a way that I wanted to devour it all at once. I was able to set it down, read another book, and then come back to finish it.

Nieve is an outsider in her village, always trying to help but never fitting in since she doesn’t have the water magic that has been passed down to all her people by the gods. But what is worse is that the magic is disappearing causing sickness and food shortages. Nieve believes that she can save her village and bring back magic, so she teams up with Kier a moody pirate to find the magics source and restore it to her people. Together they will try to save everyone.

The beginning was a little slow but the story itself was interesting. It also gave me Moana vibes. I really enjoyed the dual POVs between Nieve and Kier. I’m interested to see how the rest of the story unfolds for our characters.