This book had my heart racing. The political intrigue of court, magic worldly secrets, and alluring characters of all different kinds had me both looking forward to the next page and dreading the end of the book. Caitlin is such a compelling character - I can imagine no better character to see revolution, grief, and love through the eyes of. Thank you, Dax Murray, for a book that perfectly encapsulated the tension between doing what you feel like you should do and finding out what you really want to do.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review of Stars and Soil by Dax Murray, Unfortunately, I was unable to view this before the archive date. I look forward to finding it at my local bookstore, library, or online.

I struggled a little with the world-building of this one - once it all clicked for me though I really enjoyed it! I do think there were a few too many characters to be able to fully connect with them, but the ones I was able to connect with I really liked. I’m excited to continue the series.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the arc. 🫶🏻

I will admit I struggled to get going with this book, some parts did feel very slow when they didn't need to be.

Like others I would have liked a bit more magic in the world and the ending wasn't as gripping as I hoped it would be.

In comparison there are definitely worse fantasy books out there and I will always give kudos to anything showing lgbtqia+ representation.

I am only half way through this book but needed to add my review now! So far, I am enjoying Caitlin and I am loving the world building! The magical system is great and I am really enjoying getting to grips with it all. This is my first read of Dax Murray's books, but I will definitely be getting the other books in the series :)

Gorgeous queer-norm world with great world building, awesome character development, heaps of political intrigue and a great romantic plot!!
Keen to see more of Dax Murray's writing in the future!

I wasn’t very impressed by this book. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t really great either. I finished it not that long ago and I’m having a hard time remembering much about it. I was hoping for more. I found the FMC to be kind of annoying. It was hard to follow, there was a lot of characters and it just felt a little chaotic to me.

Really impressed by how diverse and inclusive this book is with a wealth of queer characters

However I did find the timeline confusing at the start and this made it hard to get into so I can see why some DNF-ed. It read more like a historical fiction than fantasy for quite a while but I did enjoy it!

Appreciate the opportunity to read

Thank you, NetGalley, for granting me an early look at Stars and Soil by Dax Murray.

This mesmerizing introduction to the Scions and Shadows series is a masterful blend of court intrigue, complex characters, and a fantasy world brimming with tension and danger.

Caitlin’s journey feels deeply personal yet undeniably tied to the larger forces at play in the realm. Her apathy, born from loss, is a poignant starting point as she’s drawn into a web of rebellion, conspiracies, and shadowy threats that have been centuries in the making. The court itself is a battlefield, with Caitlin maneuvering among rebels, the dying monarchy, and a secretive lady-in-waiting whose sharp wit and veiled intentions keep you guessing. The relationships Caitlin builds—or strategically avoids—are as layered as the political games she’s forced to play.

What sets Stars and Soil apart is its seamless fusion of intricate plotting and intimate character moments. The sapphic romance is understated yet powerful, woven naturally into Caitlin’s arc, while the disability representation adds depth to an already diverse cast. Murray’s prose is immersive, painting a world where the stakes feel real, the alliances fragile, and the tension palpable. This is not just a story of kingdoms in turmoil but a reflection on power, loss, and the cost of ambition.

For those who enjoy slow-burn intrigue, morally complex heroines, and stories where every decision feels like a blade’s edge, Stars and Soil is a must-read. I can’t wait to see where Caitlin’s path leads next.

Super fast-paced and diverse with queer characters filled with love, friendship, loss and sacrifice.
I had expected more magic in the plot but was disappointed in that regard. What stood out was the mystery around the power of the king's and his lineage's blood. I wish there was more world-building as I was left grasping at straws through 2/3 of the book.
The influence of religion over the monarchy and thus, ruling the masses was amazingly executed. I was intrigued by the power play and enjoyed reading about the court politics as well. Would I like to read more in this world? Absolutely. I want to know more about what happens to the characters as they successfully complete one coup and move on. I'm very invested in the character arcs and would love to have some more magic in the world.
Loved the uniqueness of the names of the characters and the diverse characters with their different backgrounds and motivations in life.

It took me a little bit to get into this book especially since is quite slow paced and it reads more like historical fiction than fantasy.

However, I pushed through and the story was actually not bad. I can't say that it captivated me (and since it's been a bit between reading the book and writing this review, I needed a bit of time to remember clearly what it was about).

The time jumps at the beginning confused me a bit and there are also many characters about which I couldn't remember everything while reading. The book, however is about the daughter of two merchants and how she always (almost) did what they wanted, not what she desired. Court politics and secret societies also get involved and turn the story from a bland kinda forced love story into a more interesting one. Bonus points: it's really inclusive.

Personally, I ended up enjoying the story, but I think it might not be for everyone, especially if you don't usually read lots of books and are prone to DNF-ing, because the beginning is really slow and confusing.

I like others found this to be a DNF. I could not get into the writing style and I was not invested in the characters. Thank you for the opportunity to read it.

The beginning was so so. I was a little confused throughout and wasn’t the hugest fan of the writing style. That being said, I enjoyed the story concept very much and that’s what allowed to push through. About half way through is when it started to pick up in pace and the stakes shot through the roof. I was really into it but then ending was just… anticlimactic. Like… idk I was just kinda disappointed.

2.5 ⭐
I'm not one to DNF a book but boy did I want to.

The premise of the book was promising but it was poorly executed.
The amount of info we have in the beginning followed by many pages of useless dialog was mind boggling.
The pacing was off and combined with errors and mistakes created a difficult read for such a light book. This definitely needs more editing.

Plus points for the premise and a potential in the author - despite counting this book as a 'down' I'm sure she will have her 'UP' in the future and I will look her up to see the next publishings.

I got the arc from NetGalley which I'm grateful for but it will not be one of the best seller
#starsandsoil #NetGalley

Like many other reviewers, I had to DNF this book at about 5%.

I really wanted to like this one - court intrigue was a genre that is right down my alley and the blurb made this sound like the perfect book.

Unfortunately after reading it, it was clear that this book suffered from writing issues.

The main one that turned me off was info dumping. Information was being dumped left and right as soon as the book started. There was no structure to their world building. It ultimately made the book really hard to follow and understand.

The dialogue also felt stilted and awkward.

After reading about 5% of the book, it was clear that I wasn't going to find much enjoyment in this and so I had to drop it.

I’m sorry, I had to DNF this book.. I really wanted to like it tho..
It was so much input in the beginning, I had trouble to stay focused and get along with the story. Furthermore there were a lot of Xir/Xie in the beginning and it was just annoying and confusing and.. I don’t know, this book just wasn’t for me..

Unfortunately I had to DNF at just 10%
From the very first page this was incredibly confusing and very rushed. There were paragraphs of pointless dialogue. Every now and then I came across a sentence that was very poetic and lovely but for the most part I was struggling to comprehend anything.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this ebook ARC to review.

There will be a more in-depth review on my YouTube in the coming week or so. There will also be a small “silent” review on tiktok, but just to give a taste:

The beginning was so so. I was a little confused throughout and wasn’t the hugest fan of the writing style. That being said, I enjoyed the story concept very much and that’s what allowed to push through. About half way through is when it started to pick up in pace and the stakes shot through the roof. I was really into it but then ending was just… anticlimactic. Like… idk I was just kinda disappointed.

Stars and Soil tells the story of Caitlin whose life gets uprooted by a gruesome murder and she is thrown into a world she never anticipated.

I was really hoping to love this story but unfortunately, it fell short for me. There was so much going on and things getting thrown in left and right that it just felt overwhelming at times. The world-building was done well but the amount of characters getting added in endlessly was too much and felt a little too jarring for me.

The ending felt quite rushed and I feel like it could have been prolonged a bit more to execute the ending a bit better. I feel like the book needs to go through some editing before I would recommend it to anyone. It has a very cool concept and I did enjoy parts of it, but overall, there were too many things that just took me out of it.

Thank you NetGalley for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 stars (out of 5).

Despite its slow start (and slow pace overall), that made me think I was not going to be able to go through this book, I really enjoyed reading Stars and Soil.
The worldbuilding, even though I would've liked to dive deeper into the mythology and such, was really tight and great to discover throughout the story and I enjoyed the characters. There's many of them and I can't say I remember all their names and what they did but it did not hinder me while reading and every actions, twists and turns the story took were comprehensible and made me feel invested.
Caitlin is a great main character that I grew quite fond of, following her thoughts and growth. I found that her backstory was a great setting to the whole thing. I can't say I was that invested in the romance aspects of it all but its presence added some stakes to the story, so I wasn't bothered by it.

Most of all, I think what made me stick to the book, more than the story itself or the characters, is the writing. Dax Murray has a way of getting you hooked and their descriptive style is quite endearing. Their will to craft a world that is so unapologetically and simply queer was also something that made me quite happy while reading.
All in all a great read, mixing magic, prophecies, revolution and political intrigue.

Thank you BooksGoSocial, Dax Murray and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.