A great sequel, I think I enjoyed more than book 1. I loved the characters and all the different aspects of the story. It kept me entertained and wanting more. Sadie & Navins relationship was my favourite part of this particular book, I loved having Sadie’s POV.

I love Callas character and seeing them really start to embrace who they are after being raised with strict gender norms under the male wolves rule was so well written.

I will say I wasn’t a fan of the narrator for some of the audio, Graes voice sounded too young and didn’t fit his character which made me like him less than I probably would have if I was reading the physical book. I just kept wanting to fast forward to the Sadie chapters.

This story is an example of one that improves by listening to it in audio format. It's well-produced and I enjoyed the narrators, but, unfortunately, I had to DNF because I could not get invested in the story no matter the format.

As a fast-paced plot told in dual POV, A Sky of Emerald Stars (and the Golden Court series) will find its readers, but I ultimately can’t recommend it.

Regardless, I do want to thank HarperAudio and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this work in exchange for an honest review.


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Here are my thoughts on the book itself:

I want to preface this by noting - although Avon/Harper have released my favorite Adult Romantasy series to date (Sarah A. Parker's Moonfall series and both of C.L. Wilson's) - I’m not the audience for A.K. Mulford's Golden Court series.

My goal is to be respectful of the work that went into this book, so while I will provide feedback here in NetGalley, I’ll refrain from reviewing this work on my book socials. (Additionally, readers should note this is the second book in a series. I didn’t notice that when I requested this book on NetGalley, and again, out of respect for the publisher and author, I did go and read book 1 first.)

For what it’s worth, I think this could have been an amazing YA series (with very few, but very significant, edits).**

There’s such an important social/political message here. However, as written, I found it too heavy-handed for most adult readers. We can be trusted to understand the political message—and why it matters—when it is first introduced.

Certainly, the questions this text asks are important ones. But, when you have this much repetition (words, plot points/situations, even nicknames) with this little world-building and detail around the characters’ motivations…I just can’t see how this is going to resonate with avid Romantasy readers.

**Note: this is NOT a YA book. It has quite a few moderately spicy scenes – yet, honestly, none of them were needed or added to the plot (and I say this as a reader who is fine with spice). It was such a quick burn, no buildup or time to connect with the characters.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperAudio for this ARC Audio Copy!

When I read book 1 of this series I enjoyed it but it took me a while to really get into. I was not sure if I would want to continue with the series but I decided that since there are so few mainstream shifter books our there right now that I had to give it a chance and I am so glad that I did. There is nothing I love more in a book than a well written political storyline and this one was very enjoyable and balanced really well with the action and battle scenes.

I am definitely looking forward to the final book in the Trilogy!

I absolutely LOVED this book! Calla and Sadie are two of my favorite people and I love the journey they are on. This was a revolution I could get behind and I was hooked from page 1! I would absolutely recommend this book to everyone!

I enjoyed the first half of the book. I found the second half to be a drag. In the second half, there was just court politics with one of the MFC. The other MFC was a lot of self-loathing dialogue. The sex scenes transitioned better in this book compared to book 1.

I received a copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I absolutely loved book 1, A River of Golden Bones, and was so excited for this book, A Sky of Emerald Stars. But it just didn’t meet expectations for me.

What I enjoyed:
- Dual POV: we still get Calla’s pov but we also get Sadie’s POV and I really enjoyed that
- Character development: I feel like we got to see some really good development from Sadie and Calla, as well of some of the supporting characters
- The setting: Mulford never lets me down on her settings and the continuation of this world is no different! It was cool to get to explore more of the world in this book


What I didn’t enjoy:
- The plot didn’t really get anywhere. Like yes this is obviously stuff we need to know to move forward in the series. Setting up for a war and trying to acquire allies. But it just didn’t seem like the plot moved forward. It felt like a side quest.
- The pacing: this dragged. I was tandem reading (ebook + audio) and I still had to take a break because I got so bored.
- The romance between Sadie and Navin: I hate second chance romances. It is so hard to convince me that they can actually make things work a second time. This romance was on the way to convincing me and then!!!! All of a sudden (IN THE MIDDLE OF A FIGHT) all is forgiven and they’re saying “I love you”. I went back to reread because I was SURE that I had missed something. I hadn’t.

I honestly feel like this could have been a novella and It could have been a 5 star read. But here we are almost 400 pages and a 3.5 star.

** thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me an eARC and an ALC**

I love this series so much!! Shifters, Secrets, Magic! What's not to love!


I really love that we do not lose Calla in this book. I struggle with a series when we switch POV and lose the characters from other books. This was a wonderful blend of new POVs and a split map timeline.

The first 70% of the book was pretty mellow. BUT THE END!!! It was a wild ride!! I could not put it down!

I cannot wait to see how the story continues.

I read via audiobook and the audio was great!

3.75. The second book in the Golden Court Series continues with Calla the wolf shifter. After reclaiming their land, war is still brewing in another court. Enter Sadie, another shifter who is the second POV in this story. She’s on a journey in a magical wagon to gain allies but she’s stuck in a forced proximity situation with her ex.

You do need to read book one, but I will say that I enjoyed book two even more! I had a really good time with this story and these characters. I loved the gender fluid representation.

The narrators did an amazing job portraying the characters!

Thank you so much to Netgalley, A.K. Mulford, and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing this free ARC. This is my honest review! This published on December 24th.

I had to play catchup from book 1, which I liked, but I absolutely LOVED A Sky of Emerald Stars! I especially loved getting a dive into the political war amongst the wolf packs!

I’m excited to listen or hear the third book after finishing the second.
I did feel the paced lagged at times but it was a great read nonetheless. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity!

This was a great continuation to the first book. I enjoyed the pacing of the book, which is not rushed, but allows you to settle into the characters and the story. Having the dual points helped to keep track of everything going on, and the two narrators were amazing.

I enjoyed Book 1, A River of Golden Bones. I fell in love with Calla and I was ready for more. I love the diversity in the characters. There are great conversations related to gender and finding their community. However, I struggled with the pacing. At times, I felt that it dragged. With all of that said the ending was perfect! It was action-packed. I enjoyed that there was some consistency with the narrator from books 1 & 2 with Vico Ortiz.

A Sky of Emerald Stars is the second book in the Golder Court series. In this book we catch back up with Calla Grae but we also get to hang with Sadie and Navin on this new adventure they are on to save the kingdom and our beloved Ora from the clutches of King Nero.

What I love about Mulford is she has engaging and endearing characters that you cant help but fall in love with without sacrificing the swoon-worthy romance and storylines. The world building is solid and the character growth is unmatched.

As for the narration I wasn't a huge fan but not through fault of the narrators themselves. When I heard the voices in my head it just did not vibe with the narrators chosen. That said, the narrators did a great job bringing the story to life and read the story well.

I really enjoyed reading about Calla's journey and seeing them gain more confidence within themself in this second book. AK is amazing at creating a found family aspect that I love within their stories. I actually loved getting to know Sadie and seeing her journey unfold with Navin. This was a great second story to really dive further into the Golden Court world!

I’m sitting here, starring at this book, while frantically checking to see when the third book will be released.

While I enjoyed the first book, this one took it to a whole new level. I loved Sadie and Navin’s dynamic, and Maez was hilarious and endearing at the same time. Once again there was significant LGBTQ+ representation, and the themes of found family and dealing with societal prejudices were central to the plot.

I was able to listen to the audiobook and read the physical book courtesy of ARCs from NetGallery and Harper Voyager (thank you!). I enjoyed the narration as well, and felt like the pacing of the book was perfect.

I cannot wait for book 3!!!

This is book 2 of the Golden Court series. It was a fun, fast-paced romantasy. I love wolf/werewolf anything and the fact that a majority of the characters are wolves is right up my alley.

I actually enjoyed this book more than the first book. The relationship and character dynamic between Sadie and Navin was intriguing, witty, and dynamic. The fact that Sadie is a wolf and Navin is a human makes their relationship forbodden. There is banter, tension, and a slow burn like no other.

I’m not normally one for books that are high in politics. However, this one was done well. I think it was because it had to do with wolves and their politics are different than humans. I enjoyed the wolf politics and the interactions of the humans and their wolves.

As far as Grae and Calla - I know that their sections were imperative to the story. However, I felt like their spice was unnecessary at times. I understand they are mates and that they are meant for each other and want to be together at all times, but they don’t need to get it on at every turn and every time something goes wrong.

Audio: I enjoyed the dual narration. The narrators were expressive and kept a good pace.

If you like:
-Multi POV
-Magical elements
-Paranormal elements
-Banter

Thank you Avon, Harper Voyager, and HarperAudio Adult through NetGalley for an ALC in exchange for an honest review.

I love this series, and this second book was one of my most highly anticipated this year, so I was thrilled to get an ARC! It did not disappoint. I'm such a fan of AK Mulford, she can do no wrong. Highly recommend this story.

Thank you to NetGalley for this audiobook ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A River of Golden Bones was my introduction to A.K. Mulford at the beginning of last year. It was an unexpected hit for me. I loved the way it was a very classic romantasy book at it’s core but also managed to tackle topics of gender and finding yourself. Since then I’ve read almost all of their previous series and have started to notice that they have a very specific formula they tend to follow. Though this book strays a little from that by still having Calla’s POV and adding Sawyn’s, the structure of the book itself felt very familiar. My main issue with Mulford’s books is that they are all too short. They tend to write high fantasy books that take place in intricate worlds with complicated political plotlines. But the books are all 350 pages. This book had two main plots, a romance to build and many political maneuverings and none of those got the attention and page time they deserved. I still loved the characters and the found family they built. I’m very interested in the magic of this world, especially the new aspects that we are introduced in this volume. But the pacing was off due to the page size and made me not connect with the story enough. It’s always sad to see a book that has such great representation fail to meet it’s potential.

I did listen to the audiobook for this and would highly recommend it for anyone who can access it. Both narrators do a great job and made the book more enjoyable for me.

A Sky of Emerald Stars is a continuation of the first book a river of golden bones with a new POV of Sadie.I really enjoyed this even more than the first book. I love that we still got to see Calla’s journey with their gender identity. Sadie was a great addition to the series!

3.75 rating
3 spice level

I adored book 1 so I expected I love it and it took me too long to start to like it. While the writing style was still fantastic I struggled with switching POV to a different couple.

Sadie wasn’t as strong as an FMC and felt pretty annoying at most times. She’s pining after Navin, which I’m actually confused what sort of relationship they have, and is supposed to be a BA soldier but she felt weak and immature to me.

I did like Navin though. His secrets and mystery are really the only things that kept me reading. But his twists are…awkward? It didn’t feel like they flowed right and felt too pushed on the reader.

While I didn’t love it, maybe others will. It wasn’t a bad book, I just felt like the story from book 1 hadn’t quite finished yet.