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.

First off, I just love AK Mulford's writing. This is one of the very few wolf shifter series I enjoy. I loved book 1 and I think this book is a great continuation of the series.

I liked the parallel storylines as the golden court splits up to go gather allies for the war they know is coming with the silver wolves. And I love that we still get Calla and Grae. Gosh do I love them.

Sadie and Navin's relationship gets a lot of attention in this book. I can't say why this romance worked for me but it just did. Normally, I don't really like reading so much volatility in relationships but it worked for me here. I think because the author did such a great job of taking me on the emotional roller coaster that Sadie was on. I really felt for her. Sometimes I thought she should just go ahead and kill Navin.

The narration is great once again. I love the addition of a second narrator for this book. It made it so easy to follow the POVs.

I am ready for the next book! I can't wait to continue reading. Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Voyager for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed parts of this book, but something felt off, and I found myself losing interest at times. While I love multiple POVs, the constant cliffhangers at the end of multiple chapters made the story feel a bit disjointed.

The book seems caught between YA and adult genres. The characters’ attitudes and actions feel very YA, but the spice pushes it into the adult category. Honestly, the spice felt a bit out of place—like it was added just to fit the genre. That said, the story is more plot-driven than spice-focused, and the characters do show some growth.

The narrators did an amazing job and are the main reason I stuck with the book. Their performances brought the story to life in a way the writing didn’t manage for me.

Overall, it wasn’t bad, but the pacing and tone didn’t quite work for me. The audiobook, though, is definitely worth a listen if you are wanting to give this book a go.

I finished a river of golden bones I loved it so much I had to jump into a sky of emerald stars.

I 100% judge book by its cover so these books were no brainer and I'm glad it paid off a sky of Emerald Stars was just as beautifully written I loved getting to see more of Sadie's story with Navin and Maez along side her.

Sadie is such a great strong FMC and I loved every minute of it.

I absolutely devoured this book in both audio and e-book format. I loved A River of Golden Bones and A Sky of Emerald Stars topped that. This book is more emotional and devastating than the first and has multiple moments where I gasped out loud. The betrayal is BETRAYING in this book. The characters are beautiful and complex and the war between the "elite race" of wolves and humans feels maybe a bit too on the nose for today's times. I also loved the aspect of the musical magic that was woven deeper into this book. We had hints in the first book but this book dove further in and it was really unique. We also get a secret society and a hidden city, dragons, and monsters galore. We follow Calla, Grae, Sadie, Maez and Navin as they navigate not only their own truths, but how to gain more support for the war on the horizon. I cannot wait to dive into book 3! I very much enjoyed the audiobook. My one and only complaint is that it isn't duet narration, but for me that isn't a huge deal breaker. I know how much more expensive and time consuming that can be. That small complaint will not impact my 5 star rating of this epic story!