It had been a while since I have read a romantacy, and this did not disappoint. High courts, brother's fighting over the bride. One forcing her to marry, the other no. Thus is really good. 4 stars

Many thanks to Net Galley and HarperAudio Adult for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted review copy. My opinions are my own.

A fantasy written by one of my favorite historical romance authors?
With middle eastern myth roots?
And magic?
Absolutely yes please!!

Spunky bladesmith with a penchant for working with magical stone illegally, receives an invitation to compete to become a bride of the crown prince, she only accepts to see the capital city, she wants nothing to do with the royal family. I was blown away with the world building, the story and the magic. The e-book book sucked me in and I finished it in two reading sessions I loved Suraya and identified with her romance book love, but also with her curiosity and love of family. I was intrigued with Roshan and what is actually going on with him.

I am eagerly awaiting news of the next book because I want to know what on earth is going on with the the Darrius character since all we have are the few short chapters from his perspective.

The narration was incredible, I loved both Anais and Ramiz. Anais does an amazing job with Suraya’s voice, both her dialogue and her fun as hell inner monologues. Ramiz is only heard a couple of times as Darrius but I loved his snarkiness with dealing with Vena.

Overall, highly recommend!

Starlight heir is a well developed world with vibrant and in-depth religions and cultures. The plot takes our character on plot driven hero's journey through emotional turmoil and adventure. The adventure od the trials, however, far outweighed the adventure of the middle of the book. The last 20% picking up at a lightning pace. While the book is wonderful, the insta love connection and pacing issues in the midsection of the story caused me to take off stars. The romance could use more attention to bond building, as could some of the friendships. The overall plot, characters themselves, and world are delightful.

I really liked this one. I think it's a solid example of a developed romantasy. It does have some elements that I think needed more foreshadowing which is why it didn't make it to 5 stars. The characters had a lot of life and I enjoyed the growth of the romance. I really.cannot wait to see where this story is going to go.

This romantasy had me hooked! Anais Inara Chase and Ramiz Monsef absolutely shine in their narration, making the story even more engaging. Suraya Saab, a badass bladesmith, gets swept into a royal contest that’s more about magic and danger than romance. The mix of Middle Eastern and Indian mythology, thrilling trials, and a slow-burn romance kept me on the edge of my seat. Suraya’s journey of self-discovery, her fiery banter with Roshan, and the rebel attacks made this such a fun listen. The narrators really nailed the characters and brought the world to life. If you love action, magic, and a bit of romantic tension, you’ll enjoy this one. It’s the kind of audiobook that keeps you glued till the very last second. Can’t wait for the next book!

The description of this book had me believing I was going to be obsessed, and it was a fun read but not as good as I was hoping or expecting it to be. The story was fast paced and the magic system interesting, but I honestly didn't care for the love interest and the twist felt so predictable that I'm not sure how the FMC didn't see the betrayal coming. The second POV had me INTRIGUED and I honestly wish we'd gotten more from him, but my guess is he'll make the next book way more interesting to read. Thank you Netgalley for the audiobook e-ARC!

Kind of confused with the Lord of night last pov..Spoiler but if the lord of night was in Ro but im guessing he doesnt know about it. I think the Lord of night pov is definitely confusing me the most since im tryna piece together how that fits but maybe im supposed to be confused until its revealed. Besides that the book was fast paced and sucked me in! I listened to the audiobook courtesy of netgalley!
Thanks Netgalley. It really had me on the edge of my seat with the hunger games style competition. Throughout the book it made me think of Rebel of sands which absolutely loved that series. I loved the magical elements it had me wanting to hear more about it. I loved how she thought Ro was a gardener that was so funny. This book had me so damn stressed too that i felt like i had to sit down and listen. Ive read Amalie Howard’s historical romance so it was so good to see her delve into fantasy romance. The end chapters had me sobbing my eyes out and wanting to curl up into a ball. Im definitely excited about the next book.

For fans of Fourth Wing, ACOTAR, and Divine Rivals. If romantasy is your thing, you will probably enjoy this. Personally, I would say I'm lukewarm to the genre and this one was no exception. The character development and writing were good, but I found some of the dialogue grating and too modern and the overall plot very similar to every other dark romantasy that I've read. I did really enjoy the inclusion of cultural elements and found the descriptions of clothing, places, and feelings very beautiful.

The cover really sucked me in with this one and I was liking the story enough, but it just ended up not working for me in the end. For my fantasy reads, it was really hard to get past all the modern dialogue that took place. I was hoping to get past it, but my mind wouldn't let me. And the mention of Persian mythology was extremely enticing, but was barely touching the surface in the book.

Anais Inara Chase and Ramiz Monsef were really great choices for narrators! They truly brought the characters to life, I hope we'll see them again in the next book.

Thank you for the opportunity to listen to The Starlight Heir!

**Book Review: *The Starlight Heir***
*by E. V. Everest*

E. V. Everest’s *The Starlight Heir* is an ambitious blend of cosmic intrigue, ancient prophecies, and self-discovery. While it dazzles with imaginative world-building and a compelling premise, its execution sometimes falls short.

The story follows a teenager thrust into a sprawling adventure as the heir to a cosmic legacy. The richly described settings and intriguing central mystery are highlights, immersing readers in a vivid and expansive universe. However, the fast pacing often leaves little room for meaningful character development, and some secondary plotlines feel unresolved.

Everest’s prose is polished, and her vision is undeniably creative. Yet, the intricate lore and grand scope occasionally overshadow the emotional depth of the story. While the protagonist’s journey is engaging, supporting characters can feel underdeveloped, relying on familiar tropes.

Despite its shortcomings, *The Starlight Heir* lays a promising foundation for a larger series. It’s an enjoyable read for fans of space-faring adventures and cosmic mysteries, even if it doesn’t fully deliver on its potential.

**Rating:** ★★★½ (3.5/5)

A vibrant, imaginative start with room for refinement in future installments.

Thank you to HarperAudio Audit for providing the AudioArc via NetGalley for review all opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperAudio for this lovely romantasy audiobook! This review may contain slight spoilers towards the story.

Overall 3.5 star rating.

The narrators for the audiobook do a very good job. I never had any trouble distinguishing the characters from each other and the emotion placed in the narration really pulled me into the story. A story which is, overall, a romantasy through and through. I enjoyed the world we have in The Starlight Heir and it starts out what felt like might become a very redundant plot of trials to win a prince's hand in marriage. However, I enjoyed how it veers off and we have more world building, traveling, and how the romance heats up in the middle and not having to wait for the entire book. Overall a solid romantic fantasy that really hits the ground running and is fast paced enough to keep me hooked in for the entire book. It was a story that I needed and left drops of intrigue for the sequel. I look forward to seeing what comes next! There were some weaker spots in the story, a POV that I really need more from and felt it was left in for mystery but was a bit more confusing, though expecting it to be clarified more in the sequel. If you're looking for that romantasy story that has adventure, royal troubles, magic and small dose of delicious spiciness, than this is certainly one for you!

The Starlight Heir audio book was a fun listen. Anais Inara Chase and Ramiz Monsef did a wonderful job bringing this world to life. I will say that because of the lore it might have been a better story to read so I could easily turn back and reference names and lore.

While I liked the overall story and world, I felt that the timing was a bit confusing. At times the plot would escalate quickly and others it felt slow moving. The last 20% redeemed a lot of my opinions about the book and brought it from a 3 to a 4 star rating. That said, I will be reading book 2 as I'm curious to see where it leads the characters.

This book definitely got added to my recommended romantasy list! Suraya is the daughter of a tavern keeper and an apprentice blacksmith. The prince of her kingdom is looking for a bride and sends out invitations to a handful of girls across the land and one falls in her lap. Unable to refuse an invite from the royal family she attends only to find out there is a much darker plot lying under this guise of a search for a bride. With the help of Roshan she fight for her survival and her kingdom.
This book had me hooked! I loved the world building for this book since I don’t see many fantasy stories in dessert land settings. The creatures and cultures were unique but still had elements that were familiar so you didn’t feel like you were having to learn everything from scratch. The characters and interactions felt a tad YA at times but over all the story was fascinating and kept a good pace. The interactions between Roshan and Suraya made me smile at their quips and verbal battles which added to the spicy moments too. There was one or two aspects that I didn’t fully grasp and feel like loose ends but I have a strong feeling that they were build up to a second book so I can’t complain before waiting to see. All in all a great entertaining read that I would highly recommend for Romantasy readers looking for something that feels fresh and different from other stories in the genre.

This audiobook was perfection. The voices matched the characters and the narration was wonderful! I will definitely recommend to Romantasy friends.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of The Starlight Heir. I had high hopes for this book, and overall the story was intriguing, but there were some things that did not work for me personally. I do not enjoy modern references in fantasy books most of the time. I feel like it really takes me out of that fictional world. I also prefer more of a slow burn romance. It did not really feel earned to me, it was too quick. I thought the magic system was really interesting and overall this book was enjoyable. 3.5 stars

The Starlight Heir is the tortured prince shadow daddy romantasy of my DREAMSSSSS
IT WAS a deeply romantic and addictive masterpiece that starts off with a contest for a bride that quickly turns deadly
there’s mistaken identities, hidden magic and prophecies, and so many secrets that will keep you guessing and unable to put the book down
It truly had one of the most unique magic systems rooted in Persian and Indian mythology with stunning world building
Also talk about sizzling tension, delicious banter, and steaming moments that had me fanning myself. all while bursting with adventure and magic !!!
The ending had my jaw completely on the floor I am desperately longing for more, trust me you’re gonna need to read this one

The Starlight Heir is a fast-paced, instalust romantasy where a bladesmith receives an invitation to compete for the Crown Prince’s hand in marriage and instead finds herself vibing with his illegitimate brother instead.
The premise was interesting - lost magic, gods, astrology and star charts, but I was let down by the execution. This was a fantasy society that does not exist anywhere near a modern time period but was full of modern slang that would immediately halt my immersion and bring me back to reality. (See: thick thighs save lives, resting bitch face, and prince splaining). That type of language felt super out of place in the setting and atmosphere of the book.
I also struggled with Suraya as a character. She seemed to make some of the worst choices and I don’t think those choices supposed to be about her development as a character. She also was constantly saying “sands” and glancing up through her lashes and that definitely started to grate on me.
I liked Roshan as a MMC and forbidden love interest but his chemistry with Suraya was lukewarm at best. There was such an opportunity for tension and longing and instead Suraya is in instalust/love with him because she’s a 25 year old virgin (also why this needed to be made a specific plot point in itself is unclear to me-it felt like it was stuck in there to be one more trope).
Overall this book had a lot of potential and a lackluster follow through. I’m not sure I’ll be picking up any future books in this series despite how gorgeous the covers are.
The audio of this book had 2 narrators who I think did a good job of capturing the essence of the characters they were narrating. The female narrator did the bulk of the narration and was able to create voices and personas in her reading and kept me engaged enough to finish the book.

I did like this book. Overall is was well done. The pacing was slow and fast at times. I don't think it knew what it wanted from itself. It was worth the read, the characters were well thought out and, yes overall is was well done! Thank you netgalley for the audio ARC

📖 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝑯𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒃𝒚 𝑨𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒆 𝑯𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅
🎧 𝑵𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒚 𝑨𝒏𝒂𝒊𝒔 𝑰𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒆 & 𝑹𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒛 𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒇

“𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘴.”

This book had me completely enthralled from the very beginning! As a fantasy book sometimes the world building can be a bit overwhelming, but I felt like Amalie tackled it perfectly! The world she created was great.

The second time reading this story I did a hybrid read while listening to the audiobook and WOW! The narration by 𝑨𝒏𝒂𝒊𝒔 𝑰𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒆 & 𝑹𝒂𝒎𝒊𝒛 𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒇, was PHENOMENAL. I got so much more out of my reading experience while listening to the audio. The magic in the story truly resonated so much more and it was like a treat for my mind! The voices for Roshan & the God of Night, were perfect!

As with all fantasy books, I know I would pick up on a lot of new things each time I go back and reread it. I fully plan on sitting down with this story again!

“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧.”

Suraya, our FMC and main POV for the story, was a great lead. She cares deeply about those she loves and became a fierce protector. She struggles with her new powers during the story but the climax was perfect.

“𝘞𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘢𝘥𝘺? 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘧𝘦𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦.”

Prince Roshan was a dreamboat! I freaking loved him, he’s a flawed character with plenty of secrets, but at his core he is a protector. The banter between him and Suraya was a highlight of this story! I love them together. This is an open door, spicy slow burn that will leave you wanting more!

“𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.”

There is a surprise POV sprinkled in during the book and it left me wanting more from this character.

“𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘳𝘺𝘯𝘥𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳. 𝘐 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘺 𝘧***𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘯𝘥.” 🤭

As the first book in the series, this one did leave off on a bit of a cliffhanger. I am so excited for the direction Amalie is taking this story! If you love romantasy stories with a powerful FMC and a story that keeps you guessing, go add 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝑯𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒃𝒚 𝑨𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒆 𝑯𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅, to your TBR today! I HIGHLY recommend the audiobook for this story! Experience the adventure first hand!

𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴:
✨ 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘺
🗺️ 𝘊𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘉𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨
🔥 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘍𝘔𝘊
👑 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘹 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳
🤭 𝘉𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳
👀 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘴
❤️‍🔥 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘺 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘉𝘶𝘳𝘯

This romantasy read left me with a lot of questions which makes me hope there will be another book. I was really intrigued by the magic system and the story of the Starkeeper. I would love more about that. And the god bound in shadows?!?! Needed more of that too! The ending felt rushed, but overall I enjoyed this read. The narrator did an excellent job. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen in exchange for a review.