Bladesmith Suraya's life is turned upside down when she receives an invitation to the palace as a potential bride selection for the crown prince of Kaldari.

Aspects I enjoyed about this book:
- Persian and Indian inspired mythology
- witty banter
-25 yo FMC
- slow burn romance
- fast paced
- roguish prince

While this was fast paced and moved along quickly, I did feel as if the beginning of the story was almost completely unnecessary to the story once it was revealed that it hadn't actually been a search for a bride, but actually deadly trials designed to sift out the starkeeper.

I also kept feeling taken out of the world/story with the modern phrases like "thick thighs save lives" and "prince-splaining"

Overall I did enjoy the story and romance, but wished there had been deeper plot and character development.

Thank you Avon and HarperAudio for providing an ARC Audiobook!

I went into this one blind and I’m so happy when it works out. I really enjoyed this romantasy. It was full of plot twists and I love when characters aren’t all they seem. I also love a story line about self-discovery. This one checks the boxes and I can’t wait for the next one.

This was a fun read! I loved the unique settings and set of diverse characters. The images of costumes and colors were so easy to picture. I love that the fmc considering herself a bit of a wallflower but also has this immmense power. I also thought that the crown prince was the mmc and boy am I glad I was wrong. The second brother, is so much more complex and entertaining. This book has trials and political intrigue. It has grand escapes and intense magic. I loved Suraya and Roseanne together, from the moment they laid eyes on each other. Sometimes the modern language and phrases took me out of the story a little though and I still have lots of questions around the mysterious god that interjects throughout the book. I really want to see where the story goes!

I also enjoyed the audiobook, but wish there was more distinction between the male and female voices. Sometimes I got confused about who was talking.

The Starlight Heir is a unique romantasy with adventure and plot twists that had me want to bingeing the whole audiobook in one day! The FMC, Suraya, is a refreshing combination of fierceness and just enough relatable insecurity that makes her an endearing heroine. From her humble beginnings, she is invited to the palace to compete with dozens of other women for the attention and affection of the prince of the kingdom. She soon realizes that the prince is not the prize the women think he is. And soon Suraya finds out that she herself is not who she thinks she is, which sets her onto a path of danger and self-discovery with the prince’s handsome half-brother.

I hadn’t previously heard much about this story so I went in blind. I’m so glad I listened to it! This is a must-read if you love romantasy!

I enjoyed the plot and storyline of The Starlight Heir. I feel like Suraya was too helpless and ignored every sign about what was happening, even while making note of the oddities. I also feel like this book should be marketed as YA because the behavior of out FMC was mor like a 17 year old not a 25 year old. Overall I will likely continue with this series since I'm intrigued to see Suraya's growth and want to know what happens next.

4 ⭐️
1 🌶️
0 💧

This is epic fantasy!!! The book felt like high fantasy, it has a wonderful story with interesting world building that is so engrossing and with the added bonus of a beautiful romance accompanying the journey. Very different and interesting magic, with fascinating gods and creatures. The story was easy to follow but had a strong plot and lots of captivating twists and surprises.

This was my first Amalie Howard novel and I was on the hooked from the first page. Such beautiful story telling. I can’t wait for the next book.

First off, I want to say thank you to HarperCollins Audio for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

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Girl gets invitation to compete for prince’s hand in trials that are not the norm. She finds his brother more interesting. Things just escalate from there when she finds out she’s more than what she seems.

This book was pretty fun. Both main characters were solid and the typical main character vibe you’d get from a romantasy book. I really liked the magic aspect of it. The trials for the Princes’s hand were interesting…

..I just wish we saw more of the trials. The book was giving me The Selection but violent. We didn’t get to see much of that. We also got little hints at the magic but then nothing else? I wanted to know the connection with the beast the Prince kept but nothing else was said really.

Also, most reviewers said this book was a standalone, but I don’t feel like it was. There was so much openendness to it!

I did listen to this audiobook and I am glad I don’t rate off the narrator. Anais Inara Chase was just okay. I had a hard time distinguishing her voices between female characters AND male characters. Usually when I listen to audiobooks voice acted by females I can’t even tell when they get into the male parts. It just flows nicely and I don’t think “that’s a woman doing a male voice”. This narrator did not do that for me. I may try out her other audiobooks to see how those go before I write her narration off. Ramiz Monsef was okay for the few chapters he did.


I would recommend this book to a romantasy reader who wasn’t too invested in plot but there for the vibes.

This book is spicy so just beware of that when you go in.

Rating: 3/5
Format: Audiobook/E-book

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Harper Audio Adut, and Amalie Howard for providing me with the opportunity to listen to this ALC. This was a quick, entertaining read, and I absolutely loved Anais Inara Chase’s narration—it was fantastic!

The book feels more like a YA romantasy with some added spice, which is likely why it was marketed toward an adult audience (Which I completely agree with that decision). If the spice had been toned down and it was marketed as YA, I would have rated it higher. However, I personally found it a bit too clichéd and trope-heavy.

That said, if you go into this expecting a lighter fantasy with a YA vibe, you’ll likely enjoy it much more!

Thank you @netgalley for providing me with this arc in exchange for an honest review!
As far as the story goes, it truly wasn’t for me. It felt like a mish mash of romantasy cliches. The FMC as a low class girl with some secret world shattering power, a prince MMC, shadow daddy vibe, a second act betrayal, and of course she’s a virgin. I personally won’t be looking forward to the next book. But with that being said, I did actually enjoy the narration of the audiobook itself! I felt like the narrator had a really solid flow and was able to give each character a unique voice that didn’t sound out of place. She was able to make intense scenes feel pretty real and high stakes, and the romantic scenes sweet and tender. I felt like the narrator made the story more palatable, whereas if I read this, I probably wouldn’t have finished it. I’m grateful to have gotten this early audiobook, but I probably wouldn’t recommend :/

Thank you NetGalley for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. This was actually very captivating. It was my first read from this author and it was so easy to read and I felt like I flew through it. I loved the characters and the story. The story was so interesting and definitely had a good plot. The characters had great development throughout.

I felt I was slightly confused regarding the magic and in the epilogue, just felt like certain aspects weren't explained thoroughly but it was still a great read!

First and foremost I received an audiobook arc from NetGalley. 😊

Now, this is a story filled with all kinds of action, magic and love. I enjoyed most of the book until the end. So much happened that it felt rushed. More details could have been added to make it more of an Impactful ending.

As for the audio….The fmc narrator did a great job. However, the male voice sounded a bit off when it comes to audio quality.

I thought this was a pretty good book It was definitely out of my comfort zone in different than other things that I have listened to but I definitely would recommend it especially if you're a huge fantasy fan I think you would enjoy this book It had some really good details throughout the book and the story was very upbeat it kept you roped in and kept you interested in what was happening next from the very beginning until the very end

This book had two narrators, which was an interesting choice, but unfortunately, it didn’t save the story for me. The male narrator I truly hated and dreaded him speaking.

The premise—girl with a something inside her, a hidden power her mother locked away—definitely caught my attention. But as the story unfolded, I couldn’t help feeling like it was a rushed, less compelling version of similar books I’ve read before. Honestly it felt like a cheap version of Amélie Wen Zhao’s Song of Silver, Flame Like Night.

The story felt like it borrowed heavily from popular fantasy tropes without adding much originality. The “shadow daddy” vibes and the brooding bad boy with secrets were straight out of Fourth Wing. Even the concept of portals reminded me of Victoria Aveyard’s Realm Breaker. It felt like the book tried to pull from too many sources without bringing something unique to the table.

One aspect I found frustrating was the romance—or lack thereof. The protagonist’s dynamic with the prince was hard to follow. Why was there a wall between them? What was the boundary keeping them apart? In other books, this might be explained with “he’s the villain” or “he’s dangerous,” but here, it just felt vague and underdeveloped.

The shadow man subplot also felt abandoned. Dreams about him were a big focus early on, but by the 75% mark, they just disappeared without resolution. What was the purpose of the dark god? These elements felt like loose threads in a story that struggled to keep its focus.

That said, the author is skilled at writing steamy scenes. But honestly, those scenes felt unnecessary here. If the explicit content were removed, this could have been a strong YA novel. As it stands, the romance felt forced and didn’t add much to the story.

Despite its flaws, I’ll give credit where it’s due—the last few chapters tied things up neatly, though not enough to make me eager for book two. Ultimately, this book felt like a romance parody of a typical teen fantasy adventure.

Wow! What an exciting journey of magic and starlight! Suraya, our FMC is brave, independent, caring, and just a good person. She gets summoned to the king’s palace along with many women from around her kingdom, and that starts the beginning of great change and revelation for her.

I got very “Aladdin” vibes just because of the setting. It seems to be a hot, desert country. The plot was exciting and unique, not just another romantasy. R te his is something new. Not fae and dragons, although I like those things, but it’s nice to have some creativity shine. This is an adult book, so there is language and bedroom scenes. But if you like fantasy and folklore themes, I highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! I’ll definitely be reading more from this author!

Wow! I can't even explain how great the narrator was at bringing this story to life! She felt every emotion and made me feel like I was listening to the character herself tell her story.

The story was amazing, it was action packed with a slow burn that really delivered. There was never a dull moment and it was all important to the story.

I had a rough time with this book and ended up dropping it at 59%, which was a lot more time than I should have given it. The main issue I had was that I started listening to The Starlight Heir while I was in the middle of reading Trial of the Sun Queen and I had to immediately put down this audiobook to continue my physical reading due to the similarities (I continuously confused the book with the audiobook plot). I was thrown off that both books had trials that would ultimately lead to marrying into royalty, but on top of that, the royalty in question was looking for a secret "power" hidden away in our FMC. It felt too similar from one series to the next. I also didn't think this book was adult enough to be classified as an "adult" book - the only adult feel to this book was the cuss words and the strong and long sex scenes.

This is the first book that I've listened to that was read by Anais Inara Chase and I had a couple of complaints on the audio side of things: (1) whenever I listened to this on my drive to work, I would have to turn it up to hear the softer parts of the dialogue due to the tenor of her voice, which means I usually got blasted with sound a couple minutes later when the dialogue was a bit more heated, and (2) I could not for the life of me discern who was speaking when the FMC and the MMC (prince) had such similar voice casting by the narrator that I often lost the thread of dialogue.

I think this is likely the last book I'll read from Amalie Howard as it wasn't my cup of tea. Thank you to NetGalley, Harper Audio Adult, and Amalie Howard for the ability to read the eARC in exchange for my honest review!

4.5 ⭐️

The Starlight Heir is an exciting romantasy debut that combines rich worldbuilding, creative magic, and a heroine you can’t help but root for. The story follows Suraya, a bladesmith with the rare ability to imbue her creations with jadu, the last source of magic in the realm. Her quiet life is upended when she’s invited to the palace to compete in a tournament for the Crown Prince’s hand in marriage—a cover for a much darker purpose: the search for the elusive Starkeeper, a girl with the stars’ magic in her blood.

Suraya is a powerful and determined FMC, fiercely loyal to her loved ones and unwilling to let anyone push her around. Her chemistry with Roshan, the illegitimate brother of the cruel Crown Prince Javed, brings sparks to the story. Roshan is charming, witty, and deeply protective, though his character feels a little underdeveloped compared to Suraya’s complex inner turmoil. Their romance, while sweet, unfolds a bit too easily and lacks some of the tension you might expect—but their banter and connection keep it engaging.

The fast-paced plot doesn’t linger too long on any single event, keeping the stakes high, especially as Suraya and Roshan find themselves on the run. The political intrigue, rebellion, and the cruel trials orchestrated by Javed (a true psychopath) add layers of tension, while the mythology and worldbuilding—including the concept of four distinct houses and a mysterious fifth kingdom of magic wielders—create a vivid and fascinating backdrop. The addition of another POV adds depth to the story and teases even more intrigue for the sequel.

While the romance and some character development could have used more depth, the creative magic system, diverse mythology, and Suraya’s compelling journey make this an impressive start to a series. The final pages introduce a mysterious new character that left me eager to see what happens next. If you’re a fan of romantasy with strong heroines, lush worldbuilding, and high stakes, The Starlight Heir is worth a read.

I love a good Romance book with an actual strong FMC! I really like the blooming relationship between the lead characters .MMC was something else lol.

Thank you to the publisher And Netgalley for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.

First, thank you so much to NetGalley and HarperAudio for an audio copy of this book. I was so thrilled to jump into this one!

The Starlight Heir is a solid standalone fantasy. I really enjoyed finding out about the Magi in this book and was intrigued by the blade-smith from a small village with hidden powers. Suraya had a real “I don’t give a f*ck” attitude and I loved that (& when an author gives their character a fierce love of romance books, we get it 😉) she was strong and eager to help in dangerous situations. Watching her evolve as she learns more about herself & her power was satisfying.

There were many revelations at the end and lots of twists! Pacing was rapid & while there were high stakes scenes it still felt like a cozy fantasy to me? I can’t figure out why… maybe the voice acting? The audio performance was one-note and monotone to me, making it hard to really emotionally invest in the story.

The romance between the FMC & MMC wasn’t one that will stick with me. It was ok. Their banter was fun & it was filled with horny quips left & right, but when it came time for spice it felt mechanical. There was so much talk about soul bonds and nothing really came of that either.

My biggest gripe with The Starlight Heir has to be the ending. Solely because I was under the impression this is a standalone, but the epilogue frustratingly paints a very different picture that could totally set up a 2nd book. I wanted more out of the God of Night & the most we got was in the epilogue…

Another bummer was the deadly bride trials… we got one trial! As a person who is into this trope I was a little let down.

Overall Amalie gave us a unique world and a strong FMC! I’m all for a refreshing stand-alone and am happy I gave this book a listen.

I am someone who is constantly listening to audiobooks & this one did not disappoint! I loved the narrators and appreciated the depth it gave this story.

There are so many things to like about this book but I was very intrigued with the magic system, mythology, and world building the author created! It felt very immersive (especially with the audio) and helped me become invested in our main character, Suraya, from the beginning.

Once I adapted to the modern language use in the story, I was able to enjoy the journey this book took me on! Although I don’t usually like “insta-lust”, the tension between Roshan and Suraya was taut and waiting to snap and kept me so invested in their journey 🔥 Loved the fast paced plot and although I saw some of the twists coming, it didn’t take away from me being surprised and already looking forward to a continuation to this story.

Thank you NetGalley & HarperAudio for the audiobook! 🎧