I want to thank NetGalley, Emrae Publishing and CB Woods for an early copy of this book for review.

In general I really liked this book. It nearly had all the elements that I love in a fantasy book, although I might have liked some things to be explained in a more simple way because world building got to be confusing at times. It had a very slow start for me.

I loved reading the love story; the tension and the yearning was what I was missing in books lately. I actually didn’t get the reason why they couldn’t be together, maybe it’s because the reason for their separation wasn’t significant enough for me.

The courts and celestial themes were engaging. I always love a good court politic.

I was afraid that it was going to end on a big cliffhanger but I’m happy that it didn’t. The book still makes you want to pick up the rest.
I overall liked Astra and her decisions and the things that she stands for. The magic system is quite appealing. I also would’ve liked to see more dragons.
If you like enemies to lovers, dragons, yearning, marriage of convenience you should give this one a chance.

Cheers to my first #ARC!! Thank you @netgalley, Emrae Publishing, and and @cbwoodsbooks for a stellar read 🤩

"Sun and Moon, bound by fate, broken by blood."

If you like celestial courts and political intrigue with engaging characters, this is for you!

The FMC, Astra, is a Lunar demi-goddess who has been exiled due to her unruly magic. Now on the brink of war with the Solar Court, Astra strikes a deal to wed the King of Mercury in order to better her alliances with both the human courts and her people who are struggling for resources across her homeland in the Lunar Court. As they navigate their courtship and attempt to gain allies among the planets/planes, Astra becomes intertwined with the King's commander, Luxuros (helloooo MMC!!). Together, they untangle secrets, lies, and betrayals that change the course of history.

This took me a bit to get into, but once I hit about 20%, I was hooked! I truly loved each main character and enjoyed watching them grow from beginning to end. The conclusion was complex, but the author did an amazing job of tying up each loose end while still keeping me reeled in for the next one!

Tropes include: tethered/fated mates, court politics, celestial world building, gods and goddesses, warring realms, twists and turns, betrayals, strong FMCs

Before I dive in, I want to thank NetGalley, Emrae Publishing and CB Woods for an early copy of this book for review.

When I first read the synopsis for this story, I was hooked. Fated pairs? Enemies to lovers? An abundance of lunar settings and imagery? Dragons? Give. It. To. Me.

For the most part, I really enjoyed this story. The setting was stunning. From the waves of the sea to the towering buildings on Mercury. It’s easy to fall in love with the world as the author describes palaces, hot springs, and even dreams.

The world building was also impressive. I loved that Astra can see people's emotions, color coordinating them in a simple way for the audience to understand. The rift itself was immersive and a great detail to add that sets it apart from so many other fantasy novels. The telepathic conversations. How Tethers work. The court systems and how they weave into the fabric of above and below. It’s all a fascinating aspect to the world that Astra lives in. I can also appreciate that Lux wasn’t some dark haired, shadow wielding, winged zaddy with tattoos. (5 stars in my opinion.)

The family relationship was interesting to explore. The sisterly love, the issues with Astra’s mother, the relationships of the past and how they impacted the family years later was a great aspect, too. It was one of the things I was eager to inspect as the story went on.

However, some of the story left me wanting more. For instance, and trying to avoid spoilers here, there’s a part where Astra’s dragon is injured. After that, we never hear about him again. Throughout the entire story, she only rides him two or three times. Although dragons do not play a huge part in this story, I always want to see more of them. Especially if Astra is kind of rare for riding a dragon.

A few of the scenes play out quickly. One moment in a chapter, characters are in one room then jump to another. Not a huge deal, since readers should be able to read between the lines, but a little more clarification would be nice in future books.

One major instance that annoyed me was the constant use of names and/or nicknames in a conversation. I had to read “Astra” and “As” so many times I started to roll my eyes whenever someone mentioned her. It took place even when there were only two characters speaking to each other. I can appreciate a cute nickname now and again, but there were so many abbreviated names I started to get aggravated.

Unfortunately, I felt like the last few chapters went on a little too long. One chapter was a long flashback of everything that happened with little to no insight from anyone else’s point of view. A tad bit of info dumping that had my head spinning trying to take in so much more information. It could have been a little flushed out but it didn’t make me hate the book.

All in all, I was really fond of this story. Give me anything that has any sort of resemblance to Sailor Moon, and I’m a pile of putty in the author's hands. I loved the slow burn here too, how it wasn’t some sort of insta-lust that made the main characters suddenly change. The world is gorgeous, the characters are interesting, and the ending definitely leaves you wanting for a second book.

3.5 ⭐

Rift is a fun and unique take on the romantasy set in courts genre. Our heroine, Astra, is a fierce princess with fire in her veins and a vision for a better future facing off against her mother’s indifference, disappointment and expectations. On her birthday she finds herself thrown back into court life, courtship, impending war and a mysterious commander determined to drive her crazy. Lux and As offer a simmering chemistry and an engaging level of banter as they navigate a world or gods, royalty, rebellion, family and love.

The story was very engaging, I found the writing a tad unclear at times but not distracting enough from the plot and the chemistry. I will definitely be checking out the second book in this series when I have the opportunity.

This book snuck up on me. I almost DNF’d it around the 10-15% mark because I was having so much trouble getting into it. It was a bit slow to start.

But once it started getting into the relationships is where I felt that the story really found its strength. The main relationship (Astra and Lux) was delicious and angsty, it hit especially hard starting around the 50% mark

The world and courts were really intriguing, but some world building and powers were a tiny bit lacking (not fully fleshed out, sorta halfway explained). For a debut story, however, I was blown away!

But once we were eased into the world, I fell in love with the Solar courts and their rulers. Can’t wait for the sequel!

Read if you love:
Fated mates
Inter-court intrigue
Let’s get the gang together to piss off some powerful beings

Rift is a beautifully written fantasy novel with an intricate, well-crafted storyline that kept me hooked from beginning to end. This book stands out with its nuanced world-building, compelling plot, and brilliantly developed characters—especially the fierce and capable female main character, Astra, who is refreshingly over 30!

The story follows Astra, a Demi-Goddess who dreams of a world where title and rank mean nothing. Exiled for her fiery tendencies and unpopular politics, she’s spent the last few years far from the court’s suffocating expectations. But when an ancient threat reemerges, she is forced to return to the life she tried to leave behind. With reluctant allies and enemies at every turn, she must navigate treacherous politics, uncover long-buried secrets, and decide where her heart truly belongs. As tensions rise and secrets unravel, Astra finds herself in an unexpected alliance.

The slow-burn romance is wonderfully done, embodying the “reluctant allies to lovers” trope in a way that feels organic and deeply satisfying.

The cast of multidimensional characters all bring something special to the narrative.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the book, there were a few moments that felt a bit drawn out and the world was a little confusing to get my head around, which is why I landed on a solid 4-star rating.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the author for the ARC copy—I can’t wait to see what C.B. Woods writes next!

What a fantastic read! The world building is incredible and so detailed. The celestial world is unlike anything I’ve read in romantasy books before. Starts off slow but once it gets into it, it’s incredible and I hated having to put it down. The court politics, all the secrets and the slowwww burn enemies to lovers, the tension 🔥 I loved that the focus wasn’t just on the main FMC, that we got to see so much of the other characters too.
I can’t wait for the next book to continue the story!!

Thank you to NetGalley and CB Woods for ancebook in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Had a great time with this read! It did take a bit for me to get fully invested in it since it was a bit confusing for me in the beginning, but once that passed I really was into it. Loveeee the enemies to lovers in this, and appreciated the slow burn.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Emrae Publishing and CB Woods for the ARC copy of this book.

What a refreshing, original, well-written book. Rift is a slow-burn, mildly spicy romantasy featuring Astra as our FMC, who is a princess and second-daughter to the king and queen of her kingdom. As the book progresses, we learn Astra is far more than she appears, and are plunged into complex and well-done world building with high stakes and emotional twists and turns. The magic system is original and it's more than just your standard war between Faerie courts series.

Rift is so well written. Refreshingly well written. I also loved having an FMC who isn't 18-22 and has lived a few years, with a more nuanced perspective on life. Her relationships with her family and friends felt real, and the slow burn between her and the FMC is full of enemies-to-lovers/fated mates tropes done very well. Our FMC is down bad in a real way, but he doesn't lose his sense of self and remains the same type of person he's initially introduced to us as.

Highly recommend this book - can't wait to read the second when it comes out.

The Rift is the first book in a Romantic Fantasy series full of magic, forbidden relationships, plot twists and amazing main characters, I already miss Astra and Lux and am excited for book 2!

Astra is a rebellious princess of Lunar Court and when, after 3 years of exile, she is summoned to court because of the threat of war, the last thing she wants to do is to get married for her mother’s political games. She agrees to a marriage of convenience with a Mercury King, but the longer she is home the more she realizes that everything she thought she knew about the courts, the gods and even her own family might be a lie and she needs to decide who she can trust and what is best for her people while trying not to fall for her betrothed’s commander who is supposed to be her enemy but she can’t ignore their growing feelings for each other.

I loved the world building in this book which is based on the solar system, all the courts, kings and queens, gods and goddesses and their politics were written in such a fascinating way I couldn’t get enough of it. The plot was perfectly paced, after a few chapters I was fully immersed in this fascinating world and all the plot twists had me on the edge of my seat. Astra was a great FMC and I loved reading her story and seeing how much she grew in this book, she was really strong and clever and my favorite kind of heroine. Lux is the kind of mysterious MMC I always love in romantasy books and I enjoyed discovering his secrets (even those he didn’t know himself), I can’t wait to see him deal with everything that happened at the end in book 2. Astra and Lux had an amazing slow burn enemies to lovers relationship and OMG the fated mates trope combined with forbidden love is one of my favorites and the author wrote it so well here, I absolutely loved reading about these two and I’m sure when this series is complete they are going to be one of my favorite bookish couples, I can’t wait to see how their story will unfold.

The Rift is an incredible Romantasy book that I’m sure everyone who enjoys this genre is going to love as much as I did. And I really appreciate that it doesn’t end on a big cliffhanger, the ending still makes you want to read the next book soon, but I can wait a bit and I already know it’s going to be as amazing as this one!

This book, the first in a new series, is about the courts of the planets and then the gods above.
Astra is a daughter in the lunar court but is a fire wielder. Her sister aligns with her mother and will become the next lunar queen. Astra, as the second daughter, is going to be matched with another for alliance in another court. However an unexpected love match unfolds while other events with equally big repercussions occur.

It was a bit confusing in the beginning to understand who is connected to whom, and everyone’s names, and any issues in the past. They also incorporate a lot of stuff about colors being emotion. Ultimately I did become intrigued by the story and the twists. My main complaint is the love story is basically told in the book summary… some of that could easily be kept a surprise so you weren’t waiting for it to happen at every turn.

Looking forward to the sequel nonetheless.

Thank you to netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Demi-god Astra is summoned home to the Lunar Court by her mother after she was exiled for the last 3 years. She is thrown back into court politics and is fighting for equality. This story explores complex family dynamics and I loved every bit of it. It made me wish I had a sister to be so loyal to.

I like how the characters are in their 30s. It feels like a breath of fresh air compared to the younger characters in other romantasy novels. I absolutely love the celestial world. It feels so magical to read.

I find Astra to be so relatable and love her character. She is so strong for being misunderstood her whole life. Watching her grow and use her magic was so fun to read. I loved the banter between her and Luxuros. The tension between the two was so good.

The rebellion was my favorite part. I loved getting little snippets of what they were fighting to build and the ending was SO good. I think this needs another round of editing, there’s a few typos and some parts are over explained. Overall the story was amazing and I loved this. I can’t wait for the next one!


You’ll like this if you like
*Dragons
*Celestial themes
*Slow burn
*Strong FMC
*Fated mates
*He trains her

Rift is a captivating blend of romantic fantasy and high-stakes political intrigue, perfect for readers who revel in stories of fated mates, powerful court dynamics, and gods who play with the threads of fate. From its first page, this novel transports you into a world where loyalty is as fickle as the shifting celestial bodies and where the weight of the crown could be both a symbol of power and a dangerous burden.

The protagonist, Astra, is a complex and intriguing character who embodies the struggle between duty and self-determination. As a Lunar demi-goddess exiled from the oppressive royal court, Astra is a fierce and independent soul, haunted by the expectations that come with her bloodline. She dreams of freedom—a future untethered by titles and rank—and her fiery nature and strong will immediately set her apart from the stereotypical princess. Yet, this very defiance makes her a target for the political machinations of her mother, the queen, who sees Astra as little more than a pawn to solidify alliances.

The pacing of Astra’s reluctant return to the court after an object of great significance is discovered is expertly done, blending intrigue and tension. The stakes escalate quickly as Astra finds herself tied to the charming but rebellious King of Mercury in a strategic marriage meant to secure her loyalty. However, her true entanglement comes through her interaction with Luxuros, the king's haughty yet magnetic commander. Their dynamic is filled with the right amount of tension—romantic and otherwise—keeping the reader constantly questioning whether they can trust each other or if betrayal lies around every corner.
Luxuros, with his enigmatic secrets and growing connection to Astra, is an excellent foil to her character. Their relationship is built on mutual distrust, but the chemistry between them is undeniable, and their partnership evolves into something much deeper as they uncover long-buried family betrayals and face threats from both human and divine forces. This slow-burn romance is both thrilling and heartbreaking, as Astra and Luxuros struggle with their respective duties and growing feelings for one another.
The world-building in "Astra's Oath" is a highlight. The realms between the Lunar, Solar, and human courts feel richly developed, with the gods' influence looming like a dark cloud, ever-watchful and ever-plotting. The tension between these realms—each with its own power dynamics and historical grudges—creates a palpable sense of danger that never lets up. Astra's journey of self-discovery is intertwined with uncovering the truth behind the gods' crumbling control and the legacy of betrayal that haunts her family. It’s a world where everyone has their own agenda, and Astra must navigate it with both caution and courage.

What truly elevates the novel is its exploration of power, sacrifice, and identity. Astra’s internal struggle between fulfilling her duty to her bloodline and carving out her own future is compelling. Her desire to protect the people she loves, even at great personal cost, makes her an incredibly sympathetic character. The novel does an excellent job of showing how the ties that bind us—whether by blood, duty, or love—can be both empowering and destructive.
The threat of war that looms over the plot adds a sense of urgency and tension, and the final act sets the stage for a high-stakes battle where allegiances will be tested, and secrets will be revealed. The stakes couldn’t be higher, and readers will find themselves on the edge of their seats as Astra and Luxuros face both external and internal conflicts that could change the course of their world.

In conclusion, Rift is a thrilling, romantic fantasy that blends political intrigue, forbidden power, and a slow-burn romance against the backdrop of celestial warfare. The strong, multifaceted characters, intricate world-building, and ever-present tension between duty and desire will appeal to fans of high fantasy and courtly drama. Astra’s journey toward embracing her legacy, and her evolving relationship with Luxuros, will leave readers eagerly awaiting the next installment in this unforgettable series.

I loved this book so much. I am thankful to have been given an opportunity to read it and I absolutely can not wait for the next one.

Thank you to Netgalley, CB Woods and Emrae publishing for the early e-arc!

I thought I was going to dnf at 10-15% but then I got totally sucked in and read half the book in one night and finished in 2🙊

✨Celestial courts rife with political intrigue and on the brink of war, feisty royals with secret agendas, curious magic and a soul tugging tension between an exiled princess and an arrogant commander. The banter, the sweet moments and a little bit of cheesiness made for an enjoyable read ☺️

A heartwarming ending to book 1 of The Courts Between series 😊

I literally have no words - my heart is so full of emotions right now. When I started this book I didn’t know how I’d feel but the more and more I read, I honestly became obsessed! I honestly couldn’t put it down and when I did I was just WAITING until I could pick it up again. The story of As & Lux is a brilliant one and I cannot wait for the second book! There’s action, sadness, romance, and everything in between! It started out a bit slow in the beginning but the pick up was 100% worth it! I’m a huge sucker for a love story and this didn’t disappoint. I’m really intrigued to learn more and visit more Courts as well as learn more about Lux’s family history. Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC that I didn’t know I needed in my life!

#Rift #NetGalley

Wow talk about jumping into the rift and falling in love. I enjoyed reading this book so much. I’m so grateful for the eARC but now I’m burning for more! If you are a fan of court scheming, political intrigue, unique magic systems, fake relationships, enemies to lovers, and fated mates this book is for you. The plot was so good and the characters developed beautifully, especially Astra and Lux.

I really enjoyed this story about Astra, a princess/demigoddess in the Lunar Court who has been exiled for using her fire powers, an action her mother, the Queen, has banned from her court. Astra dreams of a better world, one built upon community and equality, as opposed to being born of privilege and wealth, and her story here begins when her mother forces Astra to return to court, which begins an unraveling of mysteries several decades in the making. Many favorite tropes are here, including (not quite) enemies-to-lovers, slow burn, one bed and forbidden romance. The magical system here is fresh and unique, and the world building complex.

My one critique of the book is in that world building, actually, in that while it has been richly woven, the delivery is oftentimes excessively complicated, which left me scratching my head at times. I’m hoping some of those holes will be patched up in the next book(s) as well. Regardless, I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Thank you NetGalley, Victory Editing and Author CB Woods for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Rift.

Honestly, I could not put this book down. I was interested by the first page and the magic system unraveling before me kept me entrapped. The descriptions throughout the book easily transported my imagination to vividly see the world and the characters as they went along their journey.

The story's point of view really worked to benefit the reader for a deeper understanding of the story and the characters.

If this book was double in size I would have stayed in the world, but alas I must wait patiently for the others in the series.

“Sun and Moon, bound by Fate, broken by blood.”

Astra dreams of a better world where there are no monarchies and titles. As a Demi-goddess and a princess of the Lunar Court, she is determined to try and convince her mother to make these changes. After being exiled for a few years after an incident involving her fire magic her mother has called her back because the courts are about to go to war. After coming home Astra ends up in a marriage of convenience to help her court and her dreams of a better world, an unexpected tether, and realizing everything she has been told growing up is wrong.

Overall I really enjoyed this book. The world-building was pretty easy to follow and I enjoyed the characters and seeing their development throughout the book. One thing that I wish there was more of is descriptions of the world as I struggled to picture some parts of it. If you like marriage of convenience, enemies to lovers, tension, celestial-themed worlds, magic, and dragons you should definitely check this book out.