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A review by riniya
The Starlight Heir by Amalie Howard
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This book wasn't bad, but it wasn't really what I wanted it to be. I guess I just kind of expected more? I so badly wanted to like it.
I thought that the characters were cute and the story was told well, if not at a bit of a slower pace than I would have liked. I found myself getting bored often while reading, stopping to doom scroll or watch tv instead. The characters weren't enough to keep my interest and I had to force myself to keep reading.
I loved the deadly trials and search for a bride that we got, but it was just lackluster. I thought it was going to be more of a challenge, more trials that our FMC would have to go through, instead there was only one trial with deadly consequences, a random riddle and a ball before it was over. It just felt like I was promised one thing and delivered another. This part of the story was so rushed, but once it ended the story did seem to balance out in pacing.
The author couldn't seem to decide if she wanted this book to be YA or NA. The characters are in their 20s and there are some explicit scenes between them, but the dialogue and actions of our characters was firmly in the YA category and even some of the internal monologues read like angsty teen yearning.
The world building, left something to be desired. The rushed pacing at the beginning of the book robbed us of development, not only within our characters, family dynamics and the world, but also with the magic system. It felt like we got the cliff notes version of development, and while I loved the mythology and Indian /Persian style of the world, It felt like it just deserved more.
Overall, the story was decent. I liked it but didn't love it.
I thought that the characters were cute and the story was told well, if not at a bit of a slower pace than I would have liked. I found myself getting bored often while reading, stopping to doom scroll or watch tv instead. The characters weren't enough to keep my interest and I had to force myself to keep reading.
I loved the deadly trials and search for a bride that we got, but it was just lackluster. I thought it was going to be more of a challenge, more trials that our FMC would have to go through, instead there was only one trial with deadly consequences, a random riddle and a ball before it was over. It just felt like I was promised one thing and delivered another. This part of the story was so rushed, but once it ended the story did seem to balance out in pacing.
The author couldn't seem to decide if she wanted this book to be YA or NA. The characters are in their 20s and there are some explicit scenes between them, but the dialogue and actions of our characters was firmly in the YA category and even some of the internal monologues read like angsty teen yearning.
The world building, left something to be desired. The rushed pacing at the beginning of the book robbed us of development, not only within our characters, family dynamics and the world, but also with the magic system. It felt like we got the cliff notes version of development, and while I loved the mythology and Indian /Persian style of the world, It felt like it just deserved more.
Overall, the story was decent. I liked it but didn't love it.