Imani Erriu

Heavenly Bodies

khwaiish 

There was a gleam in his lined, pale eyes. slurm ents v wher bod I want to kill a Star. And you're going to help me'

I have mixed feelings about this book. I liked the idea of it a lot, with the Stars and the magic system, but I didn’t love the romance or the characters very much. I feel like in the beginning they were so annoying because yeah you hate each other but you don’t even know each other like that. And then the writing was weird. Sometimes the dialogue and the inner dialogue was so cringe, I had to take several deep breaths. But there were also beautiful quotes. It feels like two people wrote that book. I think I’m going to continue the series just because I’m curious about what is going to happen 

Sílvia

A new author and one I almost got to meet at RARE in Edinburgh this year but sadly ran out of time.

There are plenty of good things about this book. Elara may be in over her head - what with Star's hunting her, a prophecy to avoid fulfilling and magic to learn how to wield, but she is determined, intelligent and has vengeance on her mind!

Learning the mythology and history of a new world is always a bit of an information overload but it's been written in such a way that I didn't feel overwhelmed and we got to learn what we needed to know, when we needed to know it.  The various kingdoms/queendoms are based on the Zodiac houses we're familiar with but with a twist.  As usual the gods are fickle, duplicitous and downright evil (well most of them!)

Lorenzo, aka Enzo, is perfect as the enemy prince with a reputation for death and destruction but who oddly makes our Elara feel safe. The tension is chemistry filled with these two sparking off each other from the get-go.  The secondary characters of Merissa, Leo, et al are fabulous and the banter between the 4 is barb-filled and witty.  The spice is wonderfully sprinkled through but it does take a while, these two are very slow burn!

None of the characters felt stereotypical and I felt that there was great LGBTQIA representation.  Elara especially did a lot of growing up but was never portrayed as a damsel in distress.  She may be out of her depth and on the back foot occasionally but she never cowers and awaits rescue - she faces her foes when possible and gives as good as she gets.  She is cunning and strategic when she needs to be.

So whilst this wasn't perfect, it was a rollicking good read.  I'm invested now and I really cannot wait for book 2 - November 2025 is gonna be a long wait!

Nicola Sarah Brooks

A new author and one I almost got to meet at RARE in Edinburgh this year but sadly ran out of time.

There are plenty of good things about this book. Elara may be in over her head - what with Star's hunting her, a prophecy to avoid fulfilling and magic to learn how to wield, but she is determined, intelligent and has vengeance on her mind!

Learning the mythology and history of a new world is always a bit of an information overload but it's been written in such a way that I didn't feel overwhelmed and we got to learn what we needed to know, when we needed to know it.  The various kingdoms/queendoms are based on the Zodiac houses we're familiar with but with a twist.  As usual the gods are fickle, duplicitous and downright evil (well most of them!)

Lorenzo, aka Enzo, is perfect as the enemy prince with a reputation for death and destruction but who oddly makes our Elara feel safe. The tension is chemistry filled with these two sparking off each other from the get-go.  The secondary characters of Merissa, Leo, et al are fabulous and the banter between the 4 is barb-filled and witty.  The spice is wonderfully sprinkled through but it does take a while, these two are very slow burn!

None of the characters felt stereotypical and I felt that there was great LGBTQIA representation.  Elara especially did a lot of growing up but was never portrayed as a damsel in distress.  She may be out of her depth and on the back foot occasionally but she never cowers and awaits rescue - she faces her foes when possible and gives as good as she gets.  She is cunning and strategic when she needs to be.

So whilst this wasn't perfect, it was a rollicking good read.  I'm invested now and I really cannot wait for book 2 - November 2025 is gonna be a long wait!

Faith Kitowski

OH MY WORD. THIS BOOK, THIS BOOK RIGHT HERE TOUCHED MY SOUL. i’m obsessed. the quotes? the quotessss!! i cannot accurately describe the love i have for this book. elara is an absolute queen, and enzo, that man… he made me feel all the things. i NEED the next book now, i can’t wait. no one could have prepared me for those plot twists and ending, literally no one. IMANI, THANK YOU FOR WRITING THIS MASTERPIECE

Sara Silva

The plot had me shook, 10/10 for that. I was super invested in the world building, how the fantasy played out and NEVER could’ve anticipated the turns the plot took. However, I won’t score it higher because of the writing. It felt a little too “try hard” with the descriptions and characters, and the dialogue always felt slightly too unrealistic- like characters were speaking and not actual people. Really hoping her writing style matures for the sequel, because for the plot alone I’m desperate to read it. The last 100 pages alone might’ve scored 4 stars. 

elissa

Honestly a really interesting concept that was executed well. The romance was a little too intense, a little too fast for me, but ig not everyone is into the ole agonizing slowburn trope. I think my issue is that the enemies to lovers i was promised only lasted a couple of chapters, then it was just thinly veiled horniness. All in all, would recommend for the world building alone.

Jess

I really loved this. The storyline is so unique and unlike anything I’ve read before. Every time that I thought I knew where the story was going, it took a completely different turn. The pacing for the story was pretty fast and it kept me engaged the entire read, however there definitely were events and themes I felt could’ve been fleshed out a little bit more that seemed a little rushed whereas other parts that were super fleshed out seemed unnecessarily so. Overall it was a great read and I’m super excited to see what’s to come with this story!