Description
New York Times
bestselling author of the
Lightlark
series, comes her first adult romantasy. Enter the world of
Starside
, where swords wield magic and power is not inherited...but claimed.
Hundreds of years ago, a brutal war split a land in two. Starside is the realm of magic and immortals—the descendants of the gods, living in a power-rich paradise. Stormside is where mortals fight for scraps of that magic.
Every fifty years, the gates between them open, and fifty challengers are allowed to journey across Starside on a deadly quest to access a pool of magic that can heal, grant wealth, or extend life. Everyone has their reasons for entering, but Aris has only vengeance. As a child, a goddess set fire to her village, killing her family. Aris isn’t after the gods’ magic—she’s going to kill them.
First, she must survive the Culling, the king’s deadly competition to choose his fifty challengers. An orphaned blacksmith’s apprentice, Aris doesn’t have the superior weapons of the heirs from the Great Houses. But the greatest swords—ones that contain power—are not inherited or bought, they are claimed, by both sides. And when Aris claims a great sword, it makes her not just a real competitor—but a target.
Getting past the gates is only the beginning. Starside is deadlier than it seems. If the ancient creatures, magic-wielding beasts, and bloodthirsty immortals weren’t dangerous enough, a new peril has even immortals fearing what rises from the ground at night. With a blade most would kill to claim, Aris can’t trust anyone. Especially not Harlan Raker, the merciless and mysterious king’s guard who betrayed her years ago—and who may now be the key to her survival.
But Aris is hiding a secret tied to her family’s death. And when it’s revealed, not even the gods will be able to stop what’s coming…
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Loved the plot and the worldbuilding. The beasts and the cities? Splendid.
The characters? Not so much, especially Raker (sorry) and Aris. But I might find a liking toward Zane, the only zane character (see what I did there? lol) lowkey curious what his journey might have been.
Even though Aris was a little bit insufferable, she redeemed herself in the end. She stuck to her goal. That's what I liked about her even when she was a lot more frustrating in most parts of the book.
I liked how it finished with them in a chase. The enemies to lovers trope was great at the start until it felt so off right at the middle, and in the end, I loved how it was emphasized who they are to each other.
Overall, it was just less than what I expected. But still. Looking forward to what will happen in Stormside.
Aris really annoyed me in this one. She was constantly having to be rescued by Raker. I don't mind a female character needing help every now and then, but I can't stand a perpetual damsel in distress. I much prefer a badass heroine who can handle herself. If a man helps her occasionally, great, but she shouldn't need saving every other chapter.The story also felt incredibly repetitive. It was basically walking, avoiding beasts, fighting beasts, sleeping in caves, and dealing with Cadoc every so often. It felt like 500 pages went by without much actual plot progression.I will say I genuinely didn't see the twist coming with Raker being the God of Death. That was probably my favorite part of the book.I also hated that we only got a couple of chapters with Aris's dragon before she just...left her behind at the end. What was the point? It felt like such a wasted opportunity.Another thing that frustrated me was that Aris could never catch a break. Every chapter was another horrible thing happening to her. At some point, you have to balance the suffering with some wins. Who wants to read 500 pages of nonstop misery?And don't even get me started on the romance. There was basically no foreplay, yet after Raker spent most of the book treating her terribly, she's suddenly wildly attracted to him? Please. Then, of course, he has an enormous penis and it's magically the best sex of her life. Cue the eye roll. Their chemistry just wasn't convincing because he spent the majority of the book being awful to her.Then he leaves her without any clothes...why? That made no sense.The pacing at the end also felt off. It took nearly 500 pages to reach the Land of the Gods, but somehow they're back at the gates within a couple of days? Even with a dragon, that felt rushed. And how did Raker get there in the first place? He didn't even have a dragon.Finally, the ending with him suddenly grabbing her ankle just didn't work for me. It felt like a last second cliffhanger that wasn't earned. Overall, this book had a few interesting ideas, but the repetitive plot, frustrating romance, and inconsistent pacing made it a disappointing read.