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4.42 AVERAGE
4.42 AVERAGE
Fabulous book! Gave me Stardust by Neil Gaiman vibes
Iyana has only had one goal in life, to be a healer like her grandmother. Her whole life is changed in the blink of an eye one night when their isolated village is attacked by Crown Prince Zane and his men. She desperately beseeches the heavens for help and to her surprise, salvation arrives in the form of a drop dead gorgeous star in human form.
She learns that she is actually an Aztia, a powerful magic bearer born once a generation, one half of a pair. Her other half is a Kanaliza, a man who is born to help her with her magic. This man turns out to be Emmeric, one of the soldiers who attacked the village.
Accompanied by the star, they embark on a quest to save the kingdom and the world from the tyrannical and cruel emperor. When they’re joined by the crown prince, will they be able to survive the battle while also discovering the purpose of the magic?
Wow this was a brilliant book. Gave me Stardust by Neil Gaiman vibes which is one of my favourite books. So full of plot twists, spice, and a woman caught between loves. Very exciting and good Lord such an exciting place to have a cliff hanger. I really can’t wait for the sequel!
Iyana has only had one goal in life, to be a healer like her grandmother. Her whole life is changed in the blink of an eye one night when their isolated village is attacked by Crown Prince Zane and his men. She desperately beseeches the heavens for help and to her surprise, salvation arrives in the form of a drop dead gorgeous star in human form.
She learns that she is actually an Aztia, a powerful magic bearer born once a generation, one half of a pair. Her other half is a Kanaliza, a man who is born to help her with her magic. This man turns out to be Emmeric, one of the soldiers who attacked the village.
Accompanied by the star, they embark on a quest to save the kingdom and the world from the tyrannical and cruel emperor. When they’re joined by the crown prince, will they be able to survive the battle while also discovering the purpose of the magic?
Wow this was a brilliant book. Gave me Stardust by Neil Gaiman vibes which is one of my favourite books. So full of plot twists, spice, and a woman caught between loves. Very exciting and good Lord such an exciting place to have a cliff hanger. I really can’t wait for the sequel!
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
If you're looking for a fantasy adventure that has magic, fight scenes, and romance, you've come to the right place! Plus, queer rep with some of the supporting characters!!
Make sure you've got Deceit and Darkness ready, cause you'll want to pick it up immediately after finishing this book!!
Make sure you've got Deceit and Darkness ready, cause you'll want to pick it up immediately after finishing this book!!
SECRETS AND STARDUST was a read that was both surprising and enjoyable. While I was reading it, I was reminded of the same vibe I felt while reading City of Brass and We Hunt the Flame. The vibe only, though, because the world and story have a wholly original feel to it.
The story has multiple POVs. We follow Iyana, who is training with her grandmother to be a healer. She very traumatically discovers she has magic when her village is attacked and her scream calls forth a star who takes human form. In comes Altair, the man my sister and I have started calling Star Daddy, who begins training her. Then we have Emmeric, a soldier of the empire, to whom Iyana is magically bound, but he is also the enemy. And finally we have Zane, the emperor’s son who is trying to stop his father’s tyranny.
One of the things I enjoyed most about the book is the strong emphasis on the family and found family that we have with this unlikely group of heroes. As for the romance, the love triangle is one of the good ones and both of Iyana’s love interests have good potential and amazing tropes to go on. I still haven’t wholly chosen a side. (I mean, personally I wouldn’t choose at all.) And the final part of the book was mindblowing! I wasn’t expecting it at all, and it gutted me.
Spice level:
The story has multiple POVs. We follow Iyana, who is training with her grandmother to be a healer. She very traumatically discovers she has magic when her village is attacked and her scream calls forth a star who takes human form. In comes Altair, the man my sister and I have started calling Star Daddy, who begins training her. Then we have Emmeric, a soldier of the empire, to whom Iyana is magically bound, but he is also the enemy. And finally we have Zane, the emperor’s son who is trying to stop his father’s tyranny.
One of the things I enjoyed most about the book is the strong emphasis on the family and found family that we have with this unlikely group of heroes. As for the romance, the love triangle is one of the good ones and both of Iyana’s love interests have good potential and amazing tropes to go on. I still haven’t wholly chosen a side. (I mean, personally I wouldn’t choose at all.) And the final part of the book was mindblowing! I wasn’t expecting it at all, and it gutted me.
Spice level:
This book was a delightful surprise from start to finish! I recommend it to readers who loved City of Brass and We Hunt the Flame, or those who love books where there is an empire to save from an evil emperor, a found family to love, magic, romance and quests!
SECRETS AND STARDUST follows Iyana, a woman who is training under her grandmother to become her village's next healer. One day, her village is attacked by the empire's soldiers, and that's when the unthinkable happens: Iyana is able to "summon" a star, who is actually a hot Star Daddy, Altair! The soldiers are forced to flee, but one of them is captured--Emmeric. And guess what? He's actually magically bound to Iyana, a conduit for her unlocked magical potential. Now Iyana must work with both of these strapping men to save the empire. And since this is a romance... you guess!
This book was able to do something that oh so rarely happens: I am obsessed and invested in a LOVE TRIANGLE! It takes a great author and a great trio of characters to make this happen, and Jeannin Counts did! I just love Iyana's interactions with both of them. On the one side, we have the HOT attraction between her and Altair, who is a shameless flirt but also mysterious and...somewhat dangerous. And on the other, the "I hate you but I think you're hot and I would burn the world for you" banter with Emmeric is priceless! Plus, all of the characters are wonderfully fleshed out, with loveable qualities but also tragic and heartbreaking moments. Falling in love with all of them is an inevitabilty and the way the book ends, I just know the romance in the next book is going to me messy!
Apart from the main trio, I also really loved the supporting cast and the wonderful queer rep. The found family was just delightful!
Thank you to the author for gifting me a digital copy for review. Opinions are my own.
SECRETS AND STARDUST follows Iyana, a woman who is training under her grandmother to become her village's next healer. One day, her village is attacked by the empire's soldiers, and that's when the unthinkable happens: Iyana is able to "summon" a star, who is actually a hot Star Daddy, Altair! The soldiers are forced to flee, but one of them is captured--Emmeric. And guess what? He's actually magically bound to Iyana, a conduit for her unlocked magical potential. Now Iyana must work with both of these strapping men to save the empire. And since this is a romance... you guess!
This book was able to do something that oh so rarely happens: I am obsessed and invested in a LOVE TRIANGLE! It takes a great author and a great trio of characters to make this happen, and Jeannin Counts did! I just love Iyana's interactions with both of them. On the one side, we have the HOT attraction between her and Altair, who is a shameless flirt but also mysterious and...somewhat dangerous. And on the other, the "I hate you but I think you're hot and I would burn the world for you" banter with Emmeric is priceless! Plus, all of the characters are wonderfully fleshed out, with loveable qualities but also tragic and heartbreaking moments. Falling in love with all of them is an inevitabilty and the way the book ends, I just know the romance in the next book is going to me messy!
Apart from the main trio, I also really loved the supporting cast and the wonderful queer rep. The found family was just delightful!
Thank you to the author for gifting me a digital copy for review. Opinions are my own.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
ARC Review
3 STARS
2 SPICE
Multiple POVs, LGBTQ+ representation, love triangle, betrayal, quirky side characters, reluctant heroes, slow burn, SPICE
Secrets and Stardust, by Jeannin Counts, is an adult fantasy that follows three main characters on their journey to save humanity. Iyana is a healer for a small village and was trained her entire life by her grandmother. Under orders from the emperor, her village was attacked. Prince Zane, the emperor's son, led the attack. While watching the people in her village suffer, Iyana pleaded to the heavens for help. Her pleas were answered when a star named Altair was cast down to the Earth to help her. The impact of the star forced the enemies to retreat from the village. One soldier, Emmeric, was captured and left behind. It is then discovered that Iyana and Emmeric are bound to each other by both fate and magic. She is a magic wielder, the powerful Aztia, with powers kept hidden from her by her grandmother. Emmeric is her kanaliza, a human conduit meant to help amplify her magic. Although in the beginning Emmeric is reluctant to accept his fate, he later joins Iyana and Altair on their journey to strengthen her magic and stop the emperor. Prince Zane eventually turns on his father and helps Iyana on her quest to stop him.
I loved the multiple POVs in this book and LGBTQ+ representation. I found the concept of stars falling and taking human form super interesting. Iyana is caring, stubborn, and headstrong. She doesn't back down from a fight. Emmeric will do anything for someone he loves, even if it hurts. I loved his friendship and relationship with Talon, a side character who plays an important role. Talon was my favorite character. He is honest, flirtatious, and extremely loyal. He provided so much comedic relief and evoked the most emotions from me. Zane was another of my favorite characters. Although he was the emperor's son, he is very secretive with good reason. It takes a lot to break down his walls, and he arguably has the most character growth in the book. The side characters were my favorite and added so much personality to the book. It had a bit of a slow burn with tension until about halfway through. Once the book got spicy, it did not stop. It had a good amount of spice between characters that I thought contributed well to the story. I rated this book 3 stars because there were times I did skim through it. I wasn't completely hooked, and I didn’t like a couple of the main characters. I also didn’t like Iyana's quirks, such as the walking barefoot or constantly sticking her tongue out at people. She acted too childish for her age, which didn’t sit well with me. There were a lot of my favorite tropes and micro-tropes in this book, but I don't think all of them were necessary. Perhaps there were too many piled in, such as the randomly tossing in "good girl." Overall, I did like this book and there is definitely potential for this series. Possible trigger warning: There are mentions and actions of parental abuse.
This is an HONEST review. All opinions in this review are my own. Thank you, Jeannin Counts, for providing me with the opportunity to read this book prior to its release date! Good luck on your future writing journey. I will keep a look out for your future work!
3 STARS
2 SPICE
Multiple POVs, LGBTQ+ representation, love triangle, betrayal, quirky side characters, reluctant heroes, slow burn, SPICE
Secrets and Stardust, by Jeannin Counts, is an adult fantasy that follows three main characters on their journey to save humanity. Iyana is a healer for a small village and was trained her entire life by her grandmother. Under orders from the emperor, her village was attacked. Prince Zane, the emperor's son, led the attack. While watching the people in her village suffer, Iyana pleaded to the heavens for help. Her pleas were answered when a star named Altair was cast down to the Earth to help her. The impact of the star forced the enemies to retreat from the village. One soldier, Emmeric, was captured and left behind. It is then discovered that Iyana and Emmeric are bound to each other by both fate and magic. She is a magic wielder, the powerful Aztia, with powers kept hidden from her by her grandmother. Emmeric is her kanaliza, a human conduit meant to help amplify her magic. Although in the beginning Emmeric is reluctant to accept his fate, he later joins Iyana and Altair on their journey to strengthen her magic and stop the emperor. Prince Zane eventually turns on his father and helps Iyana on her quest to stop him.
I loved the multiple POVs in this book and LGBTQ+ representation. I found the concept of stars falling and taking human form super interesting. Iyana is caring, stubborn, and headstrong. She doesn't back down from a fight. Emmeric will do anything for someone he loves, even if it hurts. I loved his friendship and relationship with Talon, a side character who plays an important role. Talon was my favorite character. He is honest, flirtatious, and extremely loyal. He provided so much comedic relief and evoked the most emotions from me. Zane was another of my favorite characters. Although he was the emperor's son, he is very secretive with good reason. It takes a lot to break down his walls, and he arguably has the most character growth in the book. The side characters were my favorite and added so much personality to the book. It had a bit of a slow burn with tension until about halfway through. Once the book got spicy, it did not stop. It had a good amount of spice between characters that I thought contributed well to the story. I rated this book 3 stars because there were times I did skim through it. I wasn't completely hooked, and I didn’t like a couple of the main characters. I also didn’t like Iyana's quirks, such as the walking barefoot or constantly sticking her tongue out at people. She acted too childish for her age, which didn’t sit well with me. There were a lot of my favorite tropes and micro-tropes in this book, but I don't think all of them were necessary. Perhaps there were too many piled in, such as the randomly tossing in "good girl." Overall, I did like this book and there is definitely potential for this series. Possible trigger warning: There are mentions and actions of parental abuse.
This is an HONEST review. All opinions in this review are my own. Thank you, Jeannin Counts, for providing me with the opportunity to read this book prior to its release date! Good luck on your future writing journey. I will keep a look out for your future work!
“Secrets and Stardust,” Jeannin Counts
I really liked this book. I liked the love triangle aspect and the tension with it. I love the characters and how different their personalities were. There were a lot of characters to fall in love with and a ton of action, so I never got tired of the story. I absolutely loved the star god stuff in the book and adored his character so much. I can’t wait to read book two in the Celestial Whispers series. 4 out of 5 stars.
-Multi POV
-Star Gods
-Love Triangle
-Chosen One
Thank you for the ARC, Booksprout.
I really liked this book. I liked the love triangle aspect and the tension with it. I love the characters and how different their personalities were. There were a lot of characters to fall in love with and a ton of action, so I never got tired of the story. I absolutely loved the star god stuff in the book and adored his character so much. I can’t wait to read book two in the Celestial Whispers series. 4 out of 5 stars.
-Multi POV
-Star Gods
-Love Triangle
-Chosen One
Thank you for the ARC, Booksprout.
Slight spoilers ahead ❗️
This god damn book. Honestly my jaw is still on the floor next to a pile of tissues after finishing this book. I can’t believe it…
If you love a fun, banter-filled, love triangle, adventurous romantasy book about a literal star coming to Earth and a rag tag team attempting to save it… then this is for you. Actually, even if that isn’t your thing I think you should give this book a chance… ITS THAT FUCKING GOOD!
Every character was so well written, I was enamoured with them all. I am completely and utterly evicerated though, and I think it’s going to take me a while to get over this plot twist. I had a hunch something was coming, but then I second guessed it, then it came and literally punched me in the gut, face and soul. No one could see that coming.
Fuck, Jeannin, you wrote such an incredible book and I can’t wait for the second! I can’t feel the book hangover hanging. EVERYBODY NEEDS TO GET THEIR HANDS ON THIS MASTERPIECE!! ❗️
This god damn book. Honestly my jaw is still on the floor next to a pile of tissues after finishing this book. I can’t believe it…
If you love a fun, banter-filled, love triangle, adventurous romantasy book about a literal star coming to Earth and a rag tag team attempting to save it… then this is for you. Actually, even if that isn’t your thing I think you should give this book a chance… ITS THAT FUCKING GOOD!
Every character was so well written, I was enamoured with them all. I am completely and utterly evicerated though, and I think it’s going to take me a while to get over this plot twist. I had a hunch something was coming, but then I second guessed it, then it came and literally punched me in the gut, face and soul. No one could see that coming.
Fuck, Jeannin, you wrote such an incredible book and I can’t wait for the second! I can’t feel the book hangover hanging. EVERYBODY NEEDS TO GET THEIR HANDS ON THIS MASTERPIECE!! ❗️
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
🌶️🌶️
"𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡, 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧," 𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙙, 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝. "𝙊𝙧 𝙄'𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙪𝙚."
I’m in my love triangle era, so I ate this book up!! 🤭
The found family trope in this book was everythinggg, I loved every single one of these characters and they each brought so much to the story. I think Kaz might be my fav side character - she's feral and hilarious. I went into this thinking we were just getting 2 or 3 POVs, but you get to hear from most of the characters, which was nice!
The banter between all of the characters = 👩🍳💋
I have so many hilarious things highlighted lol
I think my favorite thing about this book though was the uniqueness, from the magic system to the stars being actual people. Speaking of stars, let's talk about star daddy Altair 😮💨 - "𝙄 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙩, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚," "𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄'𝙢 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙩." 🫠 i need him.
The plot and spice were well balanced too. Highly recommend!! 👌🏻
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆:
💫 Love Triangle
💫 Found Family
💫 Gods and Magic
💫 Multiple POV
💫 Forced Proximity
🌶️🌶️
"𝘾𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙪𝙡, 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧," 𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙡𝙚𝙙, 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙜𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝. "𝙊𝙧 𝙄'𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙪𝙚."
I’m in my love triangle era, so I ate this book up!! 🤭
The found family trope in this book was everythinggg, I loved every single one of these characters and they each brought so much to the story. I think Kaz might be my fav side character - she's feral and hilarious. I went into this thinking we were just getting 2 or 3 POVs, but you get to hear from most of the characters, which was nice!
The banter between all of the characters = 👩🍳💋
I have so many hilarious things highlighted lol
I think my favorite thing about this book though was the uniqueness, from the magic system to the stars being actual people. Speaking of stars, let's talk about star daddy Altair 😮💨 - "𝙄 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙩, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚," "𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄'𝙢 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙩." 🫠 i need him.
The plot and spice were well balanced too. Highly recommend!! 👌🏻
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆:
💫 Love Triangle
💫 Found Family
💫 Gods and Magic
💫 Multiple POV
💫 Forced Proximity
I was given an opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This love triangle!! Ugh, I had all kinds of feelings with how Iyana was with Altair.
I kept asking myself the whole read, why is Iyana so resistant toward Emmeric and so forthcoming to Altair who is just as much a stranger?! Clearly I have a favorite lol.
The storyline, plot, and magic were catchy and kept me interested. But occasionally there were times the book felt a little long but overall a great debut novel and I look forward to reading book 2.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice:
This love triangle!! Ugh, I had all kinds of feelings with how Iyana was with Altair.
I kept asking myself the whole read, why is Iyana so resistant toward Emmeric and so forthcoming to Altair who is just as much a stranger?! Clearly I have a favorite lol.
The storyline, plot, and magic were catchy and kept me interested. But occasionally there were times the book felt a little long but overall a great debut novel and I look forward to reading book 2.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: