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picaresquedreamer's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Abandonment, Blood, Death, and Confinement
sssssoup's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I really wanted to like this book, and I think it could’ve been interesting, but ultimately it just wasn’t for me. It had a lot of really pretty description, but the characters and plot fell flat for me. Sheetal’s internal conflict was intriguing and well written, but she often came across as whiny when she interacted with the other characters, though I did appreciate her complicated feelings about her family members. I was also confused by a lot of the terminology and I think the author should’ve included a glossary. Overall, it was pretty mid and I think the right person could really enjoy it, but I know that wasn’t me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Confinement
Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse
Minor: Domestic abuse, Medical content, Alcohol, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
thenovelmaura's review
adventurous
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
3.5 stars! We chose this book for our #ViolentQueensBookClub and it was a great read! Huge shout out to Thakrar for coming to our meeting and discussing this magical story with us. I loved the complexity of Sheetal's feelings toward her half-star, half-human heritage. And her loyalty to her father was so lovely to see, even though he wasn't super present in the book for plot reasons. This book was full of lavish descriptions of food, the star palace, and Hindu mythology.
While I liked the characters and setting, the pacing of this one left a bit to be desired. I couldn't believe how long each day was; it felt like I would read hundreds of pages before Sheetal actually got to go to bed. And maybe I'm just a stickler for rules, but I agreed with the others in the court that it was cheating to have Sheetal in the competition. I mean, it's a competition of humans and she's half star. So it was funny because I was kind of rooting against her, and I really wish the puppeteer had won the competition. Anyway, I love the representation here and that it's a standalone contemporary fantasy! If it sounds like it's up your alley than it probably is.
While I liked the characters and setting, the pacing of this one left a bit to be desired. I couldn't believe how long each day was; it felt like I would read hundreds of pages before Sheetal actually got to go to bed. And maybe I'm just a stickler for rules, but
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction
Moderate: Confinement, Kidnapping, and Blood
Minor: Torture
plumpaperbacks's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
[Buddy read with Shar 💛]
I kept getting this book from the library and then running out of time to read it, so a buddy read was exactly the incentive I needed to finally read it. And surprisingly, it was really good, and I quite enjoyed my time with the story.
Thakrar’s writing reminded me very much of Roshani Chokshi, specifically her book The Star-Touched Queen, and Anna-Marie McLemore—lovely descriptions seemingly infused with magic, making even the ordinary seem extraordinary. That and the three-dimensional characters were definitely her greatest strengths; I liked the protagonist Sheetal, and loved her best friend Minal and their relationship.
The story is undeniably slow, and more character-driven than plot-driven, but worth sticking with. While the majority of the book is a series of smaller-scale events that kept me intrigued, the last third was a whirlwind of music, discoveries and power plays. It was entertaining without pause, and led to a rather satisfying conclusion.
Though not a favorite, I’d definitely say Star Daughter is one of the most pleasantly surprising books I’ve read this year. I recommend it, and I certainly want to read more from Thakrar; if this is her debut, I look forward to seeing how she grows.
Representation
I kept getting this book from the library and then running out of time to read it, so a buddy read was exactly the incentive I needed to finally read it. And surprisingly, it was really good, and I quite enjoyed my time with the story.
Thakrar’s writing reminded me very much of Roshani Chokshi, specifically her book The Star-Touched Queen, and Anna-Marie McLemore—lovely descriptions seemingly infused with magic, making even the ordinary seem extraordinary. That and the three-dimensional characters were definitely her greatest strengths; I liked the protagonist Sheetal, and loved her best friend Minal and their relationship.
The story is undeniably slow, and more character-driven than plot-driven, but worth sticking with. While the majority of the book is a series of smaller-scale events that kept me intrigued, the last third was a whirlwind of music, discoveries and power plays. It was entertaining without pause, and led to a rather satisfying conclusion.
Though not a favorite, I’d definitely say Star Daughter is one of the most pleasantly surprising books I’ve read this year. I recommend it, and I certainly want to read more from Thakrar; if this is her debut, I look forward to seeing how she grows.
Representation
- almost entirely desi cast
- sapphic side couple
- minor achillean side couple
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Kidnapping, Confinement, and Torture
Those tagged minor refer to events prior to the story that are mentioned throughout, more so in the second half, but never in graphic detail.taleofabibliophile's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Confinement, Physical abuse, Blood, Violence, and Torture
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Medical content
caseythereader's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.25
📚 The writing is this book is ethereal and beautiful - I could just imagine the soft light of the stars and the mystery of the celestial palace.
📚 It's so wonderful to read a YA fantasy that doesn't center white teenagers or build off European mythology.
📚 I wish there had been a lot more world-building in this book - there could have been so much more to the history of the star court and the palace intrigue Sheetal finds herself in the middle of, but instead she is relegated to the sidelines, finding out information secondhand. I would definitely have read a sprawling trilogy version of this book.
📚 It's so wonderful to read a YA fantasy that doesn't center white teenagers or build off European mythology.
📚 I wish there had been a lot more world-building in this book - there could have been so much more to the history of the star court and the palace intrigue Sheetal finds herself in the middle of, but instead she is relegated to the sidelines, finding out information secondhand. I would definitely have read a sprawling trilogy version of this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence
nullandvoidlibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book reminded me of why I like reading, it was a very heartfelt read and made me tear up multiple times. This is despite the fact that normally I don't like competition-based plots because I find that usually means some character's are going to be unreasonably mean just because that personality is expected with these plots. Anyways, this book watered my soul.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Medical content, and Panic attacks/disorders
booksthatburn's review
DNF 188 pages in.
This is my second attempt at reading Star Daughter and it just doesn’t click with me. I think the thing that’s irking me is that it’s full of pining for the status quo to be different but we don’t actually spend any time in the status quo she’s objecting to. So changes don’t feel important, it just feels like I’m getting jerked around. Almost as soon as we meet her kind-of-boyfriend we find out he knows her secret so it doesn’t feel like a betrayal to me as a reader because I don’t have the emotional weight of liking him first... I struggled so much with this book. The MC will say what she thought her state of mind was going to be and then tells us what it actually is... but when the first time we find out what she thought it would be is when it's something different it just feels confused. A minor example that shows this issue without really being a spoiler: the first time we ever hear about Little India in/near her neighborhood is when she finds out it has a magical night market. Cool, yay? But since we didn’t visit it at all or have the mundane side of it discussed previously my reaction isn’t “wow Little India has a magical night market!”, it’s more like, “oh sure, this new story location (Little India) has a particular feature (a magical night market). I’m not excited because I had zero expectations as to the existence or non-existence of this place. This really is a minor example, but it comes on the heels of several like it that are definitely spoilers.
I didn't get as far as the actual competition part of the narrative, so I can't vouch for how any of that plays out. If you want a story that spends at least the first half feeling like the aftermath for something you didn't get to see, you might like this. I like the MC's best friend, she feels so much more vibrant than the MC, so much so that I wouldn't be surprised to learn that in the second half the book reveals the MC's emotions were dampened by being on Earth or something, that's really the only thing I can think of that would make the flat characterization and lack of tension around the MC's narration feel purposeful. But, for me, I spent almost half the book waiting to care about the story and that just never happened, so I'm calling it quits.
This is my second attempt at reading Star Daughter and it just doesn’t click with me. I think the thing that’s irking me is that it’s full of pining for the status quo to be different but we don’t actually spend any time in the status quo she’s objecting to. So changes don’t feel important, it just feels like I’m getting jerked around. Almost as soon as we meet her kind-of-boyfriend we find out he knows her secret so it doesn’t feel like a betrayal to me as a reader because I don’t have the emotional weight of liking him first... I struggled so much with this book. The MC will say what she thought her state of mind was going to be and then tells us what it actually is... but when the first time we find out what she thought it would be is when it's something different it just feels confused. A minor example that shows this issue without really being a spoiler: the first time we ever hear about Little India in/near her neighborhood is when she finds out it has a magical night market. Cool, yay? But since we didn’t visit it at all or have the mundane side of it discussed previously my reaction isn’t “wow Little India has a magical night market!”, it’s more like, “oh sure, this new story location (Little India) has a particular feature (a magical night market). I’m not excited because I had zero expectations as to the existence or non-existence of this place. This really is a minor example, but it comes on the heels of several like it that are definitely spoilers.
I didn't get as far as the actual competition part of the narrative, so I can't vouch for how any of that plays out. If you want a story that spends at least the first half feeling like the aftermath for something you didn't get to see, you might like this. I like the MC's best friend, she feels so much more vibrant than the MC, so much so that I wouldn't be surprised to learn that in the second half the book reveals the MC's emotions were dampened by being on Earth or something, that's really the only thing I can think of that would make the flat characterization and lack of tension around the MC's narration feel purposeful. But, for me, I spent almost half the book waiting to care about the story and that just never happened, so I'm calling it quits.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Confinement, Kidnapping, and Violence
Minor: Torture
CW for blood, kidnapping, imprisonment, torture, violence.
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