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rc_hall's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Violence, Abandonment, and Panic attacks/disorders
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
journeythroughthechapters's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Thoughts
This was sadly a bit average for me. This cover is absolutely stunning and the atmosphere in the novel definitely matches the cover but this was not for me.
Things I liked
- The atmosphere: the world building and descriptions of the world was absolutely beautiful. I could visualise the world which is unusual for me. But I loved that I could picture this world. That is essentially what kept me reading
And I hate to say it but that’s about all I loved.
Things I didn’t love
- the writing: I hate floral writing and purple prose. I hate when it takes two sentences to describe one thing. And I hate when writing dances around the story. But if that is something you like then you might have a better time with this book than me.
- the plot: I don’t know if anyone else felt this way but I feel like there was so much happening but nothing at the same time. If you get what I mean…I feel because there were so many plot lines that nothing got fleshed out which was really disappointing because it is a clever idea but poor execution in my opinion
- the romance: Not necessarily the romance but the thought of romance was too much and too away from the story
With regards to the characters I didn’t hate them but I didn’t love them. As I said it was a very average book.
Representation
POC (main and side characters), Lesbian (side character)
Trigger Warning
Panic Attack, Violence, Bullying, Abandonment, Addiction
This was sadly a bit average for me. This cover is absolutely stunning and the atmosphere in the novel definitely matches the cover but this was not for me.
Things I liked
- The atmosphere: the world building and descriptions of the world was absolutely beautiful. I could visualise the world which is unusual for me. But I loved that I could picture this world. That is essentially what kept me reading
And I hate to say it but that’s about all I loved.
Things I didn’t love
- the writing: I hate floral writing and purple prose. I hate when it takes two sentences to describe one thing. And I hate when writing dances around the story. But if that is something you like then you might have a better time with this book than me.
- the plot: I don’t know if anyone else felt this way but I feel like there was so much happening but nothing at the same time. If you get what I mean…I feel because there were so many plot lines that nothing got fleshed out which was really disappointing because it is a clever idea but poor execution in my opinion
- the romance: Not necessarily the romance but the thought of romance was too much and too away from the story
With regards to the characters I didn’t hate them but I didn’t love them. As I said it was a very average book.
Representation
POC (main and side characters), Lesbian (side character)
Trigger Warning
Panic Attack, Violence, Bullying, Abandonment, Addiction
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Abandonment, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, and Panic attacks/disorders
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
malloryfitz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Premise- (4/5) So, so, so much about this premise called to me. First of all, stars. Who doesn't love the night sky? And the concept of stars as beings is so excellent! I also love magical competitions, so that was a big plus. The comparisons for Star Daughter also had appeal--I like quite a bit of Laini Taylor, Roshani Chokshi, and Neil Gaiman, so that was promising as well.
Characters- (3/5) Mixed feelings here. Sheetal was an overall likable protagonist, but she was a little all over the map. Which, on the one hand, was very understandable, given that she's 16 and going through both mortal and star puberty, with massive consequences on both sides. But it also felt a bit heavy-handed to read at times. I liked Minal a lot, and her relationship with Sheetal, but also, I felt like there were some tricky grey areas in their relationship that weren't addressed as clearly as I would have liked. I actually felt like that about a number of Sheetal's relationships, including her mom and Dev. There were a lot of supporting characters, from Sheetal's grandparents and other members of the star court to the competing champions and Sheetal's mortal family, but I thought Thakrar did a pretty good job of handling them.
Plot- (2.5/5) I liked the overall plot structure of Star Daughter, but the pacing was a bit of a struggle, especially once we got to the star court. I had a hard time keeping track of exactly how quickly the competition was approaching. It was soon, and the soon-ness was emphasized, but at the same time, it felt like we spent a LOT of time in the court before the competition not doing very much. It picked up again once the competition hit through the end of the book, but the middle was a bit uneven.
World- (4/5) I really, really enjoyed the star court. I'll get into the writing down below, but the descriptions were lovely, and Thakrar did a nice job of making the star court feel real but also unimaginably whimsical and fantastic. I was entranced by the magical settings Thakrar described, but also chuckling sometimes at the normalcy of some aspects of the court.
Writing- (2.5/5) This was tough. On one hand, Thakrar's descriptions were often stunning, lyrical, and magical. The comparisons to Laini Taylor and Roshani Chokshi ring true. On the other hand, there was a lot of telling instead of showing. Star Daughter was packed with high-running emotions, but I often felt like Thakrar was just narrating Sheetal's emotions to me rather demonstrating them. The language also, sometimes, while gorgeous, got repetitive. This was a debut novel, and I think Thakrar's writing will only improve over time, which I look forward to because the prose was often lovely!
Overall- (3.2/5) Star Daughter was a fantastic premise with strong world-building and lush prose. Sheetal's journey of self-discovery was an emotional roller-coaster, but while the writing was often beautiful, it did a lot of telling instead of showing when it came to Sheetal's feelings. The novel struggled at times with pacing and consistency, but I loved the world of the star court. Though I didn't always love the characters, their motives were always clear and usually sympathetic, and Thakrar juggled a large supporting cast quite well. I would love to see more from her, but I would also love for her narrative voice to continue to mature. All in all, very cool mythology and important themes about self-discovery and relationships (familial, romantic, platonic), but also some stumbling blocks in the writing and pacing for me.
Characters- (3/5) Mixed feelings here. Sheetal was an overall likable protagonist, but she was a little all over the map. Which, on the one hand, was very understandable, given that she's 16 and going through both mortal and star puberty, with massive consequences on both sides. But it also felt a bit heavy-handed to read at times. I liked Minal a lot, and her relationship with Sheetal, but also, I felt like there were some tricky grey areas in their relationship that weren't addressed as clearly as I would have liked. I actually felt like that about a number of Sheetal's relationships, including her mom and Dev. There were a lot of supporting characters, from Sheetal's grandparents and other members of the star court to the competing champions and Sheetal's mortal family, but I thought Thakrar did a pretty good job of handling them.
Plot- (2.5/5) I liked the overall plot structure of Star Daughter, but the pacing was a bit of a struggle, especially once we got to the star court. I had a hard time keeping track of exactly how quickly the competition was approaching. It was soon, and the soon-ness was emphasized, but at the same time, it felt like we spent a LOT of time in the court before the competition not doing very much. It picked up again once the competition hit through the end of the book, but the middle was a bit uneven.
World- (4/5) I really, really enjoyed the star court. I'll get into the writing down below, but the descriptions were lovely, and Thakrar did a nice job of making the star court feel real but also unimaginably whimsical and fantastic. I was entranced by the magical settings Thakrar described, but also chuckling sometimes at the normalcy of some aspects of the court.
Writing- (2.5/5) This was tough. On one hand, Thakrar's descriptions were often stunning, lyrical, and magical. The comparisons to Laini Taylor and Roshani Chokshi ring true. On the other hand, there was a lot of telling instead of showing. Star Daughter was packed with high-running emotions, but I often felt like Thakrar was just narrating Sheetal's emotions to me rather demonstrating them. The language also, sometimes, while gorgeous, got repetitive. This was a debut novel, and I think Thakrar's writing will only improve over time, which I look forward to because the prose was often lovely!
Overall- (3.2/5) Star Daughter was a fantastic premise with strong world-building and lush prose. Sheetal's journey of self-discovery was an emotional roller-coaster, but while the writing was often beautiful, it did a lot of telling instead of showing when it came to Sheetal's feelings. The novel struggled at times with pacing and consistency, but I loved the world of the star court. Though I didn't always love the characters, their motives were always clear and usually sympathetic, and Thakrar juggled a large supporting cast quite well. I would love to see more from her, but I would also love for her narrative voice to continue to mature. All in all, very cool mythology and important themes about self-discovery and relationships (familial, romantic, platonic), but also some stumbling blocks in the writing and pacing for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, and Addiction
mandkips's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction
Moderate: Blood, Emotional abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders
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