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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-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:
No
6/5 stars oh my fucking god
I will be back to scream and convince you all to read this book, I just need 3-5 business days to recover from this masterpiece
Ok, I’m back
This book was absolutely incredible and you need to read it ASAP 😊
A Circle of Stars tells the story of Casper, a high school senior living in Chicago who gets kicked out of his home as a result of his parents blatant homophobia. While on the street, Casper is attacked by what appears to be coyotes. When an older woman steps in to save him, he finds himself suddenly transported to an entirely new world located inside a moon called Novilem. The Novilites harness powers from the aether based on their zodiac signs or “houses”. And Casper is shocked to find out that he is the Telos: the first person in nearly 80 years that has the ability to access powers from all 12 of the houses. Casper is kept locked away to train and hone his powers by the woman who saved him on Earth, Brissa, the most powerful of the Novilem council members. But as his isolation starts to feel suffocating, it’s Brissa’s charming young grandson, Helix, who helps Casper feel less alone. As the two begin to spend more time together, they start to uncover dark secrets that are threatening Novilem and its people.
This book is a coming of age, fantasy romance. The writing was incredible and I could not believe this was a debut novel. The world building was executed beautifully and while I’m still a newbie in the fantasy reading world, I was able to quickly catch on to the lingo. And the author included a glossary which was so helpful! I absolutely loved all of the characters in this book and watching Casper and Helix’s romance blossom was such a privilege. I think my favorite part of this book was the healthy communication between these two 🥰. I also adored how queernormative Novilem was written and it warmed my heart seeing Casper be able to live his authentic self.
You guys don’t want to miss this one written and published by an amazing indie author. It was perfection all the way through. And there’s a book 2 coming next year!
I will be back to scream and convince you all to read this book, I just need 3-5 business days to recover from this masterpiece
Ok, I’m back
This book was absolutely incredible and you need to read it ASAP 😊
A Circle of Stars tells the story of Casper, a high school senior living in Chicago who gets kicked out of his home as a result of his parents blatant homophobia. While on the street, Casper is attacked by what appears to be coyotes. When an older woman steps in to save him, he finds himself suddenly transported to an entirely new world located inside a moon called Novilem. The Novilites harness powers from the aether based on their zodiac signs or “houses”. And Casper is shocked to find out that he is the Telos: the first person in nearly 80 years that has the ability to access powers from all 12 of the houses. Casper is kept locked away to train and hone his powers by the woman who saved him on Earth, Brissa, the most powerful of the Novilem council members. But as his isolation starts to feel suffocating, it’s Brissa’s charming young grandson, Helix, who helps Casper feel less alone. As the two begin to spend more time together, they start to uncover dark secrets that are threatening Novilem and its people.
This book is a coming of age, fantasy romance. The writing was incredible and I could not believe this was a debut novel. The world building was executed beautifully and while I’m still a newbie in the fantasy reading world, I was able to quickly catch on to the lingo. And the author included a glossary which was so helpful! I absolutely loved all of the characters in this book and watching Casper and Helix’s romance blossom was such a privilege. I think my favorite part of this book was the healthy communication between these two 🥰. I also adored how queernormative Novilem was written and it warmed my heart seeing Casper be able to live his authentic self.
You guys don’t want to miss this one written and published by an amazing indie author. It was perfection all the way through. And there’s a book 2 coming next year!
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
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:
Yes
I was excited to read this book because the premise seemed interesting and the romance cute... but it was a struggle to read. Granted I'm not the target audience age-wise (I am 27) I think a 15-18 year old would enjoy it more. That being said, the magic in this world was hard to understand, at times a lot of information was given to us and at others nothing was said. As far as the romance goes, as soon as the two characters met they were in love at first sight and afraid the other would "get them in trouble" when these are two well behaved boys, almost too well behaved considering Caspers doing nothing to escape what is basically his imprisonment here. Then when it comes to just the "mysteries" and plot points of the book absolutely nothing is left to the imagination! we are introduced to a mystery then it's solved the next chapter. We're not able to theorize or make any of our own assumptions at all. It's quite frustrating especially for people like me who enjoy theorizing about little details Anyway, I don't think it's inherently a bad book, it's just not for me.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Abandonment, Classism
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Violence
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Outing
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
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:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Whelp. That was a thing that happened.
Okay, the concept was interesting. Yes, the Chosen One trope was boring, but a city built into a moon? Political scheming? It had the opportunity to be really cool, but the characterization issues and the absolute lack of anything that resembled pacing really just took this story downhill fast.
Casper’s character was nonexistent. He begins as an ostracized child of an abusive family who is told by the one friend he has left in the world that he tries too hard to be what everyone wants him to be. It’s a super strong start to a novel and to who I expected Casper to be: he’s going to be superb at code switching! He’s going to be very slow to trust, very eager to fit in, and he won’t rock the boat because he’s learned that doing anything outside of conformity is a recipe for violence. I was excited to see that kind of character approach a Chosen One scenario, but then … he sneaks out. He’s immediately a snarky little shit, even when he ought to be catatonic in terror at literally being kidnapped and sent across the universe. He questions authority, he acts without thinking, and he throws himself into a relationship with nary a wobble of doubt or hold ups from a strict religious upbringing.
Some of those characterizations could be attributed to the fact that he’s trying to process everything he’s ever known changing, and that he now has superpowers beyond those that even the people around him possess. But I never really got a sense of who Casper is, which made the opening salvo of “if you stopped trying to be someone different for everyone” a deeply ironic and self-fulfilling prophecy.
Helix was another character who seemed to struggle finding his voice, but not quite to the same level as Casper. He’s set up to be a deeply ambitious and singularly focused person, but his focus splits so quickly once he’s presented with Casper, and then with Peter’s illicit activities. I could see a growth arc for him as his beliefs are challenged, but his ambition/learning to grow past his selfish desire could have been a much stronger motivator for him.
And the pair of them together … blech. Instalove, followed by cringe.The scene on the surface of the planet was awkward and awful and just about made me DNF. It’s really hard to like Casper when he’s being a selfish little shit while his maybe-boyfriend is actively grieving his grandmother’s grisly murder. As someone who had to code switch his entire life, it would have made so much sense for Casper to be more sensitive to the emotions of people around him; that strength would have been an excellent foil for a more ambitious/single-focused Helix, but nope. Helix got the emotional intelligence, and Casper got to whine a bunch and then have Helix apologize for upsetting him too.
And the PACING. For the freakin’ love, the story was all over the place. The multiple POV got clumsy really quickly; the time during which certain events took place was incredibly hard to follow, and apparently being the Telos means you can get abs in 30 days or less.
Finally, the villain kind of bothered me from an anti-Semitic perspective. You have a people who leave their home, guided by a mythic figure of great power who promises the people a new home; it takes them generations to find new home, only to have it be inhospitable. Then you have Jacob, our villain, constantly push for the people to make this promised land work as a settlement … it just had too many parallels to Jewish stories for me to be comfortable with the portray of Jacob.
I give this story points for creativity in the premise, clarity of writing action scenes where powers are involved, and the morally gray character of Breesa. Beyond that, this was a dumpster fire.
Okay, the concept was interesting. Yes, the Chosen One trope was boring, but a city built into a moon? Political scheming? It had the opportunity to be really cool, but the characterization issues and the absolute lack of anything that resembled pacing really just took this story downhill fast.
Casper’s character was nonexistent. He begins as an ostracized child of an abusive family who is told by the one friend he has left in the world that he tries too hard to be what everyone wants him to be. It’s a super strong start to a novel and to who I expected Casper to be: he’s going to be superb at code switching! He’s going to be very slow to trust, very eager to fit in, and he won’t rock the boat because he’s learned that doing anything outside of conformity is a recipe for violence. I was excited to see that kind of character approach a Chosen One scenario, but then … he sneaks out. He’s immediately a snarky little shit, even when he ought to be catatonic in terror at literally being kidnapped and sent across the universe. He questions authority, he acts without thinking, and he throws himself into a relationship with nary a wobble of doubt or hold ups from a strict religious upbringing.
Some of those characterizations could be attributed to the fact that he’s trying to process everything he’s ever known changing, and that he now has superpowers beyond those that even the people around him possess. But I never really got a sense of who Casper is, which made the opening salvo of “if you stopped trying to be someone different for everyone” a deeply ironic and self-fulfilling prophecy.
Helix was another character who seemed to struggle finding his voice, but not quite to the same level as Casper. He’s set up to be a deeply ambitious and singularly focused person, but his focus splits so quickly once he’s presented with Casper, and then with Peter’s illicit activities. I could see a growth arc for him as his beliefs are challenged, but his ambition/learning to grow past his selfish desire could have been a much stronger motivator for him.
And the pair of them together … blech. Instalove, followed by cringe.
And the PACING. For the freakin’ love, the story was all over the place. The multiple POV got clumsy really quickly; the time during which certain events took place was incredibly hard to follow, and apparently being the Telos means you can get abs in 30 days or less.
Finally, the villain kind of bothered me from an anti-Semitic perspective. You have a people who leave their home, guided by a mythic figure of great power who promises the people a new home; it takes them generations to find new home, only to have it be inhospitable. Then you have Jacob, our villain, constantly push for the people to make this promised land work as a settlement … it just had too many parallels to Jewish stories for me to be comfortable with the portray of Jacob.
I give this story points for creativity in the premise, clarity of writing action scenes where powers are involved, and the morally gray character of Breesa. Beyond that, this was a dumpster fire.
This ARC was kindly provided to me by the Author and I am writing this honest review after reading it. (In 2 sittings, by the way!!)
What an incredible read! The world building in this novel is absolutely breathtaking, and I feel like I just went on such a personal journey with Cas! The intricacies are so well thought out and the characters all have depth. I am so impressed. I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommend, and I cannot wait to purchase my physical copy, and as a personal note to the Author, hurry up and write book 2! I’m ready!
What an incredible read! The world building in this novel is absolutely breathtaking, and I feel like I just went on such a personal journey with Cas! The intricacies are so well thought out and the characters all have depth. I am so impressed. I couldn’t put it down. Highly recommend, and I cannot wait to purchase my physical copy, and as a personal note to the Author, hurry up and write book 2! I’m ready!
Now that i’m getting older, sometimes YA novels don’t hit the same but this one hit and it hit HARD.
ACOS brought a queer normative world, solid mental health rep, a society INSIDE of a moon, and some really cool zodiac based magic. We get to see Casper deconstructing the views he was taught to believe, a freaking adorable romance blooming, and so many twists and turns. I’m excited to read more from Craig in the future!
ACOS brought a queer normative world, solid mental health rep, a society INSIDE of a moon, and some really cool zodiac based magic. We get to see Casper deconstructing the views he was taught to believe, a freaking adorable romance blooming, and so many twists and turns. I’m excited to read more from Craig in the future!