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A review by cardiomyoapathy
A Circle of Stars by Craig Montgomery
3.0
First and foremost; I received this as an eARC from the author. There may be slight spoilers below, so you have been forewarned.
The story begins with Casper, a young boy who’s parents have recently disowned him because he had an altercation with another boy and it came out that he was gay. I would have loved to see more of this family building. I think I could have sympathized more with Casper if I had a deeper understanding of his background. It was mentioned in bits and pieces throughout the story but they often felt disjointed. I felt like I was missing bits and pieces of important information.
After which, we switch perspectives to Helix, the grandson of one of the council member’s on the planet he has just been low-key kidnapped to. I wish, wish, wish would could have gotten more background on Helix. I’m hoping, potentially, in the second book we’ll see more, but I felt as though his characterization left a lot to be desired. I was desperate to see more interaction of Helix with his crew, his family, his friends. He is one of the main protagonist, but again, it felt as though there was bits and pieces of important information missing from his narrative.
Finally, we switch to the final prospective of Talleah, a disadvantaged mother of a young girl on Novilem. From her perspective we get to see the lower class of Novilem. How most people are struggling, suffering while the higher classes and council rule over the city.
I felt that there could have been some broader world-building (only because I am an absolutely sucker for extensive world-building), the basis of the story was so incredibly interesting. It did at times feel a little rushed in areas and sometimes felt as if there may be a piece of information missing — I will admit that the eARC I received was in-between edits, so things may change or they may not.
I also had a hard time gauging the age of the characters (other than Casper and I believe Brissa), so without a focal point, it was hard to gauge if their reactions were fully genuine.
Outside of those negatives, the magic system was incredibly fascinating. As someone who is deeply obsessed with astrology, this had me hooked. Immediately. The structure to which the economy in Novilem is based, also incredibly fascinating. I would have loved to see a little more about how the day to day works, but perhaps we’ll get a bigger taste in book two.
All in all; I think it was a lovely little debut by Craig Montgomery. I am very much looking forward to seeing him grow as a writer, reading book 2 in the series and more outside of the Circle of Stars universe.
The story begins with Casper, a young boy who’s parents have recently disowned him because he had an altercation with another boy and it came out that he was gay. I would have loved to see more of this family building. I think I could have sympathized more with Casper if I had a deeper understanding of his background. It was mentioned in bits and pieces throughout the story but they often felt disjointed. I felt like I was missing bits and pieces of important information.
After which, we switch perspectives to Helix, the grandson of one of the council member’s on the planet he has just been low-key kidnapped to. I wish, wish, wish would could have gotten more background on Helix. I’m hoping, potentially, in the second book we’ll see more, but I felt as though his characterization left a lot to be desired. I was desperate to see more interaction of Helix with his crew, his family, his friends. He is one of the main protagonist, but again, it felt as though there was bits and pieces of important information missing from his narrative.
Finally, we switch to the final prospective of Talleah, a disadvantaged mother of a young girl on Novilem. From her perspective we get to see the lower class of Novilem. How most people are struggling, suffering while the higher classes and council rule over the city.
I felt that there could have been some broader world-building (only because I am an absolutely sucker for extensive world-building), the basis of the story was so incredibly interesting. It did at times feel a little rushed in areas and sometimes felt as if there may be a piece of information missing — I will admit that the eARC I received was in-between edits, so things may change or they may not.
I also had a hard time gauging the age of the characters (other than Casper and I believe Brissa), so without a focal point, it was hard to gauge if their reactions were fully genuine.
Outside of those negatives, the magic system was incredibly fascinating. As someone who is deeply obsessed with astrology, this had me hooked. Immediately. The structure to which the economy in Novilem is based, also incredibly fascinating. I would have loved to see a little more about how the day to day works, but perhaps we’ll get a bigger taste in book two.
All in all; I think it was a lovely little debut by Craig Montgomery. I am very much looking forward to seeing him grow as a writer, reading book 2 in the series and more outside of the Circle of Stars universe.