A review by fiekesfiction
Sword in the Stars by Cory McCarthy, A.R. Capetta

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

stories were never just a string of pretty words on a page or attractive strangers on a screen. They climbed inside your head, reordered things. Tore up parts of you by the roots and planted new ideas. 
Magic, really. 

This sequel to once & future is a book filled with hope and love and emotions. After the events of the first books, the group is once again faced with the almost impossible task to save each other and the whole universe.
To avoid spoilers I obviously can’t say much else about the plot itself, but the way the story came together was masterful.
Just like the first book it was hilarious and a lot of fun and filled with different references. I wish we could all just live in this future (you know apart from the whole having to save the universe from an evil corporation part.) The references to other Arthurian legend related stories (ahum the show Merlin) were particularly great and relatable.

But what really really made me love the story was of course the characters. I felt so attached to all of them. Merlin has such amazing development. I loved seeing his story as he learns to accept himself. There’s a lot of amazing stuff about the impact the world has had on him and how hard his lonely life has been. I just want to hug him!
Relating to the quote I started this review with, stories are important. They change your worldview and that can be absolutely amazing. I think this one was like that. However the quote in context actually refers to the complete opposite. Stories can make it seem like the world is supposed to be a certain way and you have to live up to that. It does a great job of showing how people can feel like they are not good enough or not ‘normal’ enough just because of the stories they’ve been told their whole lives. Especially reading the acknowledgments I geared up about this.

If you didn’t know, this series includes a main romance between two girls, it features a non-binary character, a Demi boy, a romance between two men, an aromantic/ asexual character and several people of color (including the main character.) and all of these characters really have a great dynamic and great personalities. I did personally want for Jordan to have a bigger part in this, but the parts she was there she did make an impact on the storyline. 
I honestly want more! I wish this was an endless series. This needs ALL THE HYPE honestly.
This year is really giving me SO MANY new favourites it’s getting insane. Love love love.


He’d started out on a path that was as lonely as any he could imagine. Yes, there had been dark patches. True, he’s made as many mistakes as there were stars in the cosmos. But he’d fought to the other side of it. 

So much hope for a near-perfect world. And a great found-family!