scott_thelibrarian 's review for:

A Circle of Stars by Craig Montgomery

5.0

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This book was a blast from start to finish! It's been a while since I read a YA fantasy that hooked me from the very beginning and kept my attention through its entirety, but this book did. I find it hard to believe that this is Craig's debut novel. It reads like its written by a seasoned YA novelist. Craig created two great main characters that go through hell as they discover the secrets and lies their world is built on. From the very beginning, we saw our MC, Casper, get kicked out of his home because of his sexuality before being ripped from Earth and transported far across the galaxy to a whole new world. Even though every sexuality is considered normal and widely accepted, this world still held it's own prejudices against a minority that those in charge didn't fully understand. Those in power chose to control this group of people by locking them away just so they could keep the power they worked so hard to build. I think Craig did an excellent job of creating a political world that mirror's our own in the US. The every day people are the ones who are forced to bare the weight of the nation instead of those in power (wealthy). I thought that this was a very creative way of voicing concerns and frustrations about things in our reality through a fantasy lens.

I think that Craig has a very bright future as an author. I can't wait to read the 2nd book in The Stardust Duology and other stories that he creates. If you are looking for a fun YA fantasy, especially a queer YA fantasy, this is the book for you. I highly recommend this book!

Thank you to the author for gifting me a copy of the audiobook for an honest review!