How are you all doing on this fine Thursday? I am staying up super late to get a ton of work done. I just completed homework for an archery hunting class tonight (sorry if you are against hunting). I am actually really excited to give hunting a shot (see what I did there…ok I get it, my jokes are still lame), as well as trapping. It helps provide food for my family. I grew up in the country where the majority of us hunted to provide for our families as well as maintain the wildlife population. Anyway, I guess we will see how it goes!
I am currently proofreading the third book in a series by an author and close friend of mine. I am beyond excited about where he has taken the story. I wish I could say more, but you will have to wait, stewing in anticipation. I am also beta reading for a different, yet still wonderful, author. I have another beta to do for her once this is done, and yet another beta read for a different author. On top of all of that…I have mountains of books to read, well not really mountains. I am short (5’2″ in the morning) though so maybe if I stack them they will seem as tall as a mountain. I am also trying to get situated after moving things into my in-laws’. Much of my daytime is spent cleaning something or going through boxes when I am not watching my now two-year-old.
Well, today is not “vent about my crazy life” day…it is book review day. So, I will move onto the subject matter you are all waiting for…unless you scrolled down already (shame on you). If you had scrolled down to find a mini review and came back to see what you missed here…welcome back. Let’s move on now, shall we…
Stars Like Fate 
Author: Brie Farmer
Published: December 11th, 2017
Publisher: Obsidian Court Publishing LLC.
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ (3.5)
Buy the book: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository (Use my referral ID: TheBibliophagist),
Disclaimer: I was given a free copy of this novel from the author in exchange for my honest review.
The stars have always watched over the realms, though none have ever intervened after that first fateful encounter that gave magic to the world. Or so all had thought.
King Nyole’s kingdom of Asha soon becomes ensnared in another kingdom’s coils. Instead of resisting their control and risking the lives of the Wrynush people, Nyole chooses to protect Asha at the expense of himself. He works for the kingdom’s ruler as their personal royal mage. When the prospect of his kingdoms immunity is up for grabs, Nyole takes the opportunity. His new job: to find where the last Cerassan Princess hid the key that locked away her magic.
Nyole faces princess Saphryis, a woman shrouded in forgotten history and whose path from the star of fate is so tangled, Nyole begins to doubt everything he was taught about the red star his family so proudly follows. He soon discovers that his family’s dark secrets have tied Saphryis and Nyole’s fates together and faces the consequence of knowing a history he may have never wanted to know.
I know that you cannot feel the cover of this novel, but let me assure you it is wonderful! The book was printed with the matte paperback cover. I am not sure why, but I love covers that are printed in this fashion. It does show fingerprints if you have oily fingers, thank goodness I don’t! I am a clean freak and would hate seeing fingerprints and smudges all over my books covers. I love how Nyole’s eyes glow on this cover, as if he is really peering into your soul. The character and way it is drawn reminded me so much of anime and I really, really, love that!
I will admit, I did enjoy this book. The summary grabbed my attention, honestly, how could it not with mages and royalty… It took me a while to get into and that was disappointing. I think my biggest problem was that I simply did not connect with the characters. I did not feel invested in the story or its outcome. I think this is primarily because of the slow beginning of the novel. The first ten or so chapters seem to drag on forever. About halfway through reading, I became a little more invested in the slow-burn romance that started to take place.
I will say that one thing I really loved was the development of the characters as the story progressed. You can tell the author thought about these characters in detail and she made sure to show it. I think that the novel was well written and may appeal to a wide audience, but you have to be patient with it. For me, I want a book to draw me in right away and this one simply failed to do that. My lack of connection to the characters really bummed me out because, by the end of the novel, I really enjoyed it. It is filled with great concepts of high fantasy and wonderful worldbuilding.
Would you read this novel? Buy it or borrow it? If you have read it, what did you think? Do you enjoy slow-burn novels or ones that are more fast-paced? What have you been reading lately?
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Good morning Mrs. BIBLIOPHAGIST have no worries. You life will slow down once again as soon as all the moving and going through boxes is complete. Then all you have to worry about is the crazy two year running around learning about the world as loud as he possibly can be. 🙂 Btw you jokes are not lame. They make me chuckle every time.
Now on to the book at hand. First off thank you for the review. I like reading them and figuring out if they would be a good fit for myself as I am always looking for new books to get into. I tend to find myself rereading my favorites over and over :). This book sounds very intriguing I mean who wouldn’t find it so if they are a fan of royalty and mages. What worries me is unlike you I have a hard to pushing through books that start off slow. I tend to never finish them. In fact there has only been one book that I ever finished that had a super slow world and character building first couple of chapters and that was the first Shannara book. Which by the way became one of my favorite series. Maybe I should get better at pushing through the tough first chapters. I might find new series to add to my favorites.
Have a great day and thanks again for your review!
It is hard pushing through it but i feel i have to give each book a chance
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