As one of my highly anticipated reads of the year, I was so excited to recieve a sneak peak! Such a small glimpse made me even more excited to read in August! The characters were developed! The world descriptions were ahmazing💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕!!!! Can not wait for my pre orders to arrive!!!!

Very interesting first 5 chapters!! I have been following Alex Aster on Instagram and Tiktok for a while, so the hype around the book intrigued me. Based on the little bit I just read, I will definitely look forward to when the book releases. The pre-order incentives are an amazing bonus as well!

A mini review based on an advanced excerpt:

A very interesting concept with clear tension and stakes. The main character is interesting, though not particularly distinct as a YA heroine. I was hoping for other POVs, though thus far there have not been any. So far the writing is not remarkable, but perfectly acceptable. Based on the first five chapters, I would keep reading, though I am not as blown away as I was hoping to be based on the hype surrounding this book.

Are you ever so nosy that you willingly invest $16.99 in a pre-order sale? Because yeah, that's how we've ended up here. Giving me adult money was a mistake.

Anyhow, I have been lurking on Alex Aster's success story for a while now because it's remarkable how well she's marketed her book. from BookTok to a 6 figure deal and an impressive following, Aster has likely secured herself a spot on every bestseller list. It's commendable, genuinely, I am impressed with how she and her team have generated hype for this book. So much, that I was willing to pre-order and receive the 5 free chapters. Read all 52 pages in one sitting.

I have thoughts.

This book has been touted as this Hunger Games x ACOTAR fantasy and I need y'all to manage those expectations because the writing makes it plainly obvious that this book is a debut. In fact, the writing comes off as a second draft that would have benefitted from closer editing:

"The snow villages of the Moonling new lands. The airy jubilees of the Skyling newlands. A few lands that hadn't been settled by any of the six realms at all."


A lot of the story (from what I read) relies on telling rather than showing and it leads to a lot of infodump so far. We are told that there were six realms, with six respective rulers, and six specific curses. We are told that Isla had a restricted childhood, who the perceived villains are, how the curses impact the different realms...

And the funny thing is that even with all this telling, the world-building is very confusing. From what I've gathered, there are 6 realms and the realms are countries? Isla mentions there are uninhabited countries that she could escape to, but the focus is on the Wilding, Skyling, Moonling, Starling, Nightshade and Lightlark. We are told that Lightlark is an island that appears every 100 years, but it was also at war with Nightshade; but then we are also told that Lightlark was inhabited with people from the other 4 countries (Wilding, Skyling, Moonling, Starling) but then the rulers of the realm ran away after getting cursed - and everyone thinks Nightshade is responsible for the curses? Am I losing anyone yet?? These 6 rulers are supposed to compete in a 100 day game/battle called the Centennial in which one of them must die - note, this system hasn't worked in the past 400 years, but they still keep doing the Centennial because...reasons.

I feel like the author just made the rules very convoluted and hard to follow without the logic that we saw in the Hunger Games. For instance, in the Hunger Games, we understood that children were selected as a way to lower morale in the districts; in Lightlark, the rulers are selected...but they have been competing for 400 years (Isla is the youngest realm ruler while the others are like 300 years old lmao) so I don't get what's different about each time?

In the Hunger Games, the competitors are sent to the Capitol; in Lightlark they are sent to Lightlark, the original realm with power, but also the King of Lightlark is cursed so does he also compete? In the Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta meet with fashion designers to demonstrate how the Capitol demands pomp behind the tragic killing; in Lightlark, Isla has an appointment with the tailor...just because? I'm not sharing these parallels to demand the author make a carbon copy of the Hunger Games, but if you are gonna comp with such an iconic YA dystopia, you need to follow through.

(Also this is a minor thing but from the character reveals we've had so far and the general Eurocentric fantasy world vibes, I'm sensing the book is gonna be very white/white-passing. I know Aster is Colombian so I give her kudos for being a WOC author in such a difficult industry. But I also can't deny that she is very white-passing and that does play a role in the diversity we might see in this book.)

We are told that Isla feels dread, that her people are dying, but I never felt an urgency in the atmosphere of the story. The fact that Isla has time to go on a chocolate-eating date with one of the other realm rulers makes me doubt the stakes of the Centennial.

SPEAKING OF DATE, y'all...the ACOTAR really jumped out. Remember when I mentioned the 6 realms, let me repeat them for you: Wildling, Skyling, Moonling, Starling, Nightshade, and Lightlark. If there's a villain (as the author has heavily hinted at "villain gets the girl") guess where he's from. Let me make it worse, his name is Grimshaw LMAOOO.

"The face belonging to the man looking down at her was amused. And familiar, somehow. He was so tall Isla had to tilt her chin to meet his eyes, black as coal. His hair spilled ink across his pale forehead. Nightshade, no question. Which meant...

"Thank you Grimshaw," Isla said firmly."


Might as well have stuck a "Hello, Isla darling" in that introduction because that character is literally Rhysand in a different font. Tell me I'm wrong! You may argue that 5 chapters aren't enough to get a read on a character but all of the characters lack depth, most of all our main character Isla. She's also very inconsistent. Isla is supposed to be trained in battle/swordplay but she almost trips off a cliff, then she always falls over a balcony because the sound of someone's clapping startled her. She is supposed to have been isolated her whole life, but she's also very good at reading people (you can argue that she snuck out of her room using the Starstick so she's well-traveled, but I would think her personality would have traces of her anti-social, subdued/secluded background, though she is certainly naive).

I can already predict that Grimshaw and Isla are endgame. Apparently, there are all these plot twists in the end so I would wager Grim betrays her for savior reasons and the next two books are about them being enemies to lovers. I also bet that Isla's second love interest is the King of Lightlark. The curses resulted from something between the Lightlark and Nightshade realms, or maybe from all the rulers contributing, idk I'm trying to guess at what would be so good that people are raving about the last 30 pages...maybe Isla's mom and dad had some kind of hand in the curses?? I mean I'm gonna find out in a month since I've preordered the book so we'll see if I was right

I'm so excited for Lightlark to be released, it is one of my most anticipated releases of the year! I loved these first 5 chapters and I can't wait to find out what happens next. August 23rd cannot come soon enough!

LOVED!! Can’t wait to receive my copy in August❤️ I am obsessed with this world already and have already preordered my copy from Barnes And Noble!

Hunger games meets ACOTAR in a compelling book. I am looking forward to being able to read the rest of this book!!

Truly happy to have received a sneak peek! I am so excited to read the book. The world is intriguing and I am excited to get to know the characters more.

This sneak peak of five chapters has absolutely hooked me into the story. Mysterious characters, specifically Grim and Oro have piqued my interest into what they are planning.


Some minor spoilers, but since this is only 5 chapters...

Isla is a wild card (pun intended) with the fact that she does not have any powers and I'm curious to see how she'll get by with her plan during the Centennial.

I can't wait for the full release of Lightlark!

The first five chapters of Lightlark are a fantastic start to the story. I struggle when fantasy books get bogged down with world building in the beginning, so I loved the way this book jumps right into the action. So far the pacing is incredible. It reminds me a lot of the excitement I felt when I read the Hunger Games series for the first time. The concept feels familiar, all while still bringing something refreshing to the table. In these chapters Isla is prepping for the Centennial and plotting how she’s going to survive it to break her people’s curse. It’s very fun to see how she interacts with the other characters and try to guess who will end up making alliances. It looks like Isla has a long (and probably difficult) journey ahead of her and I’m so excited to see what challenges she faces along the way.

I pre-ordered Lightlark, so I just got the first five chapter, but it was enough to hook me. I have never read a book like Lightlark. Originality is a hard thing to write in books when all you know is those books, but Lightlark surely did it. I love how every century there is this challenge between realms. It reminds me of the hunger games, yet it is so much different. I can’t wait for when my copy of the book comes in!

This was the first 5 chapters as a pre order gift. It did not disappoint! Pre order this masterpiece immediately, and while you're at it, pre order 2 or even 3! Its THAT good! I cannot wait to read this in its entirety come August. I'm also becoming very impatient (sarcasm), waiting for Alex to share all of her Lightlark news on her IG.

Im so excited for the rest of the book to come out. I have Lightlark preordered and the sneak peek lives up the the hype. Asters writing is phenomenal building the world and I cannot wait to see the rest of the story unravel!

Wow this was SO good! I am so excited for the whole book! I also am so intrigued with Grim and how his and Isla's relationship will pan out!!! From even just the sneak peak, I can tell this world is so well-developed and beautiful, as are the characters! Also Oro? A very welcome and unexpected surprise. Isla's predicament is so interesting and already she's got me fearing for her sake.

Desperately waiting til I can get my hands on the full book!!

Thank you!

SNEAK PEEK WAS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! I CANNOT WAIT UNTIL THE OFFICIAL RELEASE!!!!

Alex, the beginning of this book had me absolutely hooked and I cannot wait until the full thing is published! (It did live up to the BookTok hype!!)

Just by being able to read the first five chapters of this novel, I can already tell it's going to come out being in my top five for the year. I seriously cannot wait to get my hands on the physical whenever release finally comes around.

Alex's style reminds me so much of V. E. Schwab's writing style and I think that that's just so much more alluring. Since there isn't a whole lot of information about this book so far, I have to keep this review shorter in order to save space for my full review that's later in come this year.

Seriously, I've read the first five chapters twice already now.

I am BEYOND excited to read this in full when it comes out!! Such a great preorder incentive. These first 5 chapters were FANTASTIC and I absolutely can't wait to dive into the book the second my preorder comes in.
I love a good fantasy book and I'm already super invested and really enjoying the world building.

I am hooked just from the first five chapter sneak peek! It is so so good already. Great worldbuilding so far as well, can't wait for august <3!!

These first five chapters are a wonderful sneak peak that makes me even more excited to receive my copy in August! I devoured this on my lunch break and I can say Isla is a compelling main character already and the bits of plot I’ve seen have me wishing I had more to read.

OBSESSED! I knew I had to preorder this book due to getting the first 5 chapters early and the page overlays. I am already so drawn in to Isla as a character and cannot wait to read this book in it's entirety. All of the imagery in this book thus far has been breath taking and you can truly tell that Alex Aster poured her soul into this book. I can already tell this book is going to be unrivaled and will go down as one of my favorite books of all time.