Illusion of Stars was SUCH a fun and engaging book! Isabel is an apprentice royal physician of Sonak Island, competing for the permanent role. Something is suddenly very wrong with the king’s mental health, and some suspicious guests from the land of Volgaard are going to find out, putting the island’s independence in jeopardy.

This story started off slowly, though I was entertained by the friendships, banter, and unique magic system as it began to unfold. About halfway through the book, the plot picked up and then I couldn’t put it down. There is a sweet slow burn romance and outstanding character growth. Sarah Marie Page's writing style is unique and filled with beautiful metaphors. I really wish I could dive right into book 2 today!

Thank you to Shadow Forge Publishing and NetGalley for providing me this ARC.

Illusion of stars is a fast-paced read that has an entertaining plot. Unfortunately, I don’t think this was for me. I enjoyed the first hundred pages but after it felt way to obvious where the plot was going and the ending was predictable.

This was supposed to be an enemies to lovers plot but it wasn’t in my opinion. The characters felt a bit insta lovey. The entire plot felt rushed and super quick for how much was going on.

Illusion of stars follows Isabel, a court physician apprentice, who is working to become the royal physician. She takes care of the queen and pretty much everyone else in the keep, except the king. It seems like everyday half the keep is out ill with something, girl cannot catch a break.. One day she finds her friend murdered and is roped into becoming a “spy” in order to help solve who did it. She is sent as a guide to help the son of the commander, Erik, to scout locations.

I did not like MMC at all. His initial behavior was not something I could get past, especially since their relationship seemed to happen really quickly. I don’t think this was for me.. the buzz words got me interested but the execution didn’t work, for me at least.

Thank you NetGalley and Shadow Forge Publishing for an ARC of Illusion of Stars ✨

Rating: 3 stars ✨

Tropes:
LGBTQ+
Grief/ loss
Magic
Traveling/ Camping

𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 "𝑰𝒍𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒔"✧ 𝒃𝒚 𝑺𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒉 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒆 𝑷𝒂𝒈𝒆
4.5/5 stars

This was a truly unique book, with a story that kept me interested after reading so many popular BookTok books.
Often, I find aspects of those stories repeating themselves, causing me to lose interest, but this book has its own story, and I ended up reading it in just one day!

𝘈𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘭 𝘱𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘦 𝘪𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘐𝘴𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘭 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘰𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘥𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘮𝘢𝘥 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮'𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘯. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘮𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘌𝘳𝘪𝘬, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭'𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴.

I absolutely loved the characters and the sense of found family among Erik's soldiers. Isabel's journey of self-discovery and acceptance is so relatable for anyone trying to prove themselves. The balance of betrayal and responsibility Isabel navigates is both thrilling and heart-wrenching.

The slow-burn romance was just right for me, with a perfect build-up and a steamy fade-to-black moment. The focus stayed on the beautiful tension, making the story even more engaging.

Thank you to Sarah Marie Page and NetGalley for the ARC!
I can’t wait for the sequel after that cliffhanger ending!💖

Wowow thank you NetGalley + The Publisher!
This was on my list since stumbling on my insta !

Enemies to lovers … need I say more !?

Isabel is royal physician who loves her friends dearly but as someone who didn’t look into what this story was about tooo much the early plot twist really had me GASPING! With the events that occur she takes in on herself to find out the truth of what happened + trying to seek revenge. She becomes a spy and has to WOOO the general Erik Lothgarson .. but as true enemies to lovers you know what happens !

I love love the word building and the magic system in this ! It is so different from what I’ve read , and the story was so captivating .
I found myself imagine the breeze and the smell of the sea in my living room .

I absolutely love Isy’s character and her dynamic with Erik .

This was such an easy and beautiful read , I’m going to get a physical copy !

Can’t wait for the next ! Pls read this , it’s so good !
10/10 !

I’ve never read a book by this author before but I absolutely loved it! Thank you so much for the ARC! I loved this story, it was extremely well written. Will definitely be on the lookout for more books by this author!

This book was a breath of fresh air in the new adult romantasy genre. I loved the plot and intrigue, there were those moments in the later chapters were you have those "aha" moments where the bread crumbs fall into place. As this this a new adult book, the main characters are younger and I think Sarah Marie Page does a good job of capturing those complexities - in some moments they are confident adults yet in others they are still unsure and young.
One of things that really resonated for me was how it was written in terms of narrative. Illusion of Stats was written using limited first-person pov - so we see and experience the entire story from Isabel eyes. The thing that really set this apart was that Sarah Marie Page used an intriguing mix of stream of thought and more standard narrative. When the reader was reading those stream of thought passages, they experienced how some emotions, like doubt, insecurity, and fear can seemingly randomly intrude into a person's mind and how one sometimes has to force themselves to push through or they can get buried in an avalanche of unwanted thoughts.
Caveats for this book: While there are some mildly steamy scenes. the book does fade to black for those pivotal moments. Also this is part of a duet, so it does end on a bit of an open ending and readers will need to read the next book to see resolution of the plot.

This book unfortunately became a DNF for me at 23%.

I really had high hopes for this one but found the writing style was not for me and made it difficult for me to power through.

Just finished reading my eARK copy.

I had so much fun reading this! The world building is soo good - I love Sarah’s descriptions, made my mind create some lovely images of this world!

Isabel - In this book, she seems naïve but by the few chapters of the book, you can see her becoming something fierce. I'm really looking forward to seeing her growth in the second book because I get the impression that she is a powerhouse! She's likeable, loyal to those she loves and resilient.

Erik - Great, now I have another book boyfriend to add to the list! He's broody, moody and closed off... BUT underneath all that, he's just scared, alone and thinks that no-one sees him for him. I really hope that in the second book we see him go completely feral.

4/5 ⭐️ - Overall, this was a really fun read and one that I completed in a day. I couldn't stop myself. The world building is amazing, the magic system is unique, and the author uses the prettiest language for descriptions. I would highly recommend you read this book!

I liked this book a lot! The main characters were amazing and I really cared about them. The book did start off a little slow and I got a bit confused in the politics, but overall it was great. Definitely recommend and look forward to the next one!

As far as debut, fantasy books go, Sarah Page hit this one OUT OF THE PARK. This will for sure be in my top 5 for the year. Her writing is done SO well, and the story truly sucks you in. I loved the realness of Isabel, she was so easy to relate to! And Erik's angst was like no other. You could literally feel it coming off the pages. Don't ask me how, but it did.

After reading, I couldn't believe this was Sarah Page's first book! She has such a gift! And even when Amazon CANCELLED all of her ebook pre-orders, she didn't give up, and asked for help and support on Instagram, and she got it!! Because people LOVE THIS BOOK!!

And if you don’t know whether to trust me, Illusion of Stars has become the 18th most requested book on Netgalley, and had 400+ Goodreads reviews on release day!! Like seriously, if you like fantasy or romantasy, RUN, don't walk, to order this book! Go! Now! ;)

I received an arc of this book from netgalley and Shadow Forge Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

This book is about a young woman who's struggling to prove herself good enough to be the palace physician in a pretty rundown kingdom. Weird political stuff happens, she doesnt know what's going on, she's drawn into it as a "spy".

I thought this book felt very young at parts and light... some of it could have had a bit more world or story building. But ultimately I found myself wondering what was going on and reading more chapters than I planned before bed. I feel like there's a lot more to the world than we know yet, and the magical systems seem super interesting. This book was definitely addictive and I am all ready for the next one.

Illusion of Stars: An exploration of loss, self -acceptance and connection wrapped in an enemies-to-lovers romance

'Illusion' starts off quite cosy. We perceive the events in the book through the mind of Isabel, the female main character. She is an apprentice court physician in a young and already unstable kingdom.
The whole book is, ostensibly, Isabel's confession Of what and why, we don't find out until much later. So we have no choice but to strap in and follow along.

Scenes flow into each other and have a very nice cadence to them - dialogue and descriptions are well-placed and well-timed, which easily absorbs the reader into the book.
Relationships and developments are slowly hinted at and then unfurl like flowers - one petal at a time. I'm used to seeing this style in fantasy, but Page does it beautifully, makes it feel natural.

Where Page truly shines is in her characterisation and in how those characters exist in their world. The smoothly implemented representation of Bi, Pan and Achillean (MM) relationships is just a cherry on top.
From their very first introduction, I feel attached to Isabel and her friends, like I can feel Isabel's love through "her" writing. I know from the blurb I shouldn't get attached, but I do, anyway.

Through her main characters, Page touches on the raw and vulnerable edges of loss, grief, loneliness and longing and connection. Page never forgets how young her characters are, and they deal with emotions and each other accordingly. Sometimes brash and unforgiving, sometimes playful and teasing. Both filled to the brim with the outward confidence and inward insecurity of young adults. This is especially true for the male main character, Erik, a foreign enemy general, who's culture and family values strength and success.

Neither Erik nor Isabel is looking for someone else. They're looking for themselves. This coming of age aspect, the learning who you are beyond and despite who you grew up as, strikes a beautiful contrast to the slow-burn growth of affection.

Page makes her characters feel *real*. It's in the way Erik cackles and accepts the invitation to dance, in the way Isabel has panic attacks, the way Signey hates being left behind. It's in the way both Erik and Isabel fiddle with sweater sleeves. No one is sacred, perfect, inhuman or untouchable to Page, and all shine from this treatment. I think it's this - seeing young people truly acting the way young people would - that brought this book so close to me. That made me experience it, rather than just read it.

And when the plot thickened about 2/3 in...I truly couldn't be torn away, I was so absorbed. In their fates. In the fates of their kingdoms, their people. It's the non-physical intimacy that really had me done for, I think. And the ending....well, let's just say, I am awaiting part 2 of this Duology with baited breath already.

I received a free copy of this book as an ARC to review and ...wow. It's safe to say I devoured this book within a day and thoroughly loved the experience. Warm in style, touching, true to each character and emotionally gripping, Illusion of Stars is a read I'd recommend wholly.

"Do you know how to use a cup?" This summarizes everything about this book!
An amazing world and magic system, this story already starts making you laugh about "the screaming" and you get instantly hooked.
Sarah makes an amazingly smart job of blurring the villainous characters, showing you how easily you can misjudge someone. Isabel is a real character, with her doubts, pains, grief, but also her intelligence, her determination, and her character. Erik is so much like Isabel, in all the ways that make them human. The side characters complements the story and the twists and turns are excellent!
Beautiful story, beautiful characters.

"I see you. You matter."

I unfortunately DNF this book. I was captivated at the end of chapter one and felt excited to see how the story unfolded. I was intrigued by the FMC’s arc and journey but couldn’t push past 33%. I liked Sarah Marie Page’s writing style and would be open to other books from her. This one just wasn’t for me.

I am shook!!!! Why does this story feels like i am a part of this???
It is a story where two people who do not like each other at all , builds walls around them only to break them!!
But it not only talks about romance. It is so much more than that..
a journey of believing that you are enough, that there are people who love you and it is not your fault.
I love how everything plays out and i need the second book!! (kidding i am going to let it all soak in.)
But if you love to read enemies to lovers with secrets and politics and magic, you must read this book.
You are going to love it.

This is beautiful! I couldn’t put it down!

“I see you and you are enough.”
I loved watching the relationship between Isabel and Erik. Two people who have been failed and mistreated by people who are supposed to love you.

The magic world is easy to understand and the magic a little unique to other stories

If you like slow burn, enemies to lovers, women who learn resilience and overcoming demons this is for you!

There is also heart break and betrayal.

I read lot of historical fiction but "Illusion of Stars" was refreshingly different. A different time - I couldn't quite put my finger on but modern phrasing popping in throughout. Plenty of fast paced adventure set against rugid landscapes.

In this enemies-to-lovers romantasy, Isabel becomes a spy for her tribe. While she is sent to woo, a slow-burning romance blossoms between herself and Erik (who sounds dreamy!) the neighboring kingdom of Volgaard's second-in-command, plotting to over through Isabel's people.

Such clever use of mystic powers, blurring reality with illusional magic along with Isabel's gifts with herbal medicine, make for a fantasy environment.

Raw emotion and a sense of struggling with self worth, past loss and personal trauma make for an intense inner-conflict. Many instances of edge of the seat drama - will Isabel be detected as a spy? The lines between truth and deception are very fine. And the saucy foreplay hints at steamy romance against the quick witted too and fro between Erik and Isabel - they certainly are a match for each other!

This is the first of a duology and I would definitely want to read the second installment - as I was left in suspense and wondering......

Thanks to NetGalley, Shadow Forge Publishing and Sarah Marie Page for my copy

This is such a fun read! The magic was really appealing and kept me wanting more. I especially love the banter between the main characters. The way they bond over echoes is super cute. My favorite part of the storyline is seeing Isy’s character development while facing so much adversity.

Okay, this was fun! I really enjoyed it. It gave me SJM vibes here and there which is NEVER a bad thing. It was definitely a slow burn (the romance AND the story) but it was never dull or boring. I even laughed out loud a few times. I think people will really take to this one - especially those looking for a YA romantacy type feel.

the fantasy parts of this book were so well done and i loved reading about erik and isabel so much. the world building was good and i don’t really have any complaints but it didn’t quite give me that 5 star feeling. definitely would read a second book for this