Stardust in their Veins

A fantastic sequel to one of my top reads of last year! LS has woven an intricate tale of the love between sisters and the extent that some will go to for power. Empress Margareux is terrifying but somewhat fascinating as the villain of this series, and I'm a little scared as to what she's going to do in the next instalment. I loved the introduction of Violie's POV and found her to be an interesting character. Bring on the next book!

"And soon enough, they'll wish they'd killed us when they had a chance."

My huge thanks to Hodder & Stoughton to invite me to read this amazing sequel first!

I remember finishing the first book, Castles in Their Bones, in early February this year and imagined I would die waiting for the second book, I wouldn't, but I think there is a higher chance now! :)
And yes, I mentioned that it is not fair to choose my best book of the year in February, but now in the middle of December, I can honestly say Castles in Their Bones and Stardust in Their Veins are my best reads in 2022!

My favorite girls, I loved it, every word and every page. I finished it last night and still thinking, what the hell just happened! and how on earth could I write something without a spoiler!?

Generally for everybody who wants to know what is this book, and to understand their vast mistake of not read it yet,
In Kingdom of Stars, seventy years old Emperor of Bessemia suddenly fathered three daughters, some rumors say princesses are born with magic. Princesses mother, Empress Margaraux educated them to fulfill one duty;
Beatriz, Daphne and Sophronia should marry one of the princes or king of Vesteria, with conspiracy and chaos driving the countries to war till their mother conquest Cellaria, Friv and Temarin.
This was a task in the first book, the twist and surprises were unbelievable!

For the second book, Stardust in Their Veins, I may warn you if did not read Castles in Their Bones, don't read the following,
About a week after the three sisters talk to each other, Beatriz was imprisoned in Cellaria and tried to figure out if is it wise to escape with her magic power and the help of Nigellus and come back to her mother!
Daphne in icy Friv still struggling with rebels and not sure whom should trust, Temarin is almost in her mother's hand and she should decide, choose her loyalty!

There is much to say and I really want to talk to someone about this book, I actually more want to scream, but this was all I could express. I think the last book I read and felt so much tension and stress was Martin's books!
Highly recommended!

Stardust in Their Veins is the phenomenal follow up to Castles in Their Bones. I admit that what drew me into the first book was the cover, which caused me to purchase the book before even reading the blurb. Luckily, I absolutely adored Castles in Their Bones and the sequel was one of my most anticipated books of 2023.

Laura Sebastian's writing style is lovely and really helps weave an incredible tale. The world building is absolutely excellent and really added to the spectacular plot.

Usually when a book has multiple POVs, I end up favouring one of them and skimming the other characters chapters but with this series, I found myself loving each POV equally as I found each of their stories to be really entertaining.

Overall, this series is an excellent addition to YA fantasy and I look forward to the next instalment (I'm already trying to guess the title!)

Very excited to read this one, acquire, and share. Not my usual, but the cover and storyline looked so engaging I could pass it up. Full review and thoughts to come.


Immerse yourself in the second book in a fantasy trilogy from the New York Times bestselling author of the Ash Pricess series. The sequel to Castles in Their Bones is the story of three princesses and the destiny they were born for: seduction, conquest, and the crown.

Princesses Beatriz and Daphne have lost their older sister, but their mother's grand scheme of taking the continent of Vesteria is far from complete. With the country of Temarin now under the Empress's control, only the nations of Cellaria and Friv remain free from her rule. What's worse, an ominous prophecy has begun to shine through the constellations: the blood of stars and majesty spilled.

Usurped by conniving cousins Nico and Gigi, Beatriz fears for her life, while in icy Friv, Daphne continues her shaky alliance with the rebels even as she struggles to stay a step ahead of them. But when an unlikely ally offers Beatriz a deal, she finds herself back in her mother's sights.

With enemies around every corner and the stars whispering of betrayal, Daphne and Beatriz can't trust anyone--least of all each other. If they've learned anything, though, it's that the Empress's game is constantly changing. And the arrival of surprise visitors from Temarin just might tip the scales in the princesses' favor . . . if they manage to avoid meeting their sister's fate before they can make their next move.

Sophronia is dead, Beatriz is in exile and Daphne has survived multiple assassination attempts, but there is still work to be done if their mothers plan to control he continent is still to go ahead. Beatriz knows that their mother is behind Sophie's death, in fact her plan only works if all her daughters are sacrificed on foreign soil, but Daphne isn't so easily convinced. Both Daphne and Beatriz are determined not to share their sisters fate, but it will take them working together if they are to bring about the downfall of their mother, a woman who is always two steps ahead, and with enemies around every corner, they will quickly need to realise that the only person they can trust is each other.

We get the same POV's in this book, with the addition of Viole, Sophie's maid. She adds a whole new dimension to the story, someone who knows The Empresses' plans, but is an outsider. She is someone who knows how to look after herself, and her training means that she is not someone to be messed with. Beatriz and Daphne, whilst still as ruthless and scheming in this story, got a whole new depth to their character shown through them dealing with the loss of Sophie. They start with denial, never actually witnessing the act, they can fool themselves into believing she is still alive, but when they get confirmation, they deal with it in two wholly different ways. Beatriz feels the loss, she mourns Sophie, who she believes was the best of them and, knowing her mother was behind Sophie's death, she starts on a path of revenge that puts her directly in the path of her mother. Daphne, like their mother, see's Sophie as weak, she believes she brought the death on herself and knows that if she does what her mother asks of her, she will be safe. Her inability to see what's right in front of her annoyed me at some points, but when she see's the light, we start to see the true Daphne, who has hidden behind the mask of her mother for years.

Book one spends a lot of time introducing us to all the players which is needed because there are a lot! But that means, that we get a lot more character development in this book, as well as introducing a few new faces who had smaller roles in the first book. I loved getting to spend more time with Beatriz and Daphne, even if Daphne frustrated me in parts, but seeing them come into their own, learning that they are their own people outside of their mothers plans was great to see and I enjoyed following them on their journey.

If you're a fan of political fantasy, with plenty of scheming and shenanigans then I can't recommend this series enough. Her choice to send our characters to different countries within her world was well done as it allows to extensive world building that we are shown, not just told about. In the first book we spend time in Cellaria, Temarin & Friv giving us a deep insight into their beliefs, religions and laws, whereas thanks to the events of the first book, in Stardust in Their Veins. we spend most of our time flitting between Bessemia, the Princesses' home country and Friv with Daphne still installed their. Friv is still sitting on the edge of a knife, the rebellion still at large and Daphne knowing that once her so called friends learn of her reasons for being there, they will never trust her again. And in Bessemia, Beatriz finds herself back in her home, without the two other parts of her heart, and having to look out not only for herself, but for Pasquale, not the Prince she wanted, but one she wouldn't change.

One thing I love about these series is the relationships. How each Princess was raised to behave in a certain way, to worm their way into the country they are sent to with the greatest effect, and how every single one ended up turned on their head. Sophie, the romantic and never ending failure to their mother ended up loving her Prince that much that she went against her mother for the first time and ended up dead. Beatriz, raised for seduction ended up with a Prince who could never love her the way she needed, and found herself loving him anyway. And Daphne, the most ruthless of all, ended up marrying the brother of her betrothed and, to the surprise of everyone, falling for him. None of these relationships are traditional, nor were they meant to happen, but they all add to the emotion and drama of the story.

This was the perfect follow on from book one! Filled with suspense, magic, romance and political scheming. It ensured I fell even more in love with these characters, even the newer additions, and Sebastian leaves us with another absolute killer cliffhanger ending that has me incredibly eager to get my hands on the third book.

I was given this arc in exchange for an honest review - thank you to Hodder & Stoughton for inviting me to read this arc through netgalley.

I loved this book. I needed to know what happened after the events of the last book and I wasn't let down. We were treated to the POV's of Beatriz, Daphne and Violie, who took up Sophronia's POV's after the events of Castles in their Bones.

Out of everyone I think I enjoyed Beatriz and Violie's POV's more than Daphne's, but she grew on me more as the story went on and it was believable too. Who wants to believe that their mother is capable of such horrible things?

I'm excited to see where things go in the third installment, and whether the girls will succeed in their efforts to stop their mother's plans of world domination, because that is exactly what she wants. To rule over everyone.

4.5 Stars
The highly anticipated sequel to Laura Sebastian’s Castles In Their Bones ups the stakes and the delicious, slow burn political intrigue that fans of Tricia Levenseller’s The Shadows Between Us or Alexandra Rowland’s A Taste of Gold and Iron don’t want to miss!

I just want to preface this by saying, given how things transpired at the end of Castles In Their Bones, I can’t go into too much detail about Stardust In Their Veins’ premise without revealing spoilers for book one, so this is my attempt at explaining the plot (and sharing a review) WITHOUT giving away any spoilers.

It follows on from the aftermath of event which started with triplet princesses ; Sophronia, Beatriz and Daphne sent off to marry into three kingdoms—and by seduction, deception and espionage,!weaken them enough to allow their power hungry mother (the Empress of Bessemia) to sweep in and take control of the entire continent.

Suffice to say, those plans did not always go so smoothly, and book two opens with each Princess attempting to navigate the repercussions of those plans. But with assassins around every corner and warnings of betrayal (and an ominous new prophecy written in the stars) , the Princesses can’t trust anyone—perhaps not even each other. But, If they've learned anything, it's that their mother’s game is constantly changing. The only question now is, can they tip the scales in their favour, before deadlier foes decide their fates …

If you’ve followed my reviews for a while then you may remember how much enjoyed Castles In Their Bones last year which I completely devoured—and very nearly rioted over, after THAT spectacular cliff hanger of an ending! So when the opportunity to read the sequel arose I couldn’t help but leapt at the chance. And despite some initial reservations (second book syndrome has burned me far too many times not to have any) I’m glad to report that it definitely managed to live up to my (admittedly quite high) expectations—and even made me love a character or two that I previously REALLY disliked.

The writing is (unsurprisingly) just as exquisite as it’s predecessor with world building that was just as expansive and even more nuanced—giving us more insight not only into the Kingdoms of Friv and Cellaria, but Bessemia as well which definitely made for an intriguingly enjoyable read.

It was definitely a more character driven narrative and I loved the depth and emotions that we see from our protagonists—I was especially impressed with the feeling of intimacy we get in a lot of Daphne and Beatriz’s monologue style scenes and the emotional development we see them both undertake. Particularly Daphne, who was probably my least favourite of the sisters in the first book (my fave being Sophronia.) But, I felt she really came into her own here as we see her finally begin to piece together events and begin to question the validity of her mother’s actions. As the most dutiful Princess (and the most loyal to the Empress) this makes for quite an intense emotional journey for Daphne, and one that really helped endear her to me.

The pace is more of a slow burn as there is more political intrigue and scheming as opposed to direct conflict but I felt that really gave us time to process all the new characters, POVs or (in Beatriz’s case) new magical abilities we didn’t fully explore in the previous book. The romance, likewise, took a bit of a back seat to the fraught relationship between Daphne and Beatriz and the tentative sisterly bond that has formed between them.

Overall, this was a great second instalment to this female driven and espionage filled series, and really sets the stage for what is sure be be an explosive book three—which I desperately need a copy of ASAP!

Also, thanks to Hodderscape and Netgalley for the e-arc.

You know the feeling sometimes when you start reading a book, just immediately knowing “I’m gonna enjoy this one!”. That was me with Stardust in Their Veins. As soon as I started reading it, it was like returning to a place where I could just enjoy myself. Since it has been one of my most anticipated sequels of 2023, I’m so happy that it managed to live up to the first book!

The writing is solid, the story engaging and the cast of characters is overall really interesting to read about. There wasn’t a moment where the story felt dull or my attention was lost. There was always something new that had me glued to the pages, and I ended up reading into the night just to finish it in one sitting. Although I loved the characters, and enjoyed the triple pov - I miss my favourite character from the first book. While their replacement in this books isn’t bad, and I ended up liking them - they're not my favourite character. It’s really nitpicking, I know. But I just had to say it.

The ending left me in shambles, just as badly as the first book, and I don’t know how I will be able to wait another year for the conclusion to this trilogy.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for providing me this book in exchange for an honest review*

Oh Boy! I didn't expected this. I was blown away (not literally of course, thank God!) with the outcome of things. As a twin myself I do enjoy reading about sisters. Castle in their bones was amazing. Stardust in their veins was phenomenal. I can't wait to read the third book. There will be right? Read it please! I want to talk about it and I seriously don't want to spoil you. WOW!

This was one of my most anticipated books of this year, and I was delighted to be given the chance to review an early copy! Castles was an unexpected surprise for me last year, I loved it a lot and way more than I was expecting to, and I had high hopes for its sequel. Given the way that Castles ends, Stardust had a lot to live up to.

Even though Sophronia was my favourite of the three sisters, I’m glad that her death stuck. It wasn’t a trick and there are no resurrections. Sophie is dead, and a lot of the emotional weight of this book stems from the people she’s left behind having to come to terms with that. Grief can be messy and it can look different for everyone, and I think this book managed to reflect that well. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that this is a book about grief, but the grief is very present throughout.

Daphne was my least favourite of the sisters in the first book, but with this one I’m pretty sure she’s nudged her way into second place. She was always the most loyal of the three to their mother, and that loyalty is still sticking in this book even despite the building evidence that their mother may have had a hand in Sophie’s death. The thing with an upbringing like the sisters had is that unquestioning loyalty as a survival mechanism isn’t an unrealistic outcome, and it’s inevitably going to take a long time for that loyalty to break down. Daphne’s arc over the course of this book is slow as she deals with her grief and her suspicions and her denial and her mother’s new shocking orders that might just be a step too far, and it can be a little frustrating as a reader, but I strongly suspect that that’s the point. It all just serves to make her actions nearer the end hit all that much better. The build up most definitely pays off.

A few months ago, Sebastian posted on Instagram to say that where Castles is Sophronia’s book, Stardust is Beatriz’s. The book’s dedication reinforces this, as it’s dedicated to ‘all the difficult girls’, a description which is lobbied at Beatriz near the book’s end. But do I think this is truly Beatriz’s book? No I do not. Beatriz’s pov was largely dedicated to her exploring her newfound magical abilities and the limits of the magic system. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad for this exploration. I thought it was interesting and it answered some questions I’d had about it from the first book while also investigating some other questions I hadn’t thought of. But Beatriz as a character didn’t develop alongside this. Daphne and Violie grow by leaps and bounds over the course of this book, with the people they are by its end being far from the people they are at its start. Beatriz doesn’t change. Beatriz from the end of the book is very much the same girl she was at the start. The moment that I’d probably describe as The Emotional Climax of the book happens to Daphne, not Beatriz. I enjoyed this book, and I enjoyed Beatriz’s chapters, and this is basically my only complaint about it. It hasn’t affected my star rating because it’s technically not something that came from within the book itself. As the most typical YA protagonist of the bunch it’s not wholly surprising that her arc would be the least intricate, but if this was supposed to be Beatriz’s book then Beatriz is simply not getting a book.

I did really love the level of ride-or-die Beatriz and Pasquale are at for each other though. Beatriz has found a best friend in the most unlikely of places and I hope they never let each other go.

Violie my beloved. Sophronia’s maid, and Margaraux’s spy, from Castles is a point of view character alongside Daphne and Beatriz here, and oh does she shine. It’s about the grief and the regret and the trying to make it right in whatever way you can while knowing that no matter what you do it will never, ever be enough to make up for what you did. I love her. I also enjoyed watching her relationship with Leopold go from her barely being able to tolerate him to a genuine friendship that has outgrown her original promise to keep him safe. Maybe saying this is jinxing it, but I hope their friendship doesn’t turn into a romance in the next book. I’m enjoying their friendship as it is. Not everyone needs to be coupled up.

Where Castles felt very much like three books in one, with each narrator having their own separate plots with very little crossover, the same doesn’t hold true here. Beatriz and Daphne are still separated, but Violie is under no such restrictions. As a result these three girls’ actions have a much bigger impact on each other than the previous trio’s did.

If you liked the first book then this follow up won’t let you down! If you want a series with fairytale vibes, star based magic, politics and plots, and princesses who are nowhere near as helpless as it benefits them to pretend to be, then I encourage giving this series a try!