Illusion of Stars

I feel so lucky to have had the chance to read this book before release day! What an incredible read. Fans of This Vicious Grace will absolutely adore this book. It's one of the best fantasy novels I've ever read!

The author is a master of writing. The pacing of this novel was quick and fun, keeping me intrigued the whole time I read. I was always on my toes wondering what was going to happen next! The banter between Isabel, the main character, and Erik, the love interest, was hilarious. I loved that Isy wasn't your typical "badass" fantasy heroine either. She's honest and sincere and wants to do what she can to discover who killed her friend and help her country.

The romance in this book also had me kicking my feet, so there's that, too!

I highly recommend reading this book. So freaking good!!

Lucky for me I received an advance copy of this book (huge thanks to Shadow Forge Publishing and NetGalley!) and when I say I DEVOURED this story, I mean I picked it up around lunchtime today and finished it before dinner. I was hooked, I couldn’t put it down! I had to let it ~marinate~ a bit after that ending (holy mother of cliffhangers) and let me tell you it’s been hours and I cannot stop thinking about the book. I can honestly say I highly recommend this book for lovers of Romantasy books (especially those with politics, war and a good ol’ whodunnit), and the enemies-to-lovers trope.

This is book 1 of a duology, and I’m already excited for the next one even though this one isn’t even out for general sale yet, but I will definitely be watching closely for the second instalment. I’ve already preordered a kindle copy AND I’ll probably be ordering a physical copy when those are available for preorder too. THAT is how much I enjoyed this book. Anyway enough of me gushing about how great it was, let me tell you a bit about this story:

We’re set in The Sanok Isles, a small island who gained their independence from the larger Larland 20 years before we begin our story. In the book, we’re following Isabel, an 18 year old apprentice to the Royal Physician, who hopes to become the next Royal Physician after her apprenticeship. Her day-to-day consists of taking care of the bedridden Queen’s bedsores, and making sure the King (who is delirious and hallucinating most of the time) remains safe and relatively well. When one of Isabel’s friends is murdered on the beaches outside of the castle, the world Isabel thought she knew is rocked and sinister secrets are surfaced.

A stash of letters from her friend reveals that the neighbouring kingdom of Volgaard are in possession of a weapon capable of conquering nations, and are on a warpath headed right through The Sanok Isles. When the military general of Volgaard and his son and daughter arrive at the castle and state they will be going on a scouting mission, Isabel is thrown into the heart of the action. Her mission is simple: find out what the weapon is and steal it. To do this, she is told she will be going with the team of scouts and she needs to ‘woo’ the general’s son, Erik. Erik, however, seems to be a tough nut to crack with his immediate suspicion toward Isobel and the fact that he can wield powerful magic, and Isobel cannot.

They enter into a dangerous dance with each other, and over time the line between enemy and friend becomes blurred when Isobel realises that all may not be as it seems. Battling between her desire to avenge her murdered friend and her undeniable attraction to Erik makes things even more difficult for Isobel, and the more she learns about him and about Volgaard, the less she believes that the story she was given is entirely true.

A comprehensive list of trigger warnings are provided in the book, which include:
Parental infidelity and abandonment
Death of a parent and of a friend
Hazing
Self-harm ideation and on page self-harm (not suicidal)
Brief mention of torture
Themes of grief
**This is not an all-inclusive list of the triggers, however these are the most prevalent triggers in the story**

Spice level: fade-to-black, with some steam before the fade but nothing too spicy.

Fantastic read! An intricate blend of Game of Thrones-like court intrigue but with quippy, hot banter and characters that pop off the page. If you enjoy the Grishaverse series, you'll adore this.

Illusion of Stars immediately felt like a place I could find in real life, populated by such realistic people that I was totally caught up in their lives, living it with them.

The way Sarah Marie Page inhabits her character is masterful. Her portrayal of grief especially was so stark--raw and elegant and perfect. I particularly enjoyed how the lingering effects of trauma haunt the main character Isabel and inform all her decisions going forward. It makes the characters feel real and lived in when events have a lasting effect on their mindset and how they interact with others. When Isabel and Erik (small spoiler) bonded over their past, screaming petty secrets on the bluff, my heart broke for them. And when despite being possibly the world's worst spy, she slowly worms her way into the Volds' trust anyway, I was on the edge of my seat.

This book was so much fun! I savored it over two days and enjoyed every minute. Can't wait to see what this author does next.

This book through me for some loops and I never saw it coming! It was such a joy to read, I couldn't put it down.