Title: Stardust In Their Veins
Author: Laura Sebastian
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Pages: 576
Release Date: 7 February 2023
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Hello fellow book lovers, today I'm sharing my review for the highly anticipated sequel and second book in Laura Sebastian’s Castles In Their Bones series, Stardust in Their Veins. Which ups the stakes and the delicious, slow burn political intrigue that we saw in book one.
Trust me, fans of The Shadows Between Us or A Taste of Gold and Iron really don’t want to miss this!
Synopsis
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.
Their plans to usurp the kingdoms they've spent their entire lives plotting to overthrow may have gone sideways, 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.
With assassins around every corner and warnings of betrayal, 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 …
Review
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 reviewing WITHOUT giving away any spoilers.
If you’ve followed my reviews on social media then you may remember how much enjoyed Castles In Their Bones last year, (which I completely devoured btw) 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 leap 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 lived up to my (admittedly quite high) expectations—and even made me love a few characters 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 scenes, and the emotional development we see them both undertake. Especially Daphne, who was probably my least favourite of the sisters in book one (my fave being Sophronia.) But, I felt she (Daphne) 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, 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 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, massive thanks to Hodderscape and Netgalley for the e-arc.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5
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