Starside: An Enemies-to-Lovers Romantasy About a Quest for Vengeance Through a Dangerous Land of Magic (Starside Series Book 1)

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AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!From Alex Aster, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Lightlark series, comes her first adult romantasy. Enter the world of Starside, where swords wield magic and power is not inherited...but claimed.Hundreds of years ago, a brutal war split a land in two. Starside is the realm of magic and immortals—the descendants of the gods, living in a power-rich paradise. Stormside is where mortals fight for scraps of that magic.Every fifty years, the gates between them open, and fifty challengers are allowed to journey across Starside on a deadly quest to access a pool of magic that can heal, grant wealth, or extend life. Everyone has their reasons for entering, but Aris has only one: vengeance. As a child, a goddess set fire to her village, killing her family. Aris isn’t after the gods’ magic—she’s going to kill them.First, she must survive the Culling, the king’s deadly competition to choose his fifty challengers. An orphaned blacksmith’s apprentice, Aris doesn’t have the superior weapons of the heirs from the Great Houses. But the greatest swords—ones that contain power—are not inherited or bought, they are claimed, by both sides. And when Aris claims a great sword, it makes her not just a real competitor—but a target.Getting past the gates is only the beginning. Starside is deadlier than it seems. If the ancient creatures, magic-wielding beasts, and bloodthirsty immortals weren’t dangerous enough, a new peril has even immortals fearing what rises from the ground at night. With a blade most would kill to claim, Aris can’t trust anyone. Especially not Harlan Raker, the merciless and mysterious king’s guard who betrayed her years ago—and who may now be the key to her survival.But Aris is hiding a secret tied to her family’s death. And when it’s revealed, not even the gods will be able to stop what’s coming…

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by Alex Aster (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

ASIN

B0FFB66V7N

Customer Reviews Summary

Starside is a book that is genuinely hard to put down, and not for the reasons you might expect.The prose is straightforward, almost deceptively so. The world-building happens as the action happens, woven in so naturally that you absorb it without realizing you're being told anything at all. No filler. No long expository pauses. Alex Aster just... builds the world around you while you're too busy holding your breath to notice.As someone with ADHD, I'll be honest: keeping my focus on a book lately has been a real challenge. Starside held my attention from start to finish. The action is relentless, but it never feels repetitive or exhausting because each sequence is distinct and every single moment pushes the story forward. Nothing is wasted.And then there's Aris and Raker.The slow burn between them is almost painful in the best way. You feel the chemistry crackling off the page, and you spend the whole book knowing you're watching two people fall for each other, bracing yourself for it, rooting for it. I'm a lesbian, and even I got completely pulled into their story. That should tell you something about how well the tension is written. You spend the whole book thinking you know where it's going, and then you're somehow both right and completely wrong. There's a plot twist you won't see coming, and the ending left me genuinely frustrated in that "I need the next book immediately" kind of way. I did not appreciate being left like that. (I appreciated it a little.)If you're in the mood for dark fantasy with real stakes, strong characters, a morally gray enemies-to-lovers romance, and enough action to make your heart race, pick this one up. Just clear your schedule first, because you will not be getting anything done for the next couple of days.One more thing worth mentioning: the physical book is absolutely beautiful. The sprayed edges are stunning, and the intricate maps on the inside pages are a world of their own.