ARC Review: Star-Touched Stories by Roshani Chokshi

Title: Star-Touched Stories
Series: The Star-Touched Queen #2.5
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Source/Format: Netgalley; eARC
More Details: Young Adult; Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: St. Martin's Press; August 7, 2018

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Three lush and adventurous stories in the Star-Touched world.

Death and Night...

He was Lord of Death, cursed never to love. She was Night incarnate, destined to stay alone. After a chance meeting, they wonder if, perhaps, they could be meant for more. But danger crouches in their paths, and the choices they make will set them on a journey that will span lifetimes.

Poison and Gold..,

Now that her wish for a choice has come true, Aasha struggles to control her powers. But when an opportunity to help Queen Gauri and King Vikram's new reign presents itself, she is thrown into the path of the fearsome yet enchanting Spy Mistress. To help her friends, Aasha will have to battle her insecurities and perhaps, along the way, find love.

Rose and Sword...

There is a tale whispered in the dark of the Empire of Bharat-Jain. A tale of a bride who loses her bridegroom on the eve of her wedding. But is it a tale or a truth?

Star-Touched Stories by Roshani Chokshi was gorgeous. Written in the same lyrical prose as the author's other books, these stories returned to the world of The Star-Touched Queen. There was happiness and new adventures; lost and found love; and bittersweet beginnings and endings. This is probably one of my top favorite collections of stories. In Death and Night, there’s the love story that tells a clearer history between the characters of The Star-Touched Queen. In Poison and Gold, Aasha got her own adventure and it was great. And in the Rose and Sword, the story is a little bittersweet but still as good as the other two in the collection. What worked for me is that this collection visited a lot of familiar character, places, and stories. The overall world building was excellent and rife with vivid detail that made for an immersive read. So, if you’ve read and enjoyed The Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes, then Star-Touched Stories need to be on your TBR list....

About the author...

Roshani Chokshi is the New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen and A CROWN OF WISHES. Her middle grade debut, ARU SHAH AND THE END OF TIME, will release April 3, 2018 with Disney/Rick Riordan Presents. Her next young adult novel, THE GILDED WOLVES, is slated for Winter 2019. Chokshi's work has appeared in Strange Horizons, Shimmer, and Book Smugglers. She was a finalist in the 2016 Andre Norton Award and the Locus Top Ten for Best First Novel. Her short story, "The Star Maiden," was longlisted for the British Fantasy Science Award...

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Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by St. Martin's Press via netgalley for this review, thank you!

Review: A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi

Title: A Crown of Wishes
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Source/Format: Borrowed from the Library; Hardcover
More Details: Young Adult; Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: St. Martin's Griffin; March 28, 2017

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

An ancient mystery. An unlikely union. For one young princess in a state of peril, a dangerous wish could be the only answer…

She is the princess of Bharata—captured by her kingdom’s enemies, a prisoner of war. Now that she faces a future of exile and scorn, Gauri has nothing left to lose. But should she trust Vikram, the notoriously cunning prince of a neighboring land? He promises her freedom in exchange for her battle prowess. Together they can team up and win the Tournament of Wishes, a competition held in a mythical city where the Lord of Wealth promises a wish to the victor. It seems like a foolproof plan—until Gauri and Vikram arrive at the tournament and find that danger takes on new shapes: poisonous courtesans, mischievous story birds, a feast of fears, and twisted fairy revels. New trials will test their devotion, strength, and wits. But what Gauri and Vikram will soon discover is that there’s nothing more dangerous than what they most desire...

Last year, I read The Star-Touched Queen and it was magical. I was thoroughly enamored by the story, characters, and the world that Roshani Chokshi created. Obviously, A Crown of Wishes was one of my most anticipated 2017 book releases. And you know what? The wait was worth it. A crown of Wishes was fantastic. It surpassed all of my expectations in the best way possible. It also made a clear return to places like Bharata and took another look at the politics and continued conflict that have so thoroughly influenced the lives of the characters.

Honestly, this was just a great story. There was magic, myth, danger, and wishes—all things I happen to like reading about. I can’t forget about The Tournament of Wishes since it was one of my favorite parts of A Crown of Wishes. It was kind of amazing. There was magic, but there was also danger partially in the form of the trials and fellow guests. Chokshi was successful at portraying a vivid picture of the scenery that made up the tournament grounds, the challenges, and the guest who were present. But all of that was combined with characters that were at once charming, cunning, dangerous, and determined.

There are so many characters I could choose to talk about, but I’m just going to focus on the main two: Vikram and Gauri. Vikram was interesting, but I don’t want to say too much about him. What I will say is that he was intelligent and cunning, as promised by the synopsis, but there was more to him than that. What truly got me excited for this book was the fact that one particular character from The Star-Touched Queen was going to get her own story. I remember Gauri from the first book. I always liked her character. Even though her scenes were few they were meaningful to Maya, and more importantly, memorable. Gauri was such a layered and complex character. She went from being introduced back in the first book as just a child, to someone hardened by circumstances and experiences. She was strong but haunted by her past and also vulnerable. I particularly liked her determination to do right by the people of Bharata. I have to admit though that I preferred when Gauri and Vikram were together. Their banter and interactions with one another were priceless.

Well, I could just keep gushing about A Crown of Wishes all day. There were so many things I loved about this story, but I just don’t want to spoil anything. Needless to say, I will just be over here waiting for Roshani Chokshi’s next book.

The Friday 56 (104) & Book Beginnings: A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading.

Synopsis from Goodreads...

An ancient mystery. An unlikely union. For one young princess in a state of peril, a dangerous wish could be the only answer…

She is the princess of Bharata—captured by her kingdom’s enemies, a prisoner of war. Now that she faces a future of exile and scorn, Gauri has nothing left to lose. But should she trust Vikram, the notoriously cunning prince of a neighboring land? He promises her freedom in exchange for her battle prowess. Together they can team up and win the Tournament of Wishes, a competition held in a mythical city where the Lord of Wealth promises a wish to the victor. It seems like a foolproof plan—until Gauri and Vikram arrive at the tournament and find that danger takes on new shapes: poisonous courtesans, mischievous story birds, a feast of fears, and twisted fairy revels. New trials will test their devotion, strength, and wits. But what Gauri and Vikram will soon discover is that there’s nothing more dangerous than what they most desire...

Beginnings: "Vikram had spent enough time with bitterness that he knew how to twist and numb the feeling."

56: "Gauri opened her mouth to speak, but the shrieking cheers of the audience drowned out her words."

Comments: A Crown of Wishes was fantastic. That is all.

What are you reading this week?

Review: The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

Title: The Star-Touched Queen
Author: Roshani Chokshi
Source/Format: Borrowed for the Library; Hardcover
More Details: Young Adult; Fantasy
Publisher/Publication Date: Martin's Griffin; April 26, 2016

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Synopsis from Goodreads...

Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you’re only seventeen?

Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of death and destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father’s kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran’s queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar’s wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire. But Akaran has its own secrets—thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most…including herself...

I’m late to the ban-wagon for this one…

You know, The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi has all the elements I like about fantasy, so I really don’t know why it took me so long to get to this one. Now that I have read it, I can firmly say that The Star-Touched Queen is one of my favorite books of 2016. From the characters to the plot, I adored everything about this story.

The world was just awesome. The customs and traditions of the society in The Star-Touched Queen were woven with the fantasy elements in the story, and the effect was really cool. I loved all the little details that Chokshi put into the world building. It was complex and layered, and added depth to the story.

The plot itself was also good. I do like that Chokshi took some time to introduce the key players and the society that Mayavati (Maya) lived in, as well as establishing the relationship between the MC and the secondary characters. The style of writing in The Star-Touched Queen is very descriptive. I could picture the various scenes as they were happening. In the end, I liked the descriptiveness because it was easy to picture the setting as the characters moved from place to place, and the various scenes as they were happening.

I really liked Maya as a character, and that’s a good thing since The Star-Touched Queen is primarily told from her perspective. I enjoyed her story, and liked how Chokshi portrayed her character and the circumstances she was subjected to. Amar wasn’t a bad character. He was mysterious and he kept secrets from Maya, but the two did have some chemistry.

The Star-Touched Queen was a story rich with detail, a cast of awesome characters, and a story that had me hooked from page one. And now, I just have to wait until the second book comes out.

The Friday 56 (83) The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

The Friday 56 is a weekly meme hosted by Freda's Voice where every Friday you pick a book and turn to page 56 or 56%, and select a sentence or a few, as long as it's not a spoiler. For the full rules, visit the the page HERE

Synopsis from Goodreads...

Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you’re only seventeen?

Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of death and destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father’s kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran’s queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar’s wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire. But Akaran has its own secrets—thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most…including herself...

"Marigolds and roses adorned the entrance to the Raja's welcoming hall, and bright petals carpeted the path."--The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

Comments: I read The Star-Touched Queen earlier in the week, and have to say that it was one of the best stories I've read in 2016. Page 56 had so many spoilers for the story that I found it hard to pick out a quote that didn't go into detail. I ended up with the one above because it was just a description of a place, and doesn't give anything away.

What are you reading this week?