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!

The Friday 56 (136) & Book Beginnings: Uprooted by Naomi Novik

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...

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life. Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood. The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her. But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose....

Beginning: "My feelings didn't change on that last night. Kasia and I ate our chestnuts. The sun went down and our fire went out, but we lingered in the clearing as long as the embers lasted."

56: "But it wasn't Midwinter dinner. There was no eager ache of hunger in my belly from the long day of cooking and cleaning without a pause; there was no joyful noise of too many people crammed in around the table, laughing and reaching for platters."

Comments: I haven't read anything new this week. So I figured I might as well share some quotes from a book I read awhile ago: Uprooted by Naomi Novik. I liked this book. There were things I really loved about it, namely the world building. It was done so well. Since Uprooted has been out for a long time, I skipped over the opening sentence because it's already pretty well known. My beginning comes from page 10 instead. What are you reading this week?

Watercolor: Places #3

Comments: This is the third watercolor painting I worked on, and I wanted to try something a little different from the others. It came out how I wanted it to—particularly the background behind the city. However, I almost wish I’d reversed the colors and made the sky darker while reserving the lighter shades for the city itself. It’s too late to go back and change it for this one, but I may incorporate the idea into a different painting....

Music Monday (52): Evelyn King and Daryl Hall & John Oats

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: I haven’t been listening to anything new. Instead, I’m still listening to old favorites. My first pick is Love Come Down by Evelyn “Champagne” King. I love this song, and each time I hear it, I just want to sing along….

My second pick is I Can’t Go For That (No Can Do) by Daryl Hall & John Oates. It’s one of my favorite songs by them.

Have you listened to any music by Evelyn King or Daryl Hall & John Oates? If so, what are your favorite songs?

Music Monday (51) The Ting Tings, Ziggy Marley, & En Vogue

   Rules:

• Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by Lauren Stoolfire at Always Me that asks you to share one or two songs that you've recently enjoyed. For the rules, visit the page HERE 

Breana: Last week, I didn’t listen to any new music. Instead, I alternated between playlists comprised of my old favorites. One song I listened to was Wrong Club by The Ting Tings. Gosh, I still love this song a lot. It’s hard to believe that it’s already been four years since it first came out, but it is what it is….

Andrea & Adri: Hey all, it's Andrea and Adri. We just wanted to drop in to share new music we've been listening to over the past several weeks. Last week we had the opportunity to attend an En Vogue performance. We've always loved their music and didn't realize they released a new album this year. Needless to say, their new music is amazing, and we've loved their song Rocket since we saw them perform it. Now we need to purchase their album, so we can add their music to the songs we listen to on repeat. You can check out their video below:

Andrea: I was always a big fan of Bob Marley's music and recently saw his son, Ziggy Marley, perform live on The Talk. As an audience member, I received a copy of his latest album, Rebellion Rises, and instantly fell in love with his music. His music is now on my workout playlist. :-) 

What are you listening to this week?