“Everything I thought I knew about the man was crumbling to ash between my fingertips. What more was he hiding?”
The Golden Court is learning to breathe again after the demise of the malevolent sorceress Sawyn. But in the vacuum of power left behind, other rulers are looking to reign supreme. In A Sky of Emerald Stars, we flip between Sadie and Queen Calla as they embark on perilous journeys to restore peace and balance. Sadie, Maez, and the human musician Navin are sent on a mission to gather allies for the Golden Court’s cause. But as Navin and Sadie grow closer, will the secrets between them tear them apart? Can a human and a wolf ever fall in love? Calla, on the other hand, tackles the Ice Wolf pack in Taigos with their mate Grae by their side, dancing a treacherous tango around politics and blood where they’re completely out of their depth.
A Sky of Emerald Stars takes the chaos of the last novel and expands on its cruel but magical world. Splitting the chapters between Calla and Sadie’s perspectives takes a while to settle into and makes the momentum stutter at times but by the end, it’s straight-up frenetic. We learn more about the other kingdoms and their motivations for choosing a side in the growing war between the Golden Court and the wickedly tactical Wolf King Nero—and how Sadie’s family loyalties will be put to the test. The world’s political machinations are always changing but they never feel too heavy to grasp. While the two alternating storylines have threads connecting them, sometimes they do feel entirely disparate; this novel definitely feels like a chessboard where the pieces are being set up to play in the sequel.
Sadie and Navin’s growing romance takes center stage as a slow burn filled with plenty of will-they-won’t-they moments and “forbidden love” tropes. Is it satisfying? For the most part—their story is filled with heart and has some pretty spicy moments, turning Nevin into a romance hero who’s sweet and kind but also knows how to play. Although you may be left wanting a little bit more (which hopefully the sequel will provide), Sadie finally finds someone who can not only match her in her sparring energy but is also strong enough to take care of her, to handle her, to let her be vulnerable, and that’s beautiful.
To balance out the yearning, Calla and Grae’s fiery connection has plenty of steamy scenes as their love and lust for one another gets stronger. The way they both navigate the politics of the fragile alliances and broken kingdoms, using the plays and skills they’ve learned over their time together, shows their growth as individuals and as a couple. The surrounding romances are where the drama comes into play, with high stakes for Maez and her mate Briar as they find themselves drawn to their own quests. There are some lovely queer moments that come into play in unexpectedly sweet ways; it’s refreshing to see how well the explorations of gender and identity are woven into a fantasy setting.
The fight scenes are intense and thrilling, with some gore and lots of bloody action. The shifters are powerful and mighty but there are other magics and mysteries that challenge them here, and learning their lore is a bonus. While the pacing is slow to begin with and some parts feel extraneous, as this is the second novel in a series with more to come, the added worldbuilding and storylines will hopefully have more of a pay off later. Overall, A Sky of Emerald Stars is a decent addition to the Golden Court romantasy world, building the momentum towards what promises to be an epic showdown.
