Stardust in Their Veins by Laura Sebastian – Review

Published: February 7, 2023

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Series: Castles in Their Bones #2

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Pages: 576 (Hardcover)

My Rating: 4 Stars

A copy of this book was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
Princesses Beatriz and Daphne have lost their older sister, 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.

Usurped by conniving cousins Nico and Gigi, Beatriz fears for her life, while in icy Friv, Daphne continues her shaky alliance with the rebels even as she struggles to stay a step ahead of them. But when an unlikely ally offers Beatriz a deal, she finds herself back in her mother’s sights.

With enemies around every corner and the stars whispering of betrayal, Daphne and Beatriz can’t trust anyone–least of all each other. If they’ve learned anything, though, it’s that the Empress’s game is constantly changing. And the arrival of surprise visitors from Temarin just might tip the scales in the princesses’ favor… if they manage to avoid meeting their sister’s fate before they can make their next move.

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.

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Castles in Their Bones made it to my favorite books of 2022 list thanks to its excellent characters and high stakes political machinations, plus a killer ending. Naturally I couldn’t wait to get the sequel in my greedy little hands to see if Beatriz and Daphne could exact much deserved revenge. This proved to be an eventful sequel that didn’t suffer from middle book fatigue, but it didn’t quite give me the starry eyed sense of awe the first book imparted. 

The story picks up shortly after the dramatic events concluding Castles in Their Bones and we find Beatriz trapped in a Cellarian sororia (nunnery) determined to escape so she can rescue Pasquale who is trapped in a similar situation. Daphne is still in frigid Friv, working with the rebels trying to depose their ruler. Violie, Sophronia’s maid and former spy for Empress Margaraux, has taken her place as the third POV character. She and Leopold escaped the rebels in the city of Kavelle but are now cautiously making their way to Cellaria through snow covered terrain. It’s fascinating to read about this cast of characters each facing their own dangers and I must say, rather satisfying when the groups converge. 

Daphne stood out strongly as my favorite character this time around, though she seems as cold as Friv and determined to carry out her mother’s will. She and Bairre have this terribly tense, and agonizingly slow burn romance between them – neither can truly admit they care about the other because they know the mountain of secrets between them. Beatriz has an interesting arc, discovering more about her empyrea gifts which gives the reader much more insight on the magic system as a whole. I like the concept of wishing on a star to make a wish come true, but with the caveat that each wish literally pulls a star from the sky and they are therefore, finite resources. And then there’s the prophecy…the blood of stars and majesty spilled. The prophecy seems like it will play a much bigger role in the third book and wasn’t expounded upon much despite its frequent references. Violie’s role was that of protector, guide, and messenger which unfortunately underused her talents and when she did use them she bungled things. She hauled Leo around, served as messenger and spy for Beatriz, and ultimately helped out Daphne who in turn saved Violie at the end. 

Overall, this was a solid sequel that gave plenty of answers but also created new questions. I like the direction the story is taking and I hope our trio of powerful ladies can conquer nations and vanquish their enemies. The pacing of this was much slower than that of the first book, I think largely due to the amount of traveling done. All of them were traveling either within or between countries and it was dull. I’m definitely planning to read the third book! Also, I’d like to just say, I’m really disappointed that the US edition’s cover changed – it looks awful! If I end up buying physical copies, I’ll be getting the UK editions.