Rites of the Starling by Devney Perry – Review

Synopsis:
RITES OF THE STARLING is the epic, heart-pounding sequel to Devney Perry’s #1 New York Times-bestselling SHIELD OF SPARROWS. A princess journeys across a cursed realm to find the truth about her family, only to discover her quest intertwines with the fate of a lost warrior. Love, danger and magic collide in a captivating romantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros.

Calandra’s five kingdoms are on the verge of destruction. The crux migration is coming. And in the wake of a devastating attack, I’ve been separated from the man who owns my heart.

I’m lost. Terrified. Homesick. Hunted by monsters, driven to exhaustion, and kidnapped by a powerful priest, the only thing keeping me going is the little girl counting on me to keep her safe. It’s my turn to become the Guardian.

Our lives change one fateful night. A night of death. A night of monsters. A night of truths. That night, I learn the real meaning of fear—and the depth of my own strength.

Everyone wants me to be something I’m not—a queen, a spy, a sacrifice. But what if I embrace my crown? What if the secrets I uncover save our realm?

What if my sacrifice means salvation for the man I love?

For too long, I’ve feared the monsters we make.

It’s time to discover the monster within.

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This was SUCH a fun sequel which was such a surprise! Sequels to many of the popular romantasy series lately have been falling flat for me, but Rites of the Starling actually expanded the world, answered some questions, and made me ask even more questions. And it did all this without feeling like complete filler. While yes, it is a book building up drama and backstory for what I’m assuming will be the finale of the series, it was a compelling tale in and of itself.

Rites of the Starling adds in a second POV chapter, that of Caspia, a princess in a faraway land who has seen visions all her life. None has been more disturbing or more persistent than the vision showing her sister being murdered at the hands of a man with silver eyes. You know where this is going! It turns into a quest for both answers and revenge for Caspia who journeys across the ocean further than anyone has sailed and she finds a land with dangerous monsters and something that twists her innate magic. On the flip side, we have Odessa who has fled the crux attack with one of the creepy magic guys (Voster) and Evie. They’re supposed to be meeting up with Ransom at a predetermined location, but the Voster insists they go somewhere else and also pick up a sidequest along the way. This part of the book is a little stressful and has some intense moments, but ultimately not that much happens. 

Truthfully, the best part of this book was Caspia. She was brave and fascinating, journeying to a whole new world to get revenge and instead ended up falling in love. Caspia and Andreas’s storyline was a lot less fraught and spicy than that of Odessa and Ransom, but I think it was actually better for it. They certainly weren’t perfect, but they worked on things together. She was the real main character in Rites of the Starling! 

Overall, I really enjoyed this and though it left me on quite the emotional high I think it was not quite as strong a book as Shield of Sparrows. If I had written this review right after finishing I would have given it 5 stars, but time and distance has left me feeling slightly less enthusiastic. It was a really fun book and it had some great twists! I didn’t quite guess the big one, but I had my suspicions… Can’t wait to get my hands on the next one!