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Starlight Bender
Imani Stone has a secret—she possesses an ancestral power to bend starlight.
Having grown up in the lush, magical hills surrounding the ancient city of Lumenor, she is no stranger to star-gazing, potion-making, or tarot-reading. However, in the time of civil war in her city, Imani must hide her power to avoid being recruited by the queen’s legions or killed by the ruthless rebels. But everything changes once the city learns of an incoming army of warriors threatening to destroy Lumenor and steal their starlight crystal. Imani is met with a choice—remain in hiding and help her family or risk everything and join the queen’s legions.
But does she have what it takes to be a legionnaire?
Can she help save Lumenor, or will she be the cause of its demise?
The thrilling sequel to "Starlight Bender" called "Midnight Rider" will be released in December 2023. Imani's adventure continues!
Having grown up in the lush, magical hills surrounding the ancient city of Lumenor, she is no stranger to star-gazing, potion-making, or tarot-reading. However, in the time of civil war in her city, Imani must hide her power to avoid being recruited by the queen’s legions or killed by the ruthless rebels. But everything changes once the city learns of an incoming army of warriors threatening to destroy Lumenor and steal their starlight crystal. Imani is met with a choice—remain in hiding and help her family or risk everything and join the queen’s legions.
But does she have what it takes to be a legionnaire?
Can she help save Lumenor, or will she be the cause of its demise?
The thrilling sequel to "Starlight Bender" called "Midnight Rider" will be released in December 2023. Imani's adventure continues!
344 pages, Paperback
Published June 28, 2023
9 people are currently reading
555 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 13, 2023
This Book!! Was amazing and a nice break from what everyone else is trying to do right now. I really enjoyed it. My only complaint is all the typos in the KU edition. YA friendly with no smut or cursing.
If you like elemental magic, adventure, stories that don't just revolve around romance but friendship and family, tarot, epic battles. Then this is the book for you. I can't wait for the second.
If you like elemental magic, adventure, stories that don't just revolve around romance but friendship and family, tarot, epic battles. Then this is the book for you. I can't wait for the second.
January 22, 2024
DNF @ 39%
This story had a lot of promise but the execution was not there for me. This is a YA fantasy but it really does read towards the younger YA age, closer to like 15-18, not 18+. The communication is very young. The events happening is almost too easy and no real stakes buuuut there’s a potential war coming and it just didn’t feel like we were seriously taking that into consideration. At one point it was like a free night and they were doing crafts lol like it felt just very odd and not really on par with the plot. And just a huge miss for me unfortunately.
The star rating is for the world creativity and the magic system. I thought the concept of Sei was really cool. And I really like the author has her own artwork on her IG page for visual reference is really cool.
This story had a lot of promise but the execution was not there for me. This is a YA fantasy but it really does read towards the younger YA age, closer to like 15-18, not 18+. The communication is very young. The events happening is almost too easy and no real stakes buuuut there’s a potential war coming and it just didn’t feel like we were seriously taking that into consideration. At one point it was like a free night and they were doing crafts lol like it felt just very odd and not really on par with the plot. And just a huge miss for me unfortunately.
The star rating is for the world creativity and the magic system. I thought the concept of Sei was really cool. And I really like the author has her own artwork on her IG page for visual reference is really cool.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 22, 2024
❄️ Mini Book Review #5 ❄️
Title: Starlight Bender
Author: Sofia Nedic
Series: Starlight Bender
Rating: ⭐️⭐️
Release: June 28, 2023
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: Ebook
Length: 344 pages
Finished: January 18, 2024
Thoughts:
I had such high hopes for this book. This book was on my TBR for a long while, so finally getting around to it was so exciting! But I was so so disappointed 😢
The magic system was fun. Certain people in their world can bend starlight the same way Aang in Last Airbender does with the elements. The world building at the beginning was so interesting with their goddesses, tarot, different “tribes”, political history. Anything where the characters are connected to and get their powers from the moon, I am sold! AUTOMATICALLY! I’m the easiest to impress lol!
But once the world was set up, the story completely got lost. I found myself going “wait, what?” a lot and having to reread parts because it made no sense, or didn’t flow well, or the author failed to complete a scene. The chemistry between Tain and Imani was forced. Some characters were unnecessary, though I saw where the author wanted to go with them but never got around to it. The big secret isn’t really a secret and honestly…what was the secret?
The inner dialogue completely destroyed the character of Imani for me. It made her immature and honestly, was unnecessary. It didn’t further the story or give anything to it. By 50%, the quality of the writing decreased and by 75%, I was speed reading to finish the book, unfortunately.
On the positive side, loved the art that the author created to go with the story. It helped with the immersion! The art is absolutely gorgeous and highly recommend people checking out the official Instagram of this book. Also, the main character and 80% of the cast of the story are people of color! Absolutely loved that!
This book was a hard read to finish, but I’m glad to have finally checked it out. It was just not for me.
Title: Starlight Bender
Author: Sofia Nedic
Series: Starlight Bender
Rating: ⭐️⭐️
Release: June 28, 2023
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Format: Ebook
Length: 344 pages
Finished: January 18, 2024
Thoughts:
I had such high hopes for this book. This book was on my TBR for a long while, so finally getting around to it was so exciting! But I was so so disappointed 😢
The magic system was fun. Certain people in their world can bend starlight the same way Aang in Last Airbender does with the elements. The world building at the beginning was so interesting with their goddesses, tarot, different “tribes”, political history. Anything where the characters are connected to and get their powers from the moon, I am sold! AUTOMATICALLY! I’m the easiest to impress lol!
But once the world was set up, the story completely got lost. I found myself going “wait, what?” a lot and having to reread parts because it made no sense, or didn’t flow well, or the author failed to complete a scene. The chemistry between Tain and Imani was forced. Some characters were unnecessary, though I saw where the author wanted to go with them but never got around to it. The big secret isn’t really a secret and honestly…what was the secret?
The inner dialogue completely destroyed the character of Imani for me. It made her immature and honestly, was unnecessary. It didn’t further the story or give anything to it. By 50%, the quality of the writing decreased and by 75%, I was speed reading to finish the book, unfortunately.
On the positive side, loved the art that the author created to go with the story. It helped with the immersion! The art is absolutely gorgeous and highly recommend people checking out the official Instagram of this book. Also, the main character and 80% of the cast of the story are people of color! Absolutely loved that!
This book was a hard read to finish, but I’m glad to have finally checked it out. It was just not for me.
June 26, 2025
I will admit I bought this book simply for the cover and I finally took it off the shelf to read. This book had promise. I really enjoyed the magic system, tarot card reading, potion making and the fight scenes but it’s the stuff amid all of that; is what made my interest decline.
This is very YA in my opinion. Although the characters are 18+ they act like they are underclassmen in high school. The FMC is powerful and make no mistake about that, but she is also hardheaded, stubborn, full of herself at times and naïve. She can bend starlight…(giving major Last Airbender vibes) but because her family has kept her hidden for so long, she has no idea how to wield her power.
Growing up in Lumenor Starlight Benders have a choice: either join the Queen’s legionnaire warriors or suffer death at the hands of ruthless rebels who loathe Starlight Benders. At the same time an enemy army of warriors are enroute threatening war if the Queen doesn’t relinquish Lumenor’s starlight crystal.
This is where the story fell flat and started to get confusing. Who are the good guys and who are the real enemies? It was unclear about the Rebels vendetta against the Starlight Benders; were they truly part of the warrior clan seeking vengeance or did they loathe the Starlight Benders because they lived better than they did. Also, the Queen’s plans never really made sense. She was a terrible person and treated everyone as if they were beneath her at the same time had her warriors trained relentlessly for an upcoming war that could have been avoided.
There were just too many moving pieces in this story. Of course, we have an immature FMC who refuses to heed anybody’s warnings and/or advice, thinking she knows it all only for her poor decisions to lead to insurmountable pain and anguish. This book was not short on Betrayal, Lies, Deception and Manipulation (It’s always the people you know).
The premise of the book was good, but the delivery was a little confusing and I felt no connection to the characters. I literally was not invested in the outcome of any of them, that’s how disconnected I was to them. I have high hopes for book 2 because I really do want to see how everything comes together; it just didn’t do it for me in this book.
This is very YA in my opinion. Although the characters are 18+ they act like they are underclassmen in high school. The FMC is powerful and make no mistake about that, but she is also hardheaded, stubborn, full of herself at times and naïve. She can bend starlight…(giving major Last Airbender vibes) but because her family has kept her hidden for so long, she has no idea how to wield her power.
Growing up in Lumenor Starlight Benders have a choice: either join the Queen’s legionnaire warriors or suffer death at the hands of ruthless rebels who loathe Starlight Benders. At the same time an enemy army of warriors are enroute threatening war if the Queen doesn’t relinquish Lumenor’s starlight crystal.
This is where the story fell flat and started to get confusing. Who are the good guys and who are the real enemies? It was unclear about the Rebels vendetta against the Starlight Benders; were they truly part of the warrior clan seeking vengeance or did they loathe the Starlight Benders because they lived better than they did. Also, the Queen’s plans never really made sense. She was a terrible person and treated everyone as if they were beneath her at the same time had her warriors trained relentlessly for an upcoming war that could have been avoided.
There were just too many moving pieces in this story. Of course, we have an immature FMC who refuses to heed anybody’s warnings and/or advice, thinking she knows it all only for her poor decisions to lead to insurmountable pain and anguish. This book was not short on Betrayal, Lies, Deception and Manipulation (It’s always the people you know).
The premise of the book was good, but the delivery was a little confusing and I felt no connection to the characters. I literally was not invested in the outcome of any of them, that’s how disconnected I was to them. I have high hopes for book 2 because I really do want to see how everything comes together; it just didn’t do it for me in this book.
January 18, 2024
I just finished my 2nd book for the month and I’m excited. Starlight Bender by Sofia Nedic was a pleasant surprise. The book does seem to borrow from the last airbender, but instead of just elements the magical system is based on crystals. There’s also the use of herbs and other natural elements to create potions and tarot card readings are included. The main character, Imani Shone. Is well versed in the art of potion making for healing, strength and many other needs in the community. Her mother has taught her well but has also constrained her because Imani has a secret. Imani can bend starlight which puts her and her family in danger if the rebels or legionnaires find out; one group would kill her and the other would force her into its military service to the Queen.
The book is a good read, the pace can be slow at times, but that’s part of world building when it’s a series🤷🏽♀️. Some of the characters are fun while a few make you distrust them. Some things were easily inferred but there were some twists that I didn’t see coming that kept me engaged.
I want to read the next book in this series. I hope she gets picked up by a publishing house because the book was in need of good editing and revision skills. But, it wasn’t so bad that it detracted from the actual story. I give this book 3.75⭐️s because it was good and I want to know what happens next, but I know that if too much time passes before I get the second book I could forget about it and be ok.
#wordsandwhimsy #octhenest #freyjasvalkyries
The book is a good read, the pace can be slow at times, but that’s part of world building when it’s a series🤷🏽♀️. Some of the characters are fun while a few make you distrust them. Some things were easily inferred but there were some twists that I didn’t see coming that kept me engaged.
I want to read the next book in this series. I hope she gets picked up by a publishing house because the book was in need of good editing and revision skills. But, it wasn’t so bad that it detracted from the actual story. I give this book 3.75⭐️s because it was good and I want to know what happens next, but I know that if too much time passes before I get the second book I could forget about it and be ok.
#wordsandwhimsy #octhenest #freyjasvalkyries
January 25, 2024
This had a lot of potential. It was clear to me after finishing it that the author had the intricate plot well thought out. Unfortunately, it was not executed well. The build up of suspense was continually destroyed by the story meandering off in unnecessary and illogical ways.
The characters, while likable, were hard to enjoy because the dialogue was lacking. The internal dialogue of the main character, Imani, became painful. It was either redundant or juvenile.
This author is gifted with the ability of descriptive writing when it comes to settings and some action scenes. Those were where the story came alive. The book is in much need of editing for pace, grammar, and some timeline issues. I hope the series improves. I don’t see myself picking the rest of it up. 2.5 stars
The characters, while likable, were hard to enjoy because the dialogue was lacking. The internal dialogue of the main character, Imani, became painful. It was either redundant or juvenile.
This author is gifted with the ability of descriptive writing when it comes to settings and some action scenes. Those were where the story came alive. The book is in much need of editing for pace, grammar, and some timeline issues. I hope the series improves. I don’t see myself picking the rest of it up. 2.5 stars
January 22, 2024
This book had so much potential and I feel like it fell really short.
The writing has no depth to it. It’s very surface level and feels almost rushed? The best way I can explain would be to say that certain scenes feel incomplete or end abruptly. I had to go back and reread several sections because I felt I was missing something.
The inner dialogue of the MC is what made this reading experience so unbearable. I found Imani to be extremely immature and her monologues never added anything of substance to the plot. I started to skim most of it just to make it through to the end.
Overall, the world and the concept of the magic system was interesting but I wish it didn’t fade in the background due to the writing.
The writing has no depth to it. It’s very surface level and feels almost rushed? The best way I can explain would be to say that certain scenes feel incomplete or end abruptly. I had to go back and reread several sections because I felt I was missing something.
The inner dialogue of the MC is what made this reading experience so unbearable. I found Imani to be extremely immature and her monologues never added anything of substance to the plot. I started to skim most of it just to make it through to the end.
Overall, the world and the concept of the magic system was interesting but I wish it didn’t fade in the background due to the writing.
July 18, 2024
The world building was pretty interesting, with a whole magic system, goddesses, political history, each of the tribes and the way the characters connected to each other and explored their power. I felt it was a little slow at the beginning but it got better and better.
I love an author that's good at descriptions, the detail in this book made me really happy.
I could do without the inner thoughts of the main character since I don't think they really contribute to the story. But anyway, overall a good, clean read. I'd love to read more from this author soon!
I love an author that's good at descriptions, the detail in this book made me really happy.
I could do without the inner thoughts of the main character since I don't think they really contribute to the story. But anyway, overall a good, clean read. I'd love to read more from this author soon!
April 21, 2024
I absolutely LOVED this book! It felt familiar and fresh at the same time. I was pulled in immediately and could not put it down. Imani was relatable and so well written, and all of the characters felt fully developed. I highly recommend this read. I originally got this on KU, but I'll be purchasing to add to my collection.
September 3, 2024
This was an amazing story and can’t wait to read the next book! Love that the main character is on a journey with not only her magic but herself as well!
December 9, 2024
Good for teenagers/young adults. Very small amount of romance. Cute book and good storyline. Liked the writing. Easy fantasy book to start.
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December 14, 2024DNF
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews