What do you think?
Rate this book
The Wonders Within the Starlit Inn
“Inheriting Peace”
by Erin R. Howard
Maggie’s long-lost relative informs her she’s inherited the Starlit Inn, and she jumps at the chance of a brand-new life. Except, the magical place her aunt described is in desperate need of renovations mere weeks before Christmas guests arrive. Second-born prince Alexander is happy not to inherit the crown of a land that hasn’t had peace in twenty years. When the portal to the Starlit is unexpectedly fixed, he packs his bags for his childhood spot only to find it in disrepair. He offers to help Maggie, but how can he put his happiness above his kingdom’s suffering?
“Asunder” by Brett Armstrong
A couple ready to give up hope on their marriage stops at the Inn and finds themselves trapped in frozen nightmare-scape of Vonlaus. As they race to save the planet and themselves, the fire of hope they mutually stoke in one another may be the only thing that can help them return to their world.
“Keeper of the Stars” by Dawn Ford
Grief-stricken girl escapes a Mars space station through a hidden portal back in time to the Starlit Inn on Earth. Once there, mysterious items plague her, and she finds a path to joy she never imagined possible. Time is relevant and surprises abound in this story of redemptive joy.
“A Quantum Christmas” by J. L. Burrows
When key intel drives a researcher into the quantum time-travel loop to travel three hundred years back, she never imagined she’d be assigned a handsome but reluctant protector. Yet even as time twists into a knot, they somehow discover the true meaning of Christmas for themselves–love.
Will trouble reign, or will each visit to the Starlit Inn result in the wonder of joy, peace, hope, and love?
Maggie’s long-lost relative informs her she’s inherited the Starlit Inn, and she jumps at the chance of a brand-new life. Except, the magical place her aunt described is in desperate need of renovations mere weeks before Christmas guests arrive. Second-born prince Alexander is happy not to inherit the crown of a land that hasn’t had peace in twenty years. When the portal to the Starlit is unexpectedly fixed, he packs his bags for his childhood spot only to find it in disrepair. He offers to help Maggie, but how can he put his happiness above his kingdom’s suffering?
“Asunder” by Brett Armstrong
A couple ready to give up hope on their marriage stops at the Inn and finds themselves trapped in frozen nightmare-scape of Vonlaus. As they race to save the planet and themselves, the fire of hope they mutually stoke in one another may be the only thing that can help them return to their world.
“Keeper of the Stars” by Dawn Ford
Grief-stricken girl escapes a Mars space station through a hidden portal back in time to the Starlit Inn on Earth. Once there, mysterious items plague her, and she finds a path to joy she never imagined possible. Time is relevant and surprises abound in this story of redemptive joy.
“A Quantum Christmas” by J. L. Burrows
When key intel drives a researcher into the quantum time-travel loop to travel three hundred years back, she never imagined she’d be assigned a handsome but reluctant protector. Yet even as time twists into a knot, they somehow discover the true meaning of Christmas for themselves–love.
Will trouble reign, or will each visit to the Starlit Inn result in the wonder of joy, peace, hope, and love?
404 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 9, 2025
3 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
About the author
Erin R. Howard
12 books76 followersErin R. Howard is the YA urban fantasy author of The Kalila Chronicles and The Gates of Deceit (dystopian) series. She is also the content and acquisitions editor for Expanse Books, an imprint of Scrivenings Press.
She loves playing video games with her husband, watching movies with her children, and fueling her many craft addictions. Erin has a Creative Writing degree and is a member of Realm Makers, RagTag Writers, and Once Upon a Page. She resides in Western Kentucky with her husband and three children.
She loves playing video games with her husband, watching movies with her children, and fueling her many craft addictions. Erin has a Creative Writing degree and is a member of Realm Makers, RagTag Writers, and Once Upon a Page. She resides in Western Kentucky with her husband and three children.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 9, 2025
This book leans more into the fantasy genre, which isn't one of my favorites, but what a great bunch of Christmas stories! There is magic in Christmas, and lots of magic in this book. My favorite story was the last one, although I liked them all. Well done!
September 17, 2025
The Wonders Within the Starlit Inn takes the reader on a journey through time and always back to the Starlit Inn. I confess that this genre is not my favorite to read, but if you like speculative and fantasy, I think you'll enjoy this novella collection.
In Inheriting Peace, by Erin Howard, Maggie Benson inherits the inn in the year 2025. A time portal unexpectedly brings Prince Alexander Maxwell to the inn, looking for answers to his sister's disappearance many years earlier. Overwhelmed by the work needed to have the inn ready for guests by Christmas, Maggie finds the hope and help she needs.
In Asunder by Brett Armstrong, Natalie and James O'Connell are ready to call it quits on their marriage, but they take one last vacation together to try to restore it. The tension between them crackles in the air. It will take a miracle or magic to heal their brokenness. Then they happen on the Starlit Inn and are carried into an unknown world where they are forced to face the truth about themselves.
Dawn Ford's Keeper of the Stars takes the reader to the 2135. After her grandfather's execution, Venus Bolt must escape from Genesis Colony or face extinction. Escaping via her grandfather's Starlit Transporter, Venus travels 75 years back in time to the Starlit Inn and her grandfather's native town. Welcomed to the inn by owner Maggie Benson, Venus enters a new life and makes interesting discoveries about her grandfather.
It's December 2325 in J.L Burrows's A Quantum Christmas. Historian Ellery Stein has made some research discoveries and receives a time travel permit to go back to 2025 to confirm her research and learn why the 12-families's life trajectories touch at one point and why that made a difference. The problem is, Dyce Munroe of the M112 security team has been assigned to protect her. The two begin their relationship like oil and water, but their experiences at the Starlit Inn change everything.
The characters are genuine in their thoughts and actions, and the stories are almost believable. Faith is an element in each novella.
In Inheriting Peace, by Erin Howard, Maggie Benson inherits the inn in the year 2025. A time portal unexpectedly brings Prince Alexander Maxwell to the inn, looking for answers to his sister's disappearance many years earlier. Overwhelmed by the work needed to have the inn ready for guests by Christmas, Maggie finds the hope and help she needs.
In Asunder by Brett Armstrong, Natalie and James O'Connell are ready to call it quits on their marriage, but they take one last vacation together to try to restore it. The tension between them crackles in the air. It will take a miracle or magic to heal their brokenness. Then they happen on the Starlit Inn and are carried into an unknown world where they are forced to face the truth about themselves.
Dawn Ford's Keeper of the Stars takes the reader to the 2135. After her grandfather's execution, Venus Bolt must escape from Genesis Colony or face extinction. Escaping via her grandfather's Starlit Transporter, Venus travels 75 years back in time to the Starlit Inn and her grandfather's native town. Welcomed to the inn by owner Maggie Benson, Venus enters a new life and makes interesting discoveries about her grandfather.
It's December 2325 in J.L Burrows's A Quantum Christmas. Historian Ellery Stein has made some research discoveries and receives a time travel permit to go back to 2025 to confirm her research and learn why the 12-families's life trajectories touch at one point and why that made a difference. The problem is, Dyce Munroe of the M112 security team has been assigned to protect her. The two begin their relationship like oil and water, but their experiences at the Starlit Inn change everything.
The characters are genuine in their thoughts and actions, and the stories are almost believable. Faith is an element in each novella.
September 8, 2025
This set of 4 novellas wound up having a couple stories I liked, one I loved, and one that just really wasn't for me.
The first two entries were good, but they needed a line edit. The final two stories were solid on that front though.
My favorite entry was Keeper of the Stars by Dawn Ford, and it earns a full 5 stars from me. The main character is compelling, the story paces well, the prose is of good quality, and it uses time travel in a way that I actually didn't mind (I typically despise time travel). I also liked the slightly open-ended ending to this one. Don't worry, it's not a cliffhanger, or anything, but it gives readers and characters alike hope that what happened before may not need to happen again. It was just an overall wonderful story.
The other three entries were, for me personally, one 4-star, one 3-star, and one 2-star. With such a range of ratings, I decided to mark the collection as a whole as a 3-star read.
I won't belabour comments about the 2-star story. It was technically sound, and for readers who love romance and time travel, I'm sure it would rate much higher. It just ended up being something I didn't connect with and couldn't get into.
Thank you to Expanse Books for the eARC.
The first two entries were good, but they needed a line edit. The final two stories were solid on that front though.
My favorite entry was Keeper of the Stars by Dawn Ford, and it earns a full 5 stars from me. The main character is compelling, the story paces well, the prose is of good quality, and it uses time travel in a way that I actually didn't mind (I typically despise time travel). I also liked the slightly open-ended ending to this one. Don't worry, it's not a cliffhanger, or anything, but it gives readers and characters alike hope that what happened before may not need to happen again. It was just an overall wonderful story.
The other three entries were, for me personally, one 4-star, one 3-star, and one 2-star. With such a range of ratings, I decided to mark the collection as a whole as a 3-star read.
I won't belabour comments about the 2-star story. It was technically sound, and for readers who love romance and time travel, I'm sure it would rate much higher. It just ended up being something I didn't connect with and couldn't get into.
Thank you to Expanse Books for the eARC.
September 29, 2025
The Wonders Within The Starlit Inn is the perfect Christmas season escape read! It's a collection of sci fi/fantasy novellas revolving around the common theme of a magical place called Starlit Inn. Magical because the inn has a portal that takes characters to other times and worlds."Inheriting Peace" by Erin Howard kicks off the collection with a castle, a kingdom, a missing sister, and a sweet romance thrown in for fun. "Asunder" by Brett Armstrong is about a couple on the verge of divorce falling into another planet and rediscovering their love for each other. "Keeper of the Stars" by Dawn Ford is a lovely story about a young woman who escapes an authoritarian planet and finds her beloved grandfather as a young boy at the Starlit Inn. And "A Quantum Christmas" rocks it with an enemies to lovers theme and time travel. I loved them all. Well written. Intricate plots. Characters I wanted to more about. If you enjoy sci fi and fantasy, you'll love this collection. And it could be the perfect gift for that hard-to-buy-for teen or reading nerd.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews