Crown of Smoke and Starlight: Fae Academy Romantasy mit Spice

by G.K. DeRosa, Madita Müller (Translator)

Ich war nie dazu bestimmt, diesen Krieg zu überleben, geschweige denn, die mächtigste Waffe zu werden.

Die Kräfte der Licht-Fae, der Schatten-Fae und der Nacht-Fae brennen in mir, unbeständig und kaum zu bändigen. Ich bin das Kind der Dämmerung geworden. Eine Königin. Ein Monster.

Reign hat mir geschworen, dass er niemals aufhören wird, an meiner Seite zu kämpfen. Selbst wenn das Band zwischen uns zerbricht. Selbst wenn sein Blutschwur ihn zwingt, mir als Feind gegenüberzutreten. Aber Liebe reicht vielleicht nicht aus, um uns zu retten. Nicht, wenn das Schicksal gegen uns ist.

Helroth sammelt seine Armee und die Höfe der Fae versinken in Krieg. Und es hängt von mir ab, wer siegreich hervorgehen wird. Aber wie soll ich entscheiden, wenn ich mir selbst nicht mehr trauen kann?

Das ergreifende Finale der „Fae Academy”-Reihe von Bestseller Autorin G.K. DeRosa mit Fae, Drachen und einem Shadow Daddy, der BookTok in Flammen setzte! Macht euch gefasst auf starke Emotionen – und natürlich ein Happy End :)

Genres: Fantasy, Romantasy, Fae, Dragons, Magic, Romance, Fiction

582 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 21, 2026

About the author

G.K. De Rosa has been an avid reader from a very young age. In fact, before she could even read, she tried fooling everyone into thinking that she could. At the precocious age of two, while living in Italy, she had memorized an entire children’s book in Italian and expertly turned the pages at the exact right moments of the story. As she grew up, she always enjoyed literature, no doubt having been instilled with a love of story telling from her early years in Catholic school where she was greatly influenced by exemplary teachers who taught her the value of English and Literature. Though she did not pursue writing in college and instead went for the more traditional route of International Business inspired by her love for travel and all things foreign, after a move to New York City, she found her creative writing side calling once again. She began writing a restaurant review blog, City Lights and Tasty Bites, detailing her other passion – food! The hectic hustle and bustle of the city, combined with long commuting times gave her the opportunity to spend more time reading and rekindled a lost love. After reading countless books in many diverse genres over the two years in New York City, and returning to her home state of Florida, she felt compelled to write something for herself. She had always felt particularly drawn to Young Adult novels and having been an eternal romantic at heart, a fantasy romance was a natural choice. She currently lives in South Florida with her real life Prince Charming and their fur baby, Nico the German Shepherd.

Reviews

[Erin Withers]

TL;DR: so much potential, so little execution.

I wanted to like this book. I wanted to love this series- it has the markers of everything I look for: court intrigue, hidden royals and powers to be discovered, fated mates, dragons and complex magic systems. Yet it just missed every mark. The pacing was off, with so many chapters dedicated to the most mundane of discussions and then suddenly there is action, which is quickly subdued and our heroes are back to the safety of respite and are again waffling back and forth with decisions that seem so obvious. It had so much potential and just… flopped. I forced myself to get through the last instalment of the series because I was so invested in how the threads of the narrative would be pulled together, but every new side quest, problem for problem’s sake and accompanying “quick fix” introduced,I found myself angry for even bothering. I opposite of recommend this series, and can’t really believe I read all 4. I just kept hoping the idea would flourish. Do I feel guilty for leaving a negative review? Undoubtedly. I know a heart and soul was poured into this. Can I sugar coat my disdain for the whiney protagonists and love triangle for drama sake, and long convoluted meanderings about family betrayals from shared blood but, ultimately, PEOPLE YOU JUST MET adding absolutely nothing to the actual plot? Absolutely not.

[Nicola Powell]

Reign annoyed me so much in this. One second, he’s promising his life to Aelia. Then the second the hint of an excuse to leave he’s half way out the door to leave under the excuse for ‘her safety’. Aelia isn’t much better, the insufferable insistence of mercy. Hun someone literally is trying to kill you and you’re upset they are betraying you and you’re trying to reason??? Give it up 🙄

I felt the plot was just a lot of mini side quests with little depth. The lost stone which was found with literally no issue and done in three chapters? The dragon reunion all done off page, and fully resolved in two chapters? What?

I’m upset because I loved the first book so much, and I really enjoyed the characters originally but this series was definitely ruined by dragging it out…

[Jenn (loves_a_good_book)]

What a finale, sad to see this terrific series end. Epic battles, betrayals, tension, shocking revelations had me on the edge of my seat. The epilogue with the HEA was everything I wanted and needed after the wild ride this series was. Fantastic ending, fantastic series, definitely recommend!

[wortvertraeumt]

Band 1 & 2 waren für mich absolute Highlights und ich war wirklich begeistert von der Reihe. Umso enttäuschender war für mich Band 3, den ich ehrlich gesagt extrem schlecht fand. 🥲 Band 4 hat mir jetzt zwar wieder ein kleines bisschen besser gefallen, aber an die ersten beiden Bände kommt er für mich nicht annähernd ran.

Mein größtes Problem war, dass sich die gesamte Geschichte einfach künstlich in die Länge gezogen angefühlt hat. Vieles hätte meiner Meinung nach deutlich kürzer erzählt werden können, wodurch sich das Buch stellenweise ziemlich zäh gelesen hat. Besonders ärgerlich fand ich, dass wichtige Ereignisse wie Aidans Tod oder der Moment, in dem Elian das Medaillon benutzt, gefühlt in zwei Sätzen abgehandelt wurden, während andere, für mich völlig unwichtige Dinge seitenlang ausgeschmückt wurden. 🥲 Da hätte ich mir einfach eine ganz andere Gewichtung gewünscht.

Auch mit Aelia hatte ich in diesem Band große Schwierigkeiten. Ihre Naivität und vor allem ihre Verblendung haben mich teilweise wirklich genervt. Ich konnte viele ihrer Entscheidungen einfach nicht mehr nachvollziehen und habe dadurch immer mehr die Verbindung zu ihr als Protagonistin verloren.

Trotzdem bin ich irgendwie froh, die Reihe jetzt beendet zu haben. 😅 Nach den ersten beiden Bänden hatte ich definitiv mehr erwartet, aber für mich war es am Ende vor allem wichtig, endlich zu wissen, wie die Geschichte ausgeht.

Fazit: Ein etwas besserer Abschluss als Band 3, aber leider kein Vergleich zu den Highlights der ersten beiden Bände. Für mich hat sich die Reihe gegen Ende einfach zu sehr gezogen und viele wichtige Momente wurden viel zu schnell abgehandelt. Trotzdem bin ich froh, sie beendet zu haben. 🫠

[Elizabeth]

Last installment of this series and to be honest I was so sad to see it go. The way these characters changed in the four books was amazing. There were some elements that I did miss from the beginning of the series ....the way Reign was mysterious and really sexy rather than overly brooding and anxious-BUT with that being said, it made sense for the character to develop this way. Aelia grew from an innocent native girl to a QUEEN in her rite and never lost her compassion and taught Reign alot -leaving room for the phrase The Student is now the Master. I loved the ending -
I see alot of strange reviews on here for all the books and please DONT LISTEN - read this series For me it has risen to be up in the ranks of Blood and Ash by J L Armentrout.
The only thing overall I would have wanted other than Reign to have retained some of his beginning qualities, was a little more spice in sections. I will take it was it is ...and respect the author for her choice.
10 STARS from me !!

[Anna Sofia]

I just love this character and I love the way you wrapped it all up between the two brothers Ruhl and Reign their relationship and how deep echoes way further they knew. This was a really good series.

[Holly Patel]

What a satisfying end to this series, wasn’t sure how I felt after book 3, but the ending was 🫶🏼🫶🏼❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

[Becky]

Overall, good. But I was a little disappointed in some of the battle scenes. I really love Ruhl and can't wait for his series.

[Heide Middlebrook]

This series was very exciting, highly recommend!

[Fon Promsorn]

Uhh…I wanted to like this book but I couldn’t never wanted to be done with a book so fast .. first book was great .. I feel like the characters in book 1 was great and then by book 3 .. I was sooo over the characters.. “I love you” in every sentence killed me for a fantasy type book. And omg the obsession of each others safety killed me .. and the FMC personality.. omfg I can’t .. the MMC by book 2-3 like wtf happened

[Shannon Evans]

2.5 - the premise and ideas were really good but I felt like all the battle scenes were brushed over and weren't as immersive as they could have been.

[Camille Blais]

WHAT. A. FINAL. I’m obsessed with this series and GK DeRosa never disappoints. I also want to thank her for giving us Ruhl.. IYKYK. This series was everything and more and I highly recommend it for anyone who is fan of High Fantasy!

[Sarah J Stebbins]

3.25 (good to very good)

Overall, there was enough in this series to keep my interest and make me want to keep reading, but the rounding down is because there were many small things throughout that just irritated me too much.

As a finale to the series this was almost par with the previous books and while the final showdown was fairly quick it was satisfying enough. There was plenty of drama and growth of characters. All in all I enjoyed the read.

SPOILERS BELOW…










What irked me were several things. Note: I did not let these color my overall review too much, but these stuck out to me and did slightly lessen my overall feel of the book.


The semi-love triangle was annoying as hell. I was at least glad it was resolved, but honestly this whole plot point felt unnecessary for the series and got dragged out for far too long.

Many never fully trusted Liora, myself included, and yet she was around when some of the biggest secrets were revealed/talked about. Why??!!! Oh, guess what she was evil the whole time. Also, when they meet Liora as her real self on the battlefield it is over quickly and you never get her side of things. It was not needed per se, but I like betting the other side of things.

Elian was power hungry and the ultimate villain. I saw this coming and really did not, but it just felt meh for me for some reason. I guess also because he just shows up at the end with the Night King (the big bad of the entire book) all tied up. The reason given for how Elian captured him…he pretended to want to make peace. Um, what?! Makes no sense based on everything that was shown prior for BOTH characters. It just left me scratching my head a bit.

[123_Romantasy]

3.5⭐️ (rounded up)
2🌶️

By the end here, I really felt like I was sticking with it because I needed to find out some answers and Reign. His character and his love and devotion is what kept me reading.

I don’t even want to give this 2🌶️ based on how I normally rate things because while we get multiple instances of s**, we don’t actually get anything from the writing of it. It’s so passed over! If you’re gonna put spice, please put more into it! Everything else is thought out and detailed in the story, but the spice was way overlooked.

I thought I knew a few of the details that there going to be reveals and some I was correct and others I was wrong (I was half correct though! lol)

Overall, did I binge this series? Yes. I really enjoyed the story and characters but for as much love and attention written into the TENSION of the characters, the payoff just wasn’t there for me in the spice department. She wrote a bonus chapter that was way more in depth spicy and she said it’s more than she usually does, but yet, that was my favorite thing. If that type of spice writing would have been in here, would have been a 5⭐️ series for me.

[Nicole]

It’s always exhilarating, exciting, and bittersweet (at the same time) to finish a series. You’ve gotten to know the characters, the world, the magic - and now, it’s going to come to an end. It is always this way with books by G.K. DeRosa. They never fail to send me on an adventure and put into a book slump for a while.

This series definitely took me for a ride! Betrayal, battles, and of course, the usual HEA G.K. is known for in her books.

Aelia has truly come into her own, and it brought me back to where she had started in book one and now here we are with the finale. Reign, of course, is still the broody professor, but you can clearly see where he is torn in this book. I’m glad he got the good ending. Overall, there was less spice here (but still romance) compared some previous books in the series.

I wasn’t quite as surprised with some of the plot twists in the books as I have been with other books and series by G.K., but I still enjoyed this one for what it was. I can’t wait to see what comes next!

[Deboreads_books]

Ich weiß ehrlich gesagt gar nicht so richtig, was ich sagen soll, denn ich habe Band 1 dieser Reihe abgöttisch geliebt. 🥹 Band 2 fand ich ebenfalls super, auch wenn sich dort schon die ersten Dinge eingeschlichen haben, die mich etwas gestört haben. Band 3 hat mich etwas enttäuscht und Band 4 hat mir wieder etwas mehr die Vibes des ersten Teils gegeben, mit Abzügen. Für mich ist es ein gutes Buch, aber leider nicht mehr ganz auf dem Level des ersten Bandes.
Versteht mich nicht falsch: Ich hatte wirklich, wirklich viel Spaß mit diesem Buch! Gerade Pacing und Schreibstil fand ich wieder richtig stark. Die Geschichte liest sich flüssig, ist spannend und man fliegt nur so durch die Seiten. Auch die Welt hat unglaublich viel Potenzial und die Charaktere mochte ich über weite Strecken sehr gerne (ich wollte sie nur manchmal schütteln;)).
Trotzdem hatte ich beim Vergleich mit Band 1 immer wieder das Gefühl, dass die Geschichte etwas zu sehr in die Länge gezogen wurde. Dadurch kamen für mich vermehrt Dinge wie Misscommunication, Love-Triangle (der Bruder ist hot, I know, aber war da nötig?:/), kleinere Logikfehler bzw. Stellen, die nicht ganz ausreichend erklärt wurden, zum Tragen.
Ich glaube, vieles davon hätte man vermeiden können, wenn die Geschichte etwas kompakter erzählt worden wäre.
Auch bei einigen Charakterentscheidungen war ich in den letzten Bänden nicht immer ganz dabei. Manchmal dachte ich mir: „i dont get it, was tust du da Reign?“ Teilweise fühlte es sich für mich auch nicht ganz passend zu dem Charakter an, den ich besonders aus Band 1 kennengelernt hatte. Natürlich darf und soll sich ein Charakter entwickeln, aber diese Entwicklung hat für mich nicht immer ganz so organisch funktioniert, wie ich es mir gewünscht hätte.
Die Liebesgeschichte hatte für mich ebenfalls ihre Höhen und Tiefen. Grundsätzlich fand ich sie stark, allerdings hat sie den Plot an manchen Stellen etwas ausgebremst. Dieses gegenseitige Beschützen und teilweise sehr overprotective Verhalten hat den Storyfluss gelegentlich eben ein wenig behindert.
Nichtsdestotrotz: Das klingt jetzt alles so negativ, aber der Auftakt war halt sehr stark! Trotzdem ist es eine spannende Geschichte mit einer tollen Welt, starken Charakteren und unglaublich viel Potenzial. Ich glaube sogar, dass man aus der Welt noch einiges mehr hätte herausholen können.
Und wenn ihr Drachen, Academy-Setting, morally gray Charaktere, obsessive Vibes und Professor x Student mögt, dann führt für mich eigentlich kaum ein Weg an dieser Reihe vorbei.

Und ja … Band 1 wäre für mich eigentlich eine fast 6/5⭐️-Bewertung gewesen.
Trotz aller Kritik hatte ich eine richtig tolle Zeit mit dieser Reihe und kann sie euch definitiv empfehlen! Ich gebe “Smoke and Starlight” 4 und der Reihe insgesamt 4,5⭐️.

[Kay Daniels (Kay Daniels Romance)]

The final book of the Aetheria series is here and it was everything!!

Crown of Smoke and Starlight is the end of an epic series. It contains battles, fated mates, epic fights, long journeys, dragons, Ruhl 🥵 (yes, he needed his own plot point), a broody and sometimes unhinged Reign❤️, and last, but certainly not least, Aelia (she too needed her own plot point).😉

This journey began with a powerless kin, a moody professor, and an eclectic, but lovable cast of secondary characters that grew into family all the same. This entire series has been quite amazing and I'm sad it's come to an end.

Aelia, has really come into her own. She has proven she is more than just a powerless kin, and in this final book she finally steps into her own becoming the woman she was always meant to be. But I want to preface - if there is one thing to take away from this entire series, while I loved the romance between Aelia and Reign, I mean hello.....romance is literally in my blogs title....I really loved Aelia as a character, her growth, her overall transformation, even more. She was someone who believed she was a nobody, especially when she was thrust into a world where everyone had powers and she didn't. However, her true power was kindness, forgiveness, the love she had for those around her that truly made her the fierce woman that eventually became the epicenter of Aetheria and the radiant beacon that brought others out to fight by her side. She is the good that their world needed and the reason the series was so darn good book after book after book.

I won't forget Reign since he is one hot shadow daddy, along with his antagonist brother Ruhl, but Aelia is the beacon that shines and brings those two shadow princes to their knees. 😉 She is also why her friends and the rest of Aetheria continued fighting until the very end. But back to the dark princes...I adored the brotherly back and forth between Reign and Ruhl. Their brotherly bickering, yet underlying love, is something I looked forward to and I'd only grown to love them more as the series grew. I was extremely pleased at the direction that the story went for both men by the end of the book and also that Ruhl will still hold a piece of my heart, so I look forward to see where his future lies further down the road.

[Ehva]

What a conclusion 🔥🥹 What a couple, what a series 😩 Reign and Aelia have owned my heart since book one and I could not get enough of them! This book blew my mind 🙉 Reign and Aelia are one of my favourite couples of all time 😌 Thank you so much, GK, for this ARC 🥹

Reign Darkthorn 🧎‍♀️ If I thought this man was obsessed in previous books! 😈 Handsome, tall, grumpy, sunshine only for her, Prince of the shadow court, shadow daddy, possessive, protective, powerful, touch her and die, can't keep his hands off her, extremely supportive, adores their friends 😂, searching for answers and fights for her! Reign's bloodline has always been a mystery to him, and when it all came to light, I needed a minute 🫷 It explains so much, and changes everything they knew. His character had so many surprises for us! From the grumpy Professor to the man obsessed with his cuore 😭 Reign has owned my heart and will continue to do so 🥹

Aelia Ravenwood 🔥 She's even more powerful, and fierce than before 😈 If I thought I adored her, now I am obsessed 😩 Beautiful, intelligent, fierce, possessive, touch him and die, supportive, obsessed with Reign 🤭, powerful, heir to the Night and Light Court, protective, will do anything for Reign and Aetheria, won't back down from a fight and loves to drive Reign insane 😈 Aelia possesses the power of all 3 realms and after being kidnapped by Helroth, she's learning how to use them together. They've both been through hell and it doesn't stop 😖 Aelia knows there is more to everything, since book one, and doesn't stop until they have all the answers!

I was ecstatic to see those spicy scenes because after being deprived in the first 3 books 😩😈 Their bond only gets stronger and deeper and it shows 🥹 I can't say goodbye to my loves 😩 What a series, what characters and twists and turns 🥹 They and you kept me on my toes, Gk 🥹 You are magnificent and a brilliant writer 😩 I can't wait for what else you have in store for us!

[Cassandra]

Good god, these books are just way too long. There are so many huge stretches of absolutely nothing happening. Most of this entire series is them just sitting around waiting for something to happen. Then, when it inevitably does, they seem to overcome it within a couple pages. The ending was just way too quick. You had 4 entire books available to stretch things out in, and yet the entire end battle was over within several pages. This big monster that nobody can beat was beat in a page with only 2 attempts by our heroes. How am I supposed to believe how difficult everything is when it really isn't?

This author underplays things that could add to the story and then keeps stretching out periods of absolutely nothing. For example, the two times that the characters are going off to find a super important relic. These things are presumed lost or destroyed, and anyone who has ever gone looking for them doesn't come back. And here are our heroes, who manage to find them within a few hours, and have relatively no problems retrieving the item. Seriously? You have a continent to search, and yet they knew exactly where to go and the fights were done within a page. It was just too easy every time, and they were back home in a day.

I was skimming through this last entire book. I was so incredibly bored by this point. This series could have been condensed to three books, no problem. Or, the story could have whipped up more excitement and suspense during the appropriate times, rather than moving past them in a few pages. It was just poorly handled, in my opinion.

I will not read these again and I will not recommend them to anyone. I am so incredibly glad I finally finished them. I didn't want to DNF since I had gotten this far, but I was soooooo tempted.

[Michelle Fritz PA]

What a breathtaking conclusion to this series! The twists were absolutely masterful, and when that moment finally arrived? Oh, it landed with devastating impact. The execution of those reveals was so powerful that I’m still emotionally recovering from the fallout.

And the romance? Absolutely feral in the best way. The tension, the passion, the devotion… it was scene after scene of emotional and physical intensity that had me completely consumed. Honestly, the battle scenes almost felt like brief pauses between all the heat. And the “I would burn the world down for you” energy? It radiated equally from both the hero and heroine. Their love was fierce, consuming, and relentless, and the lengths they were willing to go for each other left my heart in pieces. Just when I thought their bond couldn’t possibly deepen any further, the story transformed it into something even more powerful and pivotal that changed everything.

But this book also hurt. There’s one loss I’m still mourning because I desperately wanted peace and happiness for them after everything they endured. That sacrifice served the story perfectly, but it made the emotional impact of the ending hit even harder.

And can we talk about the dragons? They completely stole so many scenes with their larger-than-life personalities, but beneath all that entertainment was so much heart. Their storyline added another emotional layer that tugged at me every single time they appeared.

This is the kind of finale that reminds you exactly why you fell in love with the series in the first place: epic stakes, consuming romance, shocking twists, heartbreaking sacrifices, and characters willing to destroy everything for the people they love. An unforgettable ending that will stay with me for a very long time.

[MaryBeth]

I was so sad for this to end but it was done in the best way possible. I wasn’t sure how it would all work out and GK DeRosa definitely kept me guessing along the way. Elian made me loathe him every time he was on page and that part of the ending was what I didn’t see coming in the way it was done. I’m glad that even with everything you could guess, there were pieces you couldn’t.

There’s a lot of spice sciences but they’re, for the most part, left up to the imagination. They took full advantage of that “mating” bond.

Reign was such a force to be reckon with in the first 3 books and I think he mellowed slightly in the final one. Not much because he still had that “touch her and die” mentality but you could see Aelia’s positive influence on him. He had so much back story that we finally got to see in this book too.

Aelia. The child of twilight, unifier of realms, badass princess. I think the ending broke me more than I thought it would. Her devotion to Reign and the lengths she went to at the end…. I was feeling the feels.

Ruhl. What can I say, I changed my mind on him and he was an amazing addition in this book. Seeing his growth and unselfishness made me root for him. I felt so bad for him once you got more of his back story and the fact that he’s watching Aelia and Reign together.

This series is a great time. I enjoyed every bit of it and couldn’t wait until the new books dropped. The writing is easy to read, quicker paced, and a good time. I’m the fantasy war girlie and wished the ending battle was just a tiny bit more descriptive. I’d give the entire series 5⭐️

[GI LA]

Mit dem finalen Teil geht die Geschichte von Aelia und Reign nun zu Ende. Die ersten Bände haben mich wirklich begeistert und auch Band 4 konnte mich insgesamt überzeugen.

Für unsere beiden Protagonisten wird es noch einmal richtig ernst. Der Krieg zwischen den Fae-Höfen steht bevor und Aelia muss sich nicht nur ihren Gegnern stellen, sondern auch mit ihren eigenen Kräften und schwierigen Entscheidungen auseinandersetzen. Wie das Ganze ausgeht, verrate ich natürlich nicht. 😉

Der Schreibstil hat mir wieder gut gefallen. Die Geschichte lässt sich leicht lesen und ich konnte mich schnell in die Welt hineinfinden. Besonders die emotionalen Momente kamen für mich gut rüber.

Zwischendurch war die Handlung für mich allerdings etwas langatmig und ich habe das Buch deshalb auch mal zur Seite gelegt. Später wurde es wieder spannender, sodass ich unbedingt wissen wollte, wie alles für Aelia und Reign ausgeht.

Aelia hat sich über die Reihe hinweg toll entwickelt und ihre Beziehung zu Reign hat mir ebenfalls wieder gefallen. Es gab einige emotionale Momente und beim Ende sind bei mir sogar ein paar Tränchen geflossen. 🥹

Auch Ruhl mochte ich wieder sehr gerne. Ich fand ihn schon in den vorherigen Bänden toll und hätte tatsächlich gerne noch etwas mehr von ihm gelesen.

Der Spice war für mich genau richtig. Es gab ein paar entsprechende Szenen, aber mehr hätte es für mich persönlich auch gar nicht gebraucht.

Alles in allem ein schöner Abschluss der Reihe. Ich habe die beiden und die ganze Welt wirklich ins Herz geschlossen und finde es schon ein bisschen schade, dass die Reihe jetzt vorbei ist. ❤️

4 ⭐️ von 5 ⭐️

[Vanessa Kurtseifer]

*Resizions Exemplar *
Vanessa K. (shadowangel89)

Ich war nie dazu bestimmt, diesen Krieg zu überleben, geschweige denn, die mächtigste Waffe zu werden.

Heute möchte ich euch den letzten Band der Crown Reihe Crown of Smoke and Starlight vorstellen von der Autorin G.K. DeRosa. Es ist eine
Fae Academy Romantasy mit Spice Geschichte.

Das ist definitiv eine Reihe die es wert ist zu lesen. Ich war schon bei Band 1 begeistert als ich es gelesen habe. So er ging es mir auch bei den folge Bänden und Band 4 war dann nochmal ein Höhepunkt der Reihe. Ich hab es geliebt auch wenn es eine Achterbahn der Gefühle war ist es für mich ein Highlight geworden und man würde natürlich noch mehr lesen wollen. Aelia war für mich von Anfang an eine starke Protagonistin und Persönlichkeit. Sie hat sich von Band zu Band immer weiterentwickelt und hat sich nichts gefallen lassen und gesagt was sie denkt. Vorallem aber auch im Bezug auf Reign. Auch Reign hat sich positiv weiterentwickelt und auch gezeigt das er anders kann und nicht nur die kalte Persönlichkeit ist die er oftmals vorgibt. Beim Ende kamen dann ein paar Tränen aber im Positiven Sinne. Das Wortbuilding und der Schreibstil hat mir sehr gefallen gut gefallen. Weil man jede Emotion spüren kann beim lesen.

Zum Schluss muss ich sagen kann ich die Reihe sehr empfehlen.

[Sarah Jordan]

What a superbingeable epic finale to an amazing roller-coaster of a series! GK DeRosa expertly weaves all the loose ends together in this fourth book and it is phenomenal. Prophecies, traitors, broken alliances, found family, blood binding vows, fated mates, political intrigue... and so many things to wrap up - get ready to feel all the feels!

The usual gang is back together with some additional tension, and we do get that happy ever after we are dying for, but it's not without some epic battles and heartache.

If you thought Aelia was done with her character growth, buckle up, Buttercup, because things are about to get even bumpier. I really loved her arc through this series, but feel like she truly comes into her own in this final installment. Even Reign has additional growth and a shocking revelation to deal with. He continues to be that touch-her-and-I'll-unalive-you MMC, but now we get all the gonna burn the world vibes, too. And, I would be remiss if I didn't mention my favorite Shadow Prince... Ruhl. This man! His struggles with being the heir to the Shadow throne mixed with his feelings for Aelia... gah! Heartrending! I hope we get his story next!

I'm going to be in a major book hangover for a while after that one.

[Marci Soloway]

GK DeRosa delivers a breathtaking finale in Crown of Smoke and Starlight, the final installment of her Aetheria saga. This richly imagined world of Fae, dragons, and destiny reaches its emotional and magical crescendo through the journey of Aleia — a heroine whose transformation from humble kin to the prophesied Child of Twilight is nothing short of epic.

The story masterfully balances high-stakes fantasy with deeply personal stakes. Aleia’s bond with her dragon Sol, her tangled emotions between Reign and Ruhl, and the shocking revelation of her Night Fae lineage all converge in a narrative that’s as emotionally resonant as it is action-packed. The return of the Night Fae and the mind-control twist involving her “grandfather” had me gasping — a twist worthy of a “Who shot JR?” moment.

Reign, the brooding Shadow Fae professor, and Ruhl, the tormented Shadow Prince, add layers of romantic tension and moral complexity. Their dynamic with Aleia explores the soul-deep pull of fated love, the pain of secrets, and the cost of choosing one’s path.
DeRosa’s world-building is lush and immersive, from the halls of the Light Fae academy to the dark corners of Fae politics. But it’s the emotional growth — especially Aleia’s — that anchors the magic. She’s not just powerful; she’s vulnerable, brave, and beautifully human.

This series has been one of the most captivating journeys I’ve taken in a long while. If you love fantasy with heart, heat, and high stakes, Crown of Smoke and Starlight is a must-read.

[Books & Border Collies]

Crowns of Smoke and Starlight by G.K. DeRosa is an absolutely breathtaking finale to Reign and Aelia’s journey. From the very first page, I was hooked — this book is a nonstop emotional rollercoaster filled with heart-stopping twists, high stakes, and moments that completely shattered me (in the best way).

I’ve always been a Reign girlie 💅, but I have to say… I truly felt for Ruhl in this final installment. His growth and inner conflict hit so hard, and I wasn’t expecting to be this invested in his story. It’s been such a joy seeing the entire crew come back together again — their dynamic and loyalty are everything.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a G.K. DeRosa finale without heartbreak, and my heart is still reeling from that major loss 😭. I also found myself hoping a few enemies might find redemption, but the unpredictable twists kept me on my toes until the very end.

An epic, emotional, and satisfying conclusion to a series that completely stole my heart. G.K. DeRosa knows exactly how to deliver the perfect balance of magic, tension, and feels. Fans of romantasy and fast-paced fantasy will not want to miss this finale.

✨ Thank you to the author for this ARC! ✨

[SilentSpectra]

3.5

Intriguing story and I can honestly say that the ending was surprising; not that the true win over the corrupt, but how it all went down. It was good and disappointing simultaneously.

*Minor Spoilers*

I found Aelia irritating throughout the series. Overall her character grew and showed grit, but, her naivety in never letting go of the mentality that shared DNA automatically means loyalty/understanding is infuriating. I really wanted to throw my kindle across the room and be done with it because she's obviously TSTL. Spoiler alert, she survives. A fact I'm only pleased about because it means Sol, Phantom, and Reign survive too. Fine, she's not completely intolerable but she dint even think to use the necromancy when Aiden died. Not even a thought in her mind. My brain exploded right then.

Ruhl made my heart hurt for him for the entirety of this book and I really hope he gets his happy ending. Speaking of endings, I wish we got to see more of the work it takes to unify the courts because lord knows they didn't all just look at each other like, "My bad. Just following orders. Not hard feelings yeah?"

[Valerie M]

Obsessed!! Though I do think the end was SLIGHTLY rushed and the HUGE war ended rather quickly after so much lead up. Still a great series though!

Courts of Aetheria Series (G.K. Derosa): FMC suddenly is made attend a magical light fae school with no powers of her own, MMC is a shadow/dark fae and professor at the institution, attempted r@pe/ass@ult, flirting/tension/forbidden attraction, "good girl", age gap (30 & 20), trials, training, dragons (they are main characters and mind speak) and other beasts that bond to riders, memory manipulation, battles, threats of w@r, prophecies, fated mates, sècrets, "groveling"/earning back trust, "fu#k it" before a kiss moment, pøssessive/øbsessive MMC, stubborn FMC, bl00doaths, kidn@pping, mûrdêrs, throat grabs and ~shadow~ use (if you catch my spicy drift), the most excruciating (and teasing) slow burn I've ever experienced, extreme jealousy (MMC/FMC), cliffhanger ended on book 3, bl00d vows, fighting/impending w@r/w@r/d€ath/v¡olence, volatile magic, OTT pøssessive/øbsessive/protective MMC (FMC also, but not as much), betr@yals, self doubt, found family/loyal friends, grief/loss, powers/bonds released, HEA.

[Hildie Johnson]

Simply incredible! I adored this entire series!! Really, I would give this final entry 4 stars—as some parts felt a bit wordy and could have been shortened: the 5 ⭐ is because it captures everything that makes a Romantasy truly great. Reign is the MMC everyone is looking for: brooding, a powerful "Shadow Daddy," and a truly, madly, deeply devoted love interest for our main girl, Aelia. Aelia herself is fierce, compassionate, and capable: a perfect match for Reign. Fated mates, dragons, and a story about what is and where true power comes from... this is Romantasy done right!

What an impressive conclusion! Alas, it’s bittersweet to say goodbye to such a wonderful series. The journey of all four books was an absolute whirlwind of intense conflicts, unexpected betrayals, and massive reveals that kept me gripped until the very last page; indeed I read this over the start of the knock-out rounds of the World Cup, and America 250! And the small epilogue provided the perfect "Happily Ever After" to tie everything together. Overall, this is a brilliant finale to an outstanding series that I wholeheartedly recommend!

[Jenn Winning]

Such a beautiful way to wrap up a series that captured my heart right from the start and never let go.

Reign and Aelia have had to face so many obstacles through their journey, and I couldn’t have imagined their story ending any other way. The war they had been hoping to avoid is inevitable and not only must they find a way to stop the selfish power hungry Kings, but also the blood oaths that threaten to destroy everything they hold dear.

The growth, sacrifices, and commitment, not only each other, but their kingdoms as a whole, prove that the fates knew what they were doing when they brought these two together. And let’s be honest, a feral Reign is something we all need more of!

The found family aspect shines bright once again, and I loved watching the many relationships develop and strengthen over the course of this series. From familial bonds, both old and new, friends that become family, and a love that runs soul deep, these characters prove that nothing is impossible when there is hope, faith, and utilization of all available resources.