Asteria

by Rachel Leigh

Asteria is dying. Its kingdoms are fractured, its people warring, its magic faltering—and anyone who could save it has vanished.

On Earth, Conor will do whatever it takes to keep her head down and her sister alive. She’s a shadow in her own life—until the night her classmate Jaime drags her into the woods and through a rift between worlds.

Trapped in the mysterious realm of Asteria, Conor has no choice but to flee with him through dark forests and even darker tunnels. As they race to evade prowling fexes and sentinels, she searches for something—anything—that could get her home.

She’s not the only one desperate to escape. In the sea’s shadowy depths, a thief and an assassin hunt for answers that might save their doomed city. Atop floating towers, a reluctant queen uncovers ancient secrets. As storms rise and dragons stir, she longs only to disappear. Across the wintry meadows below, an exiled heir fights to outwit an unsettling captor—all while plotting to reclaim her stolen throne.

Their paths are converging.

Something in Asteria is waking.

And nothing will ever be the same.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Adventure

529 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 27, 2026

Reviews

[Ivana]

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Left Field Publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Asteria is an epic fantasy that follows 4 different storylines, and characters. As two of the characters, Conor and Jaime, are transported from our modern, everyday world, into a fantasy one, we get to know the realm of Asteria.

The prose was very descriptive, and I would consider the book to be a page turner in the second half of the book, as there's a lot of suspense and intrigue. The story seemed to move a little slow at the beginning, as we were just getting to know a pretty complex realm of Asteria, with its different kingdoms and unique worldbuilding. The setting was easy to visualise and was well described. I've especially liked the lyrical, almost archaic language in contrast to the modern one (thank you, Conor, your remarks made me laugh often).

The characters were definitely what made the book the most interesting. They're all very likeable, even as their ambitions weren't always clear. Each of the characters had their own unique story, and each of them changed as the story progressed. The relationships (or simply the lack of them, or the tension) were also very well depicted and believable.

For me, the book was very intriguing. I couldn't guess many of the twists and turns, as well as the real identities of the characters. At the beginning, I wished to find out the information sooner, but a lot of it was revealed as the story progressed. A lot of questions still stayed open, which I guess will be answered in the next book(s). The story is very complex, and some of the history spawns across millennia, so it's no wonder it was impossible to know everything right at the beginning.

I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys epic fantasies, detailed and complex worldbuilding, as well as messy characters and relationships, with a lot of suspense, betrayals, and surprises. It's a bit slow at first, but definitely worth it in the end! I'm excited for the next book, where I'm sure even more of the lore will be revealed.

[The Dark Heart Library]

4.25 ⭐️ ebook. This fantasy book was unique. Not necessarily in tropes, but in the unraveling of the story. I think she really pulled this off, although I was definitely skeptical at first. This was written like a YA fantasy with lots of world building.
It has multiple main characters each telling their story in different places. However, you don’t know exactly how any of them relate to each other or why or if they are even related at all. (No spoilers 😘)
Rachel Leigh did a great job …so many authors go off into the weeds trying to be different and get lost. But not in this case.

Do I recommend it? Absolutely
Will I continue on with the series ? YES!
Spice level- 0.5 🌶️

Magical artifacts. Dying magic. Hidden kingdoms. Lost heirs. Portal Magic. Mystery. Adventure. Betrayal. Found family….so many more.

I am now impatiently waiting for book 2 to see where all of these characters end up.

Thank you Rachel Leigh for this ARC copy…I loved this book.

[Viking Jam]

Review: This was an interesting booky. While the scenes were overly descriptive and rife with internalizations, the storyline took you into varied places. The mystical beasts of this world were well drawn as were the characters.

This could have done with some editing, especially the numerous YA characters. The alternate world shtick is overdone IMO and Earth referents tend to detract from Fantasy themed novels. Most chapters drag on (lol) and on, with dimwit YAs expunging their emotions along with their pheromones. I had to re-rank this after considering the outcome.

1.6/5

[The Nerdy Bookshop]

Thank you to author Rachel Leigh and Left Field Publishing for providing an advanced reader copy of Asteria in exchange for an honest review.

Holy cow.. what an epic fantasy read! Asteria is an immersive, layered high fantasy novel packed with massive world building, multiple intersecting POVs, dragons, monsters, magic, mystery, betrayal, and secrets. This is the kind of story where you truly can trust no one.

Conor and Jamie are deep in a forest on Earth when they stumble through a rift into another world.. Asteria. Immediately thrown into danger, they encounter monsters, underground tunnels, terrifying creatures, and endless forests. With no way back or clear direction, they press deeper into this strange realm.

An exiled Princess Evangeline is captured by Miah, a powerful immortal Harbinger with shape-shifting magic, who intends to deliver her to his kingdom of Turpin as a prisoner destined for death. But Evangeline turns the tables, kills him.. or so she thinks.. and escapes.

Queen Skyye and her devoted handmaiden Eden live trapped within a court that uses Skyye as a political pawn. Despite it all, they share a deep, unconditional love. When Skyye is led by a knight into the dragon lair, she bonds with her dragon.. but betrayal follows, Eden is killed, and Skyye flees on dragonback.

Azra, a street urchin from an underwater realm, and an assassin Salara, uncover hidden books, secret chambers, and ancient runes in the kingdom’s library. After Azra awakens a mysterious orb, Salara reveals she is a Harbinger and takes Azra from their world, pulling him into a dangerous journey far beyond anything he’s ever known.

As these stories unfold, it becomes clear Asteria is dying.. the magical veil is collapsing, monsters from the Beyond are breaking through, and war is looming. The scattered relics known as the sphaira, orbs of powerful magic, may be the only hope of saving it.

I couldn’t predict where this story was going next! This book blends epic high fantasy, sci-fi, and Lord of the Rings style world building into one gripping adventure with massive scope and constant twists.

Highly, highly recommend! Asteria truly feels like it could be the next big fantasy phenomenon!

[An]

I had the privilege of being one of the early readers for this book! Thank you so much!

I hope this review does not feel too harsh because I enjoyed reading the book and found it very compelling, especially in the second half. It's so important for us to support independent publishing companies and authors who value human creativity. Down with AI! BURN IT!

Now, to get the negative stuff out of the way first:

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:
- The prologue: I know it was intentionally ambiguous who the people were and what exactly was happening, but the complete lack of setting was disorienting. I also am not personally a fan of present tense, and I think that the combination of the tense and the attempt at more formal language clashed oddly. I wonder if the prologue, being set in the past, could be in past tense.
- Single-sentence/dramatic line breaks: they're not bad per say, they just lose their impact because they're used so often, especially in the prologue and the first few chapters.
- The first line of Evangeline's first chapter: marriage never comes up again for her, so what is the point of that sentence? It doesn't feel like the strongest way to introduce the character.
- Gender power imbalances: most of the time, male characters had more information or power or experience in a given situation than female characters, who tended to be more passive in their stories when men were present.
- Misogynistic Jamie: When he kissed Sabel, I literally wrote in my notes, "JAMIE, GET CRUSHED BY A TREE AND SET ON FIRE YOU MISOGYNISTIC SHIT" because that was assault and I cannot tell if he is romanticizing this memory of if the story is. Either way, yuck. No. Just because she foresaw it and still showed up, doesn't mean she consented to being kissed by a drunken piece of shit. I really don't know if his character is supposed to be sexist or if that's just how that part was written.
- Tell not show: it felt like some of the writing was the characters telling us about themselves rather than actually letting the readers learn about the characters based on their actions, words, and responses to situations. For example, also in Evangeline's first chapter, "I yell a lot---on account of my salty disposition coupled with the obscene horrors I'm forced to endure." Also, in that first chapter, there's a long physical description of Tryp's beautiful face and self instead of any indication of his facial expression or anything that tells us about him as a person. This sort of thing popped up a few times throughout the book.
- Underutilized dragon: she showed up to save the day a few times, but I didn't get to know her! I need a full in-depth interview with Aurora. Who IS this dragon?
- Implying that the pyramids weren't from Earth: my racism alarm bells started going off real hard. We already have too many people who actually believe that aliens built the pyramids because they refuse to believe that Africans would be capable of creating such engineering marvels. Please don't do that. Don't take the achievements of an oppressed group and attribute them to some fantasy world.
- Killing your queers: why is the only major character who dies the racially ambiguous queer woman? That ain't a good look. I sincerely hope she's actually alive somehow because my dear, that ain't queer representation. That's tokenism.
- Orbs: WHY. Here I am thinking that people's eyes have been replaced by marbles or ping-pong balls that have been painted fun colors. Or ORBEEZ. Just say eyes.

And now for the positive things!!

THINGS I LIKED:
- Character dynamics once the main characters got together: I loved the way the characters quipped off each other and had such realistic interactions! I think the characters (NOT JAMIE) were an absolute highlight of the book for me. I especially liked Conor and Azra.
- Conor in general: love her. Just love her. It's a bummer she spent most of the first half of the book just running for her life because I wanted to see more of her being herself and actually being allowed to say things (SIGNIFICANT LOOK AT JAMIE (but also very understandable that he wasn't going to explain stuff while being actively hunted by hundreds of murderous monsters)). Conor felt very authentic, and all her little references felt genuine and fitting in the story. She had such good energy. I hope she punches more people in the face in future books.
- Submarines. Did not see that coming, but there is nothing as horrifying nor as whimsical as a submarine. I imagine Azra's sleep paralysis demons were all singing "We All Live in a Yellow Submarine" for that whole trip.
- The final battle/confrontation thing was so very compelling and I had to put down the book and pace around my room between pages a few times because I could feel the tension in the rooom! That whole part was quite well-written. Even the action was good, and action scenes are often where I zone out. Conor threw helmets at people. I liked that part too.
- Scope of the world: it felt like the characters actually travelled and the landscape felt vast. I think a lot of books gloss over the travel bits and make it seem like characters teleport. It never felt like that in this story except for when they actually teleported.
- Magic isn't overused: the magic is not just an everyday thing! It's treated with wariness and respect and I liked that it wasn't just constantly being thrown around to solve problems. The lack of magical power use by main characters (regardless of whether or not they are magical *sparkle sparkle*) provided opportunities to display the characters' problem-solving abilities and cunning. The stabby stab that Evangeline did to Miah and also putting him face-down in the mud was excellent. I also liked how Conor (my GURL) got the monsters off their tail using bloody clothes. I love that she paid attention in science class.
- Romance wasn't centralized: too often, fantasy books act as though romance is necessary for an interesting story, and far too often, those romantic subplots usurp the plot. I love that the romance that was present wasn't overpowering, and I liked that not every character was in a romantic relationship. And also there weren't really love triangle things. I don't count the thing with Abalon because Skyye noped out of there pretty quick.
- Maps: I like books with maps. I unfortunately don't look at them enough, but I appreciate their presence.
- Azra's bits in Meeran were really compelling to me. I liked how the city had a distinct feeling to it. I think the wilderness also had this strong sense of setting, especially when the gang was all together by the river.
- Conor: again, I just like her. She's fun. She did have that Not-Like-Other-Girls vibe at the start, which is fitting given the time period she comes from, but it was cool to see her grow and be supportive of other women. Woot!

Thank you once again for the opportunity to have an Advanced Reader Copy of this book, and I'm so excited to see where this story goes next!

[Tay's Next Chapter]

✨Review of Advanced Copy received from author✨: Asteria by Rachel Leigh is an immersive fantasy, thick with world building, complex characters and interconnected stories. I loved that each character is so uniquely themselves and has their own entertaining dialogue. The author wrote them in a way that even if a character frustrates you, you can understand why they are the way they are. But remember, trust no one.

My favorite things: unique characters & world, epic banter, & hilarious pop-culture references. The story follows several characters, which was a bit difficult to follow at first, but everyone’s story is a piece of the puzzle. They all exist in the same time, which I admittedly didn’t realize until later in the book. There is a lot world building in the beginning, but be patient! Every detail the author provided was laying the groundwork for this intricate story.

There are so many twists & turns in this book! Every time I thought I figured something out, I ended up with more questions. This book was the perfect crossover between worlds (quite literally). To me, the big message of this book was that anyone can be brave or choose differently. Something gathers, something comes…..

If you enjoy:
🌎Heavy world building
👥 Multiple POVs
🔮 Unique magic
⚔️ Entertaining characters

Asteria is the book for you!

[Vileen]

BRUH THE ENDING WHAT THE HECK?!
3.25/5 ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ✨

I have mixed feelings on this one. I love first person several POV books, and each character seems to carry their own special little flaw that ultimately draws a bit of darkness to them. The overall premise is really interesting and it's different to step into a world that is actually broken and on the verge of no longer existing. However, I had a hard time loving the characters until approaching the end of the book. I really loved Conor's POV as she is someone not from their realm but carries so much resilience despite her struggles and was the only character with significant character development (despite the setback on her views of Jaime, which is understandable here).

I was immediately pulled into the story, but then I had several waves where I felt like I was losing interest in the story. I had a hard time finishing until closer to the end where things started to pick up again and everyone's stories came together. Also would have been nice to see some more of the fantasy elements (especially Aurora, where you at??) further fleshed out. There were parts of the story building that weren't the easiest to follow, there's a lot coming from different places and something about that could have been executed a bit better. I also wish the characters' stories converged earlier on, I think that's part of why I started to lose interest in parts of the book.

The epilogue put me in a chokehold. Such an eerie ending of redemption where I want to know what happens next. Jaime is so mysterious and and I really hope the next book gives more insight on him.

Thank you so much for the ARC!


Some quotes:
"The absence of knowledge is true poverty, and our resulting ignorance has become an inescapable bondage."

"Some truths cannot be explained; they must be felt.”

"If this is the price of knowledge, I’ll pay it a thousand times over."

“Arrogance and impudence love to masquerade as rationality. But the greatest harm they inflict is upon the narrow-minded man himself, who can’t see what’s there, who misses it altogether.”

"Am I but a dreamer and a fool, destined to exhaust my life in waiting?"

“Those in power create their own truths."

"We make the heroes and the villains. In truth, it’s all arbitrary.”

“Can an object ever be truly evil? Isn’t it the use that makes it so?”

[Chrys]

Thank you again to author Rachel Leigh and Left Field Publishers for the chance to read an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

First of all, I want to say this book isn't exactly my cup of tea. Its character tropes are not my favorite, and occasionally it wandered too close to romantasy for my taste. But for folks who like fantasy with a healthy dose of romance, enemies to lovers (to enemies), feisty women and morally grey men, references to mythology and folklore, and multiple point-of-view stories, this book is perfect for you!

I really liked this book's approach to a fantasy world. A lot of fantasy books take place in a world that's, if not thriving, at least surviving. But Asteria is a fractured, dying world—one might say a pre-apocalyptic one. Its patchwork of kingdoms—Aeris, a kingdom suspended in the sky; Meeran, a world sealed inside the ocean; Acadia, a pastorale land crawling with cursed monsters; and Turpin, a desert city of powerful immortals—are isolated, corrupted, and actively rotting from the inside. Nothing is as it seems, and everyone is grabbing for the power to further their goals—survival, revenge, escape, redemption. The imperialistic threat that eventually emerges from Turpin feels like a natural outgrowth of the world's desperation and decay, like how real-life fascists swoop in and promise to fill the holes in a struggling society. I could also feel Asteria's decay throughout the entire book, in the descriptions, in the monsters, and in the undercurrent of anxiety, confusion, and fear that permeates every character's point of view. It's a fresh approach, one I found fascinating and compelling. And of course, this gloom makes the moments of kindness, connection, and hope shine all the brighter.

My biggest gripe with this book was how it treated Eden, girlfriend to Skyye, the POV character from Aeris. I was really excited about Asteria's tags including "LGBTQ+ stories," and Skyye and Eden's relationship was a highlight of the book for me. However, I wish Eden had a more active role in Skyye's story. Throughout, Skyye works with a mysterious guardsman named Abalon to uncover the secrets she needs to escape Aeris and her role as a powerless figurehead queen. As Skyye's handmaiden, Eden could have been invalueable to this mission, able to access supplies, information, and a certain invisibility Skyye does not have. However, Eden spends most of her time in Skyye's chambers, fretting and weeping and offering her partner emotional support. She felt pretty and passive, a treasure Skyye defends, like the stereotypical wives of straight heroes in a lot of fantasy adventures. The day before the big escape, the plot suddenly decides to make Eden pull off an impossible, extremely important task, with her servant status as explanation/justification. But given her passivity up until that point, it feels like plot convenience more than anything. And then something terrible happens to her just to traumatize Skyye.

Additionally, the book has each POV woman—Conor, Evangeline, and Skyye—team up with a man who knows more than he's letting on. Even Azra, a male POV character with a major secret, is paired with Salara, the queen's assassin and niece. In three of the four, the POV character is crushing on their counterpart. Half the book is dedicated exclusively to these four straight duos, which felt repetitive and overwhelmingly heterosexual. Eden had a lot of potential to disrupt that pattern by working alongside Skyye and Abalon, giving her relationship with Skyye a narrative weight more equal to the other straight pairs. It also could have let her intelligence, kindness, and insight shine. Insead, she felt underused, reduced to a stay-at-home girlfriend (which is not a bad thing irl but is overused in books), rather than someone with agency in her own right. Given that she is the primary LGBTQ+ representation (other than Skyye and a sorta trans woman/genderfluid shapeshifter), and an ambiguously racialized queer woman at that, I found Eden's treatment disappointing.

That said, I did enjoy reading this book and found it quite compelling. When the characters converged about 2/3rds of the way through the book, I couldn't put it down! From that point, the book really came into its own, with solid pacing, gripping action sequences, an abundance of twists and turns, and opportunities for the characters and their dynamics to shine. The book's bite-sized chapters ensured I was never stuck with one character for too long and made for a quick, satisfying read (even if you're not a fan of multiple POVs!) And of course it had fascinating worldbuilding; beautiful scenery descriptions; and some truly impactful lines. For people who love the tropes it uses and subverts, I think Asteria is absolutely worth reading!

[Scott Shifflett]

Asteria caught my eye on Instagram ad. I guess the algorithm does work! It’s a perfect blend of mystery and fantasy. I was living and dying with all of the twists and turns. Most I didn’t see coming at all and some of them were gut punches.  This book had me by a chokehold, so much so I had 150 pages left last night and couldn’t put it down until I finished it at 1 am this morning.

I loved the different povs. Each new pov would become my favorite. They would do something to show they were fallible and they would go down in my pov rankings!

The book takes the reader all around this mysterious world, from underwater cities, cities in the sky to cities lost to us all.  It shows the reader different types of animals, mythical beasts and harbingers (beings that can live forever).

I love how it was set up that somethings from Asteria came from our world and vice versa. One example was Conor asking why everyone speaks English was a nice moment as another world you would think would speak a different language entirely.

Give this book a read or a listen!

I cannot wait for book 2, so we can explore more of the world or worlds that interact with Asteria!

Some of my favorite quotes from the book. There is many that I had to choose from!

The absence of knowledge is true poverty, and our resulting ignorance has become an inescapable bondage.

Remember this: the future shall be what we make of it. Our fate rests not on this crippling fear but on how we choose to act in the face of it.  

“Unity does not come easily to anyone who has been conditioned toward fear and scarcity and suspicion “

They wrapped barbarism in a guise of necessity, accepting the lie that ghastly deeds line the way to a better world. They convinced themselves that safety required strength and streets required death

[KMart Books]

3.5/5 stars

Multiple POVs that slowly converge is one of my favorite structures and this one does it well. Watching separate characters influence each other's paths from a distance before everything starts to collide is so satisfying when it's done right.

The main characters are layered and not always likeable, with real mixes of good and bad traits that make them feel like actual people. Evangeline in particular is fascinating and far less stalwart and calm than she initially appears when confronting her nemesis, though her shifts in personality and behavior felt a little more abrupt than I expected at times. The secondary characters unfortunately don't get the same treatment and feel pretty passive and underdeveloped by comparison.

Though a couple of choices gave me pause. The lore around the pyramids and a sapphic relationship that ends in death, especially given the book's LGBTQIA+ tagging, both walk a line I'm not entirely comfortable with given how loaded those topics can be.

Still, this is a dark, struggling world with a lot of moving parts. I had a genuinely good time and I think the author has great skill. The pacing is strong, the world-building is great, and I was entertained throughout. Very interesting and I'm curious to see where it goes.

Thanks so much to booksirens, the author, and publisher for the complimentary copy. This review is voluntary and all opinions are my own.

[enid r. laureano]

Advanced Review Copy

To be extremely vague, Asteria has this type of slow, storm‑in‑the‑distance kind of feeling that sneaks up on you. The world is dark and tense, yet strangely beautiful in which Rachel Leigh leans into that atmosphere more than anything else. It’s the kind of setting that leaves you unsettled, and something is watching from the edges, even when nothing is happening.


Conor was easy to connect with because I would also react the same way she does. Like a confused, scared, and stubborn girl trying her best even when she’s in way over her head. Jaime though…. What is up with him? It leaves me wondering how the sequel will plot out.

The pacing does kinda dip in the middle, and a few characters feel more like interesting ideas than fully developed people. The constant POV change makes it a bit confusing and hard to connect with some characters.

But the mood and tension do help the reader not to lose their attention span on the story. Even with the critics and flaws, Asteria leaves you curious and a little unsettled; it's as if you’ve only seen the first crack of lightning before the actual storm hits.

RATING

4 (3.7 rounded up) out of 5

[Sophie]

Asteria is an incredibly unique read that takes a bit of patience to settle into, but ultimately delivers a deeply rewarding pay off.

The story opens with a heavy emphasis on world-building and character introductions combined with a high number of perspectives to track. For me this made the first few chapters feel a bit overwhelming. I almost set it aside around the 11% mark because of how much setup was required to get oriented.

However, I am so glad I stuck with it. Once the story hits the halfway mark, the pacing speeds up dramatically and everything starts falling into place. What stands out most are the characters: they are beautifully complex and feel fully realised rather than surface-level or tropey.

Most importantly, the plot and world feel genuinely fresh. In a genre where stories can easily blend together, Asteria offers something distinct that doesn't just rehash familiar tropes. If you can push through the initial setup, the second half makes the journey well worth it.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Randi Hawley]

I received this as an ARC (thank you author) and it was a pretty good read. I gave it three stars because I can’t do half ratings (would rather give it 3.5) and because I did struggle a bit in the beginning of the book and got kind of frustrated to the point I had to put it down for a bit and then go back with a game plan. There are quite a few POV’s on different planes to keep track of. I found myself having to keep notes on who and what was happening so I wasn’t like wtf is going on. Once the story lines started merging it got a better. I did enjoy the lore/world building in this novel but with the multiple POV’s it did get a bit overwhelming. I enjoyed the political tension being built and the separate POV’s were very interesting in their own right. I am curious as to what happens with the plot though because I can tell this is going to be an in depth world. If you are into very heavy world building and multiple POVS’s this is definitely for you. I plan to try rereading it at a later date to see if it’s easier for me to comprehend and digest.

[Jo Wyld]

Wow Asteria is so intriguing!

The land's within the world are beautifully described and really build the picture, allowing you to jump into the story as you follow multiple characters on their own path, not knowing that the path they are on will eventually lead them to each other!

I wont say why they come together because I dont want to add spoilers! But I will say this is a book where you'll need to concentrate as we have around 5 POV's, all in different lands and each POV has other characters with them too.

And lets talk about the characters, they are so well written, meaning you like them more and more as the story develops!

And that ending!? Is that what happened!? I need to know! I'll be looking out for book 2!

[Anna Berger]

ARC REVIEW:

The premise of Asteria was so captivating. The world building in this book was absolutely incredible. The author did a great job at making describing everything and setting up the scenery of the plot. Each character was so unique and I definitely wasn’t expecting many of the plots that were revealed in this book.

The book definitely had a lot of POVs but it’s wasn’t an unmanageable amount. The book really gave the vibes of the Throne of Glass tandem read time terms of the number of POVs and plots.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I’m hopefully that there will be more to come because I still have so many questions that NEED answering about what’s to come next

⭐️4.5/5

[C.C. Gravehart]

NOTE: This is an ARC review. Thank you, Rachel Leigh, for inviting me into your world! I am honoured to have been one of the first people to read Asteria (2026).

'Asteria' is a multi-POV, portal fantasy novel. It’s got dragons, sunken kingdoms, mysterious magics and an ancient enemy that threatens the balance of the universe. (YESSS!)

BEWARE, HERE BE SPOILERS!

What I loved:
That in medias res opening. Super gripping. BAM! We…are…in!

In general, Leigh is great at creating intriguing characters. Jaime and Evangeline’s introductory chapters preserved the high of the prologue. Jaime maintained the sense of mystery while Evangeline’s perspective opened up the harsh yet wondrous fantasy world.

I also just love multi-POV fiction!!

Speaking of world-building, I loved the sphaíra lore. The land of Asteria is so rich with history and complex politics, and the Turpin harbingers’ plot to round up heirs to awaken the sphaíra was so well crafted! Leigh masterfully lays a trail of breadcrumbs towards the climax and never makes things too obvious.

What I questioned:
I want to preface by saying I though 'Asteria' was a good book and that I do recommend it. However, I have a few criticisms…

Firstly, pacing. To me, 'Asteria' felt very quick. Chapters are structured largely with short paragraphs and dialogue, making it feel as though we’re racing through. Consequently, although Leigh’s world is rich I did not always feel grounded in it. Overall, I think the book could have benefitted from more detailed setting descriptions.

Additionally, the intimate scenes. I liked Azra and Salara’s romance moment. However, I was unconvinced both by Abalon and Skyye’s kiss as well as Evangeline and Miah’s intimate night in the cave. These romance scenes felt very out of character for the people Leigh constructs Skyye and Evangeline to be.

For one, Skyye adores Eden. I didn’t think there was a believable reason why she would kiss Abalon. To feel free? I disagree. Loving Eden, a maid, is already Skyye’s way of defying her role and duty as the queen of two kingdoms.

Plus, Evangeline’s personality is very abrasive. Survivalist. In the cave, had she tried to seduce Miah (her kidnapper) to get him to lower his guard, that would have made sense. But, no? She just felt horny? The scene also had a Stockholm Syndrome vibe.

These scenes didn’t hit for me personally.

Final thoughts:
Asteria (2026) is a strong debut novel from Rachel Leigh and is a passionate text oozing with creativity. I hope that Leigh decides to continue the series, to tie up loose threads and take us on another daring adventure!

You can support Rachel Leigh here:
@asteriathebook (Instagram)
@rachelleigh.author (Instagram)

Thanks for reading,
C.C.

[Victoria Stiritz]

Confused the entire time but in the best way possible. Each character I loved, and hated, and I now I don’t know how I feel about any of them. All incredibly complex and multifaceted.

This book kept me on my toes for the entire read. Best believe I WILL be joining the discord to see what theories other readers have.

Please read this book so we can discuss!! Thanks xx

[Brittany Nichole]

I DNFed somewhere before the 20% mark.

I’m sure there’s nothing wrong with the story & it was fairly interesting…but there was just too many POVs, characters and locations to keep up with in such a short time frame in my opinion. It’s marketed as an epic, high fantasy and that’s what it is, so if that’s your vibe, I’m sure you’ll love it. It just wasn’t for me, at the time.

I’d like to thank the author for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Ines]

Thank you to author Rachel Leigh and Left Field Publishers for the chance to read an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

Maybe I'm just not into high fantasy? I don't know.

I really struggled in reading this book, and it hurts because it has good ratings and so many people like it so much. The book starts off with multiple points of views being told as separate stories: Jamie, a student who traveled to Asteria before and built a life there before being sent back to Earth; Conor, his classmate who is dragged to Asteria with him; Skyye, the queen with no power; Evangeline, a ruthless hunter who is trying to provide for her friends and family; and Azra, a solitary man who lives in a tower, but has a great secret.

These characters live in a dying world, where there are cities that are invisible, or burried under the earth, at the bottom of the ocean, or floating in the sky. And each of these cities is an independent power onto itself, some strong, but most weak. Additionally, there are different types of creatures, including immortals that appear in the book. It would have been good to have a glossary at the back as a reference point because I find that even after reading, I don't know what at least one of the characters is and why she is considered "evil".

I thought this book would be a DNF for sure, because at around 42% into the book, I was thinking of quitting. Even halfway into it I still had no idea what was happening, how the characters and their various plotlines were connected. It was like reading five individual stories separately and waiting for them to come together. Somehow, I managed to power through it, and about 2/3 of the way through, the characters finally started to meet each other, and the plot started coming together. To be frank, this made me exceedingly angry. Why do I need to read through 2/3 of a book to begin understanding what the book is about. To wait for the "so what". Did it start to pick up a bit at that point? Yes, of course. But it's the "mystery" of the first half of the book that diminshed my enjoyment.

What also bothers me is that there are loopholes in the plot, and a couple of people seem to hold the key, but aren't forthcoming. So Jamie knows more than he lets on, but he never wants to share, bring others into the know. Same with Azra. And the women? Conor is clueless because she's new to Asteria. Skyye seems to be flakey, changing her opinion with the wind, and not using anything factual to base her decisions on. And, Evangeline, she is angry and self-righteous many times. I hope this isn't a case for, "we need to rely on the men to save us".

Lastly, there's a lot of setup of plot in the first half, and in the second half where the action happens, I get the sense that some things are just resolved too quickly. Like, "this all powerful being is going to kill us", and bam he's dead! But this could be that I read ToG recently where few things have a quick fix.

Maybe the first book is all about setup and world building, and book 2 will be epic. But for me, it was really painful to finish reading the book.

[Katie]

Thank you NetGalley and Left Field Publishers for the ARC of Asteria

I really wanted to like this book, but it took so much will power to even just get through it. The author writes so eloquently and even myself, as an avid reader, was having to pause to define some of the words used (which I think is fantastic, I love learning). I thought the writing was so descriptive and really put me into each POV, but there was no emotion in any of the POVs, which was really hard for me because there were so many main characters we were following. Trying to finish this book was really daunting because of how little connection I felt to the characters and how all over the place everything felt.

[Desiree' DeWeese]

This author still needs ~70 ARC readers!!

[Erin]

4/5 ⭐️

This action-packed epic fantasy follows five mysterious heroes through the vast world of Asteria. You're thrown straight into the chaos with little explanation, making the beginning a bit confusing, but the mystery slowly unfolds as the story progresses.

Asteria is rich with political conflict, intricate lore, mystical creatures, and immersive world-building. While I initially struggled to connect all the storylines, everything started to click when I reached Conor's POV. Her chapters were engaging, relatable, and impossible to put down. She's the kind of character who is loyal, capable, and just a little unhinged.

Jamie, on the other hand, constantly kept me on edge. There was something unsettling about his perspective that made it hard to fully trust him. Evangeline's storyline felt like it was building toward something much bigger, and I'm excited to see where her journey leads in book two.

Overall, this is a compelling fantasy filled with mystery, strong characters, and excellent world-building. Once I settled into the multiple POVs, I found myself fully invested and eager to see what happens next.

[Jill Elza]

If you love:
🖤 dangerous attraction
🌑 dark secrets
🔥 tension that burns slow and deadly
⚡ morally gray characters
💫 a heroine fighting fate itself

Then you need to add Asteria by Rachel Leigh to your TBR immediately.

This story pulls you into a world where nothing is safe, trust is fragile, and every choice feels like it could destroy everything. The atmosphere? Completely intoxicating. The emotional tension? Brutal in the best way.

Rachel Leigh delivers a story that feels haunting, addictive, and impossible to stop thinking about long after the final page.

Prepare for obsession.

[Henley]

I received an ARC of this book, which does not affect my review. Thank you to the author and Booksirens for the chance to read this book.

I loved a lot about this book and would recommend it, although there were a few things I couldn’t quite get on board with or limited my enjoyment. To start off positively, there are a lot of characters in this book, and mostly they’re integrated into the story quite well. Some are more likable than others, none are perfect, and I enjoy seeing that nuance in any kind of book I read. In addition to the breadth of characters, the world also had breadth. Each detail the author added to the world and the characters’ different arcs felt real and like a lot of time was taken to create something believable and compelling. I am sure this is a biased and somewhat incorrect statement, but in my personal opinion, every time I see a map in a high fantasy book, I just know the author has put their heart and soul into a well defined world. Rarely am I wrong about this, and to my delight, I was not wrong here. The world itself is large, the places the characters visit are different enough from each other to truly feel like they are visiting different cities, or even places in nature. It added to the realness of the story in a way I loved.

The very beginning of the book was harder for me, however. Especially in Jamie’s first chapter, I felt like there was a lot of infodumping or background story thrown at me. Evangeline’s was rather the same. The story does get interesting, but then a past story comes up and it reads more like a diary entry than a story occasionally which threw me off. It is simply a stylistic choice that didn’t resonate with me. In some scenes throughout the book, though only a handful, I wasn’t sure where we were, or I lost track, creating an absence of setting even though it was later established—and established beautifully and grandly at that. It also took me some time to enjoy Conor as a character. At first, she can come across as goo-goo eyed to Jamie along with the constant thoughts of “he’d never like me, he’s too cool and I’m not.” This is very well a personal preference, but I’ve never enjoyed characters like this. However, Conor evolves over the story and by the end, I had a very different view of her than I did at the beginning. Likewise, Azra is a compelling character. POV switches can easily be a hit or miss, especially when there are so many, and while there were moments where I felt wrenched from one character and thrown into another when I didn’t necessarily want to, I felt the different personalities and stories were juggled effectively.

For the most part, descriptions were wonderful. While the use of the word “orbs” feels goofy to me—I don’t like it as a description for eyes and get confused when it’s used, as I expect two floating spheres in the air rather than actual eyes on a face—it was easy to overlook when compared to the magnitude, beauty, scope, and originality of the world. Everything leads up to intenseness later on, everything pays off, and the book is quite well plotted.

This is one of those books where I’m so mad I cannot rate half stars. While I had some trouble adjusting to the style in some parts and the way some characters acted or thought, mostly Conor, I also came to enjoy the characters. The world was enjoyable from the start and very nicely fleshed out, especially with how much the author had to balance.

Because of this I would rate it a strong 3.5 but rounded up, as it is a good story, very epic and fun, and I think the author does a wonderful job with how much she undertook. It is without a doubt a worthwhile read if you like exploring different realms, characters traveling to new worlds, different POVs and as such different characters you will both like, not like, but want to follow all the time. Likewise, the book ended on a cliffhanger, and I know I would love to read more, especially with how much my enjoyment grew and swelled at the end.

[Kaitlin]

First off, I want to thank the author for allowing me the opportunity to be an ARC reader.

I feel it is important to start my review by saying that Asteria is a fantasy unlike what I normally gravitate toward. I generally stay in the realm of fantasy/romantasy and Asteria definitely is more of an epic fantasy type of read.

Think “A Wrinkle in Time” crossed with “Game of Thrones” except there’s a crumbling magic system and most all the characters are teens or young adults still naive to the realities of life.

The story follows multiple characters, told from multiple POVs, during their journey through the land of Asteria. Somehow despite each of them coming from different places, having different struggles, and seemingly little in common they each coalesce to create one wild journey.

First we have Jaime, the teen basketball star who one days finds himself randomly pulled through the time space continuum to Asteria. After helping to save the planet and build an entire life over the course of 20 something years, he is shoved back through some version of a time vortex to Earth; where he finds that he is once again just a normal teenage boy. Desperate to find a way back to the life he built Jaime makes it his sole to get back to Asteria. However, if he is able to get home who’s to say time won’t have caused major changes to Asteria as he once knew it?

Que the entry of Conor. Conor is the outcast teenage girl who is hopelessly in love with Jaime. To her own detriment she finds herself wrapped up in more than just a teenage crush. However, don’t let Conor’s seemingly dimwitted blind attraction for Jaime fool you; she has sass, wit, and maybe just enough determination to survive on a random planet she suddenly finds herself thrown onto.

Next up is Evangeline. Evangeline is the badass girl who life has shit on repeatedly and as such she has grown bitter, hard, and perhaps a bit too jaded. Having to always be the protector with no one to protect her may lead to her ultimate downfall. However, is it possible to learn to open her heart not only to friendship, but perhaps to love as well?

Along comes Azra. Another forgotten soul who has a dangerous secret, one that if the wrong people found out would place not only him, but all of Asteria in danger. However, when a lethal beauty named Salara shows up and threatens to turn Azra’s entire life upside down will he be able to overcome his own self doubts and self imposed inadequacies to seek out the answers and truths he so desperately seeks?

Finally we have Skyye, the sheltered young queen . However, she is a queen in title only as she has no power over her own kingdom. As such Skyye spends her days wishing that her ideas and voice would be heard however, without being married and having a husband to speak for her this will never happen. Will Skyye find a way to rule as the queen she has the ability to be or will she cower and run from the responsibility? Oh, did I mention she also has a dragon!

These are just the main characters, all of which are introduced within the first 100 pages. There are several other important side characters; which I strongly recommend paying close attention to.

Taking into consideration the plot, world building, writing, and overall execution I would rate the book a solid 4 ⭐️. This book does not have what I would consider spice, rather a few fade to black scenes therefore I give it a 🫑.

While I don’t feel I’ll be joining the epic fantasy reader club anytime soon, especially when multiple POVs are involved, I am able to recognize and appreciate the authors work and what she produced. With that being said if epic fantasy is your thing this book is most likely for you.

[Alan Harry]

This book is the first in the Asteria Constellation series and is an epic tale of fantasy and adventure.

This book is recommended for anyone who enjoys epic fantasies. It easily stands alongside the classics like Narnia and The Lord of the Rings.

The book is told from multiple points-of-views (POVs), focusing on the main characters who initially meander their way through the tale before converging as the book nears the exciting climax. There is magic, mystery, intrigue, deceit, death, and some erotic moments.

Jaime, Jenny, and Conor are students at a high school, but Jaime lives with a secret. A few years back, he had been in another dimension where he lived a lifetime before returning to Earth as if no time had passed (like Narnia). He is now “lost” and wants to return to Asteria. After a fight where he is injured, he is magically transported back to Asteria, and Jenny and Conor are caught up with him. How will they survive in Asteria? Will it be the same as it was when Jaime left? How will Conor and Jenny return to Earth?

Evangeline was banished to the ice kingdom of Acadia where she hunts for food to feed her younger brothers. Will they survive another winter? Why are there people hunting her? Why was she banished?

Skyye is the Queen of another kingdom, although the people there have little respect for her. She was put there as basically a puppet queen to merge the kingdoms of Chrystil (the ice kingdom) and Aeris (the city in the sky). When she was forced onto the throne in Aeris, she was allowed to take her handmaiden Eden with her. Will they escape? Is Eden merely a handmaiden?

Azra is a boy seeking knowledge in the forbidden books of the library in Meeran. He is caught by a guard who is in the service of the queen, but instead of turning him in, Salara helps him. What secrets is she hiding? Will Azra find the information he seeks?

Some of the characters are able to wield magic, transport themselves, shift into other forms, and are immortal. There are also several hordes of monsters involved who seem determined to kill humans.

The story is expertly crafted as the characters are fleshed out in their own chapters and come to life. They are all unique characters with their own style and mannerisms, and it is quite amazing how the author manages to keep the consistency. Although each chapter is labelled with a character name, it is quickly clear to the reader which character is telling their part of the tale.

I found some of the descriptions of the characters’ actions quite unique, and vividly worded. One such example was when Skyye was frantically removing her shirt “velociraptoring her shirt.”

I liked the flow of the book, the way the characters eventually came together physically, and the way things unravelled to a conclusion. The proofreading was very well done, and I only spotted a few errors. My only dislike was that there was the odd occasion where it was unclear “how” something happened, and the powers that the harbingers displayed seemed to be slightly inconsistent (I will not go into further details here as I would not want to add any spoilers.)

A brilliant start to what I hope will continue to be an amazing epic series. Certainly well deserving of the score of 5 out of 5.

[Adriana]

** Received as an ARC -- Thank you to the Author and their team on allowing me to read this story This may contain what some consider spoilers, although not really**

If you enjoy multiple POVs and both urban (contemporary feel) and epic (other-worldly) fantasy you may enjoy this plot.

The story revolves around 5 main characters and you follow their individual and then integrated storyline from their POVs as the book progresses.

You have Jaime: who is probably the most mysterious of all 5 characters and seems to be a human that lived an entire life in Asteria before being sent back to contemporary Earth as a teenager only to return to Asteria towards the first part of the book.

Connor: a teenager human who has a big crush on Jaime and older sister to Olivia - which isn't introduced in this book but the readers are made to believe something bad happened to Olivia that causes Connor be overly protective of her sister and that is the main cause of her angst and need to return to Earth after being transported to Asteria with Jaime at the beginning of the book.

Skyye: A "token" queen and originally planning to run away from her duties with her lover - when their plan goes astray and she is forced to leave on her own.

Evangeline: the "true" heir and should be queen, escapes her assassination attempt and tries to live a quiet life with her found family. She is eventually discovered and her story starts to unfold. Eventually her path leads to the rest of the characters.

Azra: an heir for the "old" kingdom of Asteria, hidden and living in the (Meeran) ocean world of Asteria. Eventually is discovered and travels through submarine with Salara to Turpin Kingdom. Taken hostage, real identity is later discovered when he professes his feelings to Salara.

I believe the multiple POVs was ambitious in the overall layering of the plot and the momentum of the story. Unfortunately for me, the multiple POVs did not add to the overall story nor did I feel connected to any of the 5 main characters. While ambitious, having so many POVs so soon in the story did not allow for me to build any emotional connection for the character's based on the lack of their backstory and the superficial information we were provided.

I think a lot of my issues with the book were due to the prose and the 1st person POV for each character. I found the prose itself taking me out of the world and I could not imagine the world nor connect with the characters. The climax of book 1 and the ending did not move me, and so for me - the overall payoff was not enough to ignore the aspects of the book that disengaged me.

Weighted Rating:
📖 Storyline / Plot 15%
✍️ Prose & Writing Style 15%
💕 Romance Chemistry 15%
🌍 World-Building 15%
🎭 Character Development 10%
⚡ Pacing & Structure 10%
😮 Emotional Impact 20%
Overall (rounded) score: 3 Stars

[Prof. Christina]

Rachel Leigh’s Asteria is a richly woven epic fantasy that immerses readers into a complex and vividly imagined world. At its core, the novel follows four intertwined storylines, each featuring characters with deeply personal ambitions and secrets. The narrative’s structure and the multiple perspectives keep the story dynamic and engaging, especially in the second half, where suspense, betrayals, and surprises come to the forefront.

Leigh excels at creating a detailed and immersive realm. The descriptions of Asteria’s fractured kingdoms, floating towers, dark forests, and shadowy depths are so well-crafted that I found it easy to visualize each scene. The contrast between the archaic, lyrical language and the modern dialogues—particularly Conor’s remarks—adds a unique flavor to the prose, making the reading experience both poetic and humorous.

The beginning of the book felt a bit slow, as the author took time to introduce the intricate world and its history spanning millennia. However, once the characters are transported from modern Earth into Asteria, the pace picks up considerably. The story becomes a true page-turner, with twists I didn’t see coming and revelations that kept me guessing. I appreciated how some mysteries about characters’ true identities and the lore of Asteria unfold gradually, leaving plenty of questions open for future installments.

The real strength of Asteria lies in its characters. Each one is complex, flawed, and remarkably likable despite their flaws. Conor’s determination to protect her sister and her journey of self-discovery resonated strongly with me. Jaime’s humor and resilience added levity amidst the tension. The supporting characters—an exiled heir, a thief, an assassin, and a reluctant queen—are equally compelling, each with their own arcs of growth and change. The relationships and tensions feel authentic and layered, making their interactions believable and engaging.

Leigh explores themes of resilience, identity, and the fight to save a crumbling world. The layered history of Asteria, along with its present-day struggles, adds depth and richness to the story. There are moments of darkness and chaos, but also hope and strength, which kept me invested throughout. While some parts of the plot felt slow initially, the payoff is worth it, and I’m eager to see how the story continues in the next book.

Asteria is a captivating blend of complex worldbuilding, intriguing characters, and suspenseful storytelling. It’s perfect for fans of epic fantasies that don’t shy away from messy relationships and intricate lore. If you’re willing to invest a little patience at the start, the rewarding journey and the promise of more revelations make it well worth your time. I’m looking forward to what Rachel Leigh has in store next!

[HalcyonFields]

Rachel Leigh's Asteria offers enticing lore in multiple POVs.
Honestly, I’m unsure of how to summarize the plot because there’s a lot going on, so I’ll leave it in one sentence: Asteria follows multiple characters as they traverse the land, escaping death to overcome a world that is coming to a breaking point.

One thing to note is though the book blurb is focused on Conner, it’s not just her story. She feels like a secondary character with Evangeline stealing the story. Perhaps she’s focused on because she’s a recent arrival from Earth.

Generally, I like multiple POVs. I love world building through the eyes of multiple characters, especially in the fantasy genre. In this novel, I don’t find myself too keen on all of them, which harmed pacing. I like Evangeline and Jamie’s the most. Azra has the most potential to world build but the chemistry between him and another doesn’t work for me.

The crux of the wavering execution is dialogue. Throughout the POVs, the conversations seem forced, where characters have them for the sake of progressing plot than deepening chemistry and relationships. For example, a near 7000 (or exactly) year old character acts conceited, easy to undermine, and a thief speaks more academically than one would imagine, even with his love of books. Even in Skyye’s story, the one with promise of being the most multi-layered, her immediate tension of gendered conflict lands almost stereotypical with her approach.

Aside from the mismatched dialogue, Leigh’s strength does come with worldbuilding. From the prologue, we get a sharp sense of wrong. Atmosphere and nature in the Asteria realm show terror. The high stakes are there, believe me. The concept of fexes actually scares me because everything feels so futile against them. Angry and nasty little things. To balance them out, there’s dragons. Developed creatures progresses multi-faceted worldbuilding.

Overall, while reading Asteria, I find myself drawn to the chemistry of Evangeline and Micah. They’re an interesting set of enemies, stronger than the others. Alongside that, any scene that takes place in nature won me over. The city doesn’t strike me as fantastical, most likely due to the characters assigned to it. For the most part, the pacing stands strong, with chapters of varying length that makes swiping easier.

If you’re not into multiple POV and characters, inclusive of side ones, Asteria isn’t for you. Leigh does the dark part well, but one does need to read carefully. Despite my thoughts on the characters, one crucial point is that the pivotal women are written as strong and competent. For the reasons listed above, I give the novel 3 stars out of 5.

[celestialpixels_]

📖 Every Story Holds a Key 🗝

Multiple POV fantasy is always a bit of a gamble.

You can give me an enormous world, a sprawling cast of characters, kingdoms at war, ancient magic, monsters, dragons, and enough lore to fill an encyclopedia - but none of that really matters if, every few chapters, I find myself flipping ahead to figure out when we're getting back to the character I actually care about.

"Asteria" never gave me that problem.

Rachel Leigh throws us into the allure of Asteria through the eyes of characters scattered across different realms, each seemingly caught up in a story of their own.

There was no POV I dreaded returning to. No storyline that felt like something I had to push through to get back to the "good part." Instead, every switch opened another little window into Asteria and made me increasingly curious about how all of these people, places, secrets, and seemingly separate stories were eventually going to collide.

It reminded me of what I love so much about the "Throne of Glass" series. Not because the stories themselves are necessarily similar, but because of that feeling of realizing the story you're reading is so much bigger than any one character. Everyone is somewhere doing something, each piece matters, and you can feel all those separate threads slowly pulling toward one another.

The more the story moved between these different perspectives, the bigger Asteria became. We weren't confined to one character's understanding of the world or one little corner of the map. We were moving through different places, following people with entirely different motivations, and seeing pieces of the story that other characters didn't even know were unfolding.

And strangely, the bigger Asteria became, the more I felt like I knew more and less about it at the same time. Every new perspective gave me another piece of the world while also reminding me just how much of it I still didn't understand.

And that's where the multiple POVs really worked for me. They didn't just give me more characters to care about. They made Asteria itself feel alive. There was always this sense that something was happening beyond the edges of whatever story I happened to be following, and I wanted to see more of it.

By the time I reached the end, I wasn't waiting for one particular character to come back anymore. I needed to know what happened to all of them.

And after the way this book leaves things?! I'll definitely be sticking around for book two!

Thank you to Rachel Leigh and Left Field Publishing for providing me with a copy of "Asteria" in exchange for an honest review. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to read and review the first installment of this series.