Starfall Quest

by Emily Golus

Adventure calls. The wrong party answers.

Quirky girl Mira Olvidneth is her underground city’s Very Worst Engineer and its Most Despised Bachelorette—and this all before her nineteenth birthday.

When a goblin friend falls ill and the only cure can be found by the sea, Mira is willing to journey across Vindor’s vast forests to get it—even though she’s never spent a day in the above-ground world. What could go wrong?

To help her, Mira’s cousin sets her up with an adventuring party that’s “the best of the best,” including a centaur warrior, a samurai blademaster, a potion-making magician, and a world-famous navigator.

But as the party ventures into the wilderness, Mira discovers everything she’s been told about her companions is a lie. Which is … not particularly ideal, especially as the hopeless party bumbles into the clutches of Vindor’s most ruthless warlord.

Genres: Fantasy

353 pages, Paperback

Expected publication September 29, 2026

About the author

Emily Golus is an award-winning fantasy author with nearly 20 years of professional writing experience. Golus aims to engage, inspire, and show how small acts of courage and love can create meaningful change. Her books feature diverse cultures, authentic characters, and cinematic fantasy settings.

Her first novel, Escape to Vindor, won the 2017 Selah Award for Young Adult Fiction. A spin-off novel, Crack the Stone, won the 2024 Kudos Award for Fiction and was a finalist in the 2024 Realm Awards. Golus enjoys teaching workshops for teens and adults about storytelling, worldbuilding, and creativity.

Golus lives in Greenville, SC with her husband, Mike, who is her greatest supporter. They have two active little boys and enjoy hiking, making Thai food, and exploring small towns in the Carolinas.

Discover more at WorldofVindor.com and EmilyGolusBooks.com, and keep up with book news at Instagram.com/WorldOfVindor.

Reviews

[Lavay Byrd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of recieving an ARC of this book from the author for enjoyment! All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own!

Wow, this was such A FUN adventure! And by FUN, I also mean quite full of moments that had me chuckling quite a lot! This is especially if you wished "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor among ThieveS" movie was more family freindly (without the too much creepiness).

I just loved so many of the characters (except for two villians... one of whom I had my suspicions QUITE early on). Mira is SUCH a darling! She needed a hug... and her reactions to the world was SO hilarious! But to see her grow in the journey made it every bit satisfying!

What made it more enjoyable was seeing more of the world of Vindor through the eyes of the natives themselves!

Fantasy Comedy with DEPTH at it's finest!

Will be sharing a full review upon release day!

(I only enjoyed "Escape to Vindor", but I MIGHT check out Crack the Stone)

[J. DuBois · Rating 5 out of 5]

One word: adorable.
Second word: fun.
Third word: heartwarming.

This style of book is not my normal go-to, but the hook for this story was just too appealing (Adventure calls; the wrong part answers), and sometimes you just need something lighter.

Lighter, but not shallow. This story was goofy but had a depth beneath the fun that had me coming back for more (and I have grown VERY picky over the years, possibly unfairly so).

And it delivered. It was funny enough to make me snort and smirk and chuckle aloud more than once, which is hard to do, and reminded me of the fun you can have with not taking life so seriously.

And it reads *fast.* I received an advanced copy of this book, and was worried I'd be too busy in life to finish by publication day, but the complete opposite happened. The author was kind enough to send it to me early, and I finished it before I should have originally received it!

It isn't an epic tale like LOTR, etc, but it isn't supposed to be. It was fun, quirky, amusing, encouraging, and I can think of no spots where it dragged.

I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to reading more stories in the world of Vindor. The world could benefit from more stories like these.

I received an advanced copy of this book for free. This review is voluntary and are my honest thoughts on the book.

[The Batman (Reagan) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks Emily, for the ARC.
Admittedly, I'm a bit biased. I know Emily both in real life and in our biweekly DND games.

This was a ton of fun! It's technically a standalone novel in her Vindor series, but Is highly recommend taking the rest.

This is written in such a way to evoke the feeling of playing DND (Dungeons and Dragons.) especially with our group. An absurly unlikely cast unqualified idiots (I use this term endearingly.) Thrust unwittingly in a situation they have no business being in and somehow they have to put what few braincells they can muster towards an attempt to figure it out. There's a lot of references to stuff we've done in game, some inside jokes, and a bit of commentary on some of the random equipment you get at the start of the game. For example: What's a piton and how do you pronounce it?

The cast:
●Mira- Thinks she's the dumbest person in the room. Relatable.
●Rhotan Windswept- Overly Confident world adventurer. Based on one of Emily's husband's characters.
●A centaur from a military background who might be more at home in a shopping mall with the cast of My Little Pony
●Mr. Ishida- The best Quest Dad. Didn't sign up r the
●Nnamdi- Somehow the most competent person here.


It's hilarious and you guys are in for a treat!

[Olivia Gratehouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the incredible privilege of beta reading this book, and I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s been one of my favorite reads of the year! This was a book I did NOT want to put down, and it had me laughing out loud on numerous occasions. (Usually anytime Windswept opened his stupid mouth. 😂)

The characters are all so well written, and Mira is such a lovable protagonist whom I immediately couldn’t help but root for. This story has so much heart as well, and despite being a comedy knows how to be serious when it needs to. (I love you Mr. Ishida, the bestest Quest Dad 😭🫶🏻) Emily has such an incredible writing quality that never fails to tug on my heartstrings.

All in all, Starfall Quest is a hilarious adventure and an excellent palette cleanser when you just want something FUN to read to escape from all the grimdark of most fantasies today.

[C. Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first introduction to this author, so I wasn't sure what to expect. The characters are a hilariously hapless bunch that by all accounts shouldn't be able to make it to the end of their quest alive, let alone save the world. Yet every seemingly random detail wove back together into a brilliant conclusion that left me delighted and satisfied. The cherry on top was a decided lack of objectionable content that would keep me from letting my kids read it. I look forward to introducing them to Starfall Quest!

I was given an advance reader copy of the book in exchange for my 100% honest review.

[Emily Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful adventure! Seriously perfect pacing, laugh out loud hilarious (like I drove my family nuts with my random cackling all weekend while I was reading this), with heartwarming character development, page-turning peril, and a sweet romantic subplot - maybe the best Vindor book yet? Soooo fun, so enjoyable, so easy to get immersed in, so easy to love and cheer on the characters - fabulous reading experience. Seriously considering flipping back to page one and starting again.

[D.T. Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastically humorous fantasy. But even in the middle of all the humor, it doesn't fail to deliver a story with weight to it--something you can invest in. I loved Mira's journey as she learned to grow into who and what she is. I also loved getting to learn more about Elnat, which I've been meaning to do for a while now, so this new Vindor installment was just what I needed.

If you love to laugh but want to read a story that isn't just about humor, Starfall Quest is a must-read.