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Shield of Sparrows [Dramatized Adaptation] #2, Part 2
Rites of the Starling (Part 2 of 2) [Dramatized Adaptation]
RITES OF THE STARLING is the epic, heart-pounding sequel to Devney Perry’s #1 New York Times bestselling SHIELD OF SPARROWS. A princess journeys across a cursed realm to find the truth about her family, only to discover her quest intertwines with the fate of a lost warrior. Love, danger, and magic collide in a captivating romantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros.
Calandra’s five kingdoms are on the verge of destruction. The crux migration is coming. And in the wake of a devastating attack, I’ve been separated from the man who owns my heart.
I’m lost. Terrified. Homesick. Hunted by monsters, driven to exhaustion, and kidnapped by a powerful priest, the only thing keeping me going is the little girl counting on me to keep her safe.
It’s my turn to become the Guardian.
Our lives change one fateful night. A night of death. A night of monsters. A night of truths. That night, I learn the real meaning of fear—and the depth of my own strength.
Everyone wants me to be something I’m not—a queen, a spy, a sacrifice. But what if I embrace my crown? What if the secrets I uncover save our realm?
What if my sacrifice means salvation for the man I love?
For too long, I’ve feared the monsters we make.
It’s time to discover the monster within.
Adapted from the novel and produced with a full cast of actors, immersive sound effects and cinematic music!
Calandra’s five kingdoms are on the verge of destruction. The crux migration is coming. And in the wake of a devastating attack, I’ve been separated from the man who owns my heart.
I’m lost. Terrified. Homesick. Hunted by monsters, driven to exhaustion, and kidnapped by a powerful priest, the only thing keeping me going is the little girl counting on me to keep her safe.
It’s my turn to become the Guardian.
Our lives change one fateful night. A night of death. A night of monsters. A night of truths. That night, I learn the real meaning of fear—and the depth of my own strength.
Everyone wants me to be something I’m not—a queen, a spy, a sacrifice. But what if I embrace my crown? What if the secrets I uncover save our realm?
What if my sacrifice means salvation for the man I love?
For too long, I’ve feared the monsters we make.
It’s time to discover the monster within.
Adapted from the novel and produced with a full cast of actors, immersive sound effects and cinematic music!
Audiobook
Published September 14, 2026
About the author
Devney Perry
98 books35.2k followersDevney is a #1 Amazon, Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of over forty romance novels. After working in the technology industry for a decade, she abandoned conference calls and project schedules to pursue her passion for writing. She was born and raised in Montana and now lives in Washington with her husband and two sons.”
Visit Devney's website to sign up for her newsletters and learn more about upcoming books.
www.devneyperry.com
Visit Devney's website to sign up for her newsletters and learn more about upcoming books.
www.devneyperry.com
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 14, 2026
Get Out the Conspiracy Board
After the slow start with Part 1 of Rites of the Starling, I was ready to jump back into Odessa and Caspia’s stories—and Part 2 absolutely delivered. Get out your Conspiracy board and red string, it's gonna be a wild ride.
This installment digs much deeper into the history of the five kingdoms, the Vosters, Lyssa, the Starling/Crux magic, and the monsters of the land. There are secrets everywhere, and seemingly small details keep becoming increasingly important. I spent a ridiculous amount of this audiobook building theories, connecting clues, and mentally adding more and more red string to my conspiracy board.
And I am saying NOTHING about the big reveal.
I will say this: PAY ATTENTION. The clues are there, and when everything finally starts falling into place, it is incredibly satisfying. I may or may not have had a very smug “I KNEW IT!” moment or two. Or twenty.
Beyond the mystery, I really enjoyed the character development in this part. Odessa continues to grow into her own strength, while Ransom’s struggle with Lyssa adds another layer of danger to their relationship. Caspia’s story becomes even more fascinating as she begins uncovering the truth behind the history she thought she knew. The two storylines gradually feel more and more connected, and the way the pieces eventually come together is extremely well done.
There are also some genuinely emotional moments. Evie’s reunion with Zavier absolutely broke my heart in the best possible way. Aly Casey’s performance as Evie is fantastic, and the emotion she brings to that scene makes it surprisingly powerful.
Ransom’s increasingly feral behavior gives several scenes an especially intense edge. Jon Vertullo does an excellent job portraying Ransom’s fear and horror when he realizes just how dangerous he has become.
Hain, voiced by Chingwe Padraig Sullivan, was SUCH an interesting character, and I was very invested in his scenes with Caspia.
And, of course, the action scenes are fantastic in GraphicAudio format. The fights have energy and impact.
Production-wise, this was another very strong installment. The full cast, sound effects, and performances continue to make the world feel immersive without overwhelming the story. The use of actual child actors for Evie and Kos is especially effective, and I really appreciated the emotional range they brought to their scenes. I still feel strongly that Caspia should have had an accent.
Part 2 also leaves us with one heck of a cliffhanger, so naturally I now have approximately 47 more questions than I started with.
But that's okay.
I'll just add another piece of red string to the conspiracy board and wait for Part 3.
Story: ★★★★★
Production: ★★★★★
Spice: ★★★☆☆ (explicit dirty talk and full open door romance scenes)
Advance listener copy provided in exchange for honest feedback. All opinions are my own. Thank you Graphic Audio for the chance to review this book!
After the slow start with Part 1 of Rites of the Starling, I was ready to jump back into Odessa and Caspia’s stories—and Part 2 absolutely delivered. Get out your Conspiracy board and red string, it's gonna be a wild ride.
This installment digs much deeper into the history of the five kingdoms, the Vosters, Lyssa, the Starling/Crux magic, and the monsters of the land. There are secrets everywhere, and seemingly small details keep becoming increasingly important. I spent a ridiculous amount of this audiobook building theories, connecting clues, and mentally adding more and more red string to my conspiracy board.
And I am saying NOTHING about the big reveal.
I will say this: PAY ATTENTION. The clues are there, and when everything finally starts falling into place, it is incredibly satisfying. I may or may not have had a very smug “I KNEW IT!” moment or two. Or twenty.
Beyond the mystery, I really enjoyed the character development in this part. Odessa continues to grow into her own strength, while Ransom’s struggle with Lyssa adds another layer of danger to their relationship. Caspia’s story becomes even more fascinating as she begins uncovering the truth behind the history she thought she knew. The two storylines gradually feel more and more connected, and the way the pieces eventually come together is extremely well done.
There are also some genuinely emotional moments. Evie’s reunion with Zavier absolutely broke my heart in the best possible way. Aly Casey’s performance as Evie is fantastic, and the emotion she brings to that scene makes it surprisingly powerful.
Ransom’s increasingly feral behavior gives several scenes an especially intense edge. Jon Vertullo does an excellent job portraying Ransom’s fear and horror when he realizes just how dangerous he has become.
Hain, voiced by Chingwe Padraig Sullivan, was SUCH an interesting character, and I was very invested in his scenes with Caspia.
And, of course, the action scenes are fantastic in GraphicAudio format. The fights have energy and impact.
Production-wise, this was another very strong installment. The full cast, sound effects, and performances continue to make the world feel immersive without overwhelming the story. The use of actual child actors for Evie and Kos is especially effective, and I really appreciated the emotional range they brought to their scenes. I still feel strongly that Caspia should have had an accent.
Part 2 also leaves us with one heck of a cliffhanger, so naturally I now have approximately 47 more questions than I started with.
But that's okay.
I'll just add another piece of red string to the conspiracy board and wait for Part 3.
Story: ★★★★★
Production: ★★★★★
Spice: ★★★☆☆ (explicit dirty talk and full open door romance scenes)
Advance listener copy provided in exchange for honest feedback. All opinions are my own. Thank you Graphic Audio for the chance to review this book!
September 15, 2026
*Thank you, Graphic Audio. I received an advance review copy for free & I am leaving this review voluntarily of my own opinions*
I am not even sure where to start or how exactly to write this without basically giving away every spoiler. I suppose I'll start with it took me much longer than I like to admit to figure out who Caspia was & what exactly was happening during that entire dual pov.. or at least I thought it was just a dual pov & that the 2 women would eventually intercept each other.. which I was sort of right, but not in the way I thought it would. That's not to say I didn't really love how the 2 different pov's came together because once I understood it, I almost wanted to go back & listen to the beginning of both parts of this book because I finally saw how much information we were actually getting without fully realizing it until the end of this book. I almost wish the ending would've happened earlier in the book because it felt like so much information that we've all been trying to figure out since the very first book Shield of Sparrows was all a sudden thrown on us like a bucket of cold water & then everything ends almost immediately afterwards leaving us with whiplash after such an extremely slower pace to BOOM! reveal after reveal along with other things that happen all so very quickly it's almost like the author forgot she needed to start answering some questions & decided at the very last second jam more information than we've gotten from both the 1st & majority of the 2nd book altogether. I admit that sort of annoyed me, I really felt like it was unfair to dump that much on readers then on purpose leave them sitting there stunned because the book is over & that's a wrap when quite a bit of that information could have been revealed slowly throughout the book so readers could start understanding what they're even reading in the 1st place.
Regardless, as usual Graphic Audio genuinely helped make this book come to life & make it easier to push through all the frustration & confusion so I appreciate all the hard work that went into making not just this book but all 4 installments of this series so far. I'm not entirely sure if I would have been able to read this series in any physical format without getting annoyed or confused or whatever it is that makes me set the book to the side & end up never picking it back up again. In fact I know that's exactly what would've happened if I had tried this series in any format other than Graphic Audio. That being said.. I'll be waiting for the next audiobook because now I just want answers after investing how much time with this series so far lol
I give the story itself 3 stars ⭐⭐⭐
& I give Graphic Audio 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
so for Goodreads I decided to go in the middle for my rating lol
I am not even sure where to start or how exactly to write this without basically giving away every spoiler. I suppose I'll start with it took me much longer than I like to admit to figure out who Caspia was & what exactly was happening during that entire dual pov.. or at least I thought it was just a dual pov & that the 2 women would eventually intercept each other.. which I was sort of right, but not in the way I thought it would. That's not to say I didn't really love how the 2 different pov's came together because once I understood it, I almost wanted to go back & listen to the beginning of both parts of this book because I finally saw how much information we were actually getting without fully realizing it until the end of this book. I almost wish the ending would've happened earlier in the book because it felt like so much information that we've all been trying to figure out since the very first book Shield of Sparrows was all a sudden thrown on us like a bucket of cold water & then everything ends almost immediately afterwards leaving us with whiplash after such an extremely slower pace to BOOM! reveal after reveal along with other things that happen all so very quickly it's almost like the author forgot she needed to start answering some questions & decided at the very last second jam more information than we've gotten from both the 1st & majority of the 2nd book altogether. I admit that sort of annoyed me, I really felt like it was unfair to dump that much on readers then on purpose leave them sitting there stunned because the book is over & that's a wrap when quite a bit of that information could have been revealed slowly throughout the book so readers could start understanding what they're even reading in the 1st place.
Regardless, as usual Graphic Audio genuinely helped make this book come to life & make it easier to push through all the frustration & confusion so I appreciate all the hard work that went into making not just this book but all 4 installments of this series so far. I'm not entirely sure if I would have been able to read this series in any physical format without getting annoyed or confused or whatever it is that makes me set the book to the side & end up never picking it back up again. In fact I know that's exactly what would've happened if I had tried this series in any format other than Graphic Audio. That being said.. I'll be waiting for the next audiobook because now I just want answers after investing how much time with this series so far lol
I give the story itself 3 stars ⭐⭐⭐
& I give Graphic Audio 5 stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
so for Goodreads I decided to go in the middle for my rating lol
September 20, 2026
This sequel leans into that classic middle‑book energy. A good chunk of the story follows the characters on the road, meeting new faces, exploring new locations, and facing dangerous moments that keep the stakes alive. It is interesting, but it also feels like a transition book. I missed the epic fantasy punch of book one.
The dual POV surprised me at first. Caspia’s chapters felt disconnected and I spaced out more than once. But by the end, everything clicked into place and her perspective made complete sense. It added another layer to the world and made the final reveals land with more weight.
The beginning is slow. The back and forth had me drifting, and the info dumping is noticeable. But once I hit the sixty percent mark, the entire story shifted. The pacing tightened, the tension built, and the plot threads started weaving together in a way that felt incredibly satisfying. This is one of those books that becomes more impressive in hindsight.
Odessa’s growth continues to shine. She is still learning, still stumbling, still figuring out how to step into her strength, and watching her push forward with determination is one of the most rewarding parts of the story. Her moments with Evie made me love her even more.
Action, secrets, beasts, betrayal, prophecies, and lingering unfinished business keep the edges sharp. The plot barely moves at first, but once it does, it sets the stage beautifully for the final book. Some of the revelations and expanding lore genuinely made my jaw drop.
The dramatized version for me always brings another element and deeper investment into these books when you can hear the emotion and layers the narrators gift us with. I love how the full cast, cinematic heightens the story.
A slow cooker of a sequel, but if you let it simmer, it rewards you. I am buzzing with anticipation for book three.
The dual POV surprised me at first. Caspia’s chapters felt disconnected and I spaced out more than once. But by the end, everything clicked into place and her perspective made complete sense. It added another layer to the world and made the final reveals land with more weight.
The beginning is slow. The back and forth had me drifting, and the info dumping is noticeable. But once I hit the sixty percent mark, the entire story shifted. The pacing tightened, the tension built, and the plot threads started weaving together in a way that felt incredibly satisfying. This is one of those books that becomes more impressive in hindsight.
Odessa’s growth continues to shine. She is still learning, still stumbling, still figuring out how to step into her strength, and watching her push forward with determination is one of the most rewarding parts of the story. Her moments with Evie made me love her even more.
Action, secrets, beasts, betrayal, prophecies, and lingering unfinished business keep the edges sharp. The plot barely moves at first, but once it does, it sets the stage beautifully for the final book. Some of the revelations and expanding lore genuinely made my jaw drop.
The dramatized version for me always brings another element and deeper investment into these books when you can hear the emotion and layers the narrators gift us with. I love how the full cast, cinematic heightens the story.
A slow cooker of a sequel, but if you let it simmer, it rewards you. I am buzzing with anticipation for book three.
September 22, 2026
Im actually super disappointed in this book. I’ve really lost interest several chapters in. With most of the first book being focused on Odessa leaving her home and uncovering more information about her husband, and then ending the book with the huge Game of Thrones like ending, the second book really slows down and switches perspective every single chapter. It reads so slow and it’s not interesting. The flash back take away from the main character growth of what just happened in the first book while suddenly taking on of what feels like motherhood. It doesn’t read like the original Odessa and I’ve lost all interest.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
enough is enough
September 18, 2026
Destroyed me! 5++ stars!!!
September 20, 2026
4⭐️
Overall: 4⭐️, Performance: 5⭐️, Story: 4⭐️
—Review to be updated
Overall: 4⭐️, Performance: 5⭐️, Story: 4⭐️
—Review to be updated
September 20, 2026
coooool
September 21, 2026
What a cliffhanger
September 22, 2026
Can’t wait until next 1 come out in March
September 22, 2026
This did not get interesting until 40 minutes left in the audiobook then ended without an actual ending.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews