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Nightsong Trilogy #2
Crown of Stars
Two women, separated by centuries but bound together by an ancient prophecy, drive the spellbinding sequel to Love is a dark story of obsession, betrayal, and revenge that threatens to destroy everything they love
Whispers of witchcraft have haunted Margaret ever since she was born. A strange, dark-haired and dark-eyed child, she was an outcast in her medieval English village—and then her mother was brutally murdered. When her father remarries, Margaret realizes that she must leave the village for good.
Hundreds of years later, as fall descends on the streets of Manhattan, Katherine Emerson prays her horrific summer is over. She survived a confrontation with a killer, but the price she paid was high. The man she loves has left her. She’s pregnant with his child, but resigned to raising the baby on her own—until he insists on doing “the right thing”, which means taking her with him to London, where he’s about to start a new job.
But starting over doesn’t mean the strange, disturbing encounters shadowing Katherine will stop. As Katherine begins to fall apart, Margaret’s fight to survive on her own reveals she has inherited her mother’s extraordinary gifts—but will she use them for good, or for evil? Can she alone change Katherine’s destiny, and that of her child? And what will happen if she succeeds?
Whispers of witchcraft have haunted Margaret ever since she was born. A strange, dark-haired and dark-eyed child, she was an outcast in her medieval English village—and then her mother was brutally murdered. When her father remarries, Margaret realizes that she must leave the village for good.
Hundreds of years later, as fall descends on the streets of Manhattan, Katherine Emerson prays her horrific summer is over. She survived a confrontation with a killer, but the price she paid was high. The man she loves has left her. She’s pregnant with his child, but resigned to raising the baby on her own—until he insists on doing “the right thing”, which means taking her with him to London, where he’s about to start a new job.
But starting over doesn’t mean the strange, disturbing encounters shadowing Katherine will stop. As Katherine begins to fall apart, Margaret’s fight to survive on her own reveals she has inherited her mother’s extraordinary gifts—but will she use them for good, or for evil? Can she alone change Katherine’s destiny, and that of her child? And what will happen if she succeeds?
448 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 6, 2017
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369 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
June 6, 2017
Well fuck, this is one of the strangest, most chilling series I've ever read!
July 19, 2017
Usually I try to read books in a series (in this case a trilogy) in order. So, when I received Crown of Stars by Sophie Jaff to review; I immediately checked out the first novel Love is Red. That book was so intense and so exciting I couldn’t out it down and as much I like to also say you don’t need to read the books in order, in this case, I think you do.
Crown of Stars starts off a few months after Love is Red ends. Katherine has taken custody of her best friend’s son Lucas and all seems well. Until those two blue lines show up on her pregnancy test. Meanwhile, we are again taken back to medieval England and Margaret. Is she really a witch? Yeppers, she really is.
Between Margaret’s story and that of Katherine and Lucas and Sael (baby daddy) it is somewhat hard to keep track. I was a bit confused several times but pushed on and all became clear.
If you like thrillers, medieval curses, murder and all those lovely things, you will adore Crown of Stars which will draw you in a keep you there until it is finished. Did I mention it is part of a trilogy? I can’t wait!
Crown of Stars starts off a few months after Love is Red ends. Katherine has taken custody of her best friend’s son Lucas and all seems well. Until those two blue lines show up on her pregnancy test. Meanwhile, we are again taken back to medieval England and Margaret. Is she really a witch? Yeppers, she really is.
Between Margaret’s story and that of Katherine and Lucas and Sael (baby daddy) it is somewhat hard to keep track. I was a bit confused several times but pushed on and all became clear.
If you like thrillers, medieval curses, murder and all those lovely things, you will adore Crown of Stars which will draw you in a keep you there until it is finished. Did I mention it is part of a trilogy? I can’t wait!
July 17, 2017
Crown of Stars is just as good as, or even better than, the first volume of Sophie Jaff's trilogy. It's a genre-bender (serial killer thriller? time-travel fantasy? supernatural horror story?), none of which I usually read. But I made an exception for these. They're total page-turners, the two main characters and their very different social milieu are convincingly drawn, and the plotting is tight and sharp - which is especially difficult to do when you're alternating between two parallel and then converging plot-lines hundreds of years apart. From the first page on, Crown of Stars is like getting on a train that steadily picks up speed and never slows down until it reaches its very satisfying cliff-hanger conclusion. Can't wait to see how Jaff pulls all the threads together in the final volume!
June 27, 2017
Crown of Stars is the second book in the Nightsong Trilogy. It can be read as a standalone, which I am thankful for since I have not read the first book. It is a mix of fantasy and psychological thriller and is a true good versus evil story. The plot shifts between Margaret in the 17th century and Katherine in the present.
Margaret is the daughter of a Traveler and has inherited supernatural gifts from her. The community is afraid of her and has shunned her. After her mother’s death, her father remarries and it is soon evident that Margaret will have to leave. She is finally able to secure a position as an alewife in the house of a young, wealthy lord whom she falls for. Tragically, her mother’s killer is now seeking her and she becomes determined to defeat him even at the cost of her own life.
Katherine is living in New York City and trying to raise Lucas whose mother, and her best friend, was killed. To complicate matters she is now pregnant and the father, whom she loves, has abandoned her since the attack that killed her friend. Once he finds out about the child, he decides to bring Katherine and Lucas to London when he moves there for a new job. Katherine is hoping this will be a fresh start for all of them. The change of scenery is not going as Katherine had hoped and strange things are happening. It is as if she is two different people, one good and one bad. Will the good or the evil prevail?
The plot is well thought out and moves along at a good pace. There are enough unanswered questions to keep the reader engaged throughout. In fact, this is what I liked best about the book, the fact that Ms. Jaff was able to handout timely tidbits of information without spoiling the story. The flow of time and the movement between characters was superbly done. I have only one complaint. I never felt connected to Katherine like I did Margaret. Several places in the story I was wanting to know more about her. It is for this reason that my rating is 4.5, though I know I will have to round up.
I received a free copy from the publisher through Library Thing’s Early Reviewer program in exchange for my honest review.
For more reviews, and author interviews, see my blog at www.thespineview.com.
Margaret is the daughter of a Traveler and has inherited supernatural gifts from her. The community is afraid of her and has shunned her. After her mother’s death, her father remarries and it is soon evident that Margaret will have to leave. She is finally able to secure a position as an alewife in the house of a young, wealthy lord whom she falls for. Tragically, her mother’s killer is now seeking her and she becomes determined to defeat him even at the cost of her own life.
Katherine is living in New York City and trying to raise Lucas whose mother, and her best friend, was killed. To complicate matters she is now pregnant and the father, whom she loves, has abandoned her since the attack that killed her friend. Once he finds out about the child, he decides to bring Katherine and Lucas to London when he moves there for a new job. Katherine is hoping this will be a fresh start for all of them. The change of scenery is not going as Katherine had hoped and strange things are happening. It is as if she is two different people, one good and one bad. Will the good or the evil prevail?
The plot is well thought out and moves along at a good pace. There are enough unanswered questions to keep the reader engaged throughout. In fact, this is what I liked best about the book, the fact that Ms. Jaff was able to handout timely tidbits of information without spoiling the story. The flow of time and the movement between characters was superbly done. I have only one complaint. I never felt connected to Katherine like I did Margaret. Several places in the story I was wanting to know more about her. It is for this reason that my rating is 4.5, though I know I will have to round up.
I received a free copy from the publisher through Library Thing’s Early Reviewer program in exchange for my honest review.
For more reviews, and author interviews, see my blog at www.thespineview.com.
June 23, 2017
This was one I couldn't put down. Chilling, suspenseful, full of psychological terror. This fantasy novel is a sequel, but not having read the first book, it was an excellent stand alone story. The tale is woven between seventeenth century Margaret and present day Katherine. Supernatural forces at work, both good and evil gave this a compelling and engrossing plot. Will definitely read the rest of the series. Thanks to Harper-Collins for an advanced readers copy.
March 24, 2020
The "horror" moments of this book were really chilling. I was reading alone and getting quite freaked out! But in general, this was also just okay, like the first book.
All Margaret's chapters felt like a waste of time, because we already knew her story (the big moments, at least) from book one. It just felt like I was re-reading a lot of it. She was also just an awful human being. I thought maybe getting her point of view was a way for us to see how her story had been twisted...but it turns out she was just kind of evil by the end.
The "love story" parts were just annoying, both Margaret's and Katherine's. Aside from us hearing how gorgeous and rich Sael is, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot to him. Still not entirely sure what kind of personality he is supposed to have.
There were a few parts I am not quite sure I even understand.
I don't know. I'm sure I'll read the last book, just because I can't seem to not finish series, but I'm still very underwhelmed by this series.
Also, POOR LUCAS. Poor, sweet kid :(
All Margaret's chapters felt like a waste of time, because we already knew her story (the big moments, at least) from book one. It just felt like I was re-reading a lot of it. She was also just an awful human being. I thought maybe getting her point of view was a way for us to see how her story had been twisted...but it turns out she was just kind of evil by the end.
The "love story" parts were just annoying, both Margaret's and Katherine's. Aside from us hearing how gorgeous and rich Sael is, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot to him. Still not entirely sure what kind of personality he is supposed to have.
There were a few parts I am not quite sure I even understand.
I don't know. I'm sure I'll read the last book, just because I can't seem to not finish series, but I'm still very underwhelmed by this series.
Also, POOR LUCAS. Poor, sweet kid :(
January 6, 2018
I really wanted to like this, but it just didn't work for me. The medieval story line was fell done, but it didn't add that much more depth to what we were told in "Love is Red". And, I felt the contemporary story line veered a little too much into the horror realm without really advancing the mythology in the world-building.
December 16, 2020
Loved both of these books, They will take you back and forth between our world and another one and make you so happy to go on the ride. Never had books take me on such a roller coaster and can't wait to go back. Seriously the best read I've had in a long time!!!!!!
August 24, 2024
Spooky and eerie. I feel like I was left with a lot of questions, and now I'm begging for answers. Next book, please?
July 31, 2018
Crown of Stars continues the story a few months after we left off in Love is Red. While it’s possible to read this one first, there is a lot of backstory that would be missed, so I recommend starting with the first book in this trilogy.
The story alternates between Katherine, in the present, and Margaret, hundreds of years ago in a medieval English village. Katherine is trying to rebuild her life after the horrible events of last summer when she was attacked and her roommate murdered. Her boyfriend has left her and now she discovers she is pregnant. Margaret has just left her village after her father remarried, but she has inherited her mother’s talents, and there are rumors she is a witch.
Like the first novel in the trilogy, this is a blend of genres including elements of horror, fantasy, and the supernatural. The story was well-written and the book difficult to put down. I’m always leary of “middle book syndrome” in a trilogy, but this was a pleasant surprise, as good as the first book with lots of suspense and unexpected twists. And for the few times I became a little confused, answers were revealed as the story progressed. There is a big cliffhanger at the end, so I am anxiously anticipating book three!
The story alternates between Katherine, in the present, and Margaret, hundreds of years ago in a medieval English village. Katherine is trying to rebuild her life after the horrible events of last summer when she was attacked and her roommate murdered. Her boyfriend has left her and now she discovers she is pregnant. Margaret has just left her village after her father remarried, but she has inherited her mother’s talents, and there are rumors she is a witch.
Like the first novel in the trilogy, this is a blend of genres including elements of horror, fantasy, and the supernatural. The story was well-written and the book difficult to put down. I’m always leary of “middle book syndrome” in a trilogy, but this was a pleasant surprise, as good as the first book with lots of suspense and unexpected twists. And for the few times I became a little confused, answers were revealed as the story progressed. There is a big cliffhanger at the end, so I am anxiously anticipating book three!
November 27, 2017
Not as exciting as the first book "Love Is Red". I was confused some of the time but I would still recommend this book for people who read the first book of the trilogy.
March 19, 2018
Wow
Twists, turns, the past and the present in parallel peril. I had a hard time putting the book down, the story’s hold was so strong.
Twists, turns, the past and the present in parallel peril. I had a hard time putting the book down, the story’s hold was so strong.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews