The Heart of the Lost Star

Tales of the High Court #3

by Megan Derr

Kamir is on the verge of losing everything. Knowing full well he can't meet the ultimatum his parents have issued, he instead finally puts in motion his plans to live completely independent of them. His plans are interrupted, however, by the unexpected return of his despised ex-husband—and thrown even further into upheaval when he ends up comforting the man he's secretly loved for years.

Jader may not know where he comes from, but he knows where he belongs and what he wants—until he helps rescue some stranded Bentan travelers, one of whom looks almost exactly like Jader, throwing his life and everything he thought he knew into tumult. Scared and overwhelmed, Jader flees—and lands unexpectedly in the arms of a man he's always seen, but never really noticed.

Genres: Fantasy, Romance, M M Romance, LGBT, Historical, Queer, M M Fantasy

499 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 23, 2017

About the author

Megan is a long time resident of queer romance and keeps herself busy reading and writing it. She is often accused of fluff and nonsense. When she’s not involved in writing, she likes to cook, harass her wife and cats, or watch movies. She loves to hear from readers and can be found all over the internet.

meganderr.com
patreon.com/meganderr
meganderr.blogspot.com
facebook.com/meganaprilderr
meganaderr@gmail.com
@meganaderr

Reviews

[Jilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is this apocalypse making people dumber or what? It's like everyone has lost their damn mind out there. And now.... to make it even more interesting.... we have a situation (at least here in Texas) where everyone is divided into teams - the masked and the unmasked. The masked stay away and are only out there for their necessities. But, the unmasked - they are making a statement - they are out there - breathing on everyone - carting their kids around like it's pageant day. And each team is looking at the other team with barely constrained loathing and contempt. Every time I go to the grocery store I feel like things can go south at any minute. It's like shopping with the Crypts and the Bloods out there.


Oh shit. Hide yo bananas, hide yo oranges...

Things aren't that much better in Fantasy land, where this series takes place. I guess it doesn't matter who you are, or what's going on in life, there is always going to be someone who wants to kill you. And there is a lot of killing and mayhem in this vast kingdom. Every time they get peace with one country or faction, another one takes its place and starts shit with them.



The romance in this one is a kind I have never read before. It's a transgender male and a cis male. It was interesting, and was written very respectfully. I really liked both characters, but the trans guy annoyed me at times when he wouldn't tell other people the problems he was having. I was just wishing he would say something because there were a lot of people who wanted to help and would have stepped in.

The romance was a little slow-burning because the characters were separated through most of the book. They wrote letters, which was fun because they did the letter-writing equivalent to sexting. I cracked up because the idea of putting written proof out there of me dirty talking makes me break out in hives. There is just no way in hell that I could possibly expose the universe to that. The universe hasn't done anything bad enough to me to deserve it.


I'm this level of smooth.

The next book is a polyamorous situation. Not usually my bag, but I'm invested in this series now.

[Vivian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect timing. After spending time traveling, visiting, and not reading for nearly two weeks this book was just what I needed. Derr always manages to create stories that blend adventure, action, and humor that entertain me.

I had been looking forward to Jader's story, and he is everything I hoped. To say that identify with him is a minor understatement. His upbringing reminds me of my childhood, though to be honest, waiting until a year old is extraordinarily late--I was in the ocean at three weeks--so I just rewrote that little bit in my mind because it seemed silly. His room in the palace, his jewelry, and frankly, his inability to understand the stupid choices of mainlanders is something I've spent my life trying to understand after moving stateside.

Kamir is a gentle soul and when I was younger probably would have had a hard time understanding since I grew up feral, rough and tumble. Over the years, I've become very protective of tender souls and that's what Kamir is. He's competent and skilled, but because he doesn't grandstand or demand attention he's negated.

This is sensual and erotic, which Derr doesn't always do. Frankly, I'm Jader here, too. Sex is a beautiful thing and I agree with John Mayer, "your body is wonderland" and it's a terrible waste not to explore it. The characters spend a great deal of time apart, so there is a pining element.

Again, Sarrica is an ass. Allen is his usual awesome self and there's a few new characters that add to the world of the High Court. This is a comfort series and read for me. Is this my favorite in the series? No. Even though I love Jader, there is less action and more talking than my preference. Kamir's situation with his family is a nightmare and I handle things differently--more like Jader.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 stars because I read it straight through and enjoyed it even if it was more placid than I hoped.

~ Copy provided by NetGalley~

[Kit (Metaphors and Moonlight) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

Review:
*I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher. This has not influenced my review.*

This book was so sweet and cute! Just like the others, but maybe even more so. Definitely a comfort kind of read for me.

My favorite thing this time was Kamir. I adored him, and I even related to him in some ways because of some of his struggles and just because of some of his quirks and personality traits. For example, the way he rewrote multiple times the erotic letter he sent is totally something I would do. Not that I have ever sent an erotic letter through the mail, but, if I did, you can bet I'd end up rewriting it multiple times until it was perfect, haha. Or the way he saved the receipt of Jader paying his fine just for the memories---I too have saved strange things like that for the memories. Even the way dyeing his hair pretty colors was the one little pleasure he allowed himself during the tough times is something I can relate to. But I also loved how he kept his head up and kept trying despite all the struggles he had to deal with, despite feeling very alone in dealing with them sometimes. That is what I consider a strong character. And I admired him for his strength.

But even though this book was overall a cute, light read, it still managed to cover some more serious topics, like racism (Jader was an Islander who didn't look like an Islander, so he got some prejudice for that, but Mainlanders looked down on Islanders, so he got prejudice from them too), emotional and physical abuse (Kamir's parents and ex-husband), and what it actually means to be family (both Kamir and Jader had entirely different family-related issues they were dealing with).

I also have to admit that I feel foolish because I hadn’t realized until this book that this society doesn’t assign genders at birth according to body type. Instead, once each child figures out what their gender is, they declare it, and that is that. So by our standards, Kamir, and many other characters in this series, are trans men and women (or non-binary people), but to them, that concept doesn’t even exist. They just are what they are, and their body parts are irrelevant except for the fact that some people can give birth and others cannot (and they have a whole setup for situations in which neither partner can/wants to carry a child). In this world, all sexualities and orientations and genders are accepted by everyone. They also don’t have all the same gender stereotypes we have.

Speaking of which, I would kill to actually see all the outfits the characters in this series wear because they sound so amazingly gorgeous. I mean, I don't even wear jewelry myself, other than some simple piercings in my ears, and it's not something I tend to notice on others, but I think I'm being converted to a jewelry-lover just from reading about all the amazing jewelry the men in this series wear, especially the earrings.

So overall, this was another great book in the series that was maybe a little less funny with a little more heavy stuff but overall just as adorable with sweet characters, sweet friendships, and a sweet romantic relationship!

Recommended For:
Fans of Books 1 and 2 in Megan Derr's Tales of the High Court series. Anyone who likes M/M high fantasy, lovable characters, humor, and sweet books that make you smile.

Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight

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First Thoughts:
So cute and sweet! And I adored Kamir! Full review soon.

[Deeze · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

While I loved being transported back into this land I have to say I had issues with this one.

The writing and world building were as wonderful as always but I'm afraid once I realised Kamir was Trans things never really felt the same. At the risk of offending people this felt more of a het relationship with the amount of weeping and hair styling going on. I also found myself reflecting on Nyle too. I'm not sure if I'm the only one that never once in the first two books had any inkling that these were not Mpreg stories. I'm afraid I just assumed.

I also found myself becoming bored with Jader and his trip. The whole thing felt like a waste of time, I was much more interested in what was going on back at the palace.

While I enjoyed most of the story, I'm afraid this one just never fit me as well as the others.

ETA If I had known at the start of this series it was trans rather than Mpreg I'm not sure I would of started it, I know it shouldn't make a difference but it did, but I'm glad in a way as I have enjoyed this series. In an ideal world this is how it should be, so my complaints are hypocritical I guess.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's said that 'we should start as we mean to go on'...

So that's what I'm going to do. From the first book my reviews have started at the cover and this one is no different. Seriously, these are some of the most beautiful book covers that I've seen in a very long time. While each cover is uniquely beautiful. They are also tied to each other by how their similarities. it's a thing that I tend to notice about book covers and while the book cover isn't a factor when I'm rating a book, when it's as beautiful as these I like to give them the admiration they so richly deserve.

'The Heart of the Lost Star' is once again set in the world of Harken and while we've met both Kamir and Jaden briefly in previous books, mainly 'The Pirates of Fathoms Deep'. Those glimpses were brief and gave us very little information about either of this books MCs. Kamir is the youngest and sadly mistreated son of some minor nobles and in this third book we find out the full extend of how hard Kamir's life has been and how strong Kamir truly is.

Kamir has suffered abuse at the hands of his parents...mostly verbal and emotional, it would seem but that can be every bit as damaging, sometimes even more so than physical and this was compounded by marriage to Theoren, an abusive man who had no problem with adding physical abuse to the mix. But Kamir's strong so incredibly strong and he does what he needs to do to protect his children and to get himself and his children away from Theoren. He's worked hard to make a life for them which unfortunately has also put him back under his parents influence. It's while living in the castle that he first notices and finds himself attracted to High Commander Jader.

Jader grew up an islander his origins lost to him because of a shipwreck that left him on Pearl Island where he was adopted and grew up with a large and loving family and worked his way through the military to become the High Commander of the army, upon Lesto's departure with his husband, Shemal, in the second book.

It's not until Kamir crosses Jader's path in the royal gardens that he truly notices him and their relationship begins only to see duty take Jader away from the capital for weeks. It's while Jader is away that he begins to realize that Kamir has come to mean so much more to him than a dalliance of a night or two.

Megan Derr has once again worked her magic to create the Kingdom of Harken and the people who reside within it's realms creating a story that's intricately woven giving it depth and texture to both capture and hold the reader's attention and once again we are given characters who have depth and personality and are very likable.

Fantasy is my catnip but I have to admit I am one picky soul when it comes to fantasy and I have a very small list of books on my go to list when I want to read a fantasy novel and with this book Megan Derr has ensured this series has a permanent place on that list.

'The Heart of the Lost Star' is a book readers biggest quandary...it's that book that you can't put down and yet at the same time you are praying that it will never end...all the while knowing that 'all good things do come to an end'...that is until the next book is released.

********************
An ARC of 'The Heart of the Lost Star' was graciously provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[♥ Rebecca ♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was great, although it is my least favourite in the series so far. Kamir and Jader were apart for over half the book and spent that time communicating with letters. I was waiting for them to meet again that whole time, but unfortunately they didnt until the very end. That whole time I had trouble getting through the Jader chapters. I didn't care at all about his story in Benta, and I got through his chapters by looking forward to when he would read Kamir's letters.

But I love everything about Kamir. Not that I didn't love Jader himself, but for me Kamir was the highlight of this book. The people who were close to him thought he was wonderful, and how could they not? But it just made no sense to me how so much of the court look down on him. I was much more interested in Kamir's story in Harkenesten, about all the people who were working against him and how he fought for his family and stayed sweet through the whole thing.

I will try to read the next book too, but I am not looking forward to it. I don't enjoy mmf, even though I love mmm, but it just turns my stomach. I think it’s because of my own personal trauma related to female genitalia. I have only read one, Something New, and I DNFed 24/7. But the way this series approaches sexual orientation and gender is so unique, that might make a difference.

And the covers are so gorgeous I am tempted to buy them in paperback. But they are really expensive, $25-30 each. If they were 5-star reads I probably would anyway. But they are 4-4.5 star reads and I really don't have that much money to spare. :(

[thosemeddlingkids · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm continuing on with my epistolary rabbit hole I've gone down! Fantasy romance, trans & cis men, pregnancy and lots of kiddo content in here. (No on page birth though.)

The pacing in this threw me off a bit. The first 50% is the MCs relationship development/fucking/dating casually, then the next 40% they're separated and sending letters back and forth, then the last 10% is a very abrupt ending that was too rushed for me. This was a rare situation where I didn't care for the letter elements either, especially since each lead was keeping vital information from the other. Usually the epistolary elements give some deep intimacy elements, but this was just the letter equivalent of sexting and withholding important discussions (for example, being pregnant and getting injured.)

I do love Derr's world building, and love that there's this "shrug, whatever gender you want to be is cool" element to the society. Each person chooses who they want to be, and it's not dependent on genitals. Love that! I was missing a bit on the romance side, and the plot wasn't the most interesting of the series, but this audio kept my attention which I'll count as a win!


I will say reading reviews for this book has the transphobes coming out of the woodwork. Trans men are men, someone who enjoys jewelry and doing things to their hair doesn't turn this into a hetero relationship. A man with a vulva doesn't make this a "straight romance in disguise." Disappointed but not surprised with some of the top rated reviews being so hamfisted.

[M'rella · Rating 3 out of 5]

- Pairing: transM/M
I wish there was a warning. Nothing wrong with the trans* character, only I was under impression that both MCs are cis-males.
- TransMPreg
- Kids
- No magic
- No real angst
- The story drags and drags and drags
- Lots of tears and hair arranging
- Plenty of useless info on the one hand, yet the story is lacking details on the other. Few times I was sure there were pages missing (maybe they were); the change of scenery and action too abrupt and without a backstory or explanation. Pulls one out of the story, ya know.

2.5 stars, but rounding up.

PS I see someone else tagged this book Transgender. Thank you.

[iam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another perfect and heartwarming book in the wonderful Tales of the High Court series!

Content warnings include: abuse, child marriage, racism, violence, unplanned pregnancy, sex on-page; mentions of shipwreck, death of family members, divorce, intimate partner violence.

The Heart of the Lost Star does not have your typical plot. Similarly to book 1 of the series, The High King's Golden Tongue, the main couple, here Lord Kamir, a young noble on the verge of being disowned, and Jader, High Commander of the Imperial Army, actually spend big part of the book apart after their first encounters and getting closer to each other.

It works very well for the plot and the sweet letters they exchange make up for their lack of face-to-face banter and interaction. Equally helpful is the abundant cast of side characters, most of which are already known from books 1 and 2, though there are also a few new additions (one of which will be a main character in book 4!)
There was one brief appearance of a previously unimportant character that first left me shocked (and a bit scared) and then intrigued - I can't wait to see what will come of that!

Again, the dedication is already emotional and hints at main topics of the book:

To the abused, the overlooked, and everyone who's ever been told they don't belong.

All of it applies to Kamir, who has not only an abusive ex-husband but also abusive parents and frequently has to deal with odds and society stacked against him, but the latter also applies to Jader.

Jader is an Islander, meaning he's from a cluster on islands close to the Harken empire. Early in the series it was already established that Islanders face various forms of oppression and discrimination, and those topics are most prominent in this book. Jader has dealt with racism his entire life, not just because he is an Islander but also because he is adopted - his family found him amongst a shipwreck at the beach when he was a child without memories of where he came from. On top of that, now a bunch of strangers now insist he is the long lost member of their family, demanding he come join them in a culture he has no ties or loyalty to.

Kamir is my favourite character of this series and one of my all time favourites overall. He is incredibly lovely and kind, resilient and strong and just such a delight every scene with him had me melting. He's a bit shy and used to the odds being stacked against him, but he is always determined to prevail and smart enough to give his children the life they deserve. But he also deserves some things for himself, which he slowly gains over the course of the book.

If there is one thing I have to criticize it would be that the ending was too short. I would have loved to read on for a while longer about how they are wrapping up things up in detail, even though technically all has been resolved.

In my review of book 1 I mentioned how much I loved the completely natural inclusion of various sexual and gender expressions in this fantasy world, especially that of trans characters. This book furthermore cemented some of the customs that were hinted at during the other books of the series: In the Empire of Harken children are raised gender neutral - they decide their gender wholly on their own as they grow up, be it male, female, both, neither or fluid.
Kamir is a trans man, though the terms trans and cis do not exist in this setting. His gender or being trans is never made an issue - it's completely normal that some men and women can bear children while others can't, etc.
Marriage and unions between all the genders are normal, and couples who would not be able to get children through intercourse are known to either adopt or have sires or dames (who often are part of the relationship/family too) to help with that.
It's so refreshing to see that in a fantasy world, especially since most authors make a point to make theirs extremely sexist and/or homophobic (and racist or simply lacking any characters of colour at all.) The world of Tales of the High Court features many characters of different skin colours, religions and also believes of how a country is run best).
I appreciate that immensly.

Despite dealing with abuse, this (as well as the whole series) is a very light-hearted, emotional, exciting and feel-good read as both good and bad characters get exactly what they deserve in mostly extremely satisfying ways, and I recommend the book to anyone!

[jessica ☾ · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a completely unexpected turn of events, this is my new favorite installment from the series?? This was also the first couple where I felt that the progression their relationship was very natural and not rushed, which was nice.

[Nambi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't say that I liked The Heart of the Lost Star. I was ok with the first two in the series and was looking forward to this one.

There were several issues I had with it. 

One is the way that Jader behaved when dealing with soldiers who were on trial or facing punishment. I'm not actually sure if they got a proper trial to be honest. Jader mentions talking to victims but there's nothing beyond that. Obviously, this book is fantasy and exists in a completely separate world from our own but this scene was seriously off-putting. At one point someone, I guess it's one of the soldiers awaiting punishment but it was hard to tell with the writing, calls Jader what is assumed to be a sort of racial slur and then Jader punches that person in the face. It was so petty and classless. I understand that Jader is the High Commander and that calling someone a racial slur is unacceptable but the whole interaction felt wrong. It almost felt like a dictator exercising power because he could. Yes, rape and robbing is bad but to respond like that to an insult kind of speaks to anger management issues. In my experience, people don't show loyalty to leaders who punch people in the face because they called them a name.

This book suffers from the "unrealistic-super-evil-villain" problem. You have meek and quiet Kamir who has a truly heinous family who are terrible to him. Then you have his ex-husband who is also very mean to him. Then you have the Court who is full of people who are ALSO very mean to him. These people are so unrealistically evil for really poorly explained reasons. It felt very much like they were mean solely as a plot device. Literally everyone disliked Kamir except for the people integral to the plot. It all felt very forced.

There were some instances of modern day overlap. For example, at one point a character says "motherfucker" which instantly pulled me out of the story. Another instance was Kamir referring to his ex-husband as his "ex". This felt really odd in a book where everyone talks formally "My Lord", "My Lady", "Your Highness" etc. 

There was a lot of inner thoughts going on as well. Way, way too much. Sometimes a character would ask a question and it would take a full page worth of inner thoughts before the other character would respond. To the point where I actually forgot what the previous character had said and had to go back a page and reread. Sometimes there were thoughts that were repeated over and over again. I'd be reading and roll my eyes because Kamir had already had the same thought a few chapters (or even pages!) ago and here he was mentally lamenting about it again.

There were some redeeming parts of the book but honestly they're overshadowed by everything that was not good about this book.

2.5 stars and I don't think I will read the next book in the series.

Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Lulu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story: 9
First MC: 9
Second MC: 8
Secondary characters: 7
Mystery: 3
Sexual tension: 5
Humor: 5
Hotness: 4
Product placement: -
Ridiculousness: 1
Annoying: 1
Audio: 10
To re-read: 10

Love this world, they take for granted anyone's sexuality, women on leading roles.
These two didn't start at dating or courting in this case just a one night stand thing. Even though of them had a crush on the other for a while.

Anyway, so much happened in the book, so many characters and events. It was nice to see characters from previous books and their progress.

bad parents, bad ex, execution, kids, mpeg, flowers, and earnings.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 out of 5

While I am a fan of Megan Derr’s Fantasy romances, this one fell flat for me. The MCs were a hetero cis-male and a non-binary cis-female. Their relationship seemed flat and forced. I also didn’t care for the accidental pregnancy storyline.

In addition, while I have adored Allen and Sirrica in the previous two novels in this series, they were both absolute shits here. Allen’s action were beyond the pale and he didn’t seem very remorseful when it all went south.

(At least the mystery of how “males�� were able to get pregnant was revealed in this book)

Regardless, this series (and most of Megan Derr’s writing) is a guilty pleasure and comfort read for me. Gotta love a happy ending.

eta: I am re-reading this because the fifth book in the series was recently released and refers to events that happened in the earlier books. I don't remember them clearly enough, so I'm reading the earlier novels again as a refresher.

Upon 2nd read through of this, I'd lower my rating to 2.0 out of 5.0. I don't care for the story line and as I noted above, the behavior of characters in this book that I previously liked in the prior books was rather beyond the pale (and seemed inconsistent with how they were previously portrayed).

One benefit of the re-reading of the series, however, is that I now firmly understand the cultural background regarding gender-identity in this world that Megan Derr created. At least with respect to the Harken Empire, children may choose their gender identity (it seems that biological sex isn't assigned at birth, or given little importance if it is). Anyone may choose which pro-nouns they prefer. Gender expression and gender roles do not need to conform with gender identity. The society is very egalitarian regarding gender roles and occupations - no role is closed to either sex. As far as I can determine, people are bisexual or pansexual (probably pan) being attracted to a person rather than a gender. Some people have gender reassignment surgery, but it seems the majority do not but rely on pronouns and clothing to express their preferred gender.

Megan Derr does intimate that some cultures outside of the Harken Empire aren't as tolerant and expect people to confirm to the gender they were assigned at birth. Some of the countries also expect genders (particularly) women to fulfill traditional gender roles.

While the Harken Empire seems primarily to favor monogamous relationships, there is mention of polyamorous relationships and people with multiple lovers. The Southern Island territory practices open relationships and polyamory; families are quite large and children are raised by the village.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another beautiful cover for another beautiful "Tale of the High Court" I love this series. It is absolutely a favorite for me and while reading the stories was delightful, listening to them on audio is equally so. I can't wait for the fourth book to be released on audio because it'll be my excuse to go back to the beginning and listen to them all...all over again.

[La*La · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars.

Best one in this series, yet! I honestly couldn't put the book down. I loved Kamir - he was so strong, faced so many difficulties with stoicism and dignity...and Jader was perfect for him...I wish they spent more time together. An epilogue would sure be nice.

The author elaborated a bit on the worldbuilding in this book - like, the whole mpreg thing (which is not mpreg at all). But, I have many more questions about the way the system works...

[Cleo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not quite sure why I keep reading this series. The world building is shaky and there’s a lot of telling not showing. But I enjoy the characters and the stories are weirdly compelling to me.

I do love that the main culture is completely accepting of transgender people and every type of romantic or sexual pairing between consenting adults.

This story is the first in the series with a trans main character - he bore twins with his horrible ex. There are a lot of tough things touched on - mostly about domestic violence and recovery from abuse. I felt like it was a little shallow.

[Rozarka · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I understand why many reviews say it's the best realized love story of the three I've read so far, it was too long and too slow for my liking (or maybe I just didn't care for the characters enough to enjoy the slow burn).

[sas · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love this so much. Beautiful example of hurt/comfort.

[Susan Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of The Heart of the Lost Star from the author, Megan Derr, in return for an honest review. One of the reasons I enjoy reading Megan’s books so much, starting back with The Lost Gods and Dance with the Devil, is her undaunted inclusion of the full spectrum of gender, sexuality, and relationships. Heart is no exception to this canon. One of the main characters in Heart is Jader, the High Commander of the Imperial Army, who considers himself an Islander, a group not well-respected in the empire. In the native tongue of the Islanders, mother isn’t linked to gender, but to heart. In many respects, this book is Jader’s discovery of what is in his heart. He is accompanied on that journey by Kamir, a minor noble who lives in the Imperial Palace along with Jader and the characters from the previous two books in this series, most of whom make an appearance. In addition to the nuanced advancement of the culture in the Harken world, Heart makes interesting comments on the role of women in politics and public life. And all of this delivered in a thoroughly entertaining high fantasy novel! As I was writing this, I received a paper copy of another of Megan’s stories, since I cannot get enough of her writing. She is one of three must-read authors for me!

[Rachel Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 star read for me. This is the third book in this incredible fantasy series, and although you could probably read this one with no problems, I definitely think that having read the previous two will give you a better understanding of the world building and the characters since we see the other two couples from the previous books in here.

Ahhhh I LOVED Kamir, how strong he was in making sure he lived the life he wanted to live and how strong he was for his kids. I also loved that he was transgender (I had wondered how the mpreg was possible when I first read this series, but now it makes sense) and that is perfectly acceptable. I loved that. And I loved that Jader was fine with it too. I love that Kamir had a crush on Jader, never really thinking that things would work out for him, when Jader thought the same thing about Kamir. Love them!

My only slight "meh" about this book is that Kamir and Jader spent a good chunk of the book in the middle separated, each doing their own thing. I don't want to give any spoilers away, but with what was going on, I do wish that the two had gotten more time together. And I could have used an epilogue or something else to give a bit more closure as well, especially since we didn't even get to read about their child being born at the end of the story.

If you have read the other stories in this series, I'm sure you will love this one! I'm still fairly new to Megan Derr's writing, but she's my favorite fantasy writer, the world building and depth to these stories is simply amazing and wonderful to read about.

Next up is Charlaine and I can't wait for his story! I loved his interaction with Kamir, so I can't wait to read more about him. It will be m/f/m I believe, so something a bit different!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Jackson Garton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alternatively labeled "How Kamir Got His Groove Back"......

Seriously, tho.

Tbh I'm hesitant to label this anything other than purely romance. Yes, it's set in a world that is not our own, but there's very little political strategizing, and there's no war, fighting, etc. All of it is handled behind closed doors. All of it. Truly. There's no magical system or anything like that. Yes, royalty is involved, but they're side characters in this particular story. It's really just a simple story about how Kamir, a sensitive, tender bb falls in love with the cocky and vain, but surprisingly loyal, High Commander Jader. That's really it. As a single father, Kamir faces all kinds of 'normal' obstacles, like an abusive ex-husband who tries to gain custody of their children, asshole parents who try to disown him because of said husband/divorce, and an ocean's worth of self-loathing. Shew, someone throw that boy a lifesaver because he is d r o w n i n g. Then you have Jader, who is by all counts an unobtainable playboy, flitting from one bed to the next, who has never had a relationship with anyone, someone who loves delicate 'pretty things'. Kamir has spent the past few years pining after Jader, not necessarily 'lurking in the shadows', but the High Commander has never really paid any attention to him, because he'd always just assumed Kamir was out of his league due to their social standing: Kamir is a lord and Jader a military official.

So now you see how these knuckleheads are...

Kamir is a strong independent trans man who doesn't need anyone's help, and Jader is someone who needs an anchor. I won't spoil anything, but there's lots of kissing and letter-writing. And lots of crying. Oh, Kamir, my sweet bb.

Everything ends as it should, though.

My second favorite book in this series so far. It's going on my favorites' shelf for sure.

[Kendra Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel a bit like an ass in only given this book 3 stars, because I loved the previous two, and Megan Derr is one of my favorite m/m authors. Writing-style wise, Tales of the High Court is one of her best, at least that I’ve read. I’m all for trans, non-binary, and gender fluid representation. But I guess I just felt a little…misled. Kamir is adorable, don’t get me wrong, and I think it’s great Megan built a world where gender is a non-issue. It’s pretty freeing. But, I was expecting m/m (cis), so I guess I was just a little thrown off. The tags are misleading, since such tags are often used in gay romance, so I didn’t think much of them. Perhaps it just goes with my personal reading preference? Like I said, I feel a bit like an ass here, especially after reading some of the other reviews. I just prefer to read m/m (cis) romance. Then again, in the first two books, I thought the references to men bearing children meant there was going to be mpreg (a subgenre of m/m I’m not too fond of), so this book cleared up a lot on that front lol.

That said, Kamir and Jader were quite likeable, and most of the time, I just wanted to give Kamir a hug. Even though I would have preferred them to be together more, I actually enjoyed the letters they exchanged, and found myself anticipating the next one as much as they were. Thereon and Kamir’s family are truly detestable, and I was so glad they got what was coming to them. Kamir’s handling of it also showed his maturity, and how he deserved so much better than Thereon.
And Jader…what’s not to like?

In spite of what I said in my opening paragraphs, it really was a sweet story, and if you have read the previous two Tales of the High Court books, definitely read this one.

[Whit Valentine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not what I was expecting, and not the same quality as the previous books in the series.

Here's the thing: It's totally fine for Megan Derr to write a romance between a cis man (Jader) and a trans man (Kamir). But I would have appreciated a clarification in the description, because that's not my cup of tea, and I wouldn't have bought the book. Based on the two previous books in this series, that was not what I was expecting to read. And the tags did not make it clear, because the same tags were applied to the other books, and those are both romances between cis men.

As to the story quality, it was a bit of a let-down in comparison to The High King's Golden Tongue, The Pirate of Fathoms Deep, The Engineered Throne (Unbreakable Soldiers 1), and the Painted Crown (Unbreakable Soldiers 2). I loved all of those, and have read them each at least twice.

In this book, Kamir was a bit too pathetic, the romance too slapdash, and Jader too underdeveloped. There were also too many new characters that I didn't really care about, though I DID enjoy peeking into the continued romances of the two previous couples.
Jader's behavior sometimes came as a surprise to me because I didn't feel I had a clear concept of who he was. In contrast, I was never surprised by Kamir's behavior, because much of what Kamir did was cry or almost cry. And almost every description of Kamir included the word "sweet." It just seemed less well put together.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

First let me say that I frigg'n LOVE Kamir and wanted nothing more than to embrace Kamir in a hug. In fact I kind of didn't give a damn about the politics happening with the other country. I only cared about Kamir. That being said I feel like this book kind of mind-fucked me concerning genders. From the first book I thought mpreg was a thing but this book explains there are like 2 genders, your physical and your mental. But your mental gender is like what matters. And guys I thought were guys were actually girls and vise versa. I just felt totally thrown, which was very disconcerting given that this is the THIRD book of the series. I shouldn't feel shaken with the world's dynamics at the third book. That's like first book stuff.
Did I mention I love Kamir? I love characters like that. The kind that suffer with quiet dignity and thinks nobody loves them, but its just their too humble to see the love.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

As much as I love most everything Megan Derr writes, this universe is my favorite.

[Victoria Zagar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every now and then you'll come across a book which will make you feel like the author looked into your soul and created a universe just for you. These books are special treasures and Heart Of The Lost Star is one of those books for me.

I really just want to write KAMIR!!! followed up by a whole row of hearts, but I'll try to sound at least mildly professional for the tone of this review, because you probably want to know if you should give this book your time and money. Which you totally should, right now, without needing this review, but if you're unconvinced, let me list the ways this book made my heart sing:

Kamir: Lord Kamir is a trans man who doesn't feel the need to prove himself to anyone. He's independent from his miserable family. He doesn't take shit from his ex-husband. He bore his own children and raises them as a single father. He wears flowers in his dyed hair. He's pretty and beautiful and still very much a man and I can't express my love of him enough. There just aren't enough characters like Kamir in fiction and I need more dammit.

Jader: He's a child of multiple worlds, constantly caught at an intersection between the culture of his upbringing, the culture he lives in, and another culture that wants to claim him. Despite his inner conflict, his identity never wavers and he treats his adopted Islander family with respect and reverence, proving that environment is far more important than genetics when it comes to having a sense of belonging. I love how he often changes languages in the middle of a sentence - that's such a real thing.

The letters: Kamir and Jader spend a lot of this book apart, but the letters they write to one another are wonderful. They're sweet and sometimes spicy but never saccharine. As someone who was apart from my spouse for a long time, I can totally appreciate how much of a lifeline letters and gifts can be when someone is thousands of miles away.

The romance: Kamir and Jader seem to be the only ones who don't realize that their love affair is going somewhere. It's adorable how oblivious they are, but also great that they don't rely on romance or each other to fix their problems. They don't need each other - they choose one another.

The worldbuilding: Sometimes you just need to step into a world where LGBTQ issues are a non-issue, and this series is like a breath of fresh air in that regard. It's not 100% fluff in that other real-world issues are there (divorce, custody battles, abusive family, financial insecurity, racism) but it's wonderful to have queer characters who are just there, living their lives without constantly having to justify and explain their existence to the people around them or to the reader. The fantasy world they live in is fully fleshed-out, with vastly different cultures mixing and sometimes clashing. This book especially looks into Islander culture and how Mainlanders often look down on their polyamorous and matriarchal traditions, but also how society is growing and changing with Sarrica on the throne to get past those beliefs (also how that's not an instant change, but one that's happening over time and is a process fraught with difficulties and challenges).

The meddling: I love how much Allen, Tara, Rene and even Sarrica interfere, both in good and bad ways. They're protective of Jader but also want to see Kamir escape the nasty situation with his ex-husband. It was entertaining every time they stuck their noses in, making the High Court seem like one big family of squabbling, scheming, but ultimately loving friends.

The Heart of The Lost Star might actually edge out The High King's Golden Tongue for my favorite book in this series, which is saying a lot because I love that book. I think it struck home for me in several ways on a personal level, but that the characterization and world-building is so strong that anyone can come to this book and enjoy it.

I'm also so happy to see trans men who aren't all about masculinity, because gender's this weird messy thing and that's rarely represented well in fiction. Trans people are as diverse as any other group and I'm super happy to see trans men expressing their femme side without having to constantly explain or defend their gender identity to other characters in the book. In addition, I love that the trans characters in this world don't physically transition. It would have been easy for the author to come up with some tea, herb or believable method of transition but she doesn't, and I like that. There just aren't enough books about trans people who can't/don't need/don't want to physically transition, let alone books where despite that, they still make an accepted social transition.

[Luce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from Less Than Three Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is something like 400 pages, but it only took me three days to read. For those three days, I could think of nothing but how long it would be until I could read it again, and if I wasn't at work or sleeping, I was reading this. As soon as I finished, I wanted to read it again. I haven't yet, but I'm about to buy a finished copy so it may still happen!

This is quite possibly the most satisfying book I've ever read. Everything that happened in it had so many layers, and when I got to the end and found out the true reasons for doing what they'd done, it took my breath away. The progression of the relationship between the two main characters was slow and felt authentic, their journey from friends to lovers totally believable and organic, with nothing rushed and every trope handled well. I do love a good romance trope, and this had a LOT of my favourites, but I won't name them because spoilers.

Kamir and Jader were both fantastic characters. Jader's identity crisis, between the only family he'd ever known and the only person he'd ever been and his ""proper"" family and the person he was supposed to be, was extremely well done, and I could feel his internal conflict on every page. I enjoyed that by the end, for the most part, his birth family understood that he was never going to be the person they wanted, and they seemed to be on the way to accepting that.

Kamir...where do I start? He grew up emotionally abused by his parents, and then emotionally and physically abused by his husband, whom he married at sixteen because he thought they were soulmates. They weren't, and despite the fact that he was alone and young and scared, he pulled himself out of that marriage and built a really good life for himself, and then continued to do that with every other bad situation he found himself in. I really admire his strength, and even when it was obvious that he didn't feel very brave, he was SO brave. I was occasionally annoyed that the other characters didn't help him more than they did, but as they kept saying - he seemed like he could handle himself. He can, and did, on many occasions, and if I grow up to be half as strong and brave as him I will be very proud of myself. I love him with my whole heart.

Both Kamir and Jader felt insecurities about their worth in regards to the relationship but they overcame them, and there was SO MUCH COMMUNICATION, and I don't mean that they wrote each other a lot, I mean that they talked about things!!! So many times there was information withheld and a lesser writer would let it spin into unnecessary drama but not here, no sir. One character would be like "I did this thing for this reason" and the other one would be like "OH, I understand." !!!!!!!!!!!!!! So nice.

This one also finally confirmed something that I've been wondering about since HKGT, and that is that all of the male characters who can carry children are trans. I assumed that was the case, but it was never really confirmed in HKGT. In this one we also get a greater understanding of how gender works in Harken, and honestly it was so great. Parents don't gender their children AT ALL until the child is old enough to tell their parents how they identify - this was so normalised that not even Kamir's abusive family misgendered him. Like it never even entered into their heads to do that. A+ work, thank you.

It was fantastic to properly check back in with the squad from the last two books, and to find out where they are in their lives. Sarrica continues to be occasionally completely brainless, but he comes good by the end and I love him anyway. Rene and Tara and Lesto and Shemal are living the lives I hoped they would, and Allen is a complete badass as usual. I'd be lying if I said a small part of me didn't continue this series just to read more about them.

I noticed just now that on the LT3 website this book is listed in the "Gray-A" category, and that's for Jader, I think? But I haven't shelved it that way because it's not...super explicit. When I was reading it was obvious it was a possibility but it could have been made more clear. Maybe I just need to read it again to pick up on it more? Anyway, good to know it's a thing.

Unlike PoFD, I have absolutely no bad things to say about this book. I loved it a lot, it was an instant favourite, and I recommend it to LITERALLY EVERYBODY. You're welcome.

[Nicole Field · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had the honour of reading an uncorrected version of this novel before its release date and, can I say, people are about to be in for one hell of a wonderful story here. By far, this is my stand out favourite of this series so far.

Both Kamir and Jader have appeared in previous books in this series, but this is when they really begin to connect.

If Kamir is slightly annoyingly pessimistic at times, it is almost always off set by his astonishing sweetness. Astonishing because, as we will see, most of his past has been geared to make him sad and bitter. His parents do no favours by him. They want to marry him off for the money and prestige they can see out of it. When he doesn't seem willing to do that, they start towards exiling him from the family.

Even Kamir's ex-husband wants to come in and complicate matters for him, taking his children away from him unless Kamir offers money that he doesn't actually have. I will say, I was very satisfied by the end of that particular plot line.

And, of course, Kamir is trans. The Tales of the High Court series is one in which every individual gets to express whatever gender they are without trouble and one of the things I most liked about this is is that, no matter what deficiencies were laid upon Kamir, none of them had to do with his being trans.

And he was a trans character who had borne children. I can't say how priceless I found that, as well as the sex scenes that managed to de-gender genitals for me completely. So much love for that.

And Jader. I generally felt that Jader's chapters were the stronger ones overall, but maybe that was just because I loved his character so much. He is High Commander and, as such, ends up in some pretty shitty political positions himself. He handles it so graciously every time, while at the same time making it absolutely clear that he very much doesn't appreciate being put into these positions by his friends, the High King and Consort.

I've seen complaints about the fact that these characters were physically separated for a great deal of this book, but the letter writing scenes between them were some of the sweetest scenes I think I've read in any romance.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, a part of the Tales of the High Court series, strongly held my interest and kept me wanting to know what would happen next. Kamir has been bullied by his family and the court for most of his life. After a perceived mistake in his teens, there is nothing he can do to earn respect and approval. One thing he does not regret is his two children who is raising as a single parent. He's lonely, but he has been watching Jader, a man in charge of the entire military after the king, for years, fantasizing about an impossibility.

Jader is busy with his job and content with occasional brief and meaningless dalliances. When Kamir catches his eye, that is what he expects will happen again. When he keeps wanting more with Kamir, he begins to realize that this may be something special. Still, nothing is easy and danger abounds. Kamir has his own problems with his ex-husband and family. This book is the perfect next story in series and it pulled me in to enjoy every page.

[Wax · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely. Just what I love about Megan Derr fantasies. A lonely character who is pining after another. A match that does not seem like it could work, but just does. Another great addition to an already amazing series. Probably my second favorite of the series after the first book The High King's Golden Tongue. I'm just sad that we don't get a dedicated book about Rene and Tara.