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Starlight
A treaty upholds the peaceful lands of Ersarence— who have suffered from the spilt blood of their humble goddess, Titania, which stains the hands of the ruthless Urenphians.
Julian Rancewood— a small town delivery boy— wishes he could afford to save his dying mother. He never imagined a larger life for himself until he meets Adrina Hesfetter, the village seamstress's daughter.
After striking a deal with the elusive King's advisor and joining the royal army, he finds himself helping to search for a missing, unknown heir. Against all odds, Adrina and Julian soon meet again within the palace walls.
When Julian discovers Adrina’s fire magic— an impossibility among non-royals— they uncover a scandalous secret that will cause whispers of a Urenphian rebellion to travel through the kingdom. A thirst for revenge and a passionate romance causes the two villagers to set the events in motion which will bring down the entire Starlight Kingdom.
A Starlight Chronicles Novella.
Julian Rancewood— a small town delivery boy— wishes he could afford to save his dying mother. He never imagined a larger life for himself until he meets Adrina Hesfetter, the village seamstress's daughter.
After striking a deal with the elusive King's advisor and joining the royal army, he finds himself helping to search for a missing, unknown heir. Against all odds, Adrina and Julian soon meet again within the palace walls.
When Julian discovers Adrina’s fire magic— an impossibility among non-royals— they uncover a scandalous secret that will cause whispers of a Urenphian rebellion to travel through the kingdom. A thirst for revenge and a passionate romance causes the two villagers to set the events in motion which will bring down the entire Starlight Kingdom.
A Starlight Chronicles Novella.
173 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 10, 2019
55 people want to read
About the author
P.S. Malcolm
9 books36 followersP.S.Malcolm (Pagan) grew up in Proserpine, Queensland— a small, Australian country town on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef. She was a storyteller from a young age and spent years perfecting her craft.
For two years, she juggled waitressing in tourist filled coffee shops while undertaking two degrees in Creative Writing online— one specializing in children's fiction and publishing. She has always had an interest in writing, but never saw herself working in the industry until she made the choice to self-publish her debut novel, STUCK ON VACATION WITH RYAN RUPERT. Realizing that she loved the process of publishing her book, she pursued an internship at a publishing house and snagged a spot as Pen Name Publishing's Marketing Assistant Intern.
In between interning and writing, Pagan started her online business Paperback Kingdom and is now a copywriter and coach for ambitious fiction authors like herself— helping them to tell and sell their stories.
Pagan is a cat enthusiast, tea lover, and floral fanatic. She keeps a well-stocked tea collection, and if the 'florals' weren't a dead giveaway, she's a proud Hufflepuff and is crazy about the colour yellow.
Pagan also enjoys reading— particularly fantasy and paranormal. Some of her favourite and most influential authors include Amanda Gernentz Hanson, A.G. Howard, Marissa Meyer and Michele Jaffe.
Her latest and bestselling fantasy novel, LANTERNS IN THE SKY, was published The Parliament House Publishing in 2019. Get instant access the first three chapters for free here: https://bit.ly/2L5AFls
For two years, she juggled waitressing in tourist filled coffee shops while undertaking two degrees in Creative Writing online— one specializing in children's fiction and publishing. She has always had an interest in writing, but never saw herself working in the industry until she made the choice to self-publish her debut novel, STUCK ON VACATION WITH RYAN RUPERT. Realizing that she loved the process of publishing her book, she pursued an internship at a publishing house and snagged a spot as Pen Name Publishing's Marketing Assistant Intern.
In between interning and writing, Pagan started her online business Paperback Kingdom and is now a copywriter and coach for ambitious fiction authors like herself— helping them to tell and sell their stories.
Pagan is a cat enthusiast, tea lover, and floral fanatic. She keeps a well-stocked tea collection, and if the 'florals' weren't a dead giveaway, she's a proud Hufflepuff and is crazy about the colour yellow.
Pagan also enjoys reading— particularly fantasy and paranormal. Some of her favourite and most influential authors include Amanda Gernentz Hanson, A.G. Howard, Marissa Meyer and Michele Jaffe.
Her latest and bestselling fantasy novel, LANTERNS IN THE SKY, was published The Parliament House Publishing in 2019. Get instant access the first three chapters for free here: https://bit.ly/2L5AFls
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 3, 2020
What do a delivery boy, a seamstress, and a princess all have in common?
This isn’t the start of a joke. This is where paths cross in Starlight by P.S. Malcolm. When running his daily errands, Julian meets Adrina, a seamstress’s daughter. It’s a brief encounter, one that might not have meant anything, until their paths cross again in the Starlight Court in preparation for the Princess’s inauguration. This might have been a pure coincidence, if there weren’t secrets underlying the upcoming event that sends both Julian and Adrina’s lives spiraling.
This wonderful novella introduces you to the world of the Starlight Chronicles, and in a few short pages the author’s world building guides sets up a fantasy world stuck at the brink of a tenuous revolt. As a prequel, this book sets up elements for the Starlight chronicles’ first book, Lanterns in the Sky, which I cannot wait to pick up after reading this one!
I had two primary qualms with the book, the first one being a personal taste more than anything else. The story is told from multiple 1st-person points-of-view. While each voice was unique enough, and with the indicators at the top of the chapter I never got confused, I’ve never been a fan of multiple 1st person POVs. But this is purely a personal taste than anything else. The primary qualm I had was the length. Everything in the story happens so fast, and while it didn’t take away from the world building, I felt like it would have benefited being a tiny bit longer to under the characters’ motivations and internal conflict, especially around Julian who seems to switch his opinions pretty regularly.
That being said though, Starlight served as an amazing introduction to the series…and as soon as I finished, I ordered a copy of Lanterns in the Sky!
So if you want a quick read with a love story, magic, betrayal, and secrets…check out Starlight! I definitely recommend it.
This isn’t the start of a joke. This is where paths cross in Starlight by P.S. Malcolm. When running his daily errands, Julian meets Adrina, a seamstress’s daughter. It’s a brief encounter, one that might not have meant anything, until their paths cross again in the Starlight Court in preparation for the Princess’s inauguration. This might have been a pure coincidence, if there weren’t secrets underlying the upcoming event that sends both Julian and Adrina’s lives spiraling.
This wonderful novella introduces you to the world of the Starlight Chronicles, and in a few short pages the author’s world building guides sets up a fantasy world stuck at the brink of a tenuous revolt. As a prequel, this book sets up elements for the Starlight chronicles’ first book, Lanterns in the Sky, which I cannot wait to pick up after reading this one!
I had two primary qualms with the book, the first one being a personal taste more than anything else. The story is told from multiple 1st-person points-of-view. While each voice was unique enough, and with the indicators at the top of the chapter I never got confused, I’ve never been a fan of multiple 1st person POVs. But this is purely a personal taste than anything else. The primary qualm I had was the length. Everything in the story happens so fast, and while it didn’t take away from the world building, I felt like it would have benefited being a tiny bit longer to under the characters’ motivations and internal conflict, especially around Julian who seems to switch his opinions pretty regularly.
That being said though, Starlight served as an amazing introduction to the series…and as soon as I finished, I ordered a copy of Lanterns in the Sky!
So if you want a quick read with a love story, magic, betrayal, and secrets…check out Starlight! I definitely recommend it.
December 10, 2019
This book is your classic “boy meets girl” narrative but it’s so much more. I love a good fantasy novel (novella, in this case) that addresses magic, social class, and justice vs. mercy. There’s quite a few twists and turns here that made this prequel stand out from the others.
Most prequels carry the task of establishing world-building and the rules for magic so when we dive into the series, we’ve already been briefed on what to expect. So the novella is arguably strong on the worldbuilding and secondary on establishing characters. It’s clear that we’ll need to remember a few of them for the series but ultimately it gave us an excellent teaser for what Malcolm has in store later down the road.
Without spoiling anything, there’s a mighty fine twist in the novel that I didn’t see coming and was possibly my favorite part. I can’t give too much away but all I can say that as a feminist reader, I appreciated this unlikely team-up that made the protagonist less predictable and more relatable.
Prequels/novellas are hard to write sometimes. Mainly because prequels involve huge time jumps and characters that might not make it to the actual series. They also tend to have sad endings because the story propels the plot for the series, too. I feel like Starlight did these things but it didn’t make me sad. Instead, it made me more excited for Lanterns in the Sky, which is book 1 of the Starlight Chronicles. I’m ready to see how the themes and characters manifest in a full novel.
Most prequels carry the task of establishing world-building and the rules for magic so when we dive into the series, we’ve already been briefed on what to expect. So the novella is arguably strong on the worldbuilding and secondary on establishing characters. It’s clear that we’ll need to remember a few of them for the series but ultimately it gave us an excellent teaser for what Malcolm has in store later down the road.
Without spoiling anything, there’s a mighty fine twist in the novel that I didn’t see coming and was possibly my favorite part. I can’t give too much away but all I can say that as a feminist reader, I appreciated this unlikely team-up that made the protagonist less predictable and more relatable.
Prequels/novellas are hard to write sometimes. Mainly because prequels involve huge time jumps and characters that might not make it to the actual series. They also tend to have sad endings because the story propels the plot for the series, too. I feel like Starlight did these things but it didn’t make me sad. Instead, it made me more excited for Lanterns in the Sky, which is book 1 of the Starlight Chronicles. I’m ready to see how the themes and characters manifest in a full novel.
January 4, 2020
**Disclaimer: I was given a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review from Xpresso Book Tours.**
Title Starlight (A Starlight Chronicles Novella)
Author P.S. Malcolm
Description
A treaty upholds the peaceful lands of Ersarence— who have suffered from the spilt blood of their humble goddess, Titania, which stains the hands of the ruthless Urenphians.
Julian Rancewood— a small town delivery boy— wishes he could afford to save his dying mother. He never imagined a larger life for himself until he meets Adrina Hesfetter, the village seamstress’s daughter.
After striking a deal with the elusive King’s advisor and joining the royal army, he finds himself helping to search for a missing, unknown heir. Against all odds, Adrina and Julian soon meet again within the palace walls.
When Julian discovers Adrina’s fire magic— an impossibility among non-royals— they uncover a scandalous secret that will cause whispers of a Urenphian rebellion to travel through the kingdom. A thirst for revenge and a passionate romance causes the two villagers to set the events in motion which will bring down the entire Starlight Kingdom.
Release Date December 10, 2019
Initial Thoughts
I signed up for the Blitz for this book thinking that it sounded interesting. I didn’t know that I would receive a copy of the book as part of the process – so that was a very pleasant surprise.
Some Things I Liked
Dual POVs. I liked that the story alternated between Julian and Adrina. Since the story is filled with secrets and mysteries, the first person POVs really perserved the suspense and mystery until just the right moments.
Length. I love a good prequel (or sequel) novella. This shorter length was the perfect sample I needed to know that I want to read more from this series.
One Thing I Wasn’t Crazy About
Some of the decisions made by the main characters were a little “face-palm dumb”. There were some moments where I was like “WHAT, WHY DID YOU DO THAT?”. I was disappointed in some of the choices and it made me like them a little less.
Series Value
I would continue with this series. I was actually just approved for the first full length novel, Lanterns in the Sky, coming out in March 2020, on NetGalley.
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed this book and I’m curious to see where the rest of the series goes. From what I understand, the next book is about different characters, so I’d like to see how it all connects. More to come on suggested reading order, but, as of now, I’m happy I read these chronologically.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Recommendations for Further Reading
Furyborn by Claire Legrand – if you like the idea of lost royals and secrets, give this series by Claire Legrand a try.
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard – if you liked the idea of a lost heir mixed with forbidden magic, try this series.
Caraval by Stephanie Garber – if you like the description of the world in Starlight, try this series, it gave me several similar vibes.
Title Starlight (A Starlight Chronicles Novella)
Author P.S. Malcolm
Description
A treaty upholds the peaceful lands of Ersarence— who have suffered from the spilt blood of their humble goddess, Titania, which stains the hands of the ruthless Urenphians.
Julian Rancewood— a small town delivery boy— wishes he could afford to save his dying mother. He never imagined a larger life for himself until he meets Adrina Hesfetter, the village seamstress’s daughter.
After striking a deal with the elusive King’s advisor and joining the royal army, he finds himself helping to search for a missing, unknown heir. Against all odds, Adrina and Julian soon meet again within the palace walls.
When Julian discovers Adrina’s fire magic— an impossibility among non-royals— they uncover a scandalous secret that will cause whispers of a Urenphian rebellion to travel through the kingdom. A thirst for revenge and a passionate romance causes the two villagers to set the events in motion which will bring down the entire Starlight Kingdom.
Release Date December 10, 2019
Initial Thoughts
I signed up for the Blitz for this book thinking that it sounded interesting. I didn’t know that I would receive a copy of the book as part of the process – so that was a very pleasant surprise.
Some Things I Liked
Dual POVs. I liked that the story alternated between Julian and Adrina. Since the story is filled with secrets and mysteries, the first person POVs really perserved the suspense and mystery until just the right moments.
Length. I love a good prequel (or sequel) novella. This shorter length was the perfect sample I needed to know that I want to read more from this series.
One Thing I Wasn’t Crazy About
Some of the decisions made by the main characters were a little “face-palm dumb”. There were some moments where I was like “WHAT, WHY DID YOU DO THAT?”. I was disappointed in some of the choices and it made me like them a little less.
Series Value
I would continue with this series. I was actually just approved for the first full length novel, Lanterns in the Sky, coming out in March 2020, on NetGalley.
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed this book and I’m curious to see where the rest of the series goes. From what I understand, the next book is about different characters, so I’d like to see how it all connects. More to come on suggested reading order, but, as of now, I’m happy I read these chronologically.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Recommendations for Further Reading
Furyborn by Claire Legrand – if you like the idea of lost royals and secrets, give this series by Claire Legrand a try.
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard – if you liked the idea of a lost heir mixed with forbidden magic, try this series.
Caraval by Stephanie Garber – if you like the description of the world in Starlight, try this series, it gave me several similar vibes.
November 22, 2019
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this novella from The Parliament House Press to review. I've not read any of this author's work previously so I was approaching this with an open mind and no preconceived ideas of what to expect.
I found this book to be easy to read and the story easy to follow. The writing is clear and imaginative with interesting and intriguing characters. Although at times they seemed a little underdeveloped. I did find elements of it basic and it lacked complexity; however, personally I didn't mind this because I like stories which are easy to read because they don't require much thinking just enjoyment. There were twists to the plot which added to the excitement, but were predictable and not entirely unexpected.
So my feelings are a little mixed, but it has piqued my interest to find out what comes next for the future of the world created here.
I found this book to be easy to read and the story easy to follow. The writing is clear and imaginative with interesting and intriguing characters. Although at times they seemed a little underdeveloped. I did find elements of it basic and it lacked complexity; however, personally I didn't mind this because I like stories which are easy to read because they don't require much thinking just enjoyment. There were twists to the plot which added to the excitement, but were predictable and not entirely unexpected.
So my feelings are a little mixed, but it has piqued my interest to find out what comes next for the future of the world created here.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews