The Truthspoken Heir: The Stars and Green Magics Season One

The Stars and Green Magics #1

by Novae Caelum

Two shapeshifting heirs, one interstellar kingdom. When royals can be anyone else including each other, who will rule?

Arianna can impersonate anyone in her star kingdom, keeping nobles in check as the Truthspoken Heir. But Arianna's shapeshifting powers fail her when she's attacked at her betrothal to a rival prince, her title torn away.

Dressa never wanted to be the Heir, but she has a crush on the beautiful prince, and someone needs to hold the kingdom against plotting nobles.

One sibling cast out, one sister in the fray, and enemies all around. Can they steer their kingdom from the coming storm?

Fans of Ancillary Justice and Winter's Orbit will enjoy The Stars and Green Magics, an ongoing space opera serial with diverse main characters, epic worldbuilding, and strong romantic undertones. The Truthspoken Heir collects episodes 1-36, the complete first season, as well as three extra beginning episodes.

Genres: Fantasy, Queer, Lesbian, Science Fiction, LGBT, Romance, Romantasy

270 pages, Paperback

First published July 26, 2022

About the author

Novae Caelum (he/they/starself) loves royalty, cloak and dagger, and sparkly queer magic, and will unapologetically write things with all three.

Reviews

[Xana Williams · Rating 1 out of 5]

Writer uses AI, dnf

[Kara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm always happy to see space lesbians, and I was pretty entertained by this book. Characterization was very solid for the POV characters, and their perceptions of the other characters were fascinating. Getting to know the cast and watching them interact with each other was absolutely a high point - the author does an excellent job bringing characters to life, making them human, flawed, and sympathetic. I absolutely loved seeing characters who exhibit depth, and even the secondary characters have hints here and there that they're not just shallow stereotypes.

It's harder to address the plot, mostly because at least this specific book (I have not yet read the sequels, although I probably will) very much retains its DNA as a serialized web novel.

The politics and the potential alien threat were, overall, well introduced. The politics drive what plot there is, and the problem of the aliens is introduced with a deft hand at foreshadowing. On the other hand, the way the book is paced didn't work as well for me, and it honestly comes down to the original format of the story. When I read a novel, I'm looking for an overall sense of rising tension throughout the book, and then I expect it come to some kind of culmination or resolution at or near the end. Whether or not that climax ends in a cliffhanger is irrelevant, but I prefer a book to actually have that climax. This book ratchets up the tension in the first few chapters, but then it stays at more or less the same level throughout the book, including at the ending. The Big Act that should have been dramatic AF... wasn't.

The way narrative tension and pacing are handled likely served this story extremely well in its initial incarnation of being consumed in bite-sized pieces over a longer period of time, but it is markedly less appealing to me in this format and is why I have some hesitatitation regarding picking up the sequels.

[Manos (hoarding books)]

Novae Caelum admits the use of Artificial Intelligence while writing and she is AI friendly towards the cover art of her books.
I don't know how to feel exactly.
I read this book out of curiosity, it's obviously not a product of a machine. At least not of the kind which creates the generic speech we are used to get from them.
I am saddened by the fact that people get to use these new "tool". Romanticism is lost in a way.
We can't know the extent of the use she did while writing, but should we condemn this? At least she admits it. Does this make me feel better? Absolutely not.

[Audrey Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel severely mislead. I wanted to like this book so much. It seemed right up my alley. Seemed like a queer romantasy and I was so excited. I am so disappointed.

I found the author on TikTok and after they explained the book, I bought it off their TikTok shop. Yall it was SO EXPENSIVE. SO NOT WORTH IT just for some free stickers and a signature 😭 anyway, they described the book as two shapeshifting sisters- the heir and spare of a kingdom- and something happens that makes the heir sister go away, leaving the spare to shapeshift into the older sister and marry her betrothed.

I expected this book to basically have a quick intro, then go straight into it, where the younger sister immediately takes Arianna’s identity and marries her fiancée. I assumed that Dressa wouldn’t tell Lesander either about her being Dressa instead, so they would fall in love like that and Lesander would find out later.

The real book was nothing like this. I don’t even know how to describe what I just read.

The book was too split. It went from Dressa, to Ari and her servant, to her father and the head Truthspeaker or whatever. Because of this, no one had a real distinguishable personality. They were all blah. Instead of focusing on a few characters to build big personalities, the author focused on too many so none of them were special.

The story was so slow also. It was only like 250 pages, and nothing happened but somehow the pages were filled with nothingness. Literally the first time Dressa and Lesander talked after Ari left was after page 200. THATS TWO HUNDRED PAGES FROM WHAT I THOUGHT WAS THEIR BOOK.

Dressa immediately told Lesander what was going on with Ari and shifting into her also which sucked. I was looking forward to the secret identity trope.

Overall, I felt disconnected from the story the whole book. I forced myself to read it, and wanted to DNF the whole way through. It was so boring and slow I started to skim, hoping I would finally get to Dressa and Lesander, but i didn’t, then I got confused bc I was missing meaningless things. I wished the author only focused on one of the pairs, not three pairs or more.

This was supposed to be the perfect pride month read. So disappointed.

Ps. The word Truthspoken was so over used it could have been a drinking game. USE ANOTHER WORD I MEAN COME ON.

[KJ]

Do not read; AI written book

[Erica · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bought this book (unfortunately) because it was advertised as sapphic enemies to lovers.
1st: to have an enemies to lovers trope, they must be enemies then they must be lovers. very basic, right? Well this book started off with our MC as fully having a crush and wanting to be with her “enemy” and then they very blatantly stated they were “supposed to be enemies” because of their families but they never actually felt it or disliked each other at all. They wanted to be together from the start. And I’d barely classify them as lovers at the end either.
All in all, super disappointing on that trope.

2nd: the writing sucked. I think about 50-60% of the words in this book were “Adieus” and “Truthspoken Heir”. It was insanely annoying reading those words multiple times a page.

3rd: many, many sentences began with “Well, and,” followed by a full stand alone sentence where those two words made absolutely no sense being placed in it at all.

I’d give this book a one star but I don’t want to fully discourage more sapphic enemies to lovers bc that’s my favorite trope. I just want it written well.

[Emily Mackinnon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Its… ehh? If I never have to read “truthspoken hair” or “adeius” again, that will be good.
Theres a lot of wordyness that is just not necessary. And then I discover the author uses AI? Makes sense now. I’m unlikely to finish the series.

[Lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed The Truthspoken Heir, it's a great science fiction book with plenty of intrigue. There are scheming nobles and royals who can change their appearance. I really enjoyed spending time in this world and reading about the various characters and getting to know them. The plot is intriguing and I kept wanting to read more and see how everything would play out. The stakes are high as the fate of the kingdom hangs in the balance as well as high personal stakes. There are twists and turns that I didn't see coming and I was excited to see it all play out.

The story focuses mainly on Adrianna, The Thurthspoken Heir, and her sister Dressa. When Adrianna gets attacked and is no longer able to perform her duties, Dressa has to step up. Truthspoken can look like anyone and she's to impersonate Adrianna. The kingdom is on unstable ground and the king in this case called the Seritarchus who rules it all is trying to keep everything together. Not everything goes according to plan, new plans get created and I loved seeing it all play out. I bought the second book before I even finished this one and can't wait to see how the story continues.

While the story starts with Adrianna and Dressa's point of view, later we get to see more different point of views. I liked getting to know the characters and I liked how every character had their own unique personality and view on the events. It made the whole plot unfolding even more complex, with characters acting a certain way, but then their point of view showed more of what they're really going through. And some characters knowing things the others didn't. It made me appreciate and understand why everyone acted the way they did and I got invested in seeing how they all get through this. There is a hint of romance and I am quite excited to see how it plays out, the set up was interesting with an arranged marriage and when Adrianna falls away Dressa having to take her role as heir and place in the betrothal.

The world building is subtle, but very well done. I liked how each chapter started with a quote from a letter, song or publication from a character. Often these quotes had some relation to the chapter, but I also thought they worked excellent at bringing the world alive and adding some information and point of views the reader wouldn't have otherwise. The political intrigue and political system was interesting to read about and I liked slowly learning more of the world. I thought the shapeshifting was super interesting with how the Truthspoken can change their appearance and personality to become someone else. There also is a bit about green magic, which was interesting as well.

To summarize: The Truthspoken Heir is an exciting science fiction read filled with intrigue. I liked reading about these royals who try to keep scheming royals at bay and influence the fate of the kingdom. There are some great twists and turns I didn't see coming and I loved seeing the story play out. There are chapters from point of views of various character with the focus on the two sisters Adrianna and Dressa. I liked reading about the different characters and I liked how everyone had their own personality and view. The world building is subtle, but really well done and I enjoyed learning more of the world, the magic and truthspoken as the book progressed. I liked the hint of romance and I look forward to seeing how it develops. This book kept my attention from start to finish and I look forward to book 2!

[Mehgan McKenna · Rating 1 out of 5]

That this is written by someone pro-AI is the least shocking turn of events.

Nothing. Happens. There is almost no forward motion in the plot. Not only is it AI drivel, it’s boring AI drivel. Also very few concepts are explained.

(Full disclosure: I borrowed this on Libby. I did not buy it. Thank god.)

[Lauren]

Love the idea of an inclusive universe, but the author admits to using AI to write the book.

[Rowan · Rating 2 out of 5]

EDIT: I just learned that the Author happily boasts using AI for their art and writing. So my review should really just be ignored (even if they claim this series was written pre-AI use)


There's definitely a lot going on from the moment that you open the book. There isn't a lengthy opening that goes into the ins and outs of the universe or expectations of what we will encounter, but instead into the story itself. Personally, I prefer it. I like when you're immediately put into the story and things are introduced as they happen to the characters in a more natural progression of story telling.

This book is definitely setting the stage and creating a base for what I'm sure the series will cover in more depth. There's so many questions and no answers to be found by the end of the book. It's enough so that picking up book 2 will be easy and very unlikely to be disappointing.

[Chrissy · Rating 2 out of 5]

As with other readers, I wanted to like this book but I was very disappointed. It was confusing. I never really understood what a Truthspoker even was and maybe it was explained but I was so bored, I fell asleep every time I tried to read this book. Honestly, I listened to the free audio version from the library and most of the time, the words said made no sense to someone listening. It was AI read and lacked emotion and cadence. I had to look up what was being said. And even then, I was lost. Too many repeated terms that were nonsense. Sadly, I’m not going to continue with this series.

[abi · Rating 4 out of 5]

genuinely really good. a bit of a rushed start, and could probably have benefitted from some more polishing/editing, but loved loved loved the world and how queer it was. i am sooo weak for court politics + space, so this really worked for me! and: lesbian main!

[Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dressa, Arianna, Lesander, Homaj, Rhys. Shapeshifting, deception, normalized queerness in a royal setting complete with betrothals, basically romance-free, coping with family-based traumas.

Also it's unclear to me in what ways the author uses AI (though they claim using it in some ways and have a thoughtful substack exploration of AI use) but it's the first book I've read that has been accused of/written with AI that I'm aware of. I understand that this will become part of our published world, and I'm curious to see how things will play out in marketing ("100% Human-written", "New AI Works") as well as market share. I am saddened by the shift that is occurring, but also feel like it is like many other technologies that have come before and changed how we think and create. This is the time we live in, and this is our technological reality.

[Susan Welch · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a lot I liked about this, there's so much world building packed in here and I'm a sucker for that. I appreciated the creativity in it. I do think there were a few too many POVs and it could have benefited by following only one or two characters/plotlines; there was certainly enough material there to have narrowed the scope a bit. I enjoyed reading it but probably won't pick up the sequel.

[Marie Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a lot more complex than I was expecting and I feel like I was barely introduced to the idea before the book was over. Not much action going on here, but it probably would have been overwhelming trying to remember all the characters if there was a lot going on. Expecting things to pick up in the next book.

[B K · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't normally write reviews, but given all the negative reviews of this book and that the author is a small time, independent author I wanted to throw my hat into the ring.

I found the book advertised to me on Facebook, and I put it on my hold list from my local library. When they finally purchased it, I was excited to get a hold of it. And I was not disappointed, the story ended up being entertaining and I love the society, politics and world building. A sci-fi story with a majority non-binary or LGBTQIA+ characters?! Love it! Also the book (and that author) introduced me to several novel pronouns, which I am interested in learning more about.

I will agree with the reviews saying the book could do with fewer "Adeius..." exclamations in the inner monologues. Overall I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading the second book in the series when my library gets it.

I will end by saying I personally do not have an issue with authors using AI, and it has not become clear to me from any of the reviews by people saying this to what extent AI was used in the writing of this book. I read these reviews prior to reading the book, and I'll admit I was a little concerned. Given the complexities and consistencies of various political/societal factors in the world, I did not find myself reading it and thinking it was AI generated at all. So take that as you will, obviously this will all depend on your personal standards for what appropriate AI usage is for authors.

TL;DR - The story was compelling to me and I'm looking forward to the sequel. If AI was used for the writing, it was not clear to me where.

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was extremely fun to read! I'm so invested in all of these characters and the twists and turns that the story is taking. I love the different perspectives. The prose was easy to read and very descriptive. The court intrigue had me hooked trying to figure out who's on who's side.

All the discussion of change, and knowing your self was very thought provoking. I'm also fascinated by the Green Magic system and can't wait to learn more in future books.

6/10/25 ETA - I have recently found out just how much generative AI that the author uses in star's works. While I understand this book was initially written prior to AI being a thing, it is my understanding that some things have been tweaked with AI after the fact. Star also uses generative AI liberally in Star's more recent works. As much as I enjoyed this first book as well as the premise, I will not be continuing with the series.

I will leave my original rating/review for posterity.

[Rachel Crosby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible, super detailed fantasy universe!

As I read this book felt like I was learning a new very complex language, filled with even more complex concepts.
I love the fact that most of the major characters are women.
I was little puzzled by the fact that conventional words like kingdom and prince were still used. They seemed incongruous next to all the invented language terms.
Also puzzled that a disease could confound the medical science of such an advanced civilization. Certainly, given all the other technology and wisdom implied, the human body wouldn't have any mysteries left.

[Mari S.H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

everybody is gay which is fun but I felt like the author really whacked me over the head with over explaining the lore of this verse. Like the word truthspoken could have been reduced in occurrences by 50-75% and I would’ve still gotten it. Some cool ideas but felt clunky and overdramatic and I don’t think I’ll be reading more personally.

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man, I was excited for this one.... a sci-fi fantasy style book with all sorts of gender and sexuality representation is something I wanted to be able to tell people about. Unfortunately, while the premise was intriguing, I felt like the story was just getting started 3/4 of the way in and pretty much all of the characters lacked the depth I was looking for. The representation I was so excited for ended up feeling washed-out and tokenistic. The "enemies to lovers, sisters in disguise" thing was way less thoroughly developed than I would have liked to have seen, and multiple characters who are supposedly really stubborn/headstrong just... gave up on things multiple times in ways that didn't make sense. The love interest barely shows up, I still have no idea who they really are as a person by the end of the book.

Other issues include the fact that we don't really get an explanation of how this universe works, despite a significant amount of world-building effort. What exactly are Truthspoken, what is a Truthspeaker, what's the history of those titles and why are the titles sooooo similar? Who is this Adeius that keeps getting prayed to when characters are feeling overwhelmed? They seem pretty important and pretty nondescript. The religious system seems integral to the universe here, yet I finished the book barely understanding what the actual day-to-day workings of things, let alone any history. We also don't find out what "bloodservant" actually means until the book is nearly over.

I wanted to love Dressa, because I hated Arianna from the moment I opened the first page. She still annoyed me by the end, but it seems like Dressa is the only one who got real character development. Even then, though, she wasn't challenged in any of the deeper ways that make it interesting to watch a character navigate difficult situations. And Arianna just spends half the book thinking about how tired she is and how upsetting it is that she somehow got sick as a Truthspoken.

I read The Truthspoken Heir for free through the library; I would read the second one to see if it gets any better, but it's not available through the library and I'm not willing to pay for the second book at this point. Giving this 3 stars because it was engaging enough that I read it in two days; unfortunately, being entertaining doesn't negate the lack of quality here.

[Jay Wagemans · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this first book, but it wasn't what I expected it to be. The reason I bought the entire series in one go, was because of the amazing Instagram marketing by the author, like: "When you're falling for your sister's sapphic enemy betrothed." The queer aspect and amazing representation was another big reason I needed these books.

I assumed the story would start out with there already being a secret romantic relationship in place and the story being fairly romantic and light, but that's not the case. This first book is mostly about world building, explaining the magic system and the religious aspect, introducing a large number of characters and INTRIGUE. SO MUCH INTRIGUE.

After this book, I have no idea what some characters want and what they are pretending to want. That's probably kind of the point, but I have a hard time building a connection with characters I don't really know anything about. I also haven't quite grasped the role and powers of Truthspoken yet, but I hope more things will become clear in the next book. I think this story would have worked better for me if it had just been Dressa's and Lesander's point of views maybe (and much more dialogues), since that's what I was hoping for. But, with the multiple POV's there is more mystery and more world building and stuff, so I get the decision. Enough rambling. Time for book two!

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed a lot of things in this book: intriguing world-building and magic system, solid cast of characters, and the sense of potential for a large scale political drama. The LGBTQ rep is a source of endless joy, and I am absolutely invested in Lysander and Dressa’s possible future relationship.

The big downside of this book, for me, is that it reads like one big prologue, essentially taking ~300 pages to move the players into place for the actual storyline…which presumably starts in book 2. Since Truthspoken started out as a serialized story, the slower pacing makes some sense, but I don’t think it translated into a book format as well as it could have.

On the other hand, the end of the book leaves the readers with a LOT of intriguing plot hooks. Can Dressa survive the new political landscape she’s placed herself in? Does Lysander have ulterior motives? What exactly is this place has Ari ended up at, with its weird party vibes and mysterious gardener; a resort for the sick or something else entirely? (And will she seek revenge for what her sister has done?)

Overall, if you’re looking for an epic sci-fi drama and are committed to a long haul, this feels like a good series to start.

[Anna Ferntheil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled into this series by accident and wow, I cannot put the book (or the others in the series) down. Excellently written and compelling characters who get deeper and more complex as the story evolves. Strong female and gender fluids lead characters as an added bonus. This book sets the stage of an intriguing space age of civilization where humans freely travel throughout space.

The story intruduces some Of the key players of the series, Arianna, Dressa, and Rhys and almost immediately the story takes off and nothing is as it seems. The characters must quickly adapt to a changing world.

I love how sexual orientation and gender are prominent, yet not at all the main part of this storyline. That aspect was expertly written into this series. It is fascinating how no one in the story bat's an eye at a characters pronouns or sexual preferences and how freely it is spoken of in the society, however, Develop green magics and face the same bigotry as today's real life LGBT+ community.

[Kris Nightingale · Rating 5 out of 5]

While this story has contained every warning under the sun regarding the fact that characters will be using they/them/their and fae/faer/faerself pronouns, it took a bit to get used to.

I wholeheartedly enjoyed this story and plan to continue the series, though, I admit that it took me a few chapters to really change my mindset in how I perceived the characters from a written perspective. I think most of us are accustomed to reading clear descriptions of character traits and associate them with male/female body types. I kept looking for signs or tells that would help me picture them one way or another, but I realized slowly that it didn't matter. I do hope to find artwork to see how others may have imagined them, if only because I'd love a visual reference.

I hope others try this book for themselves and challenge their perspectives. The plot is captivating in it's own right, while also keeping the importance of self and self image.

Cheers to the author!

[Dahlia Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book because I was looking for something new to read, and I liked that the author was gender-affirming. I am so glad I did. Their writing is beautiful; it is simple but not simplistic, draws you in, and transports you to the world they create. I have had issues understanding the new landscape of gender (being an "old" lesbian with her own back story). The Truthspoken Heir framed it all in ways I could connect with and embrace, giving a much more layered and nuanced understanding than I have been able to glean from the more learned ones around me.

The story arch is FIRE! The setting and worlds created are lush and extravagant in imagery, expanse, and drama. The relationships between characters are well developed, each character unfolding at a pace that invites you to get to know them.

My recommendation: READ THIS BOOK then IMMEDIATELY BUY THE REST OF THE SERIES.

[Yuuto · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.7

I really feel like the summary of this book didn’t quite deliver. It makes the whole “Dressa impersonating her sister and marrying her fiancée” thing sound like the biggest thing that happens in the book. The main focus.

Well, that whole wedding didn’t happen till about 200 pages in. It was barely addressed! Arianna’s betrothed spend most of the book just…not around. Dressa wants to get out of pretending to be her sister and makes a contract where she will be the Truthspoken Heir and Arianna steps down. Heck, Arianna has a good chunk of time in this book, despite being off planet and disguised and supposedly so ill she can’t function.

If you’re looking for a royalty political space opera type book? Then you’d probably enjoy this. I feel like it was packaged as something else, and where it wasn’t bad, it wasn’t quite my cup of tea.

[Eric Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I expected a bit more with this book. I figured a good lesbian romance that went down and dirty... And it's got nothing of the sort. Which is fine, but it is done from a woman's perspective anyway, and that's good enough. What it does feature is good old power plays and the like, and that was well done. It was a bit weird with the heavy use of pronouns, as I don't care for them, nor do I denigrate somebody who uses them either. But in some cases a good he or she would have done better and so on, and the like. Despite this knock, the book does show the interplay of two women who are married to a noble house in the far-flung future of the story. I would say worldbuilding is good, as chapter by chapter you figure out what the world is like in the story, and go along with it. Other than that, it's a decent book, but really didn't knock me out as most people have rated.

[Catie Boudreau · Rating 2 out of 5]

I purchased this book after seeing an ad flip up on Facebook. It looked interesting. But if I’m being honest, I felt that I was misled in what the book actually represented. This was definitely not a sapphic Work. It was mostly non-binary. Which it’s honestly don’t issue, I just believe it should have been represented that way.

The story is mostly narrative. And it just tends to drone on and on. They cut to the point that even though I actually purchased the book, I don’t believe I’ll be able to finish. I definitely won’t finish.

Based on the story itself? I found it boring. I didn’t think there was any substance to it at all. It’s almost like it was written in AI. I don’t know it was, it just feels like it was.

Basically what it comes down to is that I definitely do not recommend this book.