Starside, Alex Aster (Review by Skylar Wetzel)

If I could give six stars to Alex Aster’s Starside adult romantasy, I absolutely would! It is by far the best romantasy I’ve read this year, and it perfectly executes the enemies-to-lovers and quest trope that often falls flat. In fact, for a big chunk of the book, I was convinced the MMC, Harlan Raker, hated our FMC, Aris, so much that he was going to let her die multiple times. Sir, what the heck!? But one of my favorite personality traits of Aris is that no matter what, she refuses to stay down and always rises up. Aris is from the mortal non-magic side of the world called Stormside and chooses to go on a quest to the magical side, Starside, that occurs once every 50 years to gain magic. The reason for her adventure, revenge on the Gods, and that is a mission I can get behind in a book.

Aster weaves the book in a way where you’re dropped right into the plot, and you hit the ground running. The world-building and character development happen throughout the book as Aris travels Starside.  I love this style of writing where you get deep moments of understanding a character’s inner workings and then an action-packed scene in a new location that keeps you hooked until the next chapter. I could not put this book down, and it all flows together so well. I had so many aha moments at the end after Aster left numerous of her crumbs along the way. The tension and hatred between Aris and Raker feel so real because of their backstory and the pain of their history. All this put together leads to an explosive ending that’ll leave your jaw on the floor and have you re-reading chapters.

If you love dragons, swords that claim you based on your inner strength, an MMC that’s angry at the world or a mic drop shocking ending, then this is the book for you. It’s absolutely a smorgasbord of all the best romantasy has to offer.