As much as I wanted to read this book when I was first granted access via NetGalley I never managed to get round to reading it. I have now gone back through and read the Synopsis and found that now this book is just not for me and will not be reviewing. I want to thank the publisher for allowing me to have access to the book but due to my tastes changing in reading this book no longer appeals to me.

I read this without picking up book one as i'd heard they could be read standalone. I'm not sure that was the right decision as i found the world very difficult to slip into. I enjoyed reading the story almost from a villain POV in the rebels and I really liked the magic system once I'd gotten through the mega info dump.
I think I would have enjoyed this more if it was longer and better paced in all honesty. i will happily read more from the author.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

As the second book in a duology this book it was so great to dive back into the world of Blood and Thunder as the world felt fantastically developed and beautiful. The pace was great with moments of the book being incredibly thrilling and the magic system was a joy to read about. I often enjoy a dual POV book and this was certainly no exception.

I really enjoyed We Are Bound By Stars.

It's a fast paced, exciting political fantasy, one of my favourite subgenres.

The magic system was interesting, with a lot of the intricacies left unexplained, the book focused on explaining the most relevant areas and this worked really well for me.

The same principle applies to the political factions. It felt like there was a lot going on in the background that wasn't made explicitly clear, particularly the different temples, but this never detracted from the plot and lengthy exposition would have just slowed the book down too much.

The battle for control of Scarossa was instead told with pace and vigour, making for a thrilling ride.

The twists and turns of the plot were expertly done, and the whole thing was full of intrigue and mystery. The threats and peril felt real and deadly and the elements of feminist authority and gay romance were both welcome touches, lightly applied as they were.

We Were Bound By Stars sacrifices extensive lore dumps for a fast paced narrative full of threat and intrigue, and is a great fantasy novel for it.

This book is so unique! It has such an interesting world and magic system and I absolutely loved the characters!

A wonderful fantasy story full of myths and magic and whilst it is a companion novel to We Are Blood and Thunder, can be read as a standalone. A perfect YA fantasy, that fans of the genre will love, its fast paced and engaging and Kesia's writing is beautiful and lyrical with characters you want to root for as you follow them on their journey. I think this would be perfect for fans of Strange the Dreamer or Shadow and Bone.

We Are Bound by Stars is a solid fantasy story, full of myth and magic and masks, which works well as a standalone, taking place in the same world as Kesia Lupo's debut, We Are Blood And Thunder but on a different continent.

It starts off with an info dump of a list of the nine gods and their magics, but that info never really plays a huge part. The story of the masks and the triplets, however...

The story takes place entirely in the city of Scarossa, which seems to be based on Vienna, but never does it feel confined or restricted by this, as it is a big city with a long history and a hidden underworld. Our two main characters, 'Vico' and Beatrice, don't even interact until late in the novel, but there's enough mystery and magic in their disparate storylines that I didn't even mind, and when they finally do meet, all hell has broken loose.

As a YA fantasy, We Are Bound by Stars does the job perfectly, and I know my teen self would have loved this. Furthermore, I read this in just two days, which speaks volumes for the fast-paced plot and writing.

Serving as a companion novel to Lupo's previous novel 'We Are Blood and Thunder', we are introduced to a world plagued by masked assassins on an island controlled by a god of chaos and secrets. On this island are Beatrice, a mask maker, and Livio - the descendant of the islands most powerful family. Together they make an unlikely pair, however they find that their destinies are bond together in ways they never expected as they are both drawn into a plot that could bring down the gods themselves.

I really enjoyed the magic system here, which centres around masks invoking certain powers in the wearer. The world building is also really well done, with rich descriptions of the various gods and lore as well as the wider world. You can tell a lot of thought has gone into describing and building this world and mythology, and the pay off shows. I also enjoyed the two main characters, especially Beatrice. All her life she has been told of one set path that she and her sisters must walk down, however she rides above what is expected of her, choosing her own destiny. I liked her character development, and found that her overall character arc to be well executed. Livio's story is perhaps more secondary to Beatrice's, and is used more as a plot device to introduce the reader to this new island and mythology, however I did enjoy their interactions with Beatrice and thought that the two personalities complimented each other well.

What I will say is that I found the pacing to be a bit all over the place. It's quite slow to start, especially Livio's chapters, before building to a crescendo that doesn't quite pay off. The ending feels rushed and a bit of a let down given how much time it takes to get to it. A more subtle conclusion would have been appreciated. I also found the story itself a little predictable. I'm finding it harder and harder to find YA fantasy that really stands out above the crowd, and unfortunately I don't think this really managed it.

Overall a decent YA fantasy that has a unique magical system and good world building, but lacks any kind of diverse plot to help it stand out. Would recommend to lovers of YA fantasy, or those new to the genre who might not notice the obvious tropes.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this book. I really enjoyed this book. I liked the plot and the characters and the book read really well. I highly recommend this book. I gave it 4 stars.

Thank you to Netgalley, Bloomsbury & Kesia Lupo for my arc of We Are Bound by Stars in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Set in the original fantasy world of We Are Blood and Thunder the new book from Kesia Lupo finds Livio, descendant of the greatest family on a mysterious island in the heart of the wishes. Livio is the first Male descendant in many years, and he doesn't want his fate. But fate has a different idea. Beatrice is one of three mask makers, fated triplets destined to make the magical masks worn by the powerful guards. Together they must save their island and the future of the islands of wishes.

While I didn't enjoy this quite as much as the first book it was still a good read. I liked the characters and the world building was fantastic I love stories that feature masks, they're always something I've found fascinating and beautiful. It was great to see more of the world from We Are Blood and Thunder and the little tie ins were done nicely. My only real criticism is that the pacing was a bit off. 3/4 of the book were a great pace but the ending felt a little rushed with everything happening quickly and I think that could have been stretched out a bit more. Other than that an enjoyable read that could be read as part of the series or as a standalone.

While I didn't enjoy this quite as much as We Are Blood and Thunder I did still like it a lot. Following Livio and Beatrice we got to see two different perspectives and I enjoyed both of them. Livio was adorable though I really wished we had got to see more of his romatic relationship and I felt really sorry for Beatrice all the way through. The plot was well thought out and overall the pacing was good. There were definitely some surprising moments and some sad moments.

I really liked Kesia's first book We are Blood and Thunder, so I had high hope for this one. And it did not disappoint. Set in the same world as the first book, but a whole new set of characters and a different part of the world. It was a really good book.

I really enjoyed this book! Kesia Lupo's writing is so wonderful and magical and I love the characters so much. I found it so easy to fall into the world of this book as the world-building is done so well and in-depth. Bea and Livio were both so interesting and had so much complexity to them that I found it so easy to root for them and follow along their journey easily. The book being told in two perspectives also adds to the fun that I had reading this. Highly recommend to everyone!

Thanks to netgalley for sending me a copy to review!

This threw me off a bit because it features different characters to the first book. But i certainly enjoyed the book even more than the first one. The characters were alright given that I'm not big on YA. I enjoyed the writing style.

I enjoyed the beginning but things started to drag a lot in the middle. There was a bit to much explaining and then re-explaining for me.

The world building was strong though and I'd consider reading more from this author.

Well, did this book surprise me or what!? I read We Are Blood and Thunder earlier on this year, and I really did not like it. If I remember correctly, I did not like either of the main characters and the world-building was lacking for me. So it definitely wasn't looking too good for the sequel.. but thankfully that was not the case!


This time, we follow Beatrice and Livio POV. I really liked both of these characters, especially Beatrice. I really looked forward to her chapters, as I loved getting to know more about her and her sisters, and the relationship that they have with one another. One thing that I struggled with Livio's POV was his already developed romance (a LGTQ+ one). We were thrust into it from the very beginning and I would have liked more of a back story to it, just to really develop the chemistry between the two.


I can't fault either of the characters, they were full of depth and both equally interesting. I hope to see more of them in the future!


The world-building was a lot more fluid this time around and kept my attention, as I wanted to know more! I didn't find the magical system as confusing this time and it was a lot more interesting.


The ending did feel just a tad rush towards the end and I would have liked more of an interaction between Livio & Beatrice.


We Are Bound By Stars felt purely action and mystery which I absolutely adored. I loved how the author used family as a central theme. I only wish this book had been a bit longer!


5 stars!

I really enjoyed Kesia Lupo's first book We Are Blood And Thunder and the world that was introduced in this book so I'm super excited to explore the world again and see what happens in the latest edition to the series!

It took me a minute or two to get my head back into the world because its been a hot minute since I read We are Blood and Thunder, but thankfully there's a a new map for the new island of Scarossa and also a list of the different disciples. I'm glad there was a quick recap of the disciples, the temple/magic system, it was cleverly embedded in the story so it didn't feel out of place (though the map and list of disciples are at the beginning of the book).

The pacing was great, it didn't feel rushed. I enjoyed the world building and I thought the magic system was really unique. I enjoyed the dual POVs, it was interesting to see the different parts of Scarossa, the lives and different responsibilities both characters had and also how Beatrice and Livio's lives intertwined. I enjoyed Bea's relationship with her sisters, as someone with two sisters myself I felt the relationship between the three sisters was portrayed pretty accurately haha. 

I really enjoyed this book, it was a quick, fun read with some cool twists so FOUR stars from me!

I enjoyed this so much, but I did really enjoy we are Blood and Thunder though so I was pretty sure going in I was going to love this too, this is just as an amazing read as the first, think I just clicked a bit more with the first book. Kesia’s writing again is beautiful and stirring, I adore Bea and Livio so much , she writes characters with depth and that you root for and you watch them grow as you journey with them through the story. This book is just everything, magic, intrigue, beautifully written and full of wonder. Highly recommended for those with heart and imagination


Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

This book was very predictable which only made the book ok for me. Even at the halfway point nothing had happened, it was only around the 60% mark that things started to get going and even then it was very choppy and goes from one thing to another, I did like the dual perspectives and that we could see the 2 sides of the story which meant that we got the opinions of both Beatrice and Livio. The big build up was too fast and the ending could have been extended as it was here is the big fight scene and 10 pages later the book was over.