I always love tales about family dynamics, especially sister relationships, so I enjoyed that element of this, but found it hard to connect to much else.

I really enjoyed the descriptive nature of this book and found that it set the scene in a really immersive way which made for a wonderful reading experience

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.

I've been sitting on this book for about a year now, hoping one day I might get back to it, but it doesn't seem very likely, so I decided to write a short feedback here in NetGalley and leave it at that. I'm sorry I wasn't able to enjoy this book despite getting an ARC, but sometimes it happens.

The Light of the Midnight Stars caught my interest because a) hello historical fiction and b) the blurb said it was partly set in middle-age Hungary. Being a Hungarian myself, it's not every day I come across a book published by a big publisher set partly in my country, so I was curious. Interestingly enough, the inclusion of Hungarian phrases was what put me off of it in the first place. Every time I came across the word "nagmama" (the girls' word for grandmother) it took me out of the book because in modern Hungarian it should be "nagymama". Now, I'm not sure what our word for grandmother was in the middle ages, but the language didn't change all that much. Then again, there are regional versions and whatnot and I don't know why the author made the decisions she did. Still. It was something that kept bothering me, and eventually made me stop reading. But I guess I wasn't all that engaged to continue regardless.

The Light of the Midnight Stars has an interesting premise and I was interested to learn more about the Jewish culture and all the folktales, but sometimes you just have to admit if one book is not your cup of tea and move on.

A brilliant second novel that draws on folk lore & lyrical and whimsical prose to create a truly memorable story

I will not be continuing to read this book. The author is affiliated with supporting Israel and has shown extreme racist and prejudiced beliefs.

The Light of the Midnight Stars is a good read, I need to start with that, it’s a well written, intricately woven and powerful story, intelligent and beautiful, however I found it quite heavy going due to the folklore being listed out, it did feel more like a lesson than a story at times . That's not to say they weren't interesting because they were but I don’t think so many were needed. On the whole the story was sweet and moving but I think needed more editing (3.5 stars)

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

Even if it's well written i found it a bit too slow paced and it didn't keep my attention.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

This is the story of Isaac & his family., primarily his three daughters. They are part of a religious group descended from King Solomon who live in peace in a small Hungarian town.
The main problem with this book was my expectations. The blurb does mention gifts of encouraging plants to grow and reading the stars but I was expecting this to be on a fairly minor scale as part of a historical novel. However, although the beginning seemed rooted in some historical basis the book quickly veered off towards the more whimsical before becoming a fairytale. I have nothing against adult fairy tales or fantasy books but I felt this book struggled to really decide what it was.
The characters of Isaac & his daughters are quite well defined in the book. The three girls characters are clearly defined as are their gifts. However, I did find there was less attention given to other characters as the book progressed.
I did finish this book though I didn't enjoy it as much as I had hoped. I felt the book struggled with its identity and consequently the characters and plot suffered.
I received a free copy of this book via Netgalley.

The Light of the Midnight Stars had potential but I found Rossner's storytelling rather boring. It is more about evoking a certain fairy tale atmosphere than presenting readers with fully fleshed characters or a compelling story.

dnf after 100 pages

trigger warning
<spoiler> antisemitism, misogyny </spoiler>

This book follows three jewish sisters in 14th centure common era, in Hungary, who are growing up trained in the magical arts of their people and have to navigate growing up in a world that is very quick to lay blame at their feet.

I am torn about this. On one hand, I want to continue because this is the first ever jewish fantasy book I've had in my hands, and I want this genre to thrive. On the other hand, this book is simply not for me.
It's a characterdriven slow burn, and I need to be in the mood for that, which I am far less in these stressfull times than I'd normally be. What occurs in regards to plot have to do with romantic concerns, which don't interest me. I'm aromantic, and sometimes I can tolerate this plot and sometimes I am so overwhelmed because it's everywhere that I can't.
Since I don't believe my opinion would change, I decided to not read further 300 pages.
But again: This book didn't do anything wrong.

I was promised lesbian romance, but didn't get that far so there are no tags from me for that.

If all this sounds like it might interest you, go for it! It's out now, the cover is beautiful, there are many reviews so you can look if this might be up your alley. And if you think it will, go for it.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

I really struggled with this one. It sounded wildly interesting:
✨ Historical fiction
✨ Jewish folklore (which is very, very rare in books)
✨ Magic

And I should have been hooked, but if I'm being honest with myself, I really didn't want to pick it back up.

This is the story of three sisters: Hannah, Sarah, and Levana. Each with their own magic abilities which leads to someone dinging the witchcraft bell and sending the village into a tizzy. Fleeing from their lives, they need to leave behind everything they know including some of their culture.

Ok so things I found really, really interesting:

⚫ Judaism actually being represented in a book. I am not religious but I love learning about them and let me tell you - you will learn A LOT.

⚫ The characters are insanely well developed and I can see them floating around in my noggin.


However, this was a very heavy book. Trigger warnings everywhere (anti-Semitism, violent deaths, rape & sexism.) and perhaps it was just a little too much for me to handle. I am also one with a simple brain - this book comes at you from three different POVs so I was thrown off very easily and constantly found myself lost.

And lastly, there's a lot to take in. As I mentioned before, learning about Judaism was amazing but it became overwhelming to the point where I had to stop and Google what things meant. It became a bit like homework.

Would I recommend this book to someone with an excellent attention span? Yes, absolutely.
Would I recommend it to someone after Jewish representation in a fantasy book? Of course!
Would I try to read it again? Probably not.

My thanks to Orbit/Little, Brown Book Co and NetGalley for a review copy of this one.

This, like the author’s previous book The Sisters of the Winter Wood combines history, fantasy, Jewish folklore, and fairy tales (the previous book didn’t have a fairy tale but Christina Rossetti’s Gobin Market as its base). In 14th-century Hungary, in the small village of Trnava lives Rabbi Issac with his wife and three daughters, Hannah, Sarah and Levana; also the Rabbi’s old mother. They are Solomonars, descendants of a clan to whom Solomon had handed his secrets. Each of the family possesses certain powers—Rabbi Isaac can change form, his wife has healing powers and knowledge which she is passing on to Hannah who also has a way with making plants grow; Sarah can weave by magic and also can set fire to things, and Levana is absorbed in the stars. The Rabbi and his wife are training each of the girls in certain skills but Sarah in particular feels very dissatisfied and is rebellious for she feels she is not getting the opportunity to do the things she would were she a boy, in particular to study the texts that boys can. The story is told mostly in the narratives of the three girls with folklore and third-person sections tying them together.

The family are leading a relatively peaceful, devout life but a dark mist is creeping across the country and into their lives, something each of the girls can sense but don’t seem to share with anyone else. While their father and his students/disciples seem to be taking steps to keep this at bay, it spreads and ultimately brings tragedy into their lives as not only must they suffer personally, they are blamed for bringing the misfortune upon their village and must flee. In a new village, a safe place, they give up their heritage, their names and their past and start anew. But can they really be safe and finally find happiness or will trouble follow them in their new lives as well?

This was something of a mixed read for me. Starting out with the story, I found it very easy to get into the three sisters narratives, enjoyed their individual voices, and seeing events proceed from each of their perspectives. (Compared to the Sisters of the Winter Wood, where I felt I needed to get my head around some of the plotlines, and reading the basic story of Goblin Market made it easier to follow, in this book I didn’t face that problem). I felt for the family, for all that they lost, and that they had (as many other have) to live in constant fear, constant uncertainty, not knowing when they would have to give up their home, become unwanted again. Of the three girls themselves, I liked Hannah and Levana better than Sarah somehow (though Levana was rather strange compared to the other two). I felt Sarah, though one understands the reasons for her dissatisfaction, has a touch of nastiness, also of selfishness about her. Still all three girls are strong—have to face much, bear much, and give up much, still they carry on and keep trying. One can’t but admire them for that.

I also found I enjoyed the stories and elements of folklore that are interwoven in and between the different narratives. I liked reading those, and also following the lives of each of the three girls.

The issue for me in the book lay in the fact that I felt like the stories of the three girls, the paths they follow and where they end up, didn’t really fell cohesive like part of a single tale—they felt like different stories that could well have been complete in themselves and that were just put together. Also, while Hannah’s and Sarah’s stories involved fantasy elements and a bit of magic, Levana’s felt like it belonged to an entirely different realm than that of the other two even though the author has woven it in with their world.

So this turned out to be a book with many elements I enjoyed but one that didn’t quite seem one story over all. (The cover by the way, is once again absolutely gorgeous).

3.25 stars!

I enjoyed this book in the end but it took a while to get into it. The story of the three sisters was heavily interwoven with stories and tables from Jewish folklore, this made concentrating on the actual story quite difficult. That's not to say they weren't interesting because they were but not sure the book needed so much. On the whole the story was sweet and moving but not for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for a review.

The Light of the Midnight Stars is a subtly-woven and impactful story, shrewdly intelligent and awash with sharp imagery. The narrative hits a number of high notes (and a handful of misses), handling magic, moral lessons and religious mores with mastery and neatly mixing rooted rituals and humble legends with a roundly researched hand. Its bright (if at times a bit confusing) commentary on Jewish convention and the crux of birthrights and its resonant representations of ceremony bring its lionhearted characters to life with lyrical charm, charting Hannah, Levana, and Sarah as they learn to command their capabilities and leanings and battle against the constricting banes of legacy and bigotry with barefaced courage. Above all, it is exceptionally evocative of Eastern Europe in that epoch, entrancing in its authenticity and affecting in the ethereal ambiance it engineers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK/Orbit for kindly passing on this arc! 💫

Now this was a book that I thoroughly enjoyed. It had the fairytale feeling that was promised, there was adventure, love, loss, grief and resilience.
I loved the style of writing it reminded me of a fairytale in the best of ways possible. Flowery without every being truly descriptive or overly descriptive of the feelings of the characters. It had the slightly detached feeling of a fairytale which was absolutely perfect for this tale about three Jewish sisters faced with adversary. I loved how each of the sisters had a distinct and unique voice that matched their characters. The fact that their respective parts were also written in a certain style each that corresponded with the character of the sister was also marvelously done. For example, Sarah was written traditionally, Levana our star loving sister had a more ethereal and poetry infused writing style and Hannah the family scholar was written in diary log form. This was an exceptional touch that just added to my love for the three characters.
The amount of folklore, myths and legends that went into this book was astounding and marvelous. It has opened up a whole new world of stories and histories that I am now dying to explore. The stories and history of the Hungarian based Jews is long and rich, being able to come into contact with even a sliver of this rich history in story format was a true treat. I feel like this was one of those books where after having finished it you are slightly altered, the way in which you look at the world is changed, this was because I was exposed to a stunning part of the world that I had previously never known about.
The story contains a lot of subtle symbols that speak to problems faced by these groups even in modern times. The hatred that people can feel for no reason was very well portrayed and honestly quite hard hitting. The struggles this family faced were immense, but these characters were a testament to the resilience of humanity and the love that one has for your fellow human.
The magical element that was also introduced didn’t hurt one bit. I loved seeing how the author combined the religious practices of the characters with the magic system intertwining the two to create a truly fantastical read. All in all, I found it beautiful, charming and lovely. It has inspired me to pick up her first book The Sisters of the Winter Wood and read up about the Jewish community in the Hungarian provinces during this period in history. It made me smile and made my shed a tear when it seemed like all was lost, but the ending had my heart soaring. Can’t wait to get my hands on any of her other books as well as a physical copy of this beauty , since I was kindly gifted an advanced copy by Orbit and NetGalley to review.

The Light of Midnight Stars blends Jewish folklore with a historical novel told from the point of view of three sisters. I was really looking forward to reading it as this would usually be right up my street. Unfortunately for me it completely missed the mark and I was having to psych myself up to pick it up again which didn’t make for a very enjoyable read.

I found it quite heavy going due to the asides in between the chapters where various stories from folklore were listed out, feeling more like being lectured at rather than reading a novel. Even the formatting of these portions was distracting.

For me this stopped the story developing as it should and the family’s story lost out.

3.75 stars

The story is about 3 sisters, Hannah, Levana and Sarah who were from a devoted Jewish family in 14th century. They were also gifted with special power that influence their fate in life. Fills with folkfore, legends and history together blended with Jewish heritage and Eastern Europe mythology. This is the first time I encounter and read Jewish representation book which also contained LGBTQ rep (bisexual & lesbian love interest). Also included so many triggered warning like sexual violence, anti-semitism, sexism, sexual content, grief,violence and death.

The good point for this book, I would recognize the beautiful and melodic writing style. The story telling here reminds you of fairy tales. Author successfully display the beauty of Jewish culture and religion. The usage of Yiddish & Hebrew makes Jews proud of it. I love how the romance interest got me with the lines.

The negative sides were MCs heavily depicted to wanting a marriage & have sex desperately eventhough they were still minors. I mean like um what? The romance interest actually seems unreal because it's happening too fast and desperate before even investing it deeper. The aspect that I hardly catch up was the language and cultural aspect. I am less likely exposed to Jews and when I read it, I kinda lost. Despite of having glossal at the back, it must at least have an intro because e-books definitely hard to do so. I appreciated for some of it has explaination however some of it not. To educate non-Jewish, I believe author should consider to make easier to read as well despite this is heavily targeting Jewish reader.

***Will be reviewing in Goodreads seperately due to technical errors***

A complex and rich interweaving of history and fiction, layered with Jewish folklore, legends, and magic. Told through the POV of three very different sisters, it is both heartbreaking and hopeful. The lyrical prose emphasises the power of stories and their ability to help make sense of the world. This is a timeless tale that will benefit from multiple readings.

The Light of the Midnight Stars by Rena Rossner is an intriguing and unusual blend of historical fiction and folk tale. Heavily influenced by the author's Jewish heritage and her family history, this book is an ambitious and richly layered offering . Three sisters , each with unusual abilities are living deep in the Hungarian woods. As descendants of King Solomon they and their father are held in high regard by the rest of their community, Hannah the oldest sister has an affinity for nature, able to coax plants to grow even in unfavourable conditions. Middle sister Sarah has an affinity for fire and flame, but struggles with control while youngest sister Levana can see the secrets of the stars. When a strange black mist starts to creep across the land, a shadow falls over not just this family but every Jewish family and when the authorities turn on them they are forced to flee and create a new identity for themselves to hide their faith. Even when they find a home where they feel safe, their troubles are not at an end, and each of the sisters will face their own difficult choices and challenges.
I loved the rich prose the author used to weave the book together , it was beautifully descriptive and had a soothing cadence that really fit with the fairy tale vibe of the book. Like all the best folk and fairy tales there is a healthy helping of darkness and violence, with brutal descriptions of anti Semitic attacks, rape and assault , but there are also some moments filled with beauty, light and hope to act as a counterbalance. As the book is the story of three sisters we are given three different perspectives, and at times it felt a little muddled, particularly the stories of Hannah and Sarah who had similar voices within the book, I really liked the decision to tell Levana's story in a type of free verse, it made her perspective really stand out and fit the character very well. Although the book did feel a little repetitive at times ,especially when the sisters were telling their stories to other characters, I didn't really mind as I liked the way these stories within the story were written.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.