Firstly, what a stunning cover! For someone obsessed with all things celestial, all things swords, and all things fantasy this cover spoke directly to my heart. And I was even more delighted when I started reading and recognised the influence and setting of the Italian epic poem Orlando Furioso. Now for those of you who aren’t familiar, the Orlando Furioso is a very lengthy poem set during the war between Charlemagne’s Christian paladins and the Saracen army that invaded Europe. It follows numerous characters and has a very roaming, if somewhat repetitive, plot. But I studied the poem in school in Italy, and then later at university, and there is something charming about it, so I really enjoyed revisiting some of its characters in this new telling. You absolutely do not need to know the original tale to enjoy The Symmetry of Stars, but I did find it prepared me for the structure of the narrative, which I’ll talk about more in a bit.

I wouldn’t call this a retelling, though. It’s more the author using this classic setting to play around with some very interesting concepts. The first of these concepts is Nurture vs Nature, and this is introduced right away, as the two “gods” who are vying to rule the current age of man are the embodiments of Nurture and Nature, two halves of a whole. One cannot exist without the other, yet they are in constant opposition. When we meet them, they are floating without form in the space between the stars, and as they watch the stars reset for the birth of a new age, they make a wager. Because neither can ever defeat the other directly, they decide to choose a set of souls each, and raise them (or not raise them, as might be the case) according to their embodiment, and at the appointed time the four will meet and the victors will decide which god will rule the age. The entire story is narrated by Nurture, known when they incorporate on earth as ‘Melissa’, a name decided by Nature, who takes the form of a demon-eyed wizard called Atlante.

The second concept that Myers plays around with is gender, which I know is something common to the author’s writing. Nurture and Nature are both genderless, and though they choose binaries when they descend to earth, they never comply entirely to the roles expected on men and women. In the same way, they don’t expect their twins – one boy and one girl in each case – to comply to societal expectations. Because the story is told by Nurture, we spend a lot of time with their twins, Riccardetto and Bradamante, but about 30% of the way through Nurture disincorporates and travels along the flow of time to observe the twins raised by Nature, Ruggiero and Marfisa – or rather, the twins that Nature leaves to their own devises, to roam around an island, mothered only by a wild lioness. In this way, throughout the narrative, we get to see each pair as they grow, and the way they differ as well as the ways they are similar, and watching as their destiny slowly leads them toward each other.

I absolutely loved this book, and it definitely lived up to the expectation I had when I first heard of it, but I do want to give a fair warning: this story does not have a lot of action. It is extremely character focused, with a lot of reflection. The characters who do the action, mainly the sets of twins, are all being observed by Nurture, a non-human character with a much wider perspective, so we don’t see the thoughts and feelings of the human characters firsthand. I enjoyed this because it was reminiscent of the way that the poem Orlando Furioso tends to drop down on one character for a bit before floating above the action, only to narrow down on someone else a while later. I think it was a very clever way for Myers to play with that influence, while still keeping it interesting – especially since the focus in The Symmetry of Stars is only four characters rather than the many one needs to remember in the original story. But yes, just be prepared that this book is not epic fantasy and great battles, but rather a look at what makes us who we are, and an ode to storytelling and how they shape us.

While I can appreciate that "The Symmetry of Stars" is written very well and has an interesting story, it just didn't do it for me. Parts felt a little bit wishy-washy and light, where dark and deep would have better suited me. Maybe this needs me to read it again in a few months, as I'm sure I've missed something in the first read.

My thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own, unbiased, opinion.

Although I did finish this title, I can't say I really enjoyed it. The premise sounded interesting, but the execution was very lightweight. We see the story through the eyes of Nurture as she raises her twins and spys on the progress of Nature's twins. Neither of the twins really caught my interest and were quite cliched in their roles.

"The twins will compete in the three areas of human ability - strong body, strong mind, strong spirit."

Personal rating: 3/⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Two godlings, Nature and Nurture. Both can't live without each other. However, both were set to want to rule the world. With that in mind, they would bet their reign over the world by choosing themselves, each a set of twins for them to compete with one another at a certain age. One set was brought up by Nature, another by Nurture. We would read the book from the perspective of Nurture.

I feel that this was an okay read. Not the best, but not the worst. It was enjoyable but unfortunately not memorable. Best believe by the end of the week, I will forget what happens in this book.

Although the theme was Nature vs Nurture, I was rooting for all four twins. Marfisa and Ruggiero were brought up by Nature, with them calling him a demon. Then we have Ricardetto and Bradamante who were basically royals in some distant kingdom.

That's the thing, there is little to no world-building. All I know was that at one point their lives would intersect with one another and they will battle it out.

Honestly, there is a good premise to this story. However, I do think there were a lot of missed opportunities from world-building, character development, and the in-depth personality of every character.

Would I recommend this to anyone? Not really. As I said, it wasn't memorable as I wished it to be.

Thanks though, Netgalley and HarperCollins UK for providing me with this digital ARC. Deuces

The twin gods, Nature and Nurture, devise a contest to decide which of them shall rule. Each chooses a set of twins and raises them according to their beliefs, preparing them for the ultimate trials of strength, mind, and spirit.

This is a lightly philosophical novel. Our main character, Nurture, spends a lot of time considering the benefits of Nature vs Nurture: in order to nurture, she must follow her nature, ironic considering she opposes her brother in all things. It’s a nice touch, and her musings come at excellent moments in the story, and are rarely dwelt on very long. Sometimes, in fact, I would have appreciated a bit more musing.

It is, however, the human twins, our combatants, who are aptly the stars of the story. Through Nurture’s eyes, we follow all four children as they grow. Their stories are beautifully crafted, their personalities varied just enough to make them all uniquely interesting.

The only thing that really let this book down, for me, was the pacing. Although Nurture is our main character, her role, essentially, is to tell the tales of the twins. When we spend too long with her, therefore, the pacing dips a little; rather than getting to know her, we’re desperate to be off, learning to ride, learning to fight, listening to stories.

I did enjoy this book, but I felt as though some reframing would have really helped push it into something unique and special.

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ✰ ✰

Genre: Fantasy, Historical

Trigger Warnings: Mild sexual harassment, Sexism

Would I recommend this? Yes

Would I read a sequel? No

Duelling in full armour one minute and embroidering flowers into a fine coat the next, this is a story of parallels and opposites, destiny and agency, nature and nurture.

The Symmetry of Stars by Alex Myers follows two sets of twins, each pair the champions of opposing gods vying for control of the world. From the moment the wager is made, we follow the god nurturing her twins for greatness, but with a curiosity that sends her through space and time to check in on the rival pair, the product of her brother’s hands-off approach.

"‘It pleases me. A profound symmetry. A doubling of twins.’"

As with Myers’ The Story of Silence, this thoughtful tale explores the roles of men and women, pushing against expectations, and what it means to belong. The gentle pacing allows us to grow up alongside each champion-in-the-making, knowing their shared time of reckoning looms but also wishing it would never arrive.

"The girl listened in awe; she loved stories for the way they transported her, allowed her to escape the worry of the moment, the heat and the dust and the fatigue. The way they allowed her to imagine that a very different world, one that seemed entirely impossible, might, in fact, be possible."

A story of stories, of the war both within and without, and of dancing with abandon. The Symmetry of Stars is a wonderful tale.

Expected publication: 30 September 2021. Thank you to the author, HarperCollins, and NetGalley for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

THE SYMMETRY OF STARS is another exploration of Nature versus Nurture from Alex Myers, with two godlike creatures moulding twins in their image to see which method is ultimately more powerful. I particularly appreciated the author's exploration of gender and the toxic patriarchal society that perpetuates oppression. A thoughtful read with a philosophical flavour.

3.5 stars
The author of The Story Of Silence is back,with a retelling of the Italian legend of Orlando Furioso—blending magic and myth into a complex tale of fate, duality and the path to self discovery.

Two Gods vie to rule the universe, eternally opposite and constantly in disagreement. One stands for nature—that everything is stamped in the flesh from birth. The other, nuture—the believe that all have potential, that true self can be coaxed out through love and living.

They make a bet. Each immortal picks a set of twins as their champions, whichever set prevails will decide which immortal rules...

In the west, a boy and girl are born to a noble family, raised by a mysterious teacher ready to love and instruct them in everything—despite society’s expectations.

In the east, a woman washes up on an island inhabited only by a sorcerer. With her dying breath she gives birth to twins. The girl and boy are raised with nothing but neglect from the sorcerer,surrounded not with love but with danger, magic and wildness.

The Gods care nothing for human norms, only raising these children for their own gains. Which twins will prevail? and What truly matters in determining who a person will become?

This was a really intriguing premise and the writing was really good but, the pacing was just too slow for me which, unfortunately hindered my enjoyment quite a bit. I did however, really love the theme of duality and opposites what was woven throughout the story and found it really resonated with me—especially in terms of the gender bias that both girl twins (Bradamante and Marfisa) endure.

It’s told from the POV of the God, Nurture,in a very stream of consciousness kinda a way that I wasn’t a huge fan of. I did enjoy reading this but felt a little let down by the pacing,if It’d been a little more concise (and with slightly shorter chapters) I feel it would’ve been perfect.

If you enjoy historical fiction with a slower pace, I’d definitely encourage you to give this a try but unfortunately I just didn’t enjoy as much as I’d hoped.

Also I just wanted to say a huge thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the digital arc.

I was a huge fan of 'The Story of Silence', which came out last year, so when I saw Alex Myers had a new book coming - and another retelling of a medieval tale - I knew I had to read it.
It's, once again, a beautiful and immersive book about nature vs. nurture, but it's in no way a repetition of The Story of Silence. Two godlings, Nature and Nurture, challenge each other to bring up a set of twins and let them battle it out, in order to find out whether nature or nurture triumphs. An interesting premise, and it delivers.

However, I feel like it could have used another round of editing. Nurture's voice is sometimes confusing (we look through her eyes at the humans, and she keeps saying she doesn't know how they feel, but sometimes the feelings of these humans are described anyway), and it could have been more subtle (for example, Nurture watches Nature's set of twins and gets nervous about her chances, and she takes a liking to them. But this gets repeated over and over). So all in all, I would have liked a more nuanced touch to the voice, but I still loved it and can't wait for Alex Myers' next books!

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to read this book.
I thought this book was okay.
I kept on reading as I was curious on what was going to happen which was probably the only thing making me finish it.
Sadly it wasn't really a memorable read.

I didn't like this book. It was boring, I had to force myself to finish it. Basically the plot was about two gods who made a bet who pisses further. They were supposed to raise twins and whose twins will beat another's twins will win and rule universe or something like that. I'm really trying to find something which wasn't boring, but I can't. There were too many descriptions, the whole book has like five chapters which I particularly didn't like because I prefer short chapter. Also I didn't care about characters and who will win. The end was predictable. 2/5 ⭐

Thank you NetGalley for providing digital advanced copy in exchange for honest review.