I loved every second of this gorgeous book!! I read the first book, Until The Stars Fall in january as my first read of the year and really enjoyed it so i was super excited to hear that this book was coming out soon! These books can be read as standalones but they are interconnected! I think i loved this book more than the first one! I loved Mathias and his witty quips and snarky comebacks he had, they made me laugh so much.
ALSO Calla being a shadow mommy??? I loved every second of it! This book really depicted grief perfectly and really expressed the emotions you can go through when going through a loss. The trials and competitions were perfect and i found them SO intriguing and fun to read. I was absolutely HOOKED by the first chapter in this stunning book! So so so so good!

Thank you to Vanessa Rasanen, Crab Apple Books and NetGalley for the gifted copy and the opportunity to review this book.

I wasn’t planning to read this after UTSF disappointed me, but I needed to know why Brennan had to die… so here we are. And honestly? This was so much better than book one—I actually really enjoyed it. The trials were foolproof, and I thought I’d hate Matthias since he was basically in the games for spying on Calla, but I ended up feeling the complete opposite.

This was everything UTSF wasn’t. I was absolutely hooked, and I’m so glad I gave it a chance. You know that feeling when you go into a book with zero expectations but end up wanting to give it a glowing review? That’s exactly what happened here. The satisfaction of rating a book 5 stars when you already expected it to be one is great, but rating it 5 stars when you expected it to be a zero? That’s an entirely different kind of win.

This was hilarious,
“You make it sound like they eloped.”

*thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

Once the Skies Fade is everything I hoped for and more! The world feels even richer, the stakes are higher, and the emotions hit even harder. From the very first page, I was completely immersed in the story, unable to put it down.
The relationships—both romantic and otherwise—are beautifully written, making every moment feel meaningful. The world is vivid, the tension is high, and the emotional depth is everything
Vanessa Rasanen’s writing is breathtaking, with a perfect balance of action and romance.

This series has instantly become one of my favs! I was so excited to read about Matthias’s story. I find (interconnected) stand-alones to be so refreshing to long winded fantasy series but that doesn’t mean any less yearning from our mmc. We also have a fierce morally grey shadow fmc. What’s not to love?! Not to mention deadly trials! I personally was sick of trials until I read this book. I will also say that the author does a good job of tackling difficult subjects like the loss of a spouse and grieving. Can’t wait to continue this series and read about what else is in store for the next mcs!

I can definitely say that I will be reading the author’s other series now!

Thank you to Vanessa Rasanen and team for the eARC!