As Many Souls As Stars is devastatingly beautiful- a gothic tale of magic, feminine rage, and a toxic yet unforgettable sapphic love story that spans centuries. The prose is lyrical and haunting, wrapping you in a world of curses, social politics, and power, where women are forced to make themselves small or risk being destroyed.

The character development is phenomenal. You come to both love and hate them, to understand their flaws as much as their strengths. Their dynamic is toxic and cat-and-mouse, yet achingly human, and the wlw representation is written with refreshing openness.

This is a story for readers who love gothic romance, morally gray characters, tangled love stories, and strong female protagonists. It dives deep into themes of love, obsession, good vs. evil, and the struggle of women in a male-dominated world, all wrapped in prose that feels both devastating and intoxicating.

For me, this was an easy 5-star read.

Absolutely breathtaking. From the very first chapter, I was completely immersed in Siegel’s world — a lush, atmospheric historical setting that feels alive with detail and emotion. The writing is lyrical without tipping into overwrought, and there’s a beautiful balance between plot and character development. The relationships in this book, both romantic and platonic, are deeply human and layered, and the emotional beats land perfectly. It explores love, loss, and resilience with a tenderness that lingers long after the last page. The pacing is confident, the stakes feel real, and I found myself savouring every chapter while still being desperate to see what happened next. Without a doubt one of my favourite reads of the year so far, and one I’ll be pressing into the hands of every historical fiction fan I know.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book. A 4 star rating from me. Loved the plot and the storytelling and relatable, likable characters. Loved every single second reading it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of this s-arc!

I devoured this book in 24 hours, over 3 sittings because I did not want to put it down. When I wasn’t reading it I was thinking about it.

The concept of this book is different and it was excellently executed! I’m so happy I decided to pick it up when I did. Freshly out of a slump and it didn’t disappoint!

The 2 main characters were a force to be reckoned with and I kept wondering how the book would end but I feel like the ending was full circle and a nice way to end the book! I will definitely read more from this author soon!

Adored this book. The historical detail was a finely woven tapestry, the characters interesting and compelling.

The sapphics are always winning, I fear. When I saw the title of this book, I immediately knew it was. Faustian retelling which let me tell you, I was so ecstatic about!! Marlowe’s Faustus is one of my favourite plays of all time and I will eat up any retelling that I come across — and god, when I discovered that this was in fact SAPPHIC?! I felt like I’d bargained my soul to Lucifer to have my ideal book in the palm of my hands.

I don’t really know what to say because I just loved this so much?! You know when a book leaves you speechless in the best way possible ??? How do I describe how this book made me feel ??? The twisty toxic intense dynamic between Harding and Richter left me on the edge of my seat. I adored the writing style too, it was so immersive and picturesque without being overly superfluous. The cover is delightful and I just don’t know what to do with myself now that I’m finished. Yearning as hard as Richter, honestly.

This book completely consumed me. From the very first chapter, the prose feels gothic, lyrical, and haunting so beautiful that I found myself pausing just to reread certain lines. It creates an atmosphere that’s both eerie and enchanting.

Cybil and Miriam are the heart of this story, and their relationship is nothing short of intoxicating. The slow-burn tension, the push and pull between them, the sense of danger and inevitability it’s messy, it’s complicated, but it’s also utterly magnetic. I couldn’t stop reading because I had to know how their story would unfold.

The pacing does start a little slow, but once it settles, you’re swept into a world of curses, obsession, and aching, inevitable love. It’s dark, sapphic, and powerful exactly the kind of gothic romance I adore.

★★★★☆ ½

i enjoyed siegel’s debut SOLOMON’s CROWN and AMSaS had that same lyrical prose and style that brought you to the time period.

this one was quite different than SC. this is toxic yuri.

this is a story of reincarnation and faustian deals, a cursed witch and a being of shadows often called a demon. a game of cat and mouse spanning lifetimes. obsession and desire and hatred all muddled and twined up into a messy but absolute definition of love.

i liked the quality of the writing as well as how the reincarnation plotline carried through. the curse and how it affected the main character(s) in her various lives. it really could only end one of two ways and i thought it was well played. really liked the note the book ended on.

While this was a little slow to get going, I quickly found myself racing through it and the finale was spectacular, delivering a thrilling climax. This is a clever story, with characters that immediately build your sympathy and support, but I felt the last two thirds were much better than the first. It is partially the nature of the story, so I would urge you to stick with it if you are finding the first section a little slow or just a little too mysterious!

Born from darkness, the villain of our story is somewhat demon somewhat shadow, with unknown origins all that can be assumed is that Miriam is a creation born out of the greed of men. Alternatively, our main character is Cybil, a first daughter in her family where the first born of each generation is born as a witch. Cybil has a complex upbringing with tragedys surrounding her, convincing her all bad around her is courtesy of the curse. With no clear way out from the curse is a deal with her personal devil the only solution?

Sapphic enemies to lovers this book takes place over several centuries and across the branches of the family tree Cybil belongs to. Second chances move to make major change in our plot and each incarnation of chances brings a whole new personality and set of circumstances for our duo and the magic surrounding them to work within. This is a book it is vital to go into with knowledge of the trigger warnings due to the violence and losses that take place, with particular events such as suicide being a potential trigger for some. One of my favourite things from this besides the chaos of the story is how despite the setting in certain era's there is breaches of gender norms for the time from Miriam which I loved as it was unapologetically queer in its presentation.

Having requested this following its widespread public hype this did not leave me disappointed, and I will certainly be following Siegel and her adventures in historical fiction, fantasy and romance for a long time to come.

A witch and demon romance with gothic energy, real enemies-to-lovers tension that doesn't let up, dramatic one-liners like “touch her and I eat your soul,” and queer representation? I mean... what’s not to love? Spoiler: nothing. It absolutely delivered.

There’s this moment:
“Have you ever had a dream so beautiful that waking up hurt?”
“Do I feel like a dream to you?”
“You feel like the moment I wake.”
That’s when I knew this story was going to wreck me in the best possible way.

Cybil Harding—what can I even say? From the very beginning, she had my heart. There was something so raw about her loneliness, her hunger for something more, her resentment, her sadness. It all felt real. And then you have the reincarnations—Esther, Rosamund... every version of her brought something new, more defiant, more powerful, more alive. Watching her come into herself across lifetimes made me feel like maybe I could, too. That we’re not stuck. That growth is messy but possible, over and over again.

Then there’s Miriam Richter. The demon. The chaos. The absolute red-flag disaster of a love interest that I would still 100% sprint straight toward, eyes wide open. She’s sharp-edged, unhinged, intense, and emotionally wrecked—and I adored her. What surprised me was her depth. I was expecting nothing but anger and violence, but she ended up being so layered and vulnerable underneath it all. Her evolution was one of the most satisfying arcs I’ve read in a while.

Their relationship? Utter madness in the best way. It destroyed me and healed me at the same time. It was painful, fiery, and tender all at once. I felt everything—rage, grief, elation, and that desperate ache for more. By the time I hit the final page, I wasn’t ready to let them go.

While the book wraps up beautifully on its own, I wouldn’t say no to more. In fact, I’d be first in line if there’s ever a sequel. If you’re into morally grey demons, beautifully broken witches, and love stories that rip you apart just to sew you back together—this one’s for you. I’ll be shouting about it the second it hits shelves.

I really enjoyed both main characters, Harding is strong even given her fate as the cursed child. Miriam is a demon who's encounter with this cursed woman has her enthralled, the realisation that it's not just her soul she wants made this so delicious.

I really enjoyed how their relationship developed, no instalove here. A really gorgeous slow burn that had so much tension I questioned both of their intentions the entire way through.

Their individual personal developments were great to read also, one learning to love and feel while the other learning her independence; it really is a dark, beautiful, poetic story.

The only thing I didn't enjoy was that the pov changed without warning, I prefer if dual pov for them to have a chapter each as it can be jarring to switch in the middle of a scene. There are also some time/scene jumps with no warning, this could be an arc format issue I'm not sure.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury for the opportunity to read early

Not your usual witch story which I was looking forward to reading but which in the end I didn’t enjoy. The author has a talent for words but I was not convinced that those words melded into a gripping story. I wasn’t kept engaged as I had little empathy for the main character, could not believe in the relationship between her and Richter and was irritated by her vacillation from one sentence to the next. Not one for me, unfortunately.

*As Many Souls as Stars* is a tenebrous gothic novel that details the toxic relationship between a mortal witch and a particularly enigmatic immortal being: Miriam Richter. Miriam is a shadowy presence who was brought into this world via a Faustian ritual. At this point, she did not understand her nature, she only knew that she was hungry. Sybil Harding, on the other hand, is a quiet and thoughtful pariah, stemming from a vague curse passed down through her family. This culminates in Sybil being ignored by the people around her and ultimately neglected by her grieving mother and her cold and studious father.

The lonely nature of both women stem from the actions of imperious men. The curse originated from the men of the family who wanted to keep the women meek, quiet and controllable. On the other side of the spectrum, men - in their hubris - summoned a powerful entity into being. This dark ritual birthed Miriam, who, unlike Sybil, did not allow herself to be controlled by men and took their lives as payment for the ritual.

After the two women meet, Miriam demonstrates her darkness while Sybil illuminates the other woman on what it means to be a human: her light. This causes both women to grow in character: Miriam learns about the nature of humanity and what it means to love and be loved; while Sybil learns how to be assertive and wilful.

Their relationship blossoms from uncertainty and curiosity to hunger and desire and blooms into a fierceness that transcends one mortal lifetime. I'm not usually a fan of dark romance, but the dynamic between Richter and Harding is addictive and compelling. They are both powerful women in their own right, but Harding refuses to take what she wants and needs; whilst Richter perhaps takes too much.

Siegel writes the relationship beautifully and with such nuance despite its toxic and consuming nature, leaving you hungry for more. I see Richter and Harding's relationship akin to the new compelling new magic system that Siegel has created: souls (and pieces thereof) are consumed by shadows who do the bidding of the person who fed them. It reflects the nature of relationships themselves: a constant stream of giving and taking.

Futhermore, Siegel writes gorgeous prose that envelops you in a haunting, gothic world of magic, feminine rage, social politics and power, culminating in a beautiful ending imbued with vibrant imagery. This novel will be etched into my heart forever.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A delightful gothic romance. The main characters had a true darkness to them and I enjoyed how they changed throughout the story. I couldn't predict how the ending would go, and it managed to leave me satisfied both in how the curse was fulfilled and how the relationship culminated. Yay sapphics!

A story of a witch and an immortal demon who make a bargain and are then drawn into a cat and mouse chase across multiple lifetimes.

1592 Cybil is the first daughter of the Harding family - a witch and cursed. Her father makes a pact with Miriam Richter who then haunts the family - she wants her soul in exchange for reincarnation. Miriam then seeks Cybil across the centuries in her various reincarnations. We witness two becoming enemies, friends and lovers over this time until the curse is eventually broken.

Different, interesting and a good read.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC.

“When all else is ashes, my dear, yours may be the only face that I remember.”

This standalone historical fantasy was like some kind of gothic fever dream - dark, lush, and completely intoxicating.

Due out November 2025, ‘As Many Souls As Stars’ by Natasha Siegel follows the volatile and obsessive soul-bound connection between Miriam and Cybil. I COULD NOT get enough of them.

Miriam is an ancient and powerful shadow demon, who survives by devouring the souls of mortals. Cybil is a reclusive witch, burdened by a curse that brings ruin to anyone who dares to love her.

A desperate Faustian bargain binds them together, setting off a cat-and-mouse game that spans multiple lifetimes and defies death itself. You can expect:

🖤 Morally grey shadow demon - think Maleficent if she was a possessive, shadow-wielding stalker. Miriam is obsessive, relentless, and won’t let anything get in her way.

🏰Immersive historical settings - from the 16th-century witch trials, through early 1800s high society (think supernatural Bridgerton), and into the decadence of the early 1900s, each era is vivid, atmospheric, and horrifying in equal measure.

❤️‍🔥A twisted romance - their bond is a dark twist on the “I’ll find you in every lifetime” trope, where love, fear, obsession, desire and betrayal tangle right until the very end.

If you’re looking for a unique, luscious, gothic fantasy with touches of horror, this one’s for you.

As someone who has really enjoyed Siegel's first two works, I honestly believed I would absolutely adore this one. Turns out, I'm not really one to enjoy toxic yuri all that much.

But, as always, Siegel's writing is gorgeous and luscious. I've previously only consumed Siegel's books in audiobook format, but the author's style still stands out well on its own without narration. There was more of a gothic flare to the writing here specifically, because of the Faustian nature of the story, which only exemplifies the sheer amount of angst drenched in this story.

The main characters, Miriam and Cybil (And reincarnations), didn't intrigue me like her previous leads. I rarely enjoy love/hate romances as is, but I had faith in Siegel to win me over with this couple, at least. And she did for the first two lives, as the contrast between Miriam's relationship to Cybil compared to Esther, the second life, to be very interesting. Then the third half felt really dragged out, and I wasn't much invested in it til the last chapter. Also, Cybil's feelings on Miriam went back and forth a lot, so much so it felt very inconsistent and contradictory. Maybe that's the appeal of a love/hate, toxic romance relationship, but, as I said, I just wasn't into it.

Overall, even with the beautiful prose, I couldn't get behind the central romance. I definitely plan to keep following Siegel's career; I can only hope I will enjoy whatever she publishes next.

Natasha Seigel’s lush and transportive writing skills are on full display in ‘As Many Souls as Stars’! This novel itself is hauntingly beautiful and transported me, the reader, through time with astonishing ease. Seigel’s descriptive prose is nothing short of lush: every scene is rich with gothic atmosphere, and every emotion deeply felt. Her ability to evoke the tone of each era we are transported to is masterful, and as a reader I became immersed in historical settings steeped in gothic allure, that felt truly tangible. Praise must be given to Seigel and her very apparent research into each era within this book!

That being said, the heart of this novel lies in its two central women, whose emotional complexity and depth anchor the sweeping narrative. Their journeys are as layered as the world around them, and Siegel paints them with sensitivity and nuance.

Despite this, I must admit I struggled to connect with Miriam Ritcher. Despite understanding her motivations and appreciating her role in the story, I found her character difficult to like—even by the novel’s end. Yet, that in itself is a testament to Siegel’s talent: she doesn’t write caricatures or archetypes, but fully realized, flawed characters that echo the gothic setting around them.

Natasha Siegel has created a story that lingers, both for its atmosphere and its emotional weight. ‘As Many Souls as Stars’ is a beautifully written novel that questions the meaning of legacy, love, and what we owe to ourselves amidst it all!

Unfortunately, I like my characters a little less toxic and my love stories with a little more actual love. A fabulous idea, but I felt that this was very much a novel of broad strokes and very limited detail. I'm a sucker for interesting and intriguing secondary characters but none in this novel were fleshed out to any degree and all were merely props in the main story. I really wanted to like this book, the premise intrigued me and the prologue drew me in but soon I got very annoyed with the story as I was expected to believe that a centuries old 'demon' would get a case of instalove for a inexperienced teenage girl. I wanted to be swept away by their love story through time but I just didn't believe it, they weren't even very nice to each other! And speaking of time, there are too many novels that take place in different time periods with no sense of that time period present, and sadly, this was one of those. This might, very much, be some people's cup of tea but it just wasn't for me.

Thank you for the chance to read it early though. :)