I devoured this audiobook!!

Thank you Netgalley and Mara Van Nacht for the chance to listen to this audiobook early ♥️

Okay, let me start with the narrators. The emotion that they injected into this audiobook is unmatched! The shift in tone for different characters, immaculate. The way I knew who was talking before it even told me! That doesn’t happen with every audiobook and this hit the mark. I absolutely love that this is a duet and it adds so much to the story to have a male voice doing those parts.

This book is one that is so deep and has so many hidden storylines. This is my second read and I found things that I didn’t catch the first time. The story is so nuanced you have to pay so much attention. I’m already planning to read again with the physical book so I can do an immersive read. I can tell this story is going to continue to unravel as we go through the series and I can’t wait to get more answers to questions!

This was a unique fantasy read that definitely requires your full attention! I had both the audio and digital copies and found that doing an immersive read (listening while reading along) around the 50% mark made a huge difference. Either I missed some big points early on, or the beginning is intentionally confusing and the plot really picks up halfway through.

There were a lot of characters to keep track of—I actually had to make a little cheat sheet! While I think there's a level of intentional confusion, I was still left with a lot of questions by the end regarding the world's background and where the series is going.

Despite the complexity, I was thoroughly impressed, especially knowing this is a debut novel. I loved the found family aspect and watching the characters grow to love each other. The core premise is strong: reading about the Fallen, their history, and how they still impact and take over the different realms and worlds was fascinating. Major manipulation and betrayal happen here too, which gave me whiplash (in a good way!).

I highly recommend the author consider including a character guide, a breakdown of the Fallen, etc., in the beginning of the second book to help readers track all the pieces established in this first installment.

Narration was excellent and expressive - duet narration (my favorite!)
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I want to deeply thank the author for gifting me an ARC. I also received ARCs from Snitchy Books LLC and an ALC from Victory Editing and NetGalley. Release date 12/9/25.

I just finished this book and wow, that ending completely changed how I felt about the whole story. For the first sixty to seventy percent I kept thinking this was going to be a steady, normal fantasy read with a lot of world building and not a ton of action. I was so wrong. The last thirty percent hits with reveals that make you look back at earlier chapters and think wait… this was happening while I thought she was just cooking a meal. I love when a book surprises me like that.

Auguste Monroe is such an interesting main character. I do not even know if love is the right word but she fascinated me the whole time. She is a human caught between grief, routine, a failing long term relationship and a rebellion that means more to her than she wants to admit. She has trained her entire life to become a chef and the way she thinks about food, flavors and her place in the kitchen was honestly one of my favorite parts. I have a soft spot for cooking so those scenes felt extra special to me.

She is also a fantasy romance reader and uses her books as a comfort which made her even more relatable. Her personal life is messy in a very real way. Her boyfriend does not support her involvement with the resistance and when he asks her to give it up, she chooses herself and what she believes in. That moment really stayed with me.

After their breakup she takes a strange job just to put distance between them and suddenly she finds herself inside the palace of the Descendants without even knowing the danger she stepped into. From there the story becomes more layered. She is creating menus, running kitchens, observing everything around her and you think it is just normal palace life but by the time you reach the end you start connecting all the little things that were quietly happening in the background. The lore of the Descendants and their origins is rich and there is a lot to take in, so this is not a book you can read half distracted. You have to pay attention and I actually liked that.

The last section of the book is full of action, revelations and plot twists that made me sit up straight. I genuinely enjoyed it and I am definitely reading book two because that ending left me needing answers.

I read both the ebook and the audiobook. Thank you to NetGalley and The Nerd Fam for providing me copies to read and review. The audiobook was good for the female voices but the male voices blended together for me so sometimes I had to switch back to the ebook to know who was speaking. So for me the audiobook is a three, but the story itself is a solid four because the payoff at the end makes everything click.

I cannot wait to see where the series goes next.

Five stars. This book completely wrecked me in the best way.

I went into Auras of the Fallen Stars expecting a solid fantasy and walked out emotionally attached to everyone and everything. The character development is what really did it for me. August feels so real in the way she grieves, adapts, and keeps moving even when she is clearly exhausted and hurting. I loved watching her grow into herself without losing the parts that made her human in the first place. Nothing about her strength felt performative. It felt earned.

The worldbuilding is immersive without being overwhelming. The magic, the political tension, and the constant sense of danger all feel lived in. I especially loved the found family element. The bonds that form feel natural and deeply earned, and those quieter moments of connection hit just as hard as the big emotional beats. This is one of those stories where survival is not just physical, it is emotional, and that really stuck with me.

The pacing kept me hooked, and the twists genuinely caught me off guard. By the last stretch I could not put it down. It made me feel angry, hopeful, anxious, and deeply invested all at once. I finished it thinking about it long after the final page, which is always my sign of a five star read.

This is a powerful start to a series and I am absolutely continuing. If you love emotionally driven fantasy with strong characters, found family, and a heroine who refuses to break, this one is worth your time.

This book is PHENOMENAL. It deserves every one of the ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ that I gave it. @authormaravannacht created such an interesting and intricate world, but you don't realize the intricacies until you are engrossed in the novel.

August is a Badass chef that knows exactly what she is doing in the kitchen, yet struggles continually in her personal life. She is sassy and strong, but also the most w character!

The tension and the banter throughout this story is just SOOOOO GOOD with a slow burn and yearning that just makes you need more. However, the betrayal and plot twist at the end will have your haw dropping and needing book two here immediately!

Thank you @netgalley for the opportunity to read this for free!

Just wait until more people read Auras of the Fallen Stars, this book is going viral!!!

5⭐️ and 1🌶️

I was not expecting the EMOTIONAL DAMAGE at the end of this book and now I need to know more ASAP!

The characters are well written, and I love the FMC, August, a chef turned bad ass. She has had a hard life, and I don’t see it getting any easier. But she’s funny, strong, and interesting to see her pov.

This was truly a refreshing romantacy where I didn’t see similarities in other books I read this year and that really kept me wanting more.

May 2026 can’t come fast enough for book 2, Truths of the Allied Guild. WE NEED ANSWERS MARA!