In my last review I mentioned how I’m not much of a romantic and I tend to get bored with romance-driven plots. And then this book rocked up and was all, “I’m gonna make you a liar, bitch.” And then it did. And I’m okay with that.

You guys. I loved this soooooo much! It’s everything I love about mythology and fairy tales rolled into one nearly perfect package. I know I’m being vague, but if I try to get specific I will be here for hours gushing for paragraph after paragraph and spoiling the hell out of the whole plot. So instead I’m just going to nip the gushing in the bud and get to bed on time.

But seriously, this was soooooo good!

Okay, so I am not reviewing this blasted book. I will tell you exactly the problem with it shortly and concisely. All the bad things could have been avoided from the beginning if Amar had simply told his lovie love "Yo, we used to be married and madly in love. I'm the ruler of death basically, and you were my queen. But we had a fight and you left to be reincarnated as a human, so you lost your memories. I'm here to get you." 

An entire book could have been avoided with COMMUNICATION.

The only redeeming factor was the sarcastic flesh-eating horse demon at the end. 

I fucking hate books where they play the "let's all keep a shit ton of secrets and then be shocked bad things happen" game.

But the world itself was pretty. And the horse. Loved the horse.

As usual, I didn't get started on An Ember in the Ashes until it was due back in 7 hours, and it wouldn't let renew the loan. So I added a new hold to it and checked this one out. I will begin this in the morning. It's only supposed to be 9 hours long so hopefully I can blow it out in a day, maybe a day and half.

Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not affect my rating or review.

I was so happy to get to read this book last night. I finished one book and decided to start this, the only reason why I finished it so fast is that one of the stories in this collection I just read the prior week. I skipped over that and read the second and third stories. I was maybe a blubbering mess at the end of this short story collection. Chokshi does a great job of having you wish for more stories involving the characters we have been introduced to in this fantastic world she has created.

Death and Night (5 stars)- Not too much to say here besides how much I loved the beginning to Death and Night or how we know them, Amar and Maya.

We read about both of these characters in "The Star-Touched Queen" but we get to read about how they met, how Death courted Night, and how she loved him. We know what will happen next (I read the first full book and only came back to read this prequel now) but it was great to read about how they came to love one another prior to Night choosing to leave him in order to be re-born.

Death is cursed to fall in love with a woman who will leave him. So he decides to just marry, but now love his wife. Until he meets Night and knows that she is the right person for him. They have a great dynamic that consists of challenging each other as well as realizing that the other person is truly who they want to be with.

I did like that we got some backstory on the friendship between Night and Nritti. You get to see why Night loves her so much. She's one of the few who is not afraid of Night.

I also loved how we got to see how playful Gupta was with Death. I maybe laughed at him trying to teach Death how to properly court.

The writing was lyrical and made me laugh at times. You can easily see why Death and Night fell for each other. 

Poison and Gold (5 stars)- We got to know Aasha in "A Crown of Wishes". Now that she is living with Guari and Vikram as they prepare to marry and unite their two kingdoms, she is scared that her powers are out of control. If she were to hurt one of them or someone else, she doesn't know what she will do. When she is given a choice to become their Spy Mistress or be sent away forever, she chooses to do what she can to stay with them. She begins training and finds out reserves she never knew she had, all while being brave enough to love someone. 

Rose and Sword (5 stars)-A story within a story, we have a little girl being told a fairy tale by her grandmother. The story revolves around a wedding night and death. It also involves some familiar faces to those who have read "A Star-Touched Queen" and "A Crown of Wishes". Seriously though you guys, please get tissues ready. If you can read this story without crying, you are stronger than me. I was a mess. I don't want to spoil for potential readers, but this story hit me with all the feels. 

Not too much to say here besides how much I loved the beginning to Death and Night or how we know them, Amar and Maya.

We read about both of these characters in "The Star-Touched Queen" but we get to read about how they met, how Death courted Night, and how she loved him. We know what will happen next (I read the first full book and only came back to read this prequel now) but it was great to read about how they came to love one another prior to Night choosing to leave him in order to be re-born. 

Death is cursed to fall in love with a woman who will leave him. So he decides to just marry, but now love his wife. Until he meets Night and knows that she is the right person for him. They have a great dynamic that consists of challenging each other as well as realizing that the other person is truly who they want to be with.

I did like that we got some backstory on the friendship between Night and Nritti. You get to see why Night loves her so much. She's one of the few who is not afraid of Night. 

I also loved how we got to see how playful Gupta was with Death. I maybe laughed at him trying to teach Death how to properly court. 

The writing was lyrical and made me laugh at times. You can easily see why Death and Night fell for each other. 

"We turned our gaze to the heavens and waited. There was beauty in the night, if you chose to see it. Some did. Some didn’t. For some, night was the time of dreams and rest, of balance reasserting itself. For others, the hours crowded between dusk and dawn belonged to the ghosts. I knew what they feared: the uncertainty of nighttime, the lightlessness of those hours that were not the black comfort of sleep but the shadows at the bottom of a monster’s throat. I glanced at my reflection and saw their fear staring right at me. Why could I not be dreams and nightmares both?"

 

“That I think she would make an excellent consort. I want a companion. She wants recognition. It’s a victory for us both and sound reasoning too.” I started walking toward the door when Gupta jogged up to me. “That will be your opening statement? You need to make a good impression. Bees are drawn to flowers, not rocks, for a reason. And that is a ridiculous number of assumptions about someone you don’t even know.”

We get to see how things go in the Night Bazaar which was fun to follow-up with as a setting in this book.  

Not too much more to say since this is a novella, but definitely a welcome addition to "The Star Touched Queen" series.