*This post may contain spoilers*
Heavenly Bodies by Imani Erriu is a dazzling romantasy with merciless gods and a love that transcends the prophecy of the Stars. Princess Elara has been cursed by fates with her future already written for her – she will fall in love with a Star that will kill them both. When her throne is in danger she must flee to enemy territory, where Prince Enzo – Lion of Helios – must forge her as the only weapon strong enough to kill a Star. This is a celestial themed fantasy world and I loved the idea of personifying Stars as these immortal beings who are worshipped in each land. They are cunning and incredible beautiful creatures that draw the reader into wanting to trust them but also suspicious of their motives. Heavenly Bodies is an amalgamation of many popular fantasy and romantasy tropes of shadow and light wielders, tortured and brooding male love interest that will destroy the world just to protect the female heroine.
I admit I’ve been craving a romantasy or fantasy romance with proper yearning. I read a few books recently that seem to forget what traditional yearning was in fantasy. The slow-burn and what it means to be a enemies to lovers. From the perspective this book ticked all the boxes that I wanted in a book. Elara and Enzo had a good amount of chemistry and yearning but they moved away from being enemies too quickly, but they didn’t confess their feelings for a long time after. I didn’t understand why they hated each other or why Elara was kidnapped at the beginning – a little bit of warning with world building might have helped. They were in this friend limbo for a while after agreeing to be friends. I did enjoy the banter and tension between these characters, but all I really understood was surface level development.
Overall I really enjoyed the book and hooked me with the plot but that being said I did have a few problems. The length of the book was too much for the first in the series, too much happened that it was difficult to digest. The chapters felt like scenes that were then followed by time jumps that felt disconnected. The pacing was also very quick in places but also dragged in others. I appreciated the short chapters. I was intrigued by the world and the magic system but was confused at certain points, especially at the beginning and the end. I loved the depictions of the parties and the palaces that felt like I was looking into a mirror and experiencing these scenes vividly. Even the points where Elara is faking her death with an elaborate shadow illusion was well constructed. I just wish some of the world building was a little clearer to understand what Elara’s relationship was to certain characters and why they are evil or their motivations. The plot twist at the end was interesting and I’m intrigued to see where that leads in the second book at the end of the year.
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Amy is a writer and reviewer and is currently querying literary agents with her debut fantasy novel inspired by the magic and adventure of Pirates of the Caribbean and grandeur of Bridgerton. For more content click here to read book reviews, short stories and updates on Amy’s writing journey.
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