Review: Starlight Jewel by E.L. Lyons
Blurb:
The human city of Minalav is renowned for its lavish balls, where nobles bring wealth from distant lands to the Starlight Palace, to be romanced—and robbed—by the half-human hybrids who live below the city. The wealthy guests leave without their treasure, and with no memory of their evening—except the unforgettable feelings that bring them back, season after season. But the magic of Minalav is built on dark secrets and lies.
Axly, a hybrid assassin and seductress-thief, will do anything to protect her human half-brother. The path of blood and chaos she carves will tip the precious balance of Minalav, and the world around it.
Review:
The first thing I want to start with is I don’t think the blurb does this book justice, and admittedly I had a bit of a ‘Ehhhhm’ moment when I saw the words “human half-brother”. Usually it’s phrasing like this that has a character described as ‘ooooh more than meets the eye/everyone is special’. Not the case here - though eyes are definitely involved.
The second thing I want to start with is I picked this up as buddy-read on our SFF Insiders discord (you should also join if you haven’t), and quickly left many buddies behind because I couldn’t put this down. Which is also good because E.L. Lyons is one of the reviewers here and it’d be really awkward if I hated the book.
I am very thrilled that this book punched my expectations in the face and ran away with my emotions.
Onto the actual author and book. If you follow E.L. Lyons on Twitter (I’m not calling it X), you will know she has an exceptional understanding of writing and how to hook a reader. This was especially evident in Starlight Jewel. Like I said, I couldn’t put it down.
I was initially confused on some of the aspects of the book, and while it all becomes clearer as you read (like a book should), I also struggle with not knowing what’s happening. Thankfully, Lyons has a handy website that outlines the gifts, the politics, the roles and key players and this gave me a bit more background while I waited for the bigger background reveals. Overall, it is a thoroughly rich world with all those little pieces coming together.
I loved the hybrids’ gifts and how they’re described. There are ones more like humans but with woody bones, some with bark skin, eye colours indicating gifts and how these come together to create the roles of the Starlings and their Hawk protectors that make up the Starlight Company. And I loved the precarious nature of the Company in Minalav, but also how they fit into the wider world of humans and sprygan - which I guess can be described as tree-people? It’s the not-human depiction on the cover. Because the core character(s) are largely hybrids, it has made for some very unique and interesting interactions with nature and this gray area between the two species the hybrids occupy. I’d say most fantasy fans are used to magic, potions, bodies of water for healing but hybrids? Dirt. And how the dirt interacts with their bodies was depicted in a number of ways, both healing and imprisoning.
Despite Minalav being mentioned a few times in the blurb, we don’t spend tons of time there. The story starts outside of it, Axly with her mysterious human-half brother, getting dragged back and then leaving a few times before going hybrid-Liam Neesan and everybody has a bad time. Although we meet the sort of key male character in Minalav, It’s actually outside of that I think we get the most fun from the book and the bulk of the characters. It’s also where the romantic sub-plot develops. “So there’s romance?” No. You hope for good things for Axly and Grim and get nothing but high blood pressure and anxiety.
The characters around Grim are brilliant. Harken chimes in here and there but generally it’s gold. King Henry is a mystery, unusual and out there but I am loving his character and can’t wait for more. Also, Grim’s mom, Katarina, is a gem. There is a scene where she is being brought up to speed but still takes a moment to scold her grumpy husband that is just *chef’s kiss*.
The characters around Axly are also brilliant but in very different ways. They’re done in ways that you don’t know who you can and can’t trust. Lyons leaves a lot of little pieces that add to the lore of the world but then drops them into descriptions or interactions between characters and all you can think is ‘Ooooh, that was good.’ I could go into more detail, and unfortunately for the people in my immediate life, they are going to hear about it for ages, but saying more would give away a lot of key plot points, twists, and development that I wouldn’t want to deprive anyone of.
To sum up: I cannot wait for the next book. I am genuinely enthralled by this world Lyons created and I’ve also been left with a lot of thoughts/feelings that I may have messaged ‘I’m so mad at you right now’ about.
