A Kingdom of Stars and Shadows (Deluxe Edition)

Alana

One of the best series. It’s absolutely addicting.

"A Kingdom of Stars and Shadows was everything I want in a romantasy.. lush, dangerous, and emotionally addictive. The worldbuilding is rich without being overwhelming, steeped in magic, court intrigue, and shadows that feel alive. From the very beginning, there’s a constant undercurrent of tension that keeps you turning pages, like something is always about to go wrong in the best possible way. The characters are the real standout. The FMC is strong without being flawless, sharp without being cold, and her emotional growth feels earned. The romance? Slow-burn, charged, and deliciously complicated. Every interaction carries weight, longing, and just enough danger to keep you hooked. What I loved most is how the story balances romance and plot. Neither overshadows the other. The stakes stay high, the twists hit hard, and the darker elements add depth rather than shock value. By the time I reached the final chapters, I was fully invested.. heart racing, emotionally compromised, and absolutely unprepared for how much I’d need the next book. If you love fae courts, morally gray love interests, forbidden tension, and stories where stars and shadows blur together, this book is an easy five stars. I’m obsessed.. and yes, I’ll be thinking about it for a long time. ✨🌑📚 ["

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February 26, 2026 Verified Purchase

❈ Elizabeth ❈ | Breakawayreads

Vampires...what more do you need?

"The Kingdom and the Stars by Holly Renee . Main Characters: Adara and Evren . Rating: 4.5/5 Spice: 3/5 . 𝘈 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘚𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴. 𝘐𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴. 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥. . 𝔹𝕃𝕌ℝ𝔹 . Destiny or desire? Where does your allegiance lie? I am told my union to the crowned prince will determine the fate of the kingdom, but it isn’t my betrothed who haunts my dreams. It’s the half-breed prince who stands at his side. He is darkness and sin, and when he whispers promises of wickedness in my ear, I crave a man who I can’t have. But when the kingdom is attacked, I am forced to make choices I’m not prepared for. Our lies and deception are entangled in the shadows and stars, and as they unravel so shall my fate. Betray a kingdom or betray my heart. . Let me tell you, if you are on the fence with reading this book, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿?! I loved every bit of the book, I couldn’t put this down once I read the first chapter! Our Main FMC, Adara, she is very independent, strong headed and can wield a weapon! She will not go down without a fight. Fell in love with her confidence. She doesn’t need anyone but herself. Our MMC, Evren, shadow daddy, touch her and die, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻?! *swoons* He is everything you could want and then some. Welcome to your next book boyfriend. Being Starblessed isn’t for the faint of heart. Adara was was forced to help her kingdom by becoming betrothed to Prince Gavrin, Evren’s brother, and hand over the power hidden inside her. The Royals of this kingdom are corrupted by power and are willing to risk anyone to get it. Adara is not sure whom she should trust at any point in time. Should she keep Evren close? Or will he betray her if she lets him in? . There is so much angst in this book, you could see the steam rise. I loved all of the stolen moments that were had. There was a lot of buildup and chemistry between the main characters. There was a great blend of the story and the spice throughout. You are not overwhelmed with the world building at all; Holly takes you through it as you read along with the book and characters. This was the first book I read from this author and I loved every bit of it. I can’t wait to read the rest of this series! Also, spoiler, ends in a cliffhanger! Ugh…lolol. Thank you for writing this delicious novel! . 𝙋.𝙎. 𝙑𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙨 . Happy reading, my lovelies! xo ["

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January 14, 2024 Verified Purchase

Jesi

Romance, fantasy, prophecies and fate...oh, and some definite spice!

"Star Rating: ★★★☆☆ Favorite Quote: "It felt like an old friend that I didn’t even know. A familiar stranger that always greeted me." Overall Feel: This is definitely a romantasy - a chosen protagonist who is fated to save the kingdom who is bound to one brother but drawn to the other. It does have elements that make it feel dark (like what Adara is supposed to be used for, how Evern talks to her, the tension between the royals). I just felt like it all happened a little too quickly. Thoughts on Plot: The story follows a very logical plot line, from Adara being taken from her home to her discovery and understanding of the life that she was thrown into at the palace. There were some interesting plot points (both spicy and action) but it felt a bit choppy as you went from one scene to another. I did enjoy the twists and turns, especially toward the end of the book, but I wish there had been more character and relationship building spread throughout. Thoughts on Characters: I enjoy Adara, who was insistent about her identity despite being constantly labeled Starblessed and Princess. She felt well developed and seeing how her thoughts swirled helped me root for her throughout the story. Everen was enjoyable as well, and I can see how he's irresistible to both Adara and readers. I just wish there was a little more substance to the other characters - Gavril, Jorah, even the queen. Everything was very centered on Adara and her story, but I think a little more about the people around her could've enriched this read. Recommendations: I read this while I'm very much in my Sarah J. Maas kick. There are a LOT of romantasy books on my TBR (with varied levels of spice) and this fits well among the genre. ["

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January 11, 2024 Verified Purchase

Harlie

O.M.G

"I am speechless. I finished this book less than 10 minutes ago, and after a few minutes of staring blankly into space because of that ending..I ran to post my review. Long story short, if you enjoy fantasy romances, YOU NEED TO READ THIS RIGHT NOW. Now let’s get into it further ❤️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 🌶🌶🌶🌶/5 Adara is a human, blessed by the stars and promised to the Crown Prince of the Fae. But instead of resigning to her fate and impending marriage, Adara finds herself irresistibly drawn to another. She must choose between saving the kingdom and doing what is expected of her, or fighting to make her own destiny. I loved this book. It is easily in my top reads for this year and may even be my number one so far. Holly Renee has created an intriguing new world with characters that are richly developed, both good and bad. I found myself swooning over Evren right away and relating to Adara from the beginning. We jump right into the action with the perfect amount of world building, without info dumping or bogging the story down (which makes it so much easier to get into it) and the adventure beginning right away. There was seriously not a dull moment where I wanted to stop reading, I could not put this one down. And the spice?! Top notch, absolutely loved every minute of it. This book balanced the spice perfectly without taking away from the story at any point but still giving you plenty of it! And the one-liners did not stop in this book! I have so many kindle highlights from this one, all super swoony or spicy things Evern said 😍 seriously, where can I get my own Evern cause I need one. There are a plethora of great tropes in this story, many of which are my favorites: enemies to lovers, forbidden love, arranged marriage, “touch her and you die”, chosen one, and many more. This was my first Holly Renee adventure but I guarantee it will not be my last. Now I need the next book asap!! ["

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August 22, 2022 Verified Purchase

Café and Spice

I regret that I waited so long to read this... I won't make that mistake again with Holly

"I got interested in this one because of a fellow spice lover on Instagram mentioned it on one (or more) of her posts. Unfortunately, my book dance card was pretty full March through April - what with a few other releases that I had literally been waiting for since September 2022. ANYWAY, because of the IG algorithm, I started seeing more and more ads for “A Kingdom of Stars and Shadows.” Obviously, I was getting curious and more curious. THEN author Holly Renee’s feed started to infiltrate my own. Ms. Renee’s teasers were messing me up. I decided to get it then and it still took another month or so to read it. And then finally - in early May, I got to reading. I was freaking hooked. I hadn’t read a PRN in forever. So, Adara! - Yes, I’m starting with her because... well, you know...! I love her! I got some serious “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” vibes here. Adara, like Buffy, did not want to play any part in any prophecy in the beginning. But, as the story progresses, she evolves into accepting who she is. Her prophecy, her power, and her place in this world. And with training, love, and friendship becomes stronger and more determined to play things her way. Evrin! Ay Dios mío. Where is there a fan when you need one?! My leading men must be: strong, confident, possess magic, and wit, don’t forget wit. The smirks, biting off the lips, biting off the neck and his dirty-talking were just a trap waiting for me to fall into. I can’t say more without too much away. You will have to get to know him by diving in. Other highlights: the relationships that Adara creates beyond that of Evren were refreshing to see. There was some serious sisterhood feels throughout. You’ll know it when you get to it. If you love paranormal, praise, prophecies and carrots for future stories to come? This trilogy is for you! For the past year, I was heavy into the darker and spicy stories (hence my Shantel Tessier and Rina Kent mentions above), but Holly wrote Evren so well that I didn’t (at all) feel like I was missing anything. He had the right amount filthy mouth/OTT-ness that kept my entire attention. Full disclosure, I am a heavy KU-user. I have a very tiny home and anything I want to have HAS to serve a purpose. But I might need to clear some real estate for this trilogy and for the next one because if electricity ever ceases to exist I will the comfort this story will provide. So physical copy worthy? A 1000xs YES. A Kingdom of Fire and Fate is coming on July 30 and I’m here for Sorin, Thalia and her curly hair! ["

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May 24, 2023 Verified Purchase