A review by wraithandmermaid
Star-Touched Stories by Roshani Chokshi
3.0
I'm stuck between giving this 3.5 or 4 stars (come on Goodreads, where's that half star rating that we've all been thinking about), so we'll just stick with this, and I'll give my thoughts on each actual novella and generalize at the bottom.
Death and Night:
This one is the reason why I almost did not finish the book. It put me in a slump and I felt like a snail with my reading progress. There's nothing wrong with it, and I do actually like the references to The Star Touched Queen in this one (which makes sense, given that it's pretty much a prequel to Amar and Maya's story). The writing is pretty, but since readers already know about Amar and Maya's ending, we can already guess that there will be quick love in this one. I also felt like the ending was pretty quick/ rushed.
Poison and Gold:
I actually enjoyed this one! It was nice to read a more fleshed out Aasha since she had a pretty big impact in A Crown of Wishes. I liked reading what happened to Aasha, Vikram, and Gauri after that story, and this just made Aasha more interesting. This story was clever, and like Aasha, my basic thoughts were twisted so I could look deeper into things. I liked Zahril (ignoring the fact that for some reason, despite reading what she looked like, I pictured an old lady??? It's probably bc I'm used to characters like Baghra in the Grishaverse lol) and she and Aasha were actually kinda cute and complex. I generally like relationship dynamics like theirs (positive x grumpy, putting it simply). It was more straightforward than Death and Night and not as centered on romance, which I appreciated.
Rose and Sword:
The beginning with Hira and her family had me confused for a bit, at least until Hira ran off to find her grandma (Gauri!). The framing of this story was interesting, but I found it amusing and I did like this one too. Again, this was more focused on romance, but it explored Gauri's mind and the way she saw relationships pretty well. Her passion and devotion make her a pretty straightforward character to understand, which is helpful in the case of a novella. The angst in the middle of this was actually written pretty well, but I'm not surprised, seeing how Roshani Chokshi is pretty good at dialogue and romantic tension, which is also why the ending made me go "aww." The only critique I'd have for this one is that it's never explained (to my knowledge) why Vikram suddenly fell so ill that he nearly died.
So generally, there's nothing horrible about this book, but there's nothing too special either. Its defining feature is the flowery language and romance, so if you want something light and easy to read, this is fine. I did enjoy two out of the three stories, but I almost didn't go through with my read because I just suddenly got so weary with this book universe. Chokshi's prose is beautiful as always, as is her ability to craft good and interesting romantic relationships. The last story actually elicited some physical reactions from me, so I guess I'll keep the star rating at this just for that. I do like seeing characters doing more beyond their original story in novellas, so that was perfect for Vikram and Gauri. I don't know if I'll reread this book universe, but these novellas were good closure.
Death and Night:
This one is the reason why I almost did not finish the book. It put me in a slump and I felt like a snail with my reading progress. There's nothing wrong with it, and I do actually like the references to The Star Touched Queen in this one (which makes sense, given that it's pretty much a prequel to Amar and Maya's story). The writing is pretty, but since readers already know about Amar and Maya's ending, we can already guess that there will be quick love in this one. I also felt like the ending was pretty quick/ rushed.
Poison and Gold:
I actually enjoyed this one! It was nice to read a more fleshed out Aasha since she had a pretty big impact in A Crown of Wishes. I liked reading what happened to Aasha, Vikram, and Gauri after that story, and this just made Aasha more interesting. This story was clever, and like Aasha, my basic thoughts were twisted so I could look deeper into things. I liked Zahril (ignoring the fact that for some reason, despite reading what she looked like, I pictured an old lady??? It's probably bc I'm used to characters like Baghra in the Grishaverse lol) and she and Aasha were actually kinda cute and complex. I generally like relationship dynamics like theirs (positive x grumpy, putting it simply). It was more straightforward than Death and Night and not as centered on romance, which I appreciated.
Rose and Sword:
The beginning with Hira and her family had me confused for a bit, at least until Hira ran off to find her grandma (Gauri!). The framing of this story was interesting, but I found it amusing and I did like this one too. Again, this was more focused on romance, but it explored Gauri's mind and the way she saw relationships pretty well. Her passion and devotion make her a pretty straightforward character to understand, which is helpful in the case of a novella. The angst in the middle of this was actually written pretty well, but I'm not surprised, seeing how Roshani Chokshi is pretty good at dialogue and romantic tension, which is also why the ending made me go "aww." The only critique I'd have for this one is that it's never explained (to my knowledge) why Vikram suddenly fell so ill that he nearly died.
So generally, there's nothing horrible about this book, but there's nothing too special either. Its defining feature is the flowery language and romance, so if you want something light and easy to read, this is fine. I did enjoy two out of the three stories, but I almost didn't go through with my read because I just suddenly got so weary with this book universe. Chokshi's prose is beautiful as always, as is her ability to craft good and interesting romantic relationships. The last story actually elicited some physical reactions from me, so I guess I'll keep the star rating at this just for that. I do like seeing characters doing more beyond their original story in novellas, so that was perfect for Vikram and Gauri. I don't know if I'll reread this book universe, but these novellas were good closure.