The Bibliophile's Bookshelf

Title: The Sun and the Starmaker

Series: Standalone

Author: Rachel Griffin

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

Rating: 4.5 stars

Review:

There once was a village so far north that most considered it the top of the world… and in that village, the Sun fell in love with her Starmaker. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Nature of Witches comes a whimsical and sweeping romantic fantasy.

Nestled deep in the snowy mountains of the Lost Range, the small village of Reverie endures on a miracle. Beyond the reach of the Sun, Reverie is dependent upon the magic of the mysterious Starmaker: every morning, he trudges across a vast glacier and pulls in sunlight over the peaks, providing the village with the light it needs to survive.

Aurora Finch grew up on tales of the Starmaker’s magic, never imagining she’d one day meet him. But on the morning of her wedding, a fateful encounter in the frostbitten woods changes everything. The Starmaker senses a powerful magic within her and demands she come study under his guidance. With her newfound abilities tied to the survival of the village, Aurora is swept away to his ice-covered castle at the mountain’s peak.

The Starmaker is as cold and distant as the dark woods, leaving Aurora to explore his enchanted castle with only an immortal rabbit for company. Yet the more she discovers about the sorcerer, the stronger their ruinous attraction grows, pulling her closer to the secrets he refuses to share. A deadly frost approaches, and Aurora must uncover what the Starmaker is hiding before she is left in an endless winter that even the Sun cannot touch. – summary from Goodreads

The Sun and the Starmaker is a moving fantasy novel full of magic and romance!

I really liked this book- there were only two minor things that I didn’t love, but, as a whole, the book was amazing!

I loved the characters! Aurora was so sweet and caring, while also being determined. She really loved her family, which I loved. This book had wonderful family relationships. I truly enjoyed how much the family members cared for one another. Aurora was a lovely main character, and her character arc was amazing. She learned that loving someone is a gift and to not be scared of grief. It was a very moving storyline.

The Starmaker was my favorite! He has a name, but learning what that is is a big part of the story, so I will not spoil that here. The Starmaker was so serious and quietly caring, it was super endearing. I will say that for the majority of the book you think he is going to die. He is an immortal and his immortality is going to transfer to another. Aurora thinks that he will just resume aging, while I suspected that he would die immediately. Anyway, because of this you spend most the book mourning him. This book also does a really good job of showing exactly how hard it would be to live for an extended period of time. It was super sweet, though, seeing him reopen himself to the world. I loved how he quietly cared for everyone, and how he came to care for Aurora.

Aurora and the Starmaker’s relationship was adorable! It was incredibly sweet and caring. It definitely started off rocky, but it quickly morphs into something more. I loved the scene where they ate the wedding feast, but my favorite was when Aurora gave him the perfect day! There entire relationship was so sweet!

The majority of the story was told from Aurora’s perspective, but we did get some small snippets from the Starmaker, which I loved so much!

The magic was really interesting. This book began with Aurora being told a bedtime story as a girl. That bedtime story is very important because it shows us why magic is there and what the Starmaker does. The main magical entity is the Starmaker, but there are some other smaller magics that make the story fun and intriguing. The glare lines were especially interesting, and I wish they were shown a little more.

There wasn’t really an antagonist this book, which was interesting. There hasn’t been a fantasy book that I have read without an antagonist in a while. I really liked that the majority of this book was just the Starmaker teaching Aurora.

I will say that for whatever reason this storyline totally reminded me of Beauty and the Beast. There was just something about it that really reminded me of that classic.

There was a spicy scene in this book. I wasn’t expecting this, which was unfortunate. I did skip this scene.

I liked the ending. I thought it was sweet, and somewhat of a twist.

The Sun and the Starmaker was a magical fantasy book with wonderful characters and a sweet romance!

Quotes:

“But remembering someone for their role was not the same as remembering them for who they were.”

“‘I will love you with the warmth of the Sun and the light of the moon. I will carry you with the strength of the mountain and keep your soul tucked close to mine. And when we return to the dust of the stars, I will whisper your name in the endless after so that I may find you even in death. Always will I come for you, and always will I stay.’”