ARC Review: "All the Sacrifice of Shadows" by Hillary Raymer (Starstorm #2) ★★★★★

ARC Review: All the Sacrifice of Shadows by Hillary Raymer

I loved the first book, All the Chaos of Constellations but I love this one even more! A page-turner that I wanted to devour in one sitting. For fans of Bridgerton, The Witcher, A Court of Thornes and Roses with a touch of Shadow & Bone. Filled with sunshine meets grumpy, magic, mating bonds, blood, betrayals, steam, family, faes and dragons, I cannot recommend this more!

“I will burn worlds for you, I will shroud them in darkness and leave them in a rubble of despair. I will strike down every one of your enemies and defend you until my dying breath. I will sacrifice all of my shadows, my soul, all of it, for you. My sjellhert.”

[Contains some spoilers]

PLOT SUMMARY
Lady Creslyn Starstorm, youngest daughter of House Celestine possessing sunshine and rainbow magic, is betrothed to the dangerous, terrifying and merciless Prince Drake Kalstrand, a Shadowblade Assassin. He wields shadow magic, lingers in the shadow, and owns a dragon, Svartos. Her oldest brother Ariesian has arranged this marriage to gain more protection and strengthen the family’s alliances, which Creslyn resents but has no choice. Sent to live with Drake in the Kingdom of Brackroth, she is practically ignored. Or so she thinks.

Drake cannot stop hiding in the shadows watching his wife-to-be, fascinated and infuriated by her. Tension stirs between them yet an obsession also blossoms: her light calls to him; his darkness calls to her. The wedding tradition of binding blood will also give them a touch of the other’s magic, which may prove to be their own rise or downfall.

“There’s darkness inside of you, Creslyn Starstorm.”
She peered up at him. “There’s light inside of you, Drake Kalstrand.”

Drake’s father, King Marius, is most displeased with the match, believing Creslyn to have bewitched his son. Indeed, if it can be believed, Marius is far worse than Drake in terms of his cruelty and malice, desiring Creslyn to be dead. Unfortunately, Drake is forced to do Marius’ bidding, having bound soul to him years ago in exchange for the Shadowblade and its powers which conveniently means Marius cannot be killed. A prophecy means that only someone with the blood of stars can break the curse, hence his eagerness to marry Creslyn so the curse can be broken. But she must accept everything he is.

But something is not only rotten in the kingdom of Brackroth: for in Aeramere, the fae kingdom, an attack at Creslyn’s sister Lady Novalise and Lord Asher’s wedding marks the beginning of the war Novalise predicted would come. But who is the traitor? Not only that, but Drake is still searching for the virdis lepatite, a valuable and powerful gem that could be the creation or destruction of everything, should the wrong hands find it.

This is told from the third-person past-tense POV of Creslyn and Drake.

OVERALL OPINIONS
You could say “Stars above”, what a read! Raymer has done it again, but better than ever before! Ma’am, you must stop writing masterpieces of quotes, I cannot possibly write them down fast enough. Seriously though, this is my favourite romantasy series, I am obsessed and I am looking forward to more – much, much more!

I found Drake the most interesting character of them all in Book 1. Shrouded in mystery and literal shadows, a man all feared and fled from, someone deemed incapable of love – I was hooked, and very delighted when so many people also wanted Drake to be the next book. I certainly was not disappointed by this!

The Statstorm family reunion and interactions were hilarious! I especially loved the moment when Creslyn comes to visit them and mentions all the things that have happened to her (including nearly dying and Drake exacting his revenge on 23 men) as if she is talking about the weather, and the rest of the family is just sitting there in shocked silence. “But other than the drab weather… Brackroth is fine enough.” That moment really made me laugh out loud, and though it’s been half a year I forgot how much I missed them. These are my precious Bridgerton equivalents!

Novalise and Asher from Book 1 are here, and it was lovely to see them again! They have their wedding and various sweet interactions. My favourite part has to be their wedding and Creslyn’s observations of them, which I must include here because everyone should read this:

Asher looked at Novalise as though she was a goddess among the stars, like she hung the moon in the sky with her own two hands. He was fascinated by her, consumed by her, so fully and devastatingly in love with her that it left Creslyn breathless. Everyone should experience that kind of love, everyone should have someone who looked at them the way Asher gazed upon Novalise.

Everyone deserves that kind of love, Raymer, you are so right!

Solarius was my favourite brother in Book 1 (and even more so in Book 2) so I was very excited that the epilogue is written from his point of view. Book 3 will surely be about him and Lady Narissa Seabourne. The pair of them, according to Creslyn, despise one another and have done for many years. I just absolutely adore his description of her: “If a goddess of the sea were to walk the planes of this world, it would be Narissa Seaborne.”. I am looking forward to seeing that play out!

There have also been interesting developments with some of the other siblings:
Creslyn’s twin sister Caelian has a fancy for Drake’s general Kjeld, who I love the most plot-wise and hope their story is not long after Solarius’. “She never would have imagined Caelian found Kjeld attractive. He didn’t seem her type at all.” I like the parallel of Caelian saving Kjeld in the end, and he saved her earlier. Raymer got me right in the feels with them (how dare you, by the way haha!) I was devastated then relieved then further devastated when after all that, he is annoyed with her, though understandably so. I just want them to kiss and make up pronto!
Creslyn’s sister Sarelle has been betrothed by her scheming mother to Prince Aspen, who saves her at Novalise and Asher’s wedding, whose siblings disapprove of and want her to spy on him. Of course, I am sure she will fall in love and risk treason if he finds out.

<< Positives >>
🠚The cover is lovely! I like that it is the symbol of House Starstorm, in a rainbow-like colour to match Creslyn, merged with a dark dragon wrapped around it. I would love if there was a version of the cover with character art, but ultimately I do not mind!
🠚The map, always a useful element in books. It would have been nice to see a map of Aeramere too.
🠚The image used for the section divider, the symbol of House Starstorm, is perfect!
🠚The descriptions are remarkable, I can imagine everything from the locations to the clothing. I love the choice of words used. Take this example: “she could see the hundreds of twinkling stars embellished like diamonds across a canvas of black satin. Here, the constellations were not the same as they were in Aeramere. They were scattered about, as though the Mother Goddess herself had flung them into the sky with haphazard care.” Utterly beautiful!
🠚The names, as I mentioned in my review of the first book, are so clever! Some examples: Drake of course means dragon (ideal), Svortas means black/dark (works for the colour of the dragon), Marius is after the God of War, Mars (works for his destructive behaviour). The names in the Starstorm family all relate to celestial bodies (stars, sun or moon).
🠚The story is written in such a way that it could be treated as a standalone as well as part of a series. I like that it incorporates a bigger plot of impending war with the courtship between main characters.
🠚The plot twists, one after another. Ahh I loved them!
🠚The steamy scenes were delectable, because oh my goodness, one of them being on the back of a dragon? Oops I’ve said too much – or have I? Maybe that should be your incentive to read this, folks!
🠚The return of all the characters and plots from Book 1. I loved the small exchanges between Asher and Drake, considering the last time they saw each other they were fighting to the death haha.
🠚The dragons. Need I say more? I love the idea that Creslyn’s dragon Astrylys and Drake’s dragon Svartos are mates.

<< Negatives >>
🠚Some of their fallouts felt repetitive. Especially every time Creslyn rebels against Drake’s wishes. Or the number of times she wants to go with Drake, and he eventually relents. Or every time he promises not to leave her.
🠚I feel a few scenes were missing: Firstly, there should have been a paragraph of the crowd’s reaction when Drake soothes Creslyn after the crowd judges her when they appear at the wedding; Secondly, I think Creslyn and Novalise should have had more interactions (seeing as Asher and Drake have a few) other than her asking Creslyn why she is training; Thirdly, I think a scene between Creslyn and her mother Trysta when Trysta arrived back should have been there. After all, Novalise has various interactions with her mother in the first book.
🠚I have to say I was confused when Drake destroyed the virdis lapatite in the store because I thought there was only one stone. And he recognises Viktoria, but she seems to only appear in that chapter – and if she and Zaleria were one and the same this should be made clear.
🠚Another confusing thing was Drake’s prophecy and how exactly it was fulfilled. The implication was that because Creslyn accepts Drake for who he is and eventually herself for who she is, that is what does it. But I would have preferred this to be explained or talked about somewhere.
🠚I felt like it was verging on too many steamy scenes, but ultimately I enjoyed it.

CHARACTERS
-ˋˏ ꒰ Creslyn꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ She’s beautiful, she’s sweet, she’s clever, she’s powerful, she stands her ground and calls people out (especially her husband). She’s the moment. I want to be able to fight like her.
🠚I love her strength as a character. She is insecure at times and hides her true self away, but it is such a beautiful thing when eventually she decides to embrace who she truly is.
🠚Her revenge at the end was sooo satisfying. She slayed, literally and figuratively!

Creslyn refused to cower before this wretched excuse of a ruler. She was a Starstorm of House Celestine, a fae of noble birth and rank, and she was only ever obey the stars. Kings and crowns be damned.

-ˋˏ ꒰ Drake꒱ ˎˊ-
↳ This man absolutely has Chris Grey’s “Let The World Burn” song on repeat all day, every day.
🠚I loved him in the first book, and I love a good morally grey man. It is a well-thought-through and fleshed-out character! He has been through so much, I feel sorry for him, I fear him, I hate him, I love him… am I Creslyn? I guess so haha.
🠚Oh, and he is tall, and he is tall, and he is very tall, as Raymer keeps reminding us throughout!
🠚I love his overprotective, possessive side where he will stop at nothing to protect his wife. I am pleased to inform you we have a “She is mine” and a “Don’t touch her” moment. The consent too and *those* steamy moments! Wow, I swoon. Don’t forget him buying her all that jewellery.
🠚Indeed, his touch-her-and-you-die quote draws the perfect comparison between Drake and Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher, another favourite of mine.

“If you touch a single hair on her head, I will find a way to end your life. Slowly.”

FAV QUOTES
• Sensuous laughter, deep and rumbling, spilled from the far corner. The sound of it chilled her blood while sending a spear of heat straight through her. She’d never heard him laugh before, even if it was at her expense. To make matters worse, she *enjoyed* it.
• Despite being malicious and cruel, Prince Drake was also devastatingly handsome, which made it all the more difficult to resist him. That…and there was something about the darkness haunting him that enticed her. Something about the brutal monster skulking beneath his surface that called to the deepest, most secretive part of her soul.
• She was all lush curves and satin skin, and he wanted to worship every inch of her.
• Whereas the touch of winter seemed to emanate from him, she was the kiss of summer’s breath. Warm and inviting.
• He possessed no heart, no soul, both had been lost to him years ago. For Drake, there was only the thirst for more power. Except now there was Creslyn. And his desire for her was deeper and darker than even the most poignant sensation of bloodlust that coursed through his monstrous veins.
• “I want your heart, Drake.” She brushed her lips lightly across his, a thrum of power humming between them. Then she whispered, “And I want to wear it like a crown.” • “Without the darkness, a star can never shine.”
• She was falling from the heavens, blazing through the night sky like a shooting star, and only Drake could catch her.
• “You are the darkness to my light, the shadow to my sun, the night sky to my stars. I see you as you are, I accept you, scars and all.”
• Creslyn Starstorm. *Sjellhert*. You are the first blossom of spring, the seduction of summer’s warmth, the chill of autumn’s breath, and winter’s final kiss… You are my compass. My star in the northern sky. You are my whispering tides, and I shall only ever worship your shores. You are the aurora in the midnight hour, that which beckons my soul.”
• “You.” The word was gravelly, grating. His expression was cruel, a tempest of volatile emotions. “You are my destruction. My salvation. My eternal damnation.” • She was the cataclysm of everything he never wanted. She was a storm of sunlight and pearlescent rainbows fractured by a splintering shard of darkness—his endless obsession.
• “When I am with you, I feel safe. When I look in your eyes, I find strength. You are my anchor in the turbulent sea of my own fear, the rock which keeps me grounded when I am too high in the clouds. And I know you will never say those words back to me, just as I know in time I will make peace with that, but I…” Her whisper fell softly into the space between them. “I love you.”
• Drake’s mouth opened, snapped shut, and then he laughed. Full and loud. He grinned, sweeping her off her clumsy feet, and lifted her into his arms. But she surprised him by capturing his cheeks with both hands. Her lips parted and the look in her eyes was one he’d never seen before.
ㅤ“You’re smiling.” The words were barely a whisper, she spoke with such reverence.
ㅤHis brow lifted. “I’ve been known to do so a time or two.”
ㅤ“No. It’s different. It’s *real*.” She shook her head. “It’s the first time I’ve ever seen your smile reach your eyes.”

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I received an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review and I’d like to thank Hillary Raymer for the opportunity. This has not affected my opinion in any way.

“All the Sacrifice of Shadows” is out now!