I have two moods, binge reading a whole series in a week, or taking 2-5 business years to read a series. The Celestials Trilogy somehow falls into both categories. I read A Spark of White Fire and A House of Rage and Sorrow in 2019, and absolutely loved both. A War of Swallowed Stars came out in 2021, and I dragged my feet a bit.
Unfortunately, I could not remember most of what happened in 1 & 2, so I had to reread them before starting A War of Swallowed Stars. So that’s what I did this week. I binge-read the entire series to bring you some semi-coherent thoughts on A War of Swallowed Stars. Let’s hop in.
About A War of Swallowed Stars
Title: A War of Swallowed Stars
Author: Sangu Mandanna
Rating: 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy, sci-fi
Content Warnings: Death, war, parental abuse
Format: eARC
Publisher: Sky Pony
Date Published: 29 June 2021
Goodreads Description: War is destroying the galaxy. Esmae has vanished without a trace. A terrifying, ravenous beast is devouring the stars one by one. Titania is offered a gift that may well be a curse. Alexi, the exiled prince, is asked to pay a heavy price for his mistakes. And far, far away, on a dark, mysterious planet, a sleeping god stirs awake.
War or family.
Pride or peace.
As the end of the world draws ever closer, Esmae and Alexi must decide how far they’ll go to win—and who they’ll sacrifice along the way.
I received a review copy from Edelweiss. All opinions are my own.
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A War of Swallowed Stars Review
It feels good to be finally finishing this series. If you didn’t know, this is one of my favourite sci-fi series of all time. The writing is exquisite. It’s impossible not to inhale these books. The worldbuilding is so vivid and imaginative, the lore and the history of it all so comprehensive. I love the blend of sci-fi and fantasy, old tech and new tech.
I had no idea how this series would end, but the ending that we got surpassed all of my expectations. There was drama, rage, grief, and most of all, hope. I do wish that it had been longer, about 100 pages extra would do. It was missing a few scenes, some quieter moments with characters (more Max please).
It’s difficult to review this third book, because I don’t want to spoil the first two. I’ll just vaguely say that I’m happy about how most character arcs progressed. I would have wanted things between Alex and Esmae to end differently, but I’m not too bothered with the ending we got.
Overall though this was a good close to the trilogy. I cannot wait to read more of Sangu Mandanna’s works.
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HOW ARE ALL OF YOUR REVIEWS SO FABULOUSLY PERFECT????? I AM FOREVER IN AWE AND ALSO LOVE THEM SO MUCH THEYRE THE BEST 😭 also THE ENTIRE SERIES SOUNDS FABULOUS,, PLUS?? THE TITLE??? I wish to read it solely for that CANNOT WAIT TO FALL IN LOVE WITH THE BOOKS AND HERES ALL THE CHOCOLATES IN THE WORLD FOR THE MOST AMAZING REVIEW
OMG YES! You need to read this series ASAP. The audiobooks are on Scribd if that helps. Happy reading!