#laila and Darius

[darklinaforever]

So... Beyond obviously reminding me of Darklina, because light and darkness... It reminds me more precisely of Addie & Luc. Like... Laila is a star, and Addie has always been compared to the stars. Darius is a demon associated with darkness, Luc is a demon, literally the darkness between the stars... Like... this trilogy in the making does not have the right to write a tragic ending. It must be the counterpoint sometimes to the open ending (a little missed in my opinion) of Addie & Luc.

Also, Laila & Darius also remind me of Sauron & Galadriel. We find the opposition of light and darkness. Galadriel and Laila are both blonde. Laila is a star, associated with light, Galadriel is called lady of light and offers Frodo the light of Elendil compared to a star. And Sauron is essentially a representation of Lucifer, fallen angel, therefore a demon. And Darius is a demon. Also, there is a war coming between light and darkness in both stories.

Beyond that, I also think of Dameyra from HOTD / Fire and Blood. A blonde with purple eyes ? And again, light and darkness ? What is Dameyra literally compared to in wedding vows ?

"The vow spoken throught time, of darkness and light"

Yes. There's no denying I'm going to love this book / future trilogy.

[sometimesraven]

@aninkwellofnectar

making a collection

[laufire]

I was tagged by @blairwaldcrf to do this (ty!)

Pick any five OTPs and choose just one song you associate with each.

I’m just going to choose a few ships that have been on my mind. Also, tbh, the song choices are heavily influenced by a.) what I’ve been listening to recently; b.) a very sui generis sense of humour. I’m not sorry.

-Eleanor Guthrie & Max from Black Sails. Mirel Wagner’s “What Love Looks Like” was the first that came to mind. PERFECT for their breakup, IMO (“this pain I breath / has poisoned me / dreamt a dream / now I’m spitting bitter tears”). But. I won’t lie. Immediately afterwards I thought of Donna Summer’s “Bad Girls” , which I’ve been listening to on a loop this week. Err. Take it as a pre-show established relationship thingy that highlights a messed up, rarely talked about aspect of their relationship? (“hey mister, have you got a dime / mister, do you want to spend some time, oh yeah / I got what you want, you got what I need / I’ll be your baby, come and spend it one me”).

-Lyra Silvertongue & Will Parry from His Dark Materials. I’m going to pick Hozier & Karen Crowley’s “In A Week”, Because (“we’ll lay here for years or for hours / thrown here or found, to freeze or to thaw / so long, we’d become the flowers / two corpses we were, two corpses I saw / and they’d find us in a week / when the weather gets hot / after the insects have made their claim / I’d be home with you, I’d be home with you”).

-Caroline Forbes & Klaus Mikaelson from The Vampire Diaries. I’m specifying that one show, and focusing on the early days, because TO had a progression that definitely doesn’t fit the song that came to mind LOL: Alanis Morissette’s “Uninvited” (“like anyone would be / I am flattered by your fascination with me / like any hot blooded woman / I have simply wanted an object to crave / but you, you’re not allowed / you’re uninvited / an unfortunate slight“)... yeah xDD

-Bela Talbot & Dean Winchester from Supernatural. I keep thinking of them thanks to, of all things, this gifset of Lilah and Wesley in Angel (which is also making me want to rewatch the season 4 finale and cry about it, btw). I’m faaaar better at coming up with solo Bela songs than with Deanbela songs, I can’t lie xD (some of them work for both of them since the similarities are there, but not exactly for their dynamic iykwim). But, I mean. I don’t think I can’t resist picking Siouxsie and the Banshee’s “Face to Face”. It’s the Batcat song! ( “another life, another time / we’re siamese twins writhing intertwined / face to face, no telling lies / the masks slide to reveal a new disguise / [...] / and you’ll never know / you’ll never know / you’ll never know”).

-Laila Rose & Darius Calantis from The Essence of the Equinox (see rec post here!). Florence & The Machine’s “What Kind of Man” popped into my head immediately. Although, in my mind, it’s Darius singing it <333 (“and with one kiss / you inspired a fire of devotion / that lasted twenty years / what kind of man loves like this / to let me dangle at a cruel angle / my feet don’t touch the floor / somethings you’re half in and then you’re half out / but you never close the door”).

I’m tagging... @missbrunettebarbie @equusgirl @nectargrapes @grapecaseschoices @bellamygate @homosexualslug @peresephones and whoever else feels up for it!

[aninkwellofnectar]

WE WILL DEVOUR THE NIGHT 🌙 Paperback Pre-Orders are now available!

Laila returns to Mortos with a mission: salvage her dynasty from those who seek power through magic-driven bigotry. As she crosses paths once more with an old lover, the whirlwind of emotions unleashed will be cataclysmic!

For those who have been patiently waiting for a paperback I am pleased to reveal that orders are now open on my personal Payhip!

From now until 22 September 2024 I will be offering paperbacks at 20% off the usual price of ��15.99!

This pre-order campaign also comes exclusively with a signed copy by yours truly, a holographic sticker of Laila, and an art print of Darius.

Payment will be taken at checkout and orders shipped in mid-late September!

Don’t hesitate! Get your copy through Payhip now!

[words-after-midnight]

Cover reveal: WE WILL DEVOUR THE NIGHT by Camilla Andrew ✨

(The Essence of the Equinox, Book 2)

(Cover artist: Eeva Nikunen)

Release date: September 22, 2024

Pre-order / ARC application

I was honored to be among the first to get a sneak peek at this gorgeous cover for @aninkwellofnectar's upcoming book WE WILL DEVOUR THE NIGHT, the sequel to WHEN THE STARS ALIGHT (one of my favorite reads in 2024 so far), and I'm now thrilled to be able to share it with you all. 😊 Blurb for WWDtN under the cut:

Twenty years after that fateful voyage north, Laila has been slowly prepping for her campaign to become the next Impératrice of Soleterea. Unfortunately, she must also contend with competitors attempting to wrangle the throne from her dynasty by capitalising on the negative attitudes towards chaos magic and the demons who wield it. In the meantime, Darius has settled into his new position as the Rex of Mortos, but his rule has not been without conflict and conspiracy.

When her mother suggests that Laila help herself politically by lending a hand to Darius, she finds herself once more crossing paths with her old lover and confronting the whirlwind of emotions that twenty years apart had done little to settle. Determined to put her feelings to one side, Laila throws herself headfirst into the pit of vipers that is Mortesian court politics in the interest of charming them under her influence. However, Darius continues to have an allure of his own - one that is not quite so simple to resist.

[figjelly]

Book Review: We Will Devour the Night by Camilla Andrew

Full disclosure: I received an eARC of this book from the author and this represents my honest opinion. Spoilers for When the Stars Alight are present.

I started We Will Devour the Night while moving across the continental United States. Which sounds crazy (spoilers: it was) but I REALLY wanted to dive back into the world Camilla Andrew created. Set twenty years after When the Stars Alight, the book hits the ground running. So, if you’ve not read the first book yet, I highly recommend doing so before starting We Will Devour the Night. Bonus points if you get to Andrew’s The Sanguine Sorceress.

At the end of When the Stars Alight, a lot had happened. Laila had rejected Darius. Darius had killed his brother. Lyra’s uncle/Laila’s father figure had to be sacrificed to permanently banish Darius’s father. Amira dropped the in-world inequivalent of nuclear bombs on Darius’s home country. Dr. Emika Hariken (minor character, love of my life), uses her chimera monster powers to eat a whole bunch of people. It isn’t important to know that last part; I just really love Dr. Hariken, no matter how many legs she has and I want everyone to know that. (She doesn’t even show up in this book!)

Anyway, that’s where we’ve left off. We find Laila Rose catching stars on the beach and being told her ex-lover has dropped in for a visit (awkward). It’s been twenty years since Mortos opened up to the wider world and Laila’s mom, Amira, is concerned that chaos magic and drugs (we’ll just call it drugs) are being smuggled through to Soleterea. While Darius spends the book trying to suss out who and how stuff is being smuggled, Amira gently “suggests” to Laila that she should go forth and be a good little politician. The Rose legacy is in danger. Without Laila, it dies off and Amira absolutely wants to control control control. Off Laila goes to Mortos because, oof, a major famine is going on. Wonder what caused that shrug emoji and question mark. Absolutely, she and Darius are going to cross paths and that’s dangerous for two-lovers who are star-crossed. We get some new characters who highlight the other side of this world. Mortals get more representation. As a mortal myself, I call that a diversity win. It’s Andrew’s second installment in her Essence of the Equinox trilogy so while we still get richly woven descriptions, there are new things to admire and reflect on. In addition to the familiar environments of Soleterea and Mortos, a rainforest is introduced as an important setting. Elina Panja is our anchor here. We get to experience the rainforest not only as a humid, oppressive sprawl of crushing green but also through her eyes. Elina’s rainforest breathes and embraces her as she acknowledges the power it holds. It reminds me very much of my favorite scene in When the Stars Alight where Lyra’s home in the forest wasn’t just a forest but a part of Lyra. Andrew effortlessly continues to spread a well-constructed quilt over the story and transforms a book into a world. Despite this, I am finding myself wishing we had more orientation. This world is becoming larger and the lack of names for geography, terrain, and water features does take me out of the environment once in a while. For a lot of readers, I imagine that this won’t hinder the overall enjoyment. It’s just a little thing I’ve begun to notice in my own experience. Like the environments, the characters continue to be delightfully constructed. We get new faces but Elina Panja is an easy favorite. She loves her family, is strongly rooted in her goals and priorities, and is effortlessly kind (and this kindness persists even when she is setting boundaries, which I adore). A familiar face from book one returns and Andrew keeps you guessing as to what the actual heck has happened (spoilers: you won’t find out until the very end and oh gosh I internally screamed at the revelation). Since this is the second book in a trilogy, Andrew has the hard work of trying to pick up the momentum of book one while setting up book three. For the most part, it’s successful. There is no shortage of tantalizing threads but I am a little concerned that we’re going to get eleventh hour decisions from Laila (and maybe others but Laila is my primary concern) that don’t match up with who we’ve gotten to know. But Andrew has earned more than enough good will from me to dive in, trusting and exciting

So, the big question: should you read Camilla Andrew’s We Will Devour the Night? Yeah. Especially if you read the first book and enjoyed it. After finishing it, I immediately needed to consume everything else the Essence of the Equinox series had to offer. I couldn’t get enough. I volunteered to read and give a review of this book because I wanted to read more as soon as possible. When the Stars Alight prepared the meal and set the table. We Will Devour the Night serves an extravagant feast.

Come hungry.

Stars: 4/5

TLDR: Messy politics, messy families, and messy love but Andrew balances the hell out of it all while building up to a heart-wrenching finale for everyone.

Click here to order your copy!

[ladzwriting]

The fourth blurb comes from @aninkwellofnectar, author of When The Stars Alight and its sequel, We Will Devour the Night, which came out just this weekend:

“THE CRADLE OF ETERNAL NIGHT encapsulates both the beauty and terror of sapphic love at its purest. Two wayward souls forcing love to bloom in the most inhospitable of conditions, under a bleak and unyielding darkness that seems hopeless to penetrate. Ladz keeps you on tenterhooks wondering how Hanka and Basia could possibly prevail through this brutal landscape before delivering you to the sweet promise of a romantic end.”

I love Cammie's world-building and especially the way magic can't be separated from the romantic and interpersonal tension between Laila and Darius her trilogy, in The Essence of the Equinox

My f/f romantasy horror comes out October 22 $0.99 eBook preorder for Sapphic September

goodreads | preorder

[tryingtimi]

Today’s @aninkwellofnectar’s birthday, and this lovely occasion reminded me a lot of things.

Book-wise, it reminded me of her debut novel; When The Stars Alight. Last year, I devoured this story, and got so immersed that I honestly still feel like I am friends with the endearingly strong Laila, a sparing buddy of cool Lyra and could share a drink with sly Darius anytime. Her prose reminded me of the first book I ever read, and the beauty of language. The power of how evocative one can make a story with high level skill. It reminded me of why I love reading in the first place. Her story is one that is truly unforgettable because all and everything that happened pops up in my head regularly since then. The more the story sits with you, the closer it gets to you.

When I say Camilla’s stories are foods for our souls I mean it. They are complex and bold, exploring everything in-between soft and dark. They teach us lessons learned the hard ways, twirling the experience together with sparkling beauty and elegance. She’s a true creator, sprinkling art from her fingertips everywhere.

I am not the best at this, but I can’t recommend her works enough. You can expect immense inspiration and motivation if you’re a writer, plus intense feelings and attachment as a reader. With reading When The Stars Alight, a beatiful new world opened up that feels as real as typing this up. If something, you should give When The Star Alight a read before the next book drops, so we can share our excitement together, while lifting a telented author and a genuinely darling person up a bit even more.

[rose-bookblood]

When the Stars Alight appreciation week — Day 4

When the Stars Alight is @aninkwellofnectar's debut novel, first in the Essence of the Equinox series.

I didn't want to post around Christmas because I could practically hear crickets on my dash, but now that it seems to have revived a little, I can continue with WTSA appreciation week.

Day 4: Parallels to other media or your own work

I've compared WTSA to The Vampire Diaries TV show a billion times by now, so this is the perfect chance for a deep dive.

Of course, the most surface-level parallel is the love triangle between two brothers who are in love with the same woman, which is probably the one thing you've heard of about TVD even if you haven't seen a single episode. The Laila-Darius-Dominus triangle instantly struck me as the more mature and tragic version of that, one that commits to the brothers being monsters. It feels like the author saw the dynamic in TVD and went the "what if" route with her novel, a route I immensely enjoyed. Don't get me wrong, I like the path TVD chooses, it makes more sense for the genre and target audience, but we've all felt that curiosity to know what would've happened if the story had taken a different turn.

Something that, for me, emphasizes the connection to the TVD love triangle is that Laila herself reminds me of a better version of Elena. Darius and Dominus do remind me of Damon and Stefan too, but the line here is blurred. Laila, though, has some of Elena's core characteristics, not just surface-level similarities. In the show, what defines Elena is her compassion... Too bad I've never bought that. Elena's kindness feels very performative and, in turn, what strikes me about her are her manipulative tendencies. In turn, Laila is genuinely compassionate and righteous, always trying to change the world for the better, while also often being manipulative — which is one of my favourite aspects of her character. Laila is both who TVD thinks Elena is and what she could've been if the writers had committed to her flaws, instead of sweeping them under the rug.

Another parallel is how much Laila and Darius remind me of Caroline and Klaus's relationship. While on the surface Laila and Darius parallel Elena and Damon, at a deeper analysis I feel like they have more of Caroline and Klaus in them, both the characters themselves and the relationship proper. This will come as a surprise to absolutely no one, especially not the author, who feeds me with Klaroline quotes over Laila and Darius reels.

Laila and Caroline are both smart but naïve, young immortals, contrasting with Darius and Klaus, who are also immortal, but have already lived for centuries. They offer a counterpart with much more experience and a darkness to them as well (I couldn't go a whole post without mentioning the dark/light theme). Darius reminds me in particular of early days Klaus, during the few episodes he appears in in season 2: the very mysterious, ruthless, charming version we see in Katherine's flashbacks.

Speaking of Laila, even though her story isn't finished, I can see her going on a path of emancipation and empowerment like Caroline. Laila is already a princess, but she's very much subjected to her mother's control. I'm excited to watch her stepping out from under Amira's thumb and fully realise herself.

The last comparison I can make is way less interesting and deep, but the effects of chaos magic and, therefore, Mortesian demons' true faces remind me of TVD vampires: fangs, change in eye colour, blackened veins especially. I don't know if it was a conscious decision on the author's part, but the way vampires look in TVD has always been a cool aesthetic choice in my opinion, so I couldn't not appreciate it.

[darklinaforever]

Here is the first list of ships that may most likely interest you if you are a fan of Darklina ! Essentially it's about enemies to lover, or a dynamic reminiscent of Beauty and the Beast !

▪︎ Merlin & Morgana. (Mergana) | Show, Merlin BBC. [Tragical Ending]

▪︎ Halbrand / Sauron & Galadriel. (Haladriel / Saurondriel) | Show, The Rings of Power. [In progress]

▪︎ Rey & Kylo Ren / Ben Solo. (Reylo) | Star Wars, postlogy.

▪︎ Osha & Qimir. (Oshamir) | Star Wars Show, The Acolyte.

▪︎ Dracula & Mina. (Dracmina) | Movie, Dracula 1992. [Tragical Ending]

▪︎ Sarah & Jareth. (Sareth) | Movie, Labyrinth 1986. [Open Ending ?]

▪︎ Dongfang Qingcang & Xiao Lanhua / Orchid. | CDrama, Love Between Fairy and Devil. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Xiang Liu & Xiao Yao. | CDrama, Lost You Forever. / Book, by Tong Hua. [Tragical Ending]

▪︎ Tantai Jin & Li Susu. | CDrama, Till the End of the Moon. [Open Ending] / Black Moonlight is Guaranteed a Bad Ending Script, by Teng Luo Wei Ji. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Erik & Christine. (Erikstine) | Le fantôme de l'opéra, by Gaston Leroux. / Phantom, by Susan Kay. / The Phantom of the Opera, 25th anniversary, at the Royal Albert Hall, by Andrew Lloyd Webber. [Tragical Ending]

▪︎ Raistlin & Crysania. | Trilogy, The Legends, from Dragonlance universe, by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. / Musicals. [Tragical ending]

▪︎ Warner & Juliette. (Warnette) | Book series, Shatter Me, by Tahereh Mafi. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Julian & Jenny. | Trilogy, Forbidden game, by L.J Smith. [Tragical ending / Open Ending]

▪︎ Addie & Luc. | Book, The Invisible life of Addie Larue, by V. E. Schwab. [Open Ending]

▪︎ Vasya & Morozko. | Winternight trilogy, by Katherine Arden. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Marya Morevna & Koschei. | Book, Deathless, by Catherynne M. Valente. [Open Ending]

▪︎ Kasta & Zahru. (Kastaru) | Trilogy, The Kinder Poison, by Natalie Mae. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Jude & Cardan. (Jurdan) | Trilogy, Folk of the Air, by Holly Black. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Corien & Rielle. (Corielle) | The Empirium trilogy, by Claire Legrand. [Tragical ending]

▪︎ Ruhn & Lidia. (Ruhnlidia / Daynight) | Trilogy, Crescent City, by Sarah J. Mass. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Feyre & Rhysand. (Feysand) | Book series, ACOTAR, by Sarah J. Maas. [Happy Ending / In progress]

▪︎ Elain & Azriel. (Elriel) | Book series, ACOTAR, by Sarah J. Maas. [In progress]

▪︎ Emilia & Dorian. | French book series, Vila Emilia, by Elodie Faiderbe. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Laila & Darius. | Trilogy, When the Stars Alight, by Camilla Andrew. [In progress]

▪︎ Jane Eyre & Mr Rochester. | Book, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronté. / Show BBC, 2006. / Movie, 2011. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Will & James. | Trilogy, Dark Rise, by C.S. Pacat. [In progress]

▪︎ Laurent & Damen. (Lamen) | Trilogy, Captive Prince, by C.S. Pacat. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Evangeline & Jacks. (Evajacks) | Trilogy, Once Upon a Broken Heart, by Stephanie Garber. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Agnieszka & Sarkan. | Book, Uprooted, by Naomi Novik. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Auren & Rip / Slade. | Book series, The Plated Prisoner, by Raven Kennedy. [In progress]

▪︎ Ash & Mary-Lynnette. | Book series, Night World, volume 2 : Daughters of Darkness, by L.J Smith. [Hapoy Ending / In progress]

▪︎ Hades & Persephone. (Persades) | Webtoon, Lore Olympus, de Rachel Smythe. [In progress] / Greek mythology.

▪︎ Xibalba & La Muerte. (Xibamuerte) | Animation movie, The Book of Life. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Beauty and the Beast. | Fairy Tale. / Animation Movie Disney. / Movie, Jean Cocteau 1946. / Show, Once Upon a Time. [Happy Ending]

▪︎ Chise & Elias. | Anime, Mahou Tsukai no Yome, 2017. / Manga, The Ancient Magus Bride, by Kore Yamazaki. [In progress]

[italiangothicwriteblr]

When the Stars Alight Appreciation Week Day 1

If you don’t know, When the Stars Alight is the first book in The Essence of the Equinox series by @aninkwellofnectar

Rose’s post about this is so much better but I wanted to do one to!

Day 1: Why you picked up the book

This book is a absolutely full of amazing tropes and characters!

—Gothic Romance: I’ve long adored the Gothic tradition, and Laila and Darius are truly the successors to couples like Catherine and Heathcliff. They love each other to a warped degree, they’re haunted by their family pasts, they drive the whole story

—Lore and Setting: This world is so well developed, and the imagery associated with both Solterea and Mortos is so immersive. You’ll love both but in very different ways. Also, there’s magitech!!

—Side Characters: Laila and Darius drive the plot, but they’re surrounded by some of the most interesting characters in fantasy today. This is a Lyra and Amira stan blog now

—Protagonist: Laila is the “strong female protagonist” that so many books have tried and failed to do well. She’s kind, but mistake that for weakness at your peril—everyone loves her, and they’re absolutely right to

[laufire]

"WE WILL DEVOUR THE NIGHT" by Camilla Andrews - Release Day

September 22nd is the day the second installment of Camilla's wonderful trilogy comes out! The paperback arrived on the mail a few days before, accompanied by a few art prints of Laila and Darius, its lead characters, as a bonus.

You can read my review of the book here, and of its predecesor, "When the Stars Alight", here.

The author is having an instagram release party on her instagram where she'll take questions and chat, at 7PM BST. Go join it!

[maddiesbookshelves]

The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, by Ram V. & Andrade Felipe (Illustrator)

Current day Mumbai. Mrs Shah, about to give birth and stuck in traffic, screams at her husband on the phone. Laila Starr, a young woman already tired with everything, is lounging on an open windowsill several floors above traffic. And even higher than that, well above the clouds, the goddess of Death is called into her boss' office. Those three fates cross path simultaneously when Laila jumps, Mrs Shah gives birth to her son Darius, and Death is bluntly fired. In a future, Darius turns out to be the one who will discover the secret to immortality, relegating Death to the status of unpleasant memory. But Death, made flesh in Laila's lifeless body, fully intends to get her job back, even if she has to kill the young Darius to do so. At least, that was the plan, until she gets hit by a truck and finds herself coming back from the dead once again years later...

Breathtaking art with a fascinating story that manages to juggle a wide array of emotions. It's funny, it's sad, it's reflective, it's hopeful... I absolutely loved this.

Some parts of the narration felt very poetic to me, which I loved. The story in itself is really interesting: the link between life and death (both literally and figuratively), what the point of life is if there is no death, a literal goddess experiencing humanity in all its complexity, and in the background, snippets of Indian culture.

A truly amazing read.

French version under the cut

Mumbai, de nos jours. Mme Shah, en plein travail et coincée dans un embouteillage, hurle sur son mari au téléphone. Laila Starr, une jeune femme déjà fatiguée de tout, est allongée sur le rebord d'une fenêtre ouverte, plusieurs étages au-dessus du trafic. Et plus haut encore, bien au-delà des nuages, la déesse de la Mort est convoquée dans le bureau de son patron. Ces trois destins se rejoignent au moment où, simultanément Laila saute dans le vide, Mme Shah donne naissance à son fils Darius, et la Mort est renvoyée sans ménagement. Dans un futur, Darius est en effet celui qui découvrira le secret de l'immortalité et reléguera la Mort au rang de désagréable souvenir. Mais la Mort, incarnée dans le corps sans vie de Laila, compte bien retrouver sa place, même si elle doit pour cela éliminer le jeune Darius. Du moins, c'était le plan avant qu'un camion ne la fauche et qu'elle ne se retrouve à nouveau ressuscitée quelques années plus tard...

Des dessins magnifiques avec une histoire fascinante qui arrive à jongler avec de nombreuses émotions. C'est drôle, c'est triste, ça fait réfléchir, c'est plein d'espoir... J'ai absolument adoré.

J'ai trouvé certaines parties de la narration très poétiques, ce que j'ai beaucoup apprécié. L'histoire en elle-même était très intéressante : le lien entre la vie et la mort (au sens propre comme au figuré), quel est l'intérêt de la vie sans la mort, une véritable déesse qui découvre ce que c'est d'être humain dans toute sa complexité, avec en toile de fond un aperçu de la culture indienne.

Une lecture vraiment excellente.

[aninkwellofnectar]

WHEN THE STARS ALIGHT 🌟 as voted for by poll

“How did you get out of the tower?” she asked, looking up at him through a gold canopy of lashes. He touched a spiral coil of her hair, tucking it behind her ear before tilting her chin up to face him. “I had to break my legs.” Laila released a soft moan into his mouth the moment their lips met, her legs slackening with relief. The kiss was slow at first; hesitant. Until Darius wrapped his arm around her waist to pull her closer, his hands sliding low on the small of her back. Then the kiss grew deeper, more fervent, as his hands hooked beneath the backs of her thighs to lift her up against the wall.

Commission by the wonderful jjflorentina on Instagram!

[petit-atelier-de-poesie]

NOTE DE LECTURE : Toutes les morts de Laila Starr. Ram V. Filipe Andrade. 2022

Excellent roman graphique ! La couverture marquée du "coup de coeur du libraire" m'avait interpellée et je l'avais gardée dans un coin de ma mémoire, et je ne suis pas déçue. 

Laila Starr est la narratrice d'une histoire de vie et de mort qu'elle raconte comme déesse hindoue déchue et réincarnée. A chaque chapitre de son histoire pour retrouver sa place perdue, elle croisera Darius le pauvre humain cause de sa disgrâce mais aussi toutes les affres de notre humanité qui désormais la rendent vulnérable.  C'est tout simplement beau, le récit est bien construit avec des chapitres, et les répétitions tragi-comiques de Toutes les morts de Laila Starr. Les illustrations sont épurées et chargées, saturées de couleurs, comme dans la culture indienne puisque cela se passe de nos jours à Mumbay. Et pourtant il émane de ce récit une subtile délicatesse, qui s'achève avec la poésie, et ouvre la champ de la philosophie. 

Bref, une BD qui marque en tous points, tout comme l'avait fait auparavant Daytripper : au jour le jour, dont l'auteur a rédigé la préface de cet ouvrage, avec la thématique commune autour de la mort et de notre rapport à la vie.

[figjelly]

I started When the Stars Alight right before a nasty fall that left me with a broken hand and cracked face. This was how my journey to Camilla Andrew’s world began. Put on bed rest, I needed an escape and what a welcome journey it was. Let's talk about the first book in The Essence of the Equinox series.

Our protagonists are a star made flesh and a Fabio for monster fuckers (monsterfuckers? I need Merriam-Webster and/or Oxford to comment). The star is a princess named Laila and her life is as light as a ton of feathers. Light as a breeze, Laila floats through life under a tremendous amount of pressure from her mother but she puts on a good face. One day, a curiosity from the sea falls into Laila’s lap. A monstrous man frozen in ice kickstarts multiple deaths and Laila’s journey to a bleak and desperate land. Despite the unrelenting wilds and government officials, Laila presses onward. Darius Calantis, bastard son of the rex and brother to Laila’s iceman is our other POV. He spends his days having politically strategic sex and musing about life after death (in a disturbingly hands-on way). Their liaisons spark political intrigue and sexual tension so thick that not even immortality can guarantee a deathless life.

Andrew loves this world, these characters, and this story. The affection is spilled on each page, every detail carefully crafted. Minor characters (I’m pointing directly at you, Dr. Emika Hariken) make me want more stories where I learn more about them, their lives, and the people around them. Laila is the star (there is a point where puns jump the shark and this is it) but not everything revolves around her. Everyone feels real. The stakes are terrifying for the reader as well as the characters. 

I finally understood that this book was not for the faint of heart when I realized Andrew had stealthily, in plain sight, placed reminders that while I really wanted to see Laila bang it out with Darius there were marginalized and disenfranchised peoples who were being casually conscripted to serve a royal family. I am purposefully downplaying the horrors that are packed into “casually” and “conscripted” and “serve.” Unfortunately, one of my favorite scenes of the book is when you realize Andrew is an honest and genuine author. When she writes of the Solarites, the living stars, I was too dazzled by the idea of twinkling lights in a rich night sky and making wishes on shooting stars that I forgot that stars are controlled thermonuclear fusion reactors. As I read everything else in this series, I will not forget that again.

While all the characters feel properly motivated and fleshed out, there are times where the POV changes feel a bit breakneck. As Laila’s perspective and thoughts get reported to us, once in a while her lightguard Lyra will pop in with an opinion or we’ll even get the author jumping in with a bit of commentary about the events transpiring. This did not affect my ability to read the story, follow the narrative, or enjoy my time with the book. These seemingly parenthetical interruptions were far and few between and, at most, would simply cause me to double take before getting back to the story. If a reader is a stickler for details, there might be some conflict between them and Laila. Laila’s skill sets and way of thinking are more flexible and go-with-the-flow at any given moment. As a self-identified Type A personality myself there were a few times where I had to take a step back and recognize that perhaps Andrew did too good of a job at creating a Type B personality specifically crafted to drive me up a wall. Fortunately, Andrew also does a phenomenal job at writing Laila as someone I can sympathize with. 

It would have been easy to phone in a standard romantasy fare. As someone who unabashedly loves a good dark romance with fantasy world window dressing, I’m a sucker for a lead who at first falls for The Obvious Choice but as the story goes on we realize, “Oh no, it would be WAY hotter if they ended up with the serial killer cannibal.” No shade, no judgment. But what makes When the Stars Alight unique for me is Andrew’s ability to create characters and a world I now think about on a regular basis. Her writing style and voice are striking. There are snippets of description and dialogue that are so evocative that I hate how good it is (let’s talk about how Mortos wants to EAT EAT EAT from the soil to the soul, I’m on discord). This book also gives me what I crave for single entries in a series: the book can satisfactorily stand on its own if I decide not to go any further. No matter my feelings towards a book’s contents, I’m a sucker for an author who has a vision and then understands they need to package it nicely for others. Cliffhangers are for box office cash cows and my nephrologist says I need to monitor my dairy intake. Being able to gobble up a story guilt-free and fully satiated is a true treat.

So, the big question: should you read When the Stars Alight by Camilla Andrew? I don’t know. I’m not your mom. If you don’t like political stories, fantasy stories, sexy stories, or horrific stories, then it’s not something I’d recommend to you just because you’re not the target audience. If you’re down for anything, then absolutely read this book. Even if you don’t get into the series or the short stories that are connected to it, Andrew has given me some respite from books usually recommended to me (about a month ago while I was serving wine to some customers, I was recommended Kristin Hannah’s The Women and Brynne Weaver’s Ruinous Love trilogy. Both are solid reads, just classic comforts for a voracious reader like myself). Sometimes, a reader’s motivation can be to support independent authors and, if that’s the case, you don’t get any more indie than a black woman self-publishing a political sci-fantasy story. 

Also, the smut is REAL good.   Stars: 4.5/5 TLDR: Literal star girl becomes a diplomat to a land where no light shines. She can seduce but can she survive?