#BookReview: Starlight Jewel (Gifts of the Auldtree #1) by E.L. Lyons

Synopsis: The human city of Minalav is renowned for its lavish balls, where nobles bring wealth from distant lands to the Starlight Palace, to be romanced—and robbed—by the half-human hybrids who live below the city. The wealthy guests leave without their treasure, and with no memory of their evening—except the unforgettable feelings that bring them back, season after season. But the magic of Minalav is built on dark secrets and lies.

Axly, a hybrid assassin and seductress-thief, will do anything to protect her human half-brother. The path of blood and chaos she carves will tip the precious balance of Minalav, and the world around it.



493 pages, 173k words, 3rd person PoV, Past Tense, Multiple PoV, Medieval Alternate World Epic Fantasy, Female Main Character, Spiceless/Fade-to-Black



No AI was used in the writing of this book or the making of its cover.



Honest reviews of all sorts and kinds are appreciated. If you leave a critical review, I still appreciate the time you took to read however much of my book you did, and hope that your next read is more to your liking! 

Despite some folks shelving this as "Romance" and GR adding that as a genre, I would like to caution that this is NOT a romance book, there is a romance side plot, but there is no happily ever after or happy for now and there are no major romance tropes in the book

Trigger Warnings:



This book contains some graphic violence and many elements that readers may find disturbing, including a bit of torture. There are no graphic descriptions of sex or sexual assault, but there are allusions to prostitution, a couple of steamy scenes, some sexually disturbing implications, classism, ableism, the death of a nameless dog, murder, cannibalism, matricide, and suicidal ideation. It has been described as having a "splash of grimdark."



Goodreads | Amazon

Rating: 4 Stars
My Review: This one was kind of clunky to start but once I really got into the writing and the story I was all in!  I loved the characters and the story and I could not put it down.  I enjoyed every page. And need the next one now. 

E.L. Lyons is the author of Starlight Jewel. Her first published novel and the first entry in the Gifts of the Auldtree series.

She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Regent University. She’s worked as a pool manager, beauty department manager, relief counselor at a youth shelter and as a live-in caregiver. She hopes to finish her next novel from a loft overlooking the Blue Ridge Mountains.

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Posted in: 4 Stars, Adult, Indie Published, Netgalley, Review