Star-Touched Stories

June 1, 2018

Gr 8 Up-Chokshi returns to the world of her first two novels in this collection of novellas. Fans of The Star-Touched Queen will appreciate its prequel novella "Death and Night," which follows the Dharma Raja throughout his unlikely courtship of Night incarnate. In A Crown of Wishes, Aasha, a vishakanya whose very touch is deadly, earned her own wish in the Tournament of Wishes-the chance to choose to live as a human. But making a place for herself in that world is harder than Aasha expected. As Gauri and Vikram prepare to unite their kingdoms in "Poison and Gold," Aasha has to embrace both her humanity and her vishakanya side. She trains under the fierce but fascinating Spy Mistress in an attempt to make a place for herself. Set after both novels in the series, "Rose and Sword" recalls a well-known story in the Empire of Bharat-Jain where, long ago, a bride was poised to become a widow before her wedding henna had even dried. She has to travel through Death and back to reclaim her husband's last breath. Chokshi is in top form with the lush world-building and vivid language fans of this series have come to love. Each novella focuses on an ambitious heroine as she confronts not just her fears but her desires. VERDICT A must-read for fans of the series and a charming introduction to the author and her works.-Emma Carbone, Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2018
A collection of three companion romance narratives featuring the spunky heroines of TheStar-Touched Queen (2016) and A Crown of Wishes (2017).In "Death and Night," Dharma Raja, the god of death, is cursed by the Shadow Wife to lose the woman he loves. He is confident that he will never fall in love--until he meets Night incarnate. "Poison and Gold" traces the adventures of Aasha, a "vishakanya," who wants to not just live, but also belong in the human world yet is unable to control her powers. She strives to regain her identity--and consequently, her confidence--under the tutelage of Bharata's deadly Spy Mistress. Refreshingly, this story depicts same-sex desires. In "Rose and Sword," young Hira listens to her paternal grandmother, Gauri, narrate the tale of a bride who sets out to rescue her fiance from the threshold of death on the eve of her wedding. Deftly woven with fantastical elements and Indian mythology, the tales reflect and materialize the characters' internal struggles. Although Night's narrative is at times clichéd and overrun with tedious descriptions, Aasha's and Gauri's stories explore complex themes of identity, ambition, love, and loss.Chokshi (Aru Shah and the End of Time, 2018, etc.) marries sensuous storytelling with kick-ass protagonists in these feminist romances. (Romance. 12-18)

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