Fantasy

A Cruel and Fated Light

A Cruel and Fated Light

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-06-18 08:51:36
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Ashley Shuttleworth
  • ISBN：1529366275
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Summary

The ailing king of the Courts of Folk…
A queen determined for greatness…
Four tenuous friends… and the deadly game that threatens to ensnare them all

Arlo， Nausicaä， Vehan， and Aurelian might have thwarted a terrible fate in Aurum Industries， but the Courts of Folk are far from saved。 The true culprit behind the philosopher’s stones is still at large， and ironborn children continue to die， their hearts now up for grabs to any of the folk who happen across them。 What’s worse is that all signs are pointing to immortal involvement—this entire thing may be their attempt at returning to the Mortal Realm， and if so， it’s Arlo， the latest Hollow Star， they’re going try to target to pull this off。

When Riadne Lysterne， Queen of Seelie Summer， offers help to Arlo， to train her to protect herself against this potential threat， surprise is the least of the Courts’ reactions。 Invited to stay at her palace for the summer， Arlo is all too happy to ignore the very obvious signs that something is amiss， too thrilled at the chance to live a proper， royal fae life。 But very few others trust Riadne’s motivation—not Nausicaä， realigned with the Hunt to track down the absent Lethe， and uncover what’s truly going on; not Aurelian， and his newly forged alliance with High Prince Celadon Fleur-Viridian， both determined to prove the queen’s ill intent。 With the High King’s health at an all time low， and the Summer Solstice soon at hand， all eyes are on the Lysternes and Viridians—two Houses long at war， and far more connected than anyone knows， by cruelty… by fate… by two boys， both beginning to question the truth of who they are。

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Reviews

Nicole ，

Fabulous。 It felt long at points， but I was so invested！

Katy ，

4。5 starsA Cruel and Fated Light is the sequel to a Dark and Hollow Star and basically just expands and improves on everything I loved about that book to create what is probably now one of my favourite YA fantasies that feels both nostalgic and new/exciting at the same time。 Additionally when you make the main focus of the plot an evil unhinged milf with a tragic backstory it is pretty much inevitable I will love it。 My favourite thing about this series series is the characters - I LOVE THEM ALL 4。5 starsA Cruel and Fated Light is the sequel to a Dark and Hollow Star and basically just expands and improves on everything I loved about that book to create what is probably now one of my favourite YA fantasies that feels both nostalgic and new/exciting at the same time。 Additionally when you make the main focus of the plot an evil unhinged milf with a tragic backstory it is pretty much inevitable I will love it。 My favourite thing about this series series is the characters - I LOVE THEM ALL SO MUCH！！！！ I love how literally everyone is queer and that makes me very happy <3 My favourite characters in this book were actually Celadon and Theo， which surprised me because neither of them are big characters in book 1 （I don't think Theo is even in book 1） but they really snuck up on me with how much I loved them！ Celadon is such a precious cinnamon roll prince and I loved his arc in this book and how he is dealing with a lot of heavy revelations about his past and trying to protect Arlo from vicious court politics but still maintains his kindness and grace throughout。 Theo is my other favourite brand of character which is the charming， cheeky and slightly asshole-y character who is clearly hiding things with uncertain loyalties。 I also of course love Arlo/Nausicaa and their relationship。 Arlo goes through a really beautiful journey in this book with figuring out both her sexuality and her magic/alchemy and growing in confidence。 Nausicaa doesn't have as much of an arc in this book as book 1 but she has such a strong personality she always steals the show when she in on page and I love how she is always there for Arlo whilst giving her space to figure stuff out。 I also really liked Vehan/Aurelian and their arcs throughout the book。 There was quite a lot of （possibly unnecessary） angst with their relationship but I eat that shit up lol。 I thought Vehan and his relationship with his mother was a really interesting exploration of complicated family dynamics and how despite Riadne repeatedly treating Vehan badly and gaslighting him， he still loves her and refuses to see her faults at first。 Riadne was also a highlight of this book for me。 I know she is technically the "bad guy" but she is exactly the type of evil character （read: unhinged milf） I can't help loving。 And give her a tragic backstory as well just UGHHH。 The plot was really good throughout the book， there were quite a lot of slower moments just building the tension in the summer court but I actually thought this worked really well （and I'm also a fan of books with lots of quieter character moments） and lead to an excellent pay off with a very dramatic conclusion。 My only minor criticism of this book is that it was quite long for what it was， however I would probably read about these characters going food shopping so I'm not sure how much of a criticism it is。 The only other thing was that the ending cuts off a little abruptly however since there is going to be a sequel I don't think this would be too much of an issue once all the books are out; it will just make the wait painful T_TOverall I would highly recommend this series if you like YA fantasy with disaster gays， excellent and imaginative world building， fairie shenanigans and exploring complicated family dynamics。 。。。more

Caer ，

omg im gonna have to wait another year to find out what happens next 😭😭😭 this was so good

Emily （emilykatereads） ，

WHATthat ENDING

Tween 2 Teen Book Reviews ，

After absolutely loving A Dark and Hollow Star， I couldn't wait to read A Cruel and Fated Light！ It's been a year since I read the first book， so some of the details had faded by the time I picked this up， but the book did a good job of catching me up and reminding me of what was important。 Like with book one， Arlo and Nausicaä were my favorite characters， but I liked Aurelian and Vehan more now that everyone was together。 Arlo's cousin Celadon gets his own POV in this book， and it was absolutel After absolutely loving A Dark and Hollow Star， I couldn't wait to read A Cruel and Fated Light！ It's been a year since I read the first book， so some of the details had faded by the time I picked this up， but the book did a good job of catching me up and reminding me of what was important。 Like with book one， Arlo and Nausicaä were my favorite characters， but I liked Aurelian and Vehan more now that everyone was together。 Arlo's cousin Celadon gets his own POV in this book， and it was absolutely wonderful！ He is right up there with Arlo and Nos as a new favorite character。While all together， our five main characters are all pursuing slightly different plots。 Arlo is being trained in a couple types of magic。 I feel like she was a little naive this book， and I can't remember if that goes with how she is in the first book or not。 Basically， she trusts people a little *too* easily， and eventually gets burned。 Nos is pursuing various magical beings with some nasty stones on behalf of some old friends。 Arlo often goes with her， and she gets to practice her new Hollow Star abilities。 Nos goes through *a lot* in this book。 She has some heavy trauma in her past， and she's basically being forced to deal with it。 Vehan is having difficulties with his magic due to the events of the previous book as well as mysterious circumstances that he doesn't yet understand。 Aurelian is both in love with Vehan and trying to push him away as to try to keep him out of the machinations of Vehan's mother， Riadne。 On that note， our new POV character Celadon is investigating evil queen Riadne， as he suspects she has some hidden plans。 He has some specific suspicions about her， and the implications are enormous （part of why he's a new favorite character）。All of this is building towards the Summer Solstice。 As you can likely guess， everything goes horribly wrong。 The end of this book is a major turning point in the series， and none of our characters will be the same when we see them again。 Who will be broken and who will be galvanized to face a new threat？ Only time will tell。 。。。more

Michelle ，

i would very much not like to be in the room when arlo finds out about celadon😀

Luciana ，

okay！！！！ this was my most anticipated book this year and it was worth itwe are truly in good hands with ashley， i always say this but i think book 2 is always the hardest cause how can you do what you did in book 1 but without being the same thing， and without using the same formula but still having the same （or superior） level of “magic”？i really liked that on this book we could explore another court， and we could learn a little bit more of the magic around the world， even if it was for a momen okay！！！！ this was my most anticipated book this year and it was worth itwe are truly in good hands with ashley， i always say this but i think book 2 is always the hardest cause how can you do what you did in book 1 but without being the same thing， and without using the same formula but still having the same （or superior） level of “magic”？i really liked that on this book we could explore another court， and we could learn a little bit more of the magic around the world， even if it was for a moment。i loved the growing relationships， romantic and not， between the characters， it felt really natural， and i’m looking forward to see them all on book 3 （i miss them already 😔） the book started a little bit slow just like the first one BUT i understand why。 ashley likes to set all the pawns in the right place before truly moving forward with the story， it takes a little bit more than normal but this is NOT a bad thing at all！ anywayyy， the last chapters made me ！！！！！！ but in a nervous way， everything went to shit， friends loland it happened because of miscommunication between all of the main characters！！！！ if they just took like 1 hour of their day to just TALK and TELL each other what was going on， a lot of things wouldn’t happen or would happen very different i’m really really excited and looking forward to book 3！ expecting great things from it。 please be 2023 already？！？？！！！ 。。。more

Alison ，

screams

Catherine ，

As excellent as the first book but now I’m even more in love with Arlo and Nos！！ Cannot wait till next book！！

Bee ，

Bloody hellllllllllI need the sequel yesterday Just？ Oh my god。 No words。 It was beautiful。 Content warnings are listed on the first page but here: arson， gore， depression， loss of a loved one， miscarriage （mentioned in passing）， abuse （parental）， suicide， minor suicidal ideation There’s a lot of queer rep it’s so fun ！For the main characters: pansexual f！mc， lesbian f！mc， bisexual m！mc， gay m！mc， asexual m！mcThere’s also several non binary characters （including neopronouns users <3）， a characte Bloody hellllllllllI need the sequel yesterday Just？ Oh my god。 No words。 It was beautiful。 Content warnings are listed on the first page but here: arson， gore， depression， loss of a loved one， miscarriage （mentioned in passing）， abuse （parental）， suicide， minor suicidal ideation There’s a lot of queer rep it’s so fun ！For the main characters: pansexual f！mc， lesbian f！mc， bisexual m！mc， gay m！mc， asexual m！mcThere’s also several non binary characters （including neopronouns users <3）， a character who communicates through sign。 The world is very queer normative :） 。。。more

Dominika ，

4。25Damn the PLOT TWIST at the end。 I LOVE this characters。 It would honestly be delighted with a 600 pages of them playing monopoly or cleaning the house。 I don't care about the setting， I care about them。 I think after rereading it in print it might be 5 stars。 Audiobook （cause I can't afford buying all the Books:（（（ ） is very well done， but I can't wait to devour the series physically。 I need the 3rd installment NOW！ 4。25Damn the PLOT TWIST at the end。 I LOVE this characters。 It would honestly be delighted with a 600 pages of them playing monopoly or cleaning the house。 I don't care about the setting， I care about them。 I think after rereading it in print it might be 5 stars。 Audiobook （cause I can't afford buying all the Books:（（（ ） is very well done， but I can't wait to devour the series physically。 I need the 3rd installment NOW！ 。。。more

Readsolotl ，

I made a Goodreads account so I could post a review for this book。 I read the whole thing in one sitting on a plane。Spoilers and mostly good vibes ahead。To preface， I think my favorite thing about reading books in a series is seeing an author improve from entry to entry。 I enjoyed A Dark and Hollow Star， but recognize that it had a fair amount of issues， which compounded the further along you went into the story。 As a result， I was weary about picking up its sequel， especially when I saw it was I made a Goodreads account so I could post a review for this book。 I read the whole thing in one sitting on a plane。Spoilers and mostly good vibes ahead。To preface， I think my favorite thing about reading books in a series is seeing an author improve from entry to entry。 I enjoyed A Dark and Hollow Star， but recognize that it had a fair amount of issues， which compounded the further along you went into the story。 As a result， I was weary about picking up its sequel， especially when I saw it was going to be longer。 That weariness ended up being unfounded， however。 I was pleasantly surprised by A Cruel and Fated Light in that it managed to not only fix nearly all of the issues I had with its predecessor， but significantly upped the stakes for the next novel in the series。The pacing of the story was a lot better， and it didn’t take too long to get all of the major characters involved， nor did I have to guess for half the book where things were reasonably headed。 The clues were woven in better， and there were some major — in a good way — ‘oh shit’ realizations （especially near the end）。 I like that the challenge for the crown is right in the beginning of the book， so that it always looms in the background as the story progresses。 I also like that we got more of the fae worldbuilding with Arlo’s invitation to stay at the Seelie Summer palace， and that the necessary expository information was more sprinkled in instead of， say， the overwhelming explanations about the 16？ different types of fae in the last one。 The scene descriptions within the palace were vivid， really making the place come alive， though， as was with the first book， there were probably too many character eye color， skin tone， and outfit descriptions。 I’ve always felt that the ability to be more succinct with those things is a learned skill that a lot of authors don’t have。Not to say Shuttleworth isn’t skilled in other areas， of course。 She excels at character voice。 That’s certainly something I really enjoyed in both of her books; she’s able to write different sounding characters for pretty much all of her POVs， and that’s a really difficult thing to do as an author。 So， honestly， well done there。 Most of the additional length comes from new points of view。 I had a good time reading Riadne’s。 It gave a lot of insight into her character and developed to the point where it was easy to understand where she was coming from。 There were some great chapters from Best Boy Celadon， who I’m glad is getting a bigger （and major） role in the story， as he was one of the highlights of the first book。 Also there’s a Lethe POV， granted it’s only one little section。 It made me smile because， for some reason， I seem to like the Edge Lord baddie with the monster teeth who’s definitely got his hands in a significant number of pies， and I really want to know where all of that goes （especially the whole constant saving of Celadon thing）。Nausicaä is still a delight。 I’m always on board with the whole ‘immortal being not acting like they are actually older than dirt’ personality type。 She seems like she’s really fun to write。 Arlo got a lot more development in this book， and I enjoyed seeing the awful consequences of her choices。 I wasn’t a huge fan of her extreme naïvety regarding Riadne， however， even if it was implied that Riadne was influencing Arlo’s perception of her with her abilities。 It made Arlo come off as a less intelligent character， because the initial wooing by Riadne seemed very much like a purposeful act， and Arlo was aware of Riadne’s mind-influencing power beforehand （even if it was just a rumor）， so I feel like she maybe could have prepared a way to bypass it somehow？ I get her being naïve is a character flaw， and the author was absolutely writing to that flaw， but even so， she’d been warned by literally everyone and I feel like more caution would have been prudent， even if it didn’t ultimately succeed。 The effort would have been enough for me。It was nice to see Nausicaä and Arlo’s relationship develop though。 The two of them following Lethe’s breadcrumbs was a good way to do that as well as for Luck to teach Arlo more about her dice powers。 Yes， the die is kind of silly， but it’s also kind of fun。 I’m not really going to knock an author for having fun unless that’s at a detriment to the story， and as it’s already firmly cemented as a major part， consider my disbelief suspended。 I mean we’re already pulling every sort of magical and supernatural being from a plethora of mythologies （Furies and Titans， The Four Horsemen， The Seven Deadly Sins， Alchemy， etc）， so what’s one more magic d20 to add to the mix？ You either accept the mash of all of these things or not， and at this point， I’m all in。 I felt extremely bad for Vehan throughout most of this book， and it wasn’t just because of his struggles with his magic and the alchemical seal he’s stuck with。 I hate that he constantly defended Riadne， though I understand that’s largely due to his abusive upbringing （an upbringing that Riadne had herself and chose to impress upon her own child）， even if he doesn’t see it himself yet。 I’m hoping he will in time， and I’m looking forward to seeing how those ramifications are handled。 The only real solace for Vehan was that he and Aurelian finally got together， which was cute， and I wish them only the best but absolutely fear the worst。 :） Also Aurelian was nabbed by Lethe， so that’s also totally going to be fine。 Yup。Speaking of fine， let’s talk about the ending， because it absolutely upended the entire world Shuttleworth had built， and significantly raised the stakes for the next book。 Other than Celadon， I think every Viridian， including King Azurian， was murdered by Riadne， as well a Arlo’s mom， and a bunch of other fae who were at the Solstice。 The pay off for the set-up of Riadne wanting to take the crown was done with such villainous flare， that here， again， I must tip my hat。 This is the kind of thing I like in good book endings: an upheaval of the past established ‘way of things’ that’s going to come with a ton of consequences， and， a little taste of where it’s going next。 A Cruel and Fated Light delivered that。For people who were frustrated with the first book， I do recommend giving this one a go。 It's really a marked improvement。 I’d really like to congratulate Shuttleworth for the obvious work she put in to achieve that。 I’m looking forward to seeing her continue to grow as an author， and I'm excited to see where book three leads。 。。。more

Amanda mcguire ，

Dnf 51 %

Johanna ，

Enjoyed this a lot！There’s lots of stuff I liked but here’s some criticism:1。 Arlo is SUCH a main character， way too OP and dumb， which is extremely annoying。2。 This is going to sound bad but I didn’t enjoy the queer rep in one specific aspect: labels。 I love it when labels are specifically mentioned in fiction， but it makes no sense to me why the characters would suddenly start explaining them。 It took me out of the story every time and it also doesn’t make much sense to me， as the world is set Enjoyed this a lot！There’s lots of stuff I liked but here’s some criticism:1。 Arlo is SUCH a main character， way too OP and dumb， which is extremely annoying。2。 This is going to sound bad but I didn’t enjoy the queer rep in one specific aspect: labels。 I love it when labels are specifically mentioned in fiction， but it makes no sense to me why the characters would suddenly start explaining them。 It took me out of the story every time and it also doesn’t make much sense to me， as the world is set up in a way where queerness is normal。 When Arlo explains her sexuality it mentally sends me to an informative instagram post， which is not what I need when I’m reading fantasy。 I feel like I sound like a conservative， but I don’t know how to phrase this any better :（。 Obviously it’s not the queerness itself that takes me out， but rather the over-explaining。 I think it’s great to have fiction be educational， but I think the specific explanations（like how to use they/them pronouns） could have been part of the author’s notes or something just as well。 This goes with a general issue I have with the storytelling， which is the way it takes the reader by the hand and leads them through everything， instead of leaving things unclear。 Maybe less foreshadowing。 I know this is y/a but you really don’t have to explain stuff so much， give your readers some credit。But as I said， I enjoyed this and I will take overly explained queerness over no queerness any day！ 。。。more

Dana ，

There is so much I love about this series but that ending is unfair！ I have laughed， I have cried， I have yelled， I have cursed。。。I cannot handle the wait for the next one 😭

Lara ，

I need to do some yoga now， because how the fuck am I supposed to cope with that ending？？？

Lainy ，

That ending， I have to wait a whole year to find out what's going to happen。 Can I wait that long？ That ending， I have to wait a whole year to find out what's going to happen。 Can I wait that long？ 。。。more

emerson ，

4。5I was lucky enough to be a part of the author's street team for the promotion of the release of this book。 A Dark and Hollow Star was one of my favourite of 2021 so clearly A Cruel and Fated Light was one of my anticipated reads of this year。The only reason this wasn't a five star read for me was because I found the beginning quite slow and it took me a bit to get into。 That may be a bigger issue for some people， but frankly， I'm mostly in this for the characters which made the rest of the bo 4。5I was lucky enough to be a part of the author's street team for the promotion of the release of this book。 A Dark and Hollow Star was one of my favourite of 2021 so clearly A Cruel and Fated Light was one of my anticipated reads of this year。The only reason this wasn't a five star read for me was because I found the beginning quite slow and it took me a bit to get into。 That may be a bigger issue for some people， but frankly， I'm mostly in this for the characters which made the rest of the book enjoyable for me。 It was all very character driven， looking in depth into character relationships and backgrounds and we got a new perspective with Celadon which was a really nice addition！Once again， Ashley Shuttleworth has put me through an emotional rollercoaster with their work and left me a wreck and I could not be happier about it。 。。。more

Robin ，

Thank you SO much to Margaret K。 McElderry Books and Netgalley for providing an e-arc of this！！ All thoughts and opinions are still my own。I'm 100% obsessed with this series！ It has a MASSIVE cast of characters， complex political maneuverings， and the most eclectic mashup of fantasy elements and I love it。This fantasy is expertly crafted and I just can't get over how much I love this queer cast of characters。 They are all so flawed yet so lovable。 I love how Ashely Shuttleworth builds their plot Thank you SO much to Margaret K。 McElderry Books and Netgalley for providing an e-arc of this！！ All thoughts and opinions are still my own。I'm 100% obsessed with this series！ It has a MASSIVE cast of characters， complex political maneuverings， and the most eclectic mashup of fantasy elements and I love it。This fantasy is expertly crafted and I just can't get over how much I love this queer cast of characters。 They are all so flawed yet so lovable。 I love how Ashely Shuttleworth builds their plots slowly throughout the book only to have the last 100+ pages be a whirlwind of action and reveals。 I swear the last 2 hours of this audiobook took 10 years off my life！If you're considering picking this series up， I highly recommend the audiobook。 The full cast audio not only brings the story to life， but it makes the characters easier to distinguish （which is helpful with a cast this size） I'm already anxiously awaiting the next book。 I need it。 。。。more

kelsey ，

what the actual FUCK just happened oh my god

The Song of Afua ，

Arlo is such an idiot 💀

Ami ，

I need the next book asap！！！！

Sarah ，

Ho-oly。。。。f-ing。。。。。crap！Ashley Shuttleworth just broke my brain。

emily ，

this was a great sequel！ i really love these characters omg seeing their relationships grow in this book was so fun。 also the ENDING？？ cant wait for book three omggg

Jill booksandescape ，

I received an advance ebook copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for review。A Cruel and Fated Light by Ashley Shuttleworth is the second book in the Hollow Star Saga。 Arlo wants a quiet summer after thwarting the man behind the iron-born murders。 Unfortunately， someone is still trying to summon the Seven Deadly Sins。 When Queen Riadne invites Arlo to the Seelie Summer Palace， she is excited to go。 She looks forward to seeing Vehan and Aurelian。 She also hopes to sort out her feelings I received an advance ebook copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for review。A Cruel and Fated Light by Ashley Shuttleworth is the second book in the Hollow Star Saga。 Arlo wants a quiet summer after thwarting the man behind the iron-born murders。 Unfortunately， someone is still trying to summon the Seven Deadly Sins。 When Queen Riadne invites Arlo to the Seelie Summer Palace， she is excited to go。 She looks forward to seeing Vehan and Aurelian。 She also hopes to sort out her feelings for Nausicaä。 The Summer Solstice is drawing closer， and Riadne is expected to challenge the High King。 As Arlo adjusts to her new life， she is faced with a monumental choice。Ashley Shuttleworth continues the Hollow Star Saga with another high-stakes adventure。 These characters continue to evolve in such big ways。 Just like the first book， I enjoy all the different perspectives。 。。。more

Annarella ，

The first book in this series was good， this one is excellent。 Fast paced， riveting， a well plotted and gripping fantasy。I was glad to catch up with the characters and the plot kept me hooked。Great world building， good storytelling。Highly recommended。Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC， all opinions are mine

Susan ，

I am shook and need time

Anna ，

Um okay like ow？ Big ouchie？ Wow why does this hurt so much？ Yeah those are my thoughts when I finished this one。 Big freaking cry。 So I'm really grateful that I was able to listen to this one immediately after finishing the first because by some weird stroke of luck I started the first one right when the second one was being released without even knowing it。 I am super glad because I think that these two books need to go together in order to really get invested。 Now is that a detriment to a ser Um okay like ow？ Big ouchie？ Wow why does this hurt so much？ Yeah those are my thoughts when I finished this one。 Big freaking cry。 So I'm really grateful that I was able to listen to this one immediately after finishing the first because by some weird stroke of luck I started the first one right when the second one was being released without even knowing it。 I am super glad because I think that these two books need to go together in order to really get invested。 Now is that a detriment to a series？ Maybe。 It shouldn't take two books to get people totally sucked in。 There is a lot of world building and magic systems and character arcs to follow with the series and it took me pretty much 3/4 of the way through the first one to really get hooked but once I was there I was there。 This second one immediately draws you in and if you liked the first one at all please read this one。The best part about this book for me was Celadon's perspective because I love him and I don't know。 He is also asexual and non-cis （maybe gender queer， he doesn't know yet） and I want him to be so happy。I also really appreciated the grumpy sunshine trope between Nausicaa and Arlo。 Like Nausicaa is so grouchy and I love it。 She is really just a cinnamon roll but I kind of love how much she hates people and obviously she's got some trauma but between her and then Arlo's like super sunshine vibes they're hilarious together and I love it。I don't want to talk about the plot too much because I did say that in my review for the first one that I was going to put on my thoughts here and I'm trying not to be too spoilery。 Just know that if you like high fantasy and you like an all queer cast then this is a book to check out。 I really liked the audiobooks and the multiple narrators they had。 Get ready for some suffering and some angst because it is here in spades and I need the third book immediately。 Pansexual MC， lesbian MC， bisexual MC， asexual non cis MC， gay MC， loads of queer and trans secondary characters。 Set in Canada and Nevada （US） 。。。more

Masha （onceandfuturebooknerd） ，

The fact that I need to wait at least a year for book 3 now is aphobic and I WON'T STAND FOR IT！ Also Celadon is my everything and thank you for coming to my Ted Talk。（Real review coming soon ahh I need to gather my thoughts）。。。。A Cruel and Fated Light， the sequel to the truly explosive queer YA urban fantasy novel， DELIVERED on ever front！ In this book we follow Arlo and her crew as they get more enmeshed in court politics - all culminating in the long-awaited solstice ball that could change th The fact that I need to wait at least a year for book 3 now is aphobic and I WON'T STAND FOR IT！ Also Celadon is my everything and thank you for coming to my Ted Talk。（Real review coming soon ahh I need to gather my thoughts）。。。。A Cruel and Fated Light， the sequel to the truly explosive queer YA urban fantasy novel， DELIVERED on ever front！ In this book we follow Arlo and her crew as they get more enmeshed in court politics - all culminating in the long-awaited solstice ball that could change the dynamics of the courts forever。This book is less action based and heavier on the court intrigue which adds another layer of complexity to the story - and I loved that！ We had our MCs dealing with court drama while also trying to untangle the secrets that followed them to this sequel from book one and I'm not gonna lie， I am SO SCARED of what book three will bring。 Probably even more pain and bloodshed， since this book was far from meak， especially by the end of it。My favourite part of this series remains the characters - our main five， Arlo， Nausica， Celadon， Vehan， and Aurelian。 I would die for this group and I keep falling more and more in love with them with every installment。 In A Cruel and Fated Light we watch their friendships deepen - with some romantic interludes that I was a BIG fan of （nothing like these kids getting their shit together and confessing their feelings and stuff， I STAN）。 Celadon shone like the brightest star in this book and I think it's safe to say he's making his way towards my "favourite" of the series。 A ace fae who is questioning his gender identity and is simply drop dead gorgeous and amazing with a heart of gold？ I have tears in my eyes just writing this down。Anyway， I am getting sidetracked - A Cruel and Fated Light was the PERFECT sequel to A Dark and Hollow Star， full of court intrigue， painful yet beautiful love stories， and loads of unexpected plot twists that will keep you reeling。 This book did NOT suffer the second book syndrome and I just adored it with my whole heart。If queer fantasies are your go-to， picking up The Hollow Star Saga is a MUST！ You'll be hooked in no time！！ 。。。more

bibliokleptos ，

I'M IN PAIN I'M IN PAIN 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=A Cruel and Fated Light

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=A Cruel and Fated Light&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,A Cruel and Fated Light&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0