Ever since I read The Pirate of Fathoms Deep last year I’ve been eagerly awaiting the arrival of The Heart of the Lost Star and it did not disappoint!
Blurb:
Kamir is on the verge of losing everything. Knowing full well he can’t meet the ultimatum his parents have issued, he instead finally puts in motion his plans to live completely independent of them. His plans are interrupted, however, by the unexpected return of his despised ex-husband—and thrown even further into upheaval when he ends up comforting the man he’s secretly loved for years.
Jader may not know where he comes from, but he knows where he belongs and what he wants—until he helps rescue some stranded Bentan travelers, one of whom look almost exactly like Jader, throwing his life and everything he thought he knew into tumult. Scared and overwhelmed, Jader flees—and lands unexpectedly in the arms of a man he’s always seen, but never really noticed.
The Heart of the Lost Star follows Kamir Norring and Jader Star. Kamir is a sweet and kind man, despite the hardships he has endured. Young and seemingly in love Kamir had married at 16 and was a parent at 19, earning him the disapproval of his family who view Kamir as a failure for not having married into money and an elevated position.
“Kamir smiled as he reached the gardens. He lingered in his favourite, filled with honeysuckle, daises, and more wildflowers than he could count, framing a fountain displaying a merperson combing their hair. It wasn’t as refined and elegant as the other gardens – most preferred the roses and orchids – but it was beautiful all on its own.”
Jader Star is the High Commander of the Imperial Army. Jader faces derision from Mainlanders who don’t want to see an Islander in such a position of leadership or indeed in the military at all. Jader washed up on a beach on the Islands at roughly 8 years old with no memory of his previous life and no one to tell him what language he was speaking, but was quickly adopted. He’s a touch vain, loves his jewellery and hate snow with a passion.
“High Commander Jader Star, beautiful and commanding in his uniform, which included the leather armor that most soldiers eschewed while in the palace. He wore a sword at each hip, and his ink-black hair was cut so close to his head there wasn’t even enough to hold. Jader was beautiful no matter what he wore – or didn’t.”
The Heart of the Lost Star is something of a case of mutual pining. Kamir has admired Jader from afar for years but never believed the High Commander could possibly want someone like him, facing constant mockery and whispering from the court. Though Jader recognised Kamir, it is in the beginning of this book that Kamir properly comes to his attention. However, Jader can’t see how someone like Kamir, who would be revered and honoured back home as the head of the household, could possibly want someone like Jader.
Their romance is just so sweet! Events of the book push them apart not long after the first come together with neither really expecting (but quite wanting) the relationship to develop or go anywhere. Yet the longer the separation the more the longing grows.
Something that I really like about this book and the series in general is the lack of homophobia. As a queer person myself its always and absolutely lovely to read books where being queer is normalised and the fact that people are queer is not the source of conflict. There’s a brief mention of Kamir’s mothers opinions on his twins but that it. Kamir himself is trans, he’s far from the only one, and none of this is ever questioned. More books like this please!
The letters Kamir and Jader send to each other are a highlight and so sweet. It’s has been awhile since I read the first to books, but from memory this one is slightly less angsty than the others in terms of action, with more of a focus on Kamir and Jader’s journey. Though there’s plenty of tension in the form of Kamir’s ex and parents and Jader family origins and adventures in Benta! I particularly like the fact though there was some tension in Kamir and Jader’s relationship, and a few secrets kept, it wasn’t overdone or puffed up for drama’s sake.
Megan is particularly good at descriptions, I could visualise everyone with ease and vividness and was able to deferential between side characters as well. Speaking of it was a delight to see Sarrica, Allen, Lesto and others return and of course Sarrica was in fine form (will be needing to do a bit of grovelling!).
The Heart of the Lost Star is book three in the Tales of the High Court series, and though it can be read as a standalone I’d recommend reading in order for a more rounded understanding of the characters and events that are mentioned.
★ 4.75 stars★
The Heart of the Lost Star can be found on Goodreads along with The High King’s Golden Tongue (#1) and The Pirate of Fathoms Deep (#2).
Megan Derr can be found on twitter and at their website.
*I received an ARC from the publisher through netgallery in exchange for an honest review*
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