Genre: Space Fantasy
Reviewer: Lucy
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About The Book
RESIST THE CALL.
CARE FOR YOURSELF.
LOVE THE ENEMY.
Arianna’s always been the perfect Truthspoken Heir, the obedient future ruler of her interstellar kingdom. But when Arianna’s royal shapeshifting abilities fail her publicly and disastrously at her engagement ball, she suddenly finds herself on the outside of the life she called her own.
Dressa’s the perfect socialite, the opposite of her older sister’s rigid control. When her sister goes down with a mysterious illness and is sent away from court, Dressa’s thrust into a position she never wanted. She’s ordered to impersonate her sister—her body, her name, her personality, everything—and court her sister’s bride-to-be.
Who’s gorgeous. And who’s likely been sent to take her family down.
Can Dressa resist falling for her sister’s bride?
Can Arianna find a way to take back her own name and position?
When the stakes are the kingdom and control has been their whole lives, these siblings must find a way to make their lives their own.
The Truthspoken Heir collects episodes 1-36 of The Stars and Green Magics, previously published on Kindle Vella, as well as three all new beginning episodes!
Note: This book has main characters who use gender neutral pronouns (they/them/their, fae/faer/faerself).
The Review
The Truthspoken Heir is truly an epic space adventure with lots of palace intrigue involving shapeshifting royals and magickers who have deep secrets. The plot is very much an onion, with layers and layers, as people are not always what, or whom, they seem to be.
The action is centered on House Rhialdon, the current ruling family. Arianna is the Truthspoken Heir, until she becomes ill with a strange disease that seems to be spreading throughout the kingdom of Valoris. Her Truthspoken sister, Dressa, steps up to take over Arianna’s duties. Their father, Homaj, tries to bend them to his will while trying to hold together a kingdom that might be crumbling.
Originally published as a serial, this book combines the first season of The Stars and Green Magics into one nail-biting, intriguing package. Set in a queernorm universe, Truthspoken Heir has so many fascinating characters with intriguing backstories.
There are factions working against the ruling family, allies who may not be as trustworthy as they proclaim, and even family can’t fully be trusted to do what’s in anyone’s best interest but their own.
The author, Novae Callum, has a flair for creating tension between even the friendliest of characters and twisting the plot like a finely-made pretzel. It was hard to put this book down, as I was anxious to see what would happen next.
This book really is totally PG, with no violence and sexual tension that amounts to smoldering looks and a serious crush. The story is written in the best tradition of cloak-and-dagger novels but set in a futuristic universe. The book does end on one heck of a cliff-hanger, but that will leave you anxious for the next installment. I am definitely looking forward to more of this story!
The Reviewer
I’m an avid reader who loves pretty much all genres except math textbooks. As a kid, my parents exposed me to everything from fairies, hobbits, and dragons to the biographies of interesting people around the world, interspersed with poetry, plays, and music. Into adulthood, I spent a lot of years with my nose buried in various textbooks. Now, I read whatever grabs my fancy.
