Lilibet Bombshell's Reviews > Forging Silver into Stars

Confession time: Even though I own the Cursebreakers Trilogy in ebook format, I haven’t had a chance to read it yet (I know, I know), so I went into this book knowing it was a spinoff of that universe and it would help if I read that series first. I simply didn’t have time but felt confident I could probably pick up the threads pretty quickly like I did with Bardugo’s Six of Crows duology. Thankfully, I was right. It was pretty easy to pick up the threads and I’m so glad. I’d have hated to have had to wait to sit down and read Cursebreakers (I still plan on reading it! I’m just short on time right now!) before I read this book.

It’s such a good book! Easily one of the best fantasy reads I’ve come across this year. It doesn’t come quite as close to the level of enjoyment I found in reading Laura Sebastian’s “Castles in Their Bones”, but it’s not that far behind (Don’t hit me with SJM’s latest release–I have it but haven’t had the time to touch that behemoth either!). I love the LGBTQ and disabled representation up front and center. I love the found family aspect (frankly, I’m loving this wave of found family in YA fiction overall that we’ve been seeing over the past few years, which I could probably write a whole essay on).

From the start I was really digging the none-too-subtle parallels between the set-up for this book and the events of the January 6th attempted insurrection here in the US. The notion of the “Truthbringers” taking advantage of poor and rural communities and their ignorance to plant and sow seeds of mistrust and doubt in order to grow a population ready and willing to commit treason? Taking advantage of their desperation in order to gain favor and garner a twisted form of trust and obligation in order to trap them into feeling like they needed to stay quiet and do what they’re told in order to stay in your good graces? Kemmerer pulled no punches with the allegory, and I’m glad for it. It was a slick move for a plot line. It drew me into the story with little effort and helped me to identify with the characters in a way nothing else would.

I love the way Kemmerer does her narrative prose and the way her characters recall things that are said. It’s not done in the typical narrative manner and it really stands out. I also love how a lot of the symbolism in her books is double-sided and much of the morality is gray. It’s messy, but it’s true. I like my books that way.

Thanks to NetGalley, Bloomsbury Children’s, and Bloomsbury YA for granting me early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review.