This review includes spoilers for “Nightweaver” and “Starchaser” by R. M. Gray.
“Starchaser” by R.M. Gray is the sequel to “Nightweaver,” and it packs even more of a punch than the first book. This book follows Aster Oberon, who is a pirate. In “Nightweaver,” she was forced to serve a family of Nightweavers with the rest of her pirate family. However, as she immerses herself into the world of Nightweavers, she begins to unravel many secrets.
In “Starchaser,” Aster must work with Will and Titus to break the curses that are plaguing her and Will. However, the only way to break the curses leads them to Castle Grim. “Starchaser” overall adds so much to the series from where “Nightweaver” left off.
One of the things that makes “Starchaser” great is the addition of new characters. The best new character has to be Leo, who is a princess and engaged to Titus. Leo is such a fun and unique character who was nothing like how I imagined she’d be.
Additionally, Leo’s relationship with Aster is simply great. It was nice to see Aster experience true female friendship with someone she was not related to, since previously Aster mainly interacted with her family or men. Their relationship truly is one of the best things to come out of this book.
Another great aspect of this book is all the plot twists Gray weaved throughout the book. Many of the plot twists left both Aster and myself utterly shocked. For example, when a certain character is discovered to not actually be dead, it was incredibly unexpected in the best way.
However, there was an aspect that was not the best. The aspect I am referring to is the love triangle that is made abundantly clear in “Starchaser.” It wasn’t done poorly by any means, but as someone who isn’t a fan of love triangles, it left me a little irritated when it became present in the story.
Still, Gray did a great job with the love triangle as a whole. In many love triangles in books, it is typically clear who will be chosen even in the beginning. For example, in the book series “Twilight,” it is pretty clear from the start that Bella was always going to choose Edward. Instead, Gray leaves the reader guessing.
Gray’s love triangle with Aster, Will, and Titus reminds me a lot of the love triangle in the “Lightlark” series by Alex Aster because Aster kept many of the readers guessing up until the big reveal.
Overall, R. M. Gray did a great job at continuing this series with “Starchaser” by adding the new characters and intense plot twists. I am looking forward to when book three, “Cursebreaker,” comes out in September.
