Alex Aster’s debut novel, “Lightlark,” is an intense fantasy that will leave readers shocked with the twists and turns that happen throughout the course of the book.

Lightlark is an island that appears once every 100 years for 100 days. Five centuries ago, someone cast a curse over the island and the six realms included in it. Every 100 years, the storm encasing the island disappears and the six rulers from each realm are forced to fight to the death in order to break their curse. 

In order to break the curse, one ruler must die, which will result in the death of their entire population. This year is the year the curse must be broken, or there may not be an island to save in the future.

Isla is the ruler of the Wildlings, but she has a secret. If any of the other rulers find out her secret, she will be put in more danger than she already is. She has been told her whole life not to trust any of the other rulers, but some of them are hard to resist.

If you were to read this novel without knowing it was Aster’s first, you would believe she has been writing fantasy for years. Her world building shows an amazing sense of details and makes you feel like you are on the island. 

“Lightlark” is the perfect book to read if you are new to the fantasy genre. It is easy to read and is not too complicated. The storyline is fun and exciting, while also easy to understand. 

This is a fast paced novel, which makes it hard to put down. The events happen over the course of 100 days, but it goes by quickly. Many fantasy books start off slow before getting into the main part of the story, but Aster jumps right in, grabbing the reader’s attention.

The six realms consist of Wildling, Starling, Skyling, Sunling, Moonlight and Nightshade. Because Isla is the main character, Aster spends a lot of time talking about their history and powers. 

There are also a lot of details put into Sunling’s background because Lightlark is their mainland. Nightshade, Moonling and Starling are given a bit of details, but not nearly as much. 

Skyling, however, seemed to be pushed aside a bit. Aster should have included a bit more about these realms to give readers a better understanding of how they work. It seemed like the ruler of Skyling, Azul, was brushed over a bit more than the other rulers.

Aster did an amazing job with the plot of “Lightlark.” There are a few plot twists that are hard to see coming, which made reading it much more exciting. This novel will leave you questioning who is trustworthy and who is going to be betrayed next. 

By choosing to only have Isla’s point of view, you are left constantly wondering what the other rulers are up to. This book is not predictable and because of that, you feel everything the characters are feeling. 

“Lightlark” is the first book in this series. The second novel will be coming out at some point in 2023. The ending of this book will leave you wishing the series was already complete.

Image from Alex Aster via Asterverse.com