Lightlark
Alex Aster, 2022
Fantasy RomanceYoung adultContemporary fiction
Six cursed realms, one island that appears every hundred years, and a deadly Centennial where rulers compete—and love may be the most dangerous gamble. A dramatic, lyrical fantasy that moves on longing and dread, with love and power pressing against each other.
Feels like longing, dread and tenderness. About love, power and freedom.
Who it’s for
You may like it if you enjoy YA fantasy where romance and deadly competition share the page, and rulers with dangerous gifts. The romantic drama is central and the tone stays high-stakes, so if you want a fantasy with love kept to the edges, this may feel heavy.
Why read it
It gives you a tense, romantic escape into a contest where every alliance has a cost, and the magic and longing carry you through.
A page from the book
What it sounds like when someone could ruin you and chooses not to.
I could open a black hole that would swallow the beach. I could turn the sea dark as ink and kill everything inside of it. I could demolish the castle, brick by brick, from where we stand. I could take you back to Nightshade lands with me right now.” His voice was deep as dreams, dark as nightmares. “I could do all of those things.” His lips pressed against the top of her ear, for just a moment. “And I might—if I didn’t think you would hate me for it. Alex Aster.Alex Aster is Colombian American, and her TikTok teasers for Lightlark helped make it a bestseller.
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Questions readers ask
- Is Lightlark for me?
- You may like it if you enjoy YA fantasy where romance and deadly competition share the page, and rulers with dangerous gifts. The romantic drama is central and the tone stays high-stakes, so if you want a fantasy with love kept to the edges, this may feel heavy.
- What is Lightlark like?
- A dramatic, lyrical fantasy that moves on longing and dread, with love and power pressing against each other. Feels like longing, dread and tenderness. About love, power and freedom.
- What should I read after Lightlark?
- If you liked Lightlark, try House of Sky and Breath (Sarah J. Maas), Once Upon a Broken Heart (Stephanie Garber) and One Dark Window (Rachel Gillig).
A taste of the feed
An oath that refuses to end at any distance.
Our love is stronger than time, greater than any distance. Our love spans across stars and worlds. I will find you again, I promise.
House of Sky and Breath · Sarah J. Maas
The lie inside every story we love enough to believe.
She might not have seen much evidence of magic outside of the oddities in her father’s curiosity shop, but she had faith it existed. Her father, Maximilian, had always spoken of magic as if it were real. And her mother had been from the Magnificent North, where there was no difference between fairytales and history. All stories are made of both truths and lies, she used to say. What matters is the way that we believe in them.
Once Upon a Broken Heart · Stephanie Garber
The answer to a private question, given in front of everyone.
Are you still pretending?” I said, reveling in his gaze. Ravyn gave a surprised laugh and, in front of everyone, leaned in and kissed me. “I never was,” he whispered into my lips.
One Dark Window · Rachel Gillig
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