Ash of the Fallen Star follows Caelin, a restorationist in the ruined city of Lowen’s Fall, as she uncovers ancient glyphs, haunted memories, and a strange connection to a forgotten divine past. Her dreams are filled with wings of violet flame and a voice calling a name that isn’t hers. As mysterious symbols react only to her, and relics stir with unsettling familiarity, a long-dead guardian named Lucan awakens from his tomb, bound to her by a soul-mark and a forgotten vow. The book weaves two stories. Caelin’s cautious descent into myth and Lucan’s desperate rise from death into a tale about memory, loss, and love that spans lifetimes.

The writing is lush, sometimes lyrical, but it fits the world Novane built. It’s dense with memory and layered. I loved how the city itself felt alive, rearranging itself, holding its breath. The glyphs, the rituals, the Restoration Society, all felt real, like they existed before the story even began. Caelin is cautious, observant, and deeply lonely, and her quiet unraveling was as fascinating as it was heartbreaking. Her slow realization that something inside her remembers things she had never lived was powerful. And Lucan, oh, Lucan. His resurrection was brutal and beautiful, and watching him cling to his identity while unraveling was one of the most moving parts of the book for me.

There were moments when the prose felt a bit heavy. At times, I felt the abundance of sensory detail and metaphor made it hard for certain emotional beats to land as sharply as they could have. The dual POV added depth and intrigue, but now and then it slowed the emotional momentum just a touch. Even so, these are minor things in the grand scheme. They didn’t take away from the overall power and beauty of the story. The story had weight, and the emotional threads between Caelin and Lucan, tender, aching, restrained, left me feeling wrung out in the best way.

I’d recommend Ash of the Fallen Star to readers who love fantasy steeped in mystery and mood. If you enjoy the quiet build of The Broken Earth trilogy, the tangled timelines of The Starless Sea, or the intimate scale of The Night Circus, this book will feel like a gift. It’s for those who like their stories soaked in ruin and wonder, with characters who carry the weight of ancient promises and unspoken love. I’m still thinking about the final chapters.

Pages: 280 | ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0FHJCJ8K1