Title: Dance of Stars and Ashes (The Nightfire Quartet #2)
Author: Nisha J. Tuli
Genre: Fantasy romance, romantasy
Publisher: Second Sky
Publication Date: February 16, 2024
Format: Ebook Advanced Reader Copy  provided by the author
Length: 405 pages

Read if you like: enemies to lovers, slow burn romance, epic betrayals, Indian mythology and fantasy settings, badass FMCs, found family, unique magic systems

Rating: 

*A quick note: when I receive a complimentary ARC of a book via Net Galley, a publisher, an author, or otherwise, this does not impact my review of the book. All my reviews are my honest and genuine thoughts and feelings.

I was fortunate to read the first book in The Nightfire Quartet, Heart of Night and Fire by Nisha J. Tuli, as an Advanced Reader Copy and loved it. This second book in the series was among my much-anticipated fantasy reads for this year and holy crap, did it ever deliver.

Nisha J. Tuli writes compulsively readable fantasy novels. The lush universe, the perfect banter among characters, the unique magic systems and the gorgeously slow-burn romance all made Dance of Stars and Ashes impossible to put down. The pacing was perfection, the tension was juicy, and some of the plot twists had me gasping out loud.

I’m endlessly grateful to Nisha for providing me with an ARC of this book because it was absolutely fantastic. This series is peak fantasy romance and I’ll be recommending it on repeat indefinitely.

The Book Synopsis: Dance of Stars and Ashes by Nisha J. Tuli

A love that burns brighter than starlight. A gift that could leave her world in ashes. It’s time for Zarya to release the fire within.

In the jeweled city of Dharati, Zarya found passion and adventure for the first time. A mysterious stranger named Rabin helped to free the power within her—a dark, ancient magic that should not exist.

Now, Zarya learns Rabin’s true identity. A warrior prince, born to rule, he is as deadly as he is beautiful. He’s also insufferable. Arrogant and superior, with dangerous secrets of his own.

Zarya wants nothing to do with him. Terrifying demons are gathering beyond the walls and Zarya’s friends are rushing to complete a ceremony that will protect the city. Her mind is fixed on saving her home and finding the origin of her magic.

But every discovery and every dream pulls her back to Rabin. Does an enchantment bind them, or is it pure desire? Will opening her heart give Zarya the power to turn back the demons, or will it let the darkness to devour her?

The Review

This was a masterpiece. I laughed. I cried. Okay, actually, I sobbed. I am stunned and also so unbelievably excited for the next book because I’m so invested in this story. 

Let’s start with how fantastic the actual story and plot were in this book. It was so well paced with the perfect amount of romantic tension, spice, and action. I loved learning more about Zarya’s magic and Nightfire and seeing it play off of both the other types of magic and the political landscape. There are so many interwoven plot elements happening across characters, all connected to this fascinatingly intricate universe that I felt constantly captivated. 

Zarya grew so much as a character in this book as well, and I loved watching her grow alongside such an engaging cast. Found family is one of my favourite tropes, and it’s so wonderfully employed in this series. Each character is unique and entertaining in their own way, and their relationships with each other add an extra layer of depth to an already enticing plot. 

It was also satisfying to see Zarya able to work through some of her rage but keep the sharp edges that make her who she is. She’s fiery by nature, but in this book, she also grows up so much. She comes to learn what it is to love and be loved, and she finds herself learning how to forgive and grow from the trauma of her upbringing. It’s such a satisfying arc to see unfold.

It would be remiss of me not to mention the romance aspect of this book too, which I LOVED. I can’t emphasize enough how perfectly the slow burn of this book unfolds. The spice is perfection, and I’m well and truly desperate to see where things go for Zarya from here. 

I won’t go into specifics to avoid spoilers, but the plot twists in this book had my heart racing. I knew something was coming, but the twists themselves still really took me by surprise and shattered my heart, particularly the big ones at the end. There’s so much potential for the next part of this story that I’m already marking it a most-anticipated in my TBR pile. 

I am so excited to see where this story goes from here, this is such a fantastic fantasy romance series. I’ll be recommending this one on repeat for a long time to come.