The Stars Would Curse Us (#1) by Valerie Rivers and Stephanie Combs
Amazon | Goodreads
January 10, 2024
367 pages

The Iris were sent to us from the stars, but their rule is controlling and oppressive. Every season, we send our brothers and sisters to the marriage drafts . . . but the selected never return.

Aella

My world falls apart when my best friend and I are drafted to compete for the hand of Esterra’s most eligible bachelor, the devastatingly handsome Iris prince. As an elemental fae, it should be the greatest honor, but the competition is filled with violence. I question my true purpose as we fight to survive in games rigged against us.

Arianwen

Life should be simple—go on my rite and return to marry a man I’ve never met—but when a handsome stranger falls from the sky, everything is turned upside down. Secrets and lies unravel, leading me to question everything as I find myself pulled into a rebellion. My heart longs for a better world, but am I willing to forsake duty in pursuit of it?

We both face choices:

LOVE or DUTY

LOYALTY or ADVENTURE

FIGHT or SURRENDER

Is fate truly written in the stars, or have they abandoned us?

Fae x Avatar: The Last Airbender x The Selection

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The Stars Would Curse Us is currently one of my favorites books of the year so far.

The world building? Amazing.

The characters? Fleshed out.

The spin on my favorite trope (marriage competition)? LOVE.