Review: Reign of Silver & Stardust

Reign of Silver & Stardust

by Diana A. Hicks

Stardust Trilogy Book 1

Released: August 27th, 2026

Pages: 416

Genres/Tropes: fantasy, romance, suspense, slow burn

Reign of Silver & Stardust is the first book of the Stardust Trilogy. It is a blend of science fiction, fantasy, romance, mystery, and political intrigue. It just released in late August.

Catalina is a mortal and her twin sister Ry is immortal. When Ry is killed by a weapon that shouldn’t be able to kill an immortal, Catalina decides to take Ry’s place in the Queen’s Elite Cadre, the Immortal Army, in order to figure out who killed Ry.

On the flip-side, Valorek is on the opposite end of this conflict. With his sister experiencing a mysterious illness, his goal is to bring down the immortal army.

At first glance, it is easy to see how readers might think this is your average romantasy novel, but I found it to be much more intricate than the ones I’ve read so far. I enjoyed the blend of having a murder mystery mixed with political intrigue and, yes, forbidden romance. What I truly appreciated was the addition of having a found family in a story full of morally gray characters. Honestly, that is one of my favorite things in most stories.

With that said, do not go into this story expecting spice to be carrying the story. This novel is a full-fledged story with a lot of intrigue and not a lot of spice. If you’re going into this, go into it expecting to want to (need to) read the second in the series, Legacy of Blood & Scars. That’s all I will say about that (But trust me, you’re going to want the second book…like, now).