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A woman’s heart proves as infinite as the night sky in a breathtaking fantasy by Wall Street Journal bestselling author Charlie N. Holmberg.
When a star dies, a new one must be born.
The Sun God chooses the village of Endwever to provide a mortal womb. The birthing of a star is always fatal for the mother, and Ceris Wenden, who considers herself an outsider, sacrifices herself to secure her family’s honor and take control of her legacy. But after her star child is born, Ceris does what no other star mother has: she survives. When Ceris returns to Endwever, however, it’s not nine months later—it’s seven hundred years later. Inexplicably displaced in time, Ceris is determined to seek out her descendants.
Being a woman traveling alone brings its own challenges, until Ceris encounters a mysterious—and desperate—godling. Ristriel is incorporeal, a fugitive, a trickster, and the only being who can guide Ceris safely to her destination. Now, as Ceris traverses realms both mortal and beyond, her journey truly begins.
Together, pursued across the Earth and trespassing the heavens, Ceris and Ristriel are on a path to illuminate the mysteries that bind them and discover the secrets of the celestial world.
Source: gifted paperback
I've had the pleasure of reading my first 5-star novel of 2022. I hadn't heard of Star Mother until I saw my good friend's brief review of it on Goodreads which immediately caught my interest. She loved it so much that she gifted me a copy and what I discovered was an exceptional story unlike anything I've read recently.
Ceris is a young woman on the cusp of leaving home to be wed when the Sun God sends a signal to her village that he is looking for a new young woman to birth a star. Two young women are up for the honor but it's Ceris who volunteers. Realizing her betrothed is in love with one of the possible contenders for, and wanting to secure a legacy for her family that would make them proud, she gives up her mortal life. She defies all expectations when she survives the birth of her star and gets the Sun God to agree to let her return home. Only it's 700 years later and Ceris fis now alone in a world that has moved on from her. She resolves to find her descendants so she can make a home amongst them and on her journey encounters the godling, Ristriel. Ristriel is running away from something and is cagey about himself. They make a pact to protect each other until they reach their destinations.
Star Mother is a truly unique experience in that as a reader, I had to leave my preconceptions at the door and allow the story to flow. A majority of it feels abstract, like the idea of the Sun God needing a mate to birth a star, and then wrapping my head around the concept of how that unfolds. Then there's a big section where Ceris is finding her way to another city and she befriends Ristriel. Talk about abstract! Not only is he ethereal, there's also so much about him that's mysterious and jolting. He carries a sadness within him that's so tangible, and even had one of the most heartbreaking lines in the novel. In a way, parts of this story were challenging for me. While the world-building is impressive it's also describing the obscure. Midway through something just clicked for me and I couldn't set it down. A lot of that had to do with Ceris who's a formidable personality. She's astute, circumspect, and loyal. Definitely not someone to be underestimated as evidenced when she questions the Sun God and the gods' laws. The romance that eventually grows between her and Ristriel is one borne out of a shared understanding of their immeasurable losses. Finally they are honestly loved for themselves. I was so entranced and moved by them.
When I finished Star Mother I was left with a deeply contented feeling. I couldn't believe how much I ended up loving it. It challenged my own senses at first before I happily surrendered to the story. I see that a sequel will be coming out in March, this time about the Sun God and I know I'll be getting my hands on that real fast. In the meantime, for a quietly satisfying and mystical read, that feels like the creation of a new mythology, I wholeheartedly recommend reading Star Mother.
~ Bel
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