Pages & Pressings

NO SPOILERS

“Isn’t it better to let your heart feel every peak and valley of life, than to close it and feel nothing at all? Isn’t the pleasure of love worth the pain?”

This book warmed my heart, gave me a heart attack, tore it out, and sewed it back into my chest. If you told me I would love this book so intensely, I wouldn’t believe you; I almost DNF’d it at page 73.

The reason why I almost put this book down was that til page 100 I was mentally and visually assaulted with details from this fantasy world. That, in conjunction with the weird, slightly mystical/slightly medieval voice in the prose. The writing style took some time to get used to. Once you can get acclimated, you can truly get immersed. I read this book over the span of 3 days and the last 2 days were a whirlwind.

This is a romantasy through and through; the romance element was the most crucial part with the backdrop of the fantasy world it lives in. The fantasy part was what initially drew me in with hints of zodiac associations and cosmic magic. You add in star-crossed lovers and I’m immediately sold.

I hate to admit it, but the same tropes get me every time: grumpy royal MMC hates snarky FMC, but against all odds they fall in love. Enemies to lovers will always do it for me. I’m glad to say this book had a lot more depth than just that. The quote I added at the top was such a lovely message that I find myself thinking about it reverently. It’s a sentiment that sticks with me in my real life and this book truly embodies that.

The characters were written very well, and this book does an amazing job at having useful and participatory side characters that shine just as bright as the main characters. Every character, really, is memorable and unique which adds a delightful depth to the main plot-line. It truly is a group effort.

I originally didn’t think this book would get higher than a 4 or even 4.5 star rating until the last 100 pages which truly took me on a ride. I haven’t been genuinely slack-jawed and properly thrilled by a plot twist in such a long time, that I physically had to smack myself on the head while reading. I thought this would be a very straight-forward read until it exceeded my expectations in the end. For the sheer horror on my face at the time, I knew this book had to get the full 5-stars.

As I delve on my romantasy journey I’ve become accustomed to the… spice level in books… and this was no exception. It was properly spicy at proper times and I enjoyed the dirty remarks throughout. It felt natural, just like the way my friends and I make dirty jokes. I never felt like the explicit scenes detracted on the plot, but essential to it since it relies heavily on the (ill)fated lovers.

Heavenly Bodies is a masterpiece that will leave every hopeless romantic on edge. I’m looking forward to continuing with this series, and will be buying the second book ASAP.