Starside by Alex Aster — A Deadly Contest, a Vengeful Heroine and the Man Who Betrayed Her

Long ago, a war split the land in two. On Starside live the magically gifted, the immortal descendants of the gods. On Stormside live mortals, with little money, little power and no magic of their own. Every fifty years, fifty people from Stormside are allowed to cross into Starside on a deadly quest to reach a magical wellspring, and the king decides who is worthy through a brutal contest called the Culling. Aris, an orphaned blacksmith's apprentice, enters it for a different reason. A goddess burned her village and killed her family, and Aris isn't after the gods' magic. She wants to kill them. To get there, she must survive the Culling, the monsters beyond it and Harlan Raker, the cold head of the king's guard, who betrayed her years ago and may now be the key to her survival. Starside was published on 31 March 2026 by Avon in the US and Bloomsbury in the UK. It moves Alex Aster, the bestselling author of the young adult Lightlark series, into adult romantasy, and it is the first book in a new series. A follow-up, Stormside, is already listed by booksellers. Fast from the first page The book opens in the middle of the Culling, and the pace rarely lets up. The world is revealed gradually as Aris travels deeper into Starside, with dragons, monsters, a new threat that rises from the ground at night and swords that choose their wielders based on inner strength. Kirkus praised the fast pacing and the way the worldbuilding is introduced bit by bit rather than all at once. Enemies to lovers, with history At the heart of the story is the tension between Aris and Raker. Because they share a painful past, their enemies-to-lovers dynamic carries real weight. Skylar Wetzel, reviewing for The Gloss Book Club, gave it five stars, said the quest and enemies-to-lovers elements were handled better than usual for the genre, and called the ending "explosive", adding that earlier clues make it worth a reread. What to be ready for If you read a lot of romantasy, much of Starside will feel familiar. Kirkus felt it relies heavily on well-worn tropes, including a deadly trial, a wronged heroine coming into her power and enemies who become lovers, and offers little that is new. Raker's treatment of Aris can also be frustrating for long stretches. The book includes violence, a tragic backstory involving the death of Aris's family, and a deadly competition. Who will enjoy it If you love competition-based fantasy in the tradition of The Hunger Games and Fourth Wing, or you followed Aster from Lightlark and want something more grown-up, Starside is a strong pick. It also suits readers who like a fierce, determined heroine who refuses to stay down. Our verdict Starside is a fast, dramatic romantasy with a strong heroine, a vivid world and a romance built on real betrayal. It doesn't reinvent the genre, and seasoned readers will spot its tropes from a distance. But it delivers them with energy and momentum, and its ending will leave many readers waiting impatiently for Stormside.