A Night of Wings and Starlight: 1 (Eternal Night) Paperback – 15 April 2022

A Night of Wings and Starlight is set in a world of permanent night. Queen Eivor and her kingdom lives inside a mountain, safe from the world outside. Our main character, Arya, is training to be a Runner — one of the Queen's few Chosen messengers who run across the wasteland carrying messages to the various cities throughout the realm of Valdihr. These missions are incredibly dangerous, with the world full of monsters and vampyres who will kill the messengers if they are caught. But women are never chosen. Finally, Arya is chosen for a mission (a few weeks after her best friend, Loren, is chosen and dies on his first mission), and will be able to run outside for the first time.I really love the world that Alexis has created. It feels very original and fresh — it isn't something I've come across in fantasy before! I thought that Alexis explained the world very well too, without any 'info dumping' and long explanations. I still had a few questions (such as how food production is affected) but overall I think it was really interesting and worked well.I really liked Arya — I love strong female characters and she is really well-written. I especially loved the sections where she talks about running and why she loves it. I'm sure that Alexis must also be a fan herself! Arya is quite sarcastic, slow to trust and athletic. She is a little clueless though (it was immediately obvious to me that Loren views her as more than just a sister!).I would have liked this book to be a little longer — at around 250 pages, there was definitely space for this to have more depth on the characters, and give them more time to breathe. The romance felt quite rushed, and some of Arya's decisions were not really explained so didn't always make sense. I understand impulsive characters (I am one myself!) but I wanted some detail about why she made the decisions she did.The story was really fast-paced, and was a real page turner. It kept me on my toes throughout with enough twists to keep me interested, and I really enjoyed it. The ending is very open and left me wanting more. I'd definitely like to read more books in this world and find out more about the gods, and what happens next. I enjoyed the writing style and overall this was a fun read.Alexis has just released a second book in the Eternal Night series, A Deal With Darkness, which is set 200 years in the future and I am excited to read that one next!

I was immersed in the atmosphere of the story from the very first page. From there, it was an easy read with good characters and plenty of action. I loved the idea behind the story: a world in perpetual darkness and the people who struggle to survive in it.The relationship moved too fast for my liking, but I loved the banter between Arya and Azriel and their sweet and spicy moments. Honestly, the relationship moved faster than the plot which is impressive considering how fast-paced the plot was.“𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘴𝘴.” 𝘐 𝘨𝘢𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘥, 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥. “𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘰𝘯𝘦,” 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘳. “𝘈𝘺𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰.”Some elements reminded me of ACOTAR, e.g., the personality of the male MC was similar to Rhys, his name was Azriel, and "under the mountain" was mentioned. I think the similarities may be too much for some readers, but I found the story to be original in it's own right.I was surprised, and disappointed, with how fast the story ended. I personally would have liked it to be longer, perhaps with some elements fleshed out more. However, I really enjoyed it and would not hesitate to recommend to other readers."𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘐'𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥, 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘐'𝘥 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘮𝘦 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵."

2.5 stars for this one. It was like a sandwich with cheep filling, processed cheese slices and margarine on sliced white bread. Rather than fresh salad, sliced red onion, mayo and cheddar on fresh sourdough. Nice enough and easy to eat but without any real substance. With a bit more filling and time it could have been great. But not too bad in a pinch.

I had read lots of positives feedback for A Night of Wings and Starlight and I thought to myself - I need to read this book.I wasn't disappointed! I could not put this down! I finished it overnight!A Night of Wings and Starlight pleasantly surprised me, I thought it was just a romance story but, boy was I wrong!This is more than a romance novel, It's filled with adventure, betrayal, horror (not in the spooky sense, but in the horrific sense, the main character's background, what she had to endure) and of course love.Arya's character was strong and brave, Her upbringing made her more determine to succeed and right the wrongs. I loved her determination and convictions. She knew how to stand for what she wanted.Azriel was just perfect and I loved his banter with Arya. I was shocked by some of the events and had a mixture of shock and relief by the outcome.Alexis L Menard built this world perfectly, she brought all of her characters to life and created a unique and perfect story. This is a fantastic debut and I can't wait to read more of her stories