In Under a Starlit Sky, E.M. Castellan transports the reader to a 1600s Versailles full of intrigue, betrayal, and magic. After the events of In the Shadow of the Sun, young Henriette has defeated the darkness lurking at the French court and put her differences with her husband Philippe behind her - or so she thinks. But with the arrival of a mysterious new courtier who quickly enamors Versailles, nothing is as stable as she thought. When her worsening illness and fading magic force her to cede her position as the king’s Source to the illustrious newcomer - whose effects her husband is far from immune to - Henriette is left back at square one, isolated and disbelieved. With spells vanishing and rumors spreading left and right, she must turn old enemies into new allies and face the truth about the real darkness at the heart of Versailles.

Despite this strong premise, the book quickly nosedives into melodrama. The characters are decidedly reminiscent of the popular kids in a badly written highschool drama: shallow, immature, and privileged from the first page to the last. There is not a single character whose presence on the page was enjoyable to read about, least of all the Mary Sue protagonist, who felt like the author’s self-insert for a childhood princess fantasy.

The writing itself makes a two-dimensional cast even more difficult to redeem. With a bland, unimaginative, and amateur style, the only emotion the reader feels as secrets are revealed, spells cast, and relationships shattered is increasing irritation. Under a Starlit Sky is the kind of book that sceptics point to when they label YA as immature and poorly written.

As for the genre, the book could only be called historical in the loosest interpretation of the word. The wonderful, intricate, and atmospheric details that make historical fiction so immersive are nowhere to be found in this supposedly historical fantasy. If not for the occasional French spell or mention of Versailles as the setting, the characters could be anywhere. After some chapters, I began to suspect that the author had only a very hazy understanding of what the daily life of the French royal court in the 1600s actually entailed. The main cast spends a dubious amount of time sitting around with no engagements while wearing fancy clothing that is described in far more detail than any reader could want.

Perhaps the book’s most puzzling failure, though, is its emotional incoherence. The character’s reactions and feelings to the upheavals of court life are simply mystifying: when Henriette is finally on the verge of bringing down the villain, with whom her husband is having an affair, she feels a sudden wave of guilt at the thought of removing this much-needed source of the constant attention and validation her husband’s fragile ego demands. Later, she becomes furious when she learns her friend is having an affair with the king - not because of the emotional distress to the king’s wife, but because of the emotional distress to the king’s other mistress. This utter lack of emotional logic was the final straw for a cast one would have to take great pains to empathize with. 

Rarely have I come across a book which I cannot recommend on any basis, but Under a Starlit Sky fits the bill. Between painfully amateur writing, irritating characters, and incoherent reactions with no evidence of historical research to be seen, I entreat readers of any genre to save themselves the disappointment and pick up something else.