Lanterns In The Sky by P.S. Malcolm Pages: 275
on April 2, 2019
Series: The Starlight Chronicles #1
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy & Magic
Everything was normal for Lucy Maisfer until the day a star fell from the sky and knocked her out. Upon waking, she comes face-to-face with Jason Woods, who also happens to be the mysterious new guy in her best friend, Valarie's, life.
Then the strange dreams begin, and she learns about the Starlight Princess— who must not under any circumstance be reawakened. Driven to uncover the meaning of it, she finds herself caught up in a strange twist of events that eventually lead to bigger danger than she ever anticipated. Before long, Lucy is forced to make a choice between saving the world, or saving her best friend; only to discover that Valarie cannot be saved... that she has an even darker secret, and that her supposed star-crossed romance with Jason might not be so destined after all...
If You Love These Books, You’ll Love Lanterns In The Sky
I am a huge fan of royal revolutions, magical fantasy and powerful, badass characters—which is why I read these books as well as write them!
In this post, I want to help you figure out if Lanterns In The Sky is your next go-to read by sharing a couple of similar books with relating themes, settings or style. You might even discover another book you haven’t heard of yet (did someone day two for one?)
So buckle up, and let’s take a look shall we?
Red Queen, by Victoria Aveyard
I’m sure most people who read YA fantasy have heard of this book by now. Red Queen kind of blew up—and I definitely see why.
Some of the best parts of this book were the magic structure in this world, the worldbuilding, the stakes and the plot twists! (If you’ve read this one you know exactly what I’m referring to).
Enter Lanterns In The Sky—a story set in the present world descending into a slow downfall of society, with major stakes and a super killer plot twist to throw you off—because I love Victoria Aveyard’s style! *wink*
Stardust, by Neil Gaiman
Ah… dreamy Stardust! I love this beautiful, whimsical read and the adventures the characters go on. Also, the romance is just lovely!
Though Lanterns In The Sky is more dark and gritty, it has it’s powerful and lovely moments—and if you love ‘star’ magic and constellations, then Lanterns In The Sky is heavily based around that entire concept.
I like to think that the writing is balanced between dark moments and hopeful ones—with an interesting love story unfolding along the way.
An Ember In The Ashes, by Sabar Tahir
This book has some amazing character development, action, and shares a very similar theme to the backstory of The Starlight Chronicles. Character conflicts are something that come up a lot in Lanterns In The Sky—so these books share a parallel here.
If you love resistances and royal revolutions and enjoyed reading An Ember In The Ashes, then you’ll definitely want to add Lanterns In The Sky to your reading list (especially because the following novella, Starfall, will really intrigue fans of An Ember In The Ashes.)
Daughter Of Smoke And Bone, by Laini Taylor
If you love European settings crossed with fantasy worlds, you will just adore Lanterns In The Sky.
One of the most notable things about Daughter Of Smoke And Bone was it’s distinct settings in Prague and Paris and other places outside of the U.S. It also managed to magically blend fantasy worlds in the epic way that Laini Taylor does!
Although we don’t get to explore the other ‘fantasy’ worlds of The Starlight Chronicles until book two, the setting of Lorelei is entirely unique on its own and influenced by Vienna and Salzburg. Plus, there are angels in this book and they are super cool beings!
What Inspired The Starlight Chronicles Series?
It was after a short writing break that I was inspired to sit down at my wooden desk, cup of tea in hand, and write a psychological thriller. It’s also worth mentioning that I had no clue how to write such a genre at the time. But I was driven around the concept of the stars actually being lanterns in the sky in need of regular re-lighting, and creating a world around that with a stealthy antagonist.
Of course, the book flopped a couple of chapters in for this reason, and the draft was left saved on my memory stick which I unthinkingly lent to a friend for her assignment.
This friend happened to be a major bookworm and found the manuscript, devoured it, and demanded I keep writing it. At the time, another story concept had floated into my brain—one consisting of stars and princesses and magical kingdoms. The two ideas sort of blended together, and suddenly I was really inspired to write a story much more within my reading tastes.
A tragedy story with gritty, dark romance and action!
I wanted my readers to cry, to scream with frustration, to feel deeply for the characters. I wanted them to be awed by the plot twists and not be able to possibly predict what was coming.
I loved reading stories like that—was constantly awed by authors who could make me feel such a way, and I vowed that I would do the same. It all fell together so easily and so quickly that I finished the story in a month. By the end of the year, I had four books drafted out and a small following of loyal readers glued to the series.
What makes this series so powerful is the conflict between the characters and how deeply entwined it is with the plot—there are so many stakes and perspectives to consider. Each character is uniquely different and contributes to the overall plot, making them necessary key players in the conflict. This was one of my big goals—I wanted to write a story where siding with just one character would be difficult, and there would be amazing character growth ARCs to witness.
After many re-writes, the first book is finally hitting shelves and I couldn’t be more excited or prouder—I can’t wait for readers to connect with my story and follow the exciting journey waiting for them!
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About P.S. Malcolm
P.S.Malcolm (Pagan) grew up in Proserpine, Queensland– a small, Australian country town on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef. She was a storyteller from a young age and spent years perfecting her craft.
For two years, she juggled waitressing in tourist filled coffee shops while undertaking two degrees in Creative Writing online. She has always had an interest in writing, but never saw herself working in the industry until she made the choice to self-publish her debut novel, STUCK ON VACATION WITH RYAN RUPERT. Realizing that she loved the process of publishing her book, she pursued an internship at a publishing house and snagged a spot as Pen Name Publishing’s Marketing Assistant.
In between interning and writing, Pagan opened her first business working as a freelance Marketing Strategist for Paperback Kingdom– which helps indie authors with all aspects of their author careers.
Pagan also enjoys reading– particularly fantasy and paranormal– and is a passionate blogger. She reviews books that she has read on her personal website, and indie books on her business blog. Some of her favourite and most influential authors include Amanda Gernentz Hanson, A.G. Howard, Marissa Meyer and Michele Jaffe. She is a cat enthusiast, tea lover, and floral fanatic.
Her newest book, LANTERNS IN THE SKY, is set to be released by The Parliament House Publishing in Spring 2019.
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