Week 32 Reviews: Marked by Stars, Followed by Thunder

From Goodreads:

A wolf without a pack and a boy in need of roots become founders.

After a heavenly visitation, one young wolf turns his back on his pack and on the moon in order to tread a lonesome path. A blaze of stars. A brand of copper. A burden of trust. First of Dogs, he takes a new name, makes peace with group of weary humans, and helps to found the In-between. This is a tale of the Kindred. This is the lore of the Starmark clan.

Songs of the Amaranthine is a collection of short stories set in Forthright's Amaranthine universe. Before the Emergence, the clans were nothing more than whispers and mysteries and legends and lore. But every so often—in out-of-the-way places or shockingly close to home—an unsuspecting person stumbled into a fateful encounter with someone who was decidedly other. An eclectic collection, spanning continents and centuries. Tales of adventure, discovery, friendship, rescue, belonging, and love. Each short story stands alone and can be read in any order.

From Goodreads:

One sister, a pure light that beckons, the other, a fierce light that burns.

Fira and her sister are chased out of another village. Fleeing on foot across the empty moors, they're caught by a storm that roars like the monsters ever in pursuit. But the wind changes and the thundering brings a stampede of defenders who carry them off to a secret place. Where mares dance and rabbits mine. Where the lost clans hid a lasting treasure. Where the girls' curse is considered a blessing.

My Review:
Oh man, these were such great reads! I love the main series, so I don't know why I took so long to read these! They were short, but they were so great, and it was so interesting to read about these points in time, at least for these two, that are set before the Emergence! We learned about history that's relevant to what's happened in the series, and about Reaver history and culture, and it was so fantastic!

Marked by Stars, oh man, that made me sad for almost half of it. To be that lonely, to have the only one who has your back, to find someone else, that hurts. But he created his own family-even though that was sad, because of what we learn in Mikoto. I do wish we could've seen his reunion with his brother! 

Followed by Thunder, it was really interesting to see pieces of this world get established. That this was the start of reavers using stones as wards and such, it's so fascinating! And while the story of the founding of the In Between is in Marked by Stars, Followed by Thunder had more the founding of cooperatives, with humans involved, so that was great! 

The main series are a mix of romance and dealing with humans and the Amaranthine, and all the politics here. This series is novellas, so there's not quite as much room for everything to be included, so the first was mainly the politics, with a bit of romance, while Followed by Thunder was the opposite. I enjoyed both ways, and I can't wait to see what happens in future books! 

These were such fantastic reads, and I can't wait to read more!  

Author: Forthright 
Series: Songs of the Amaranthine #1, 2
Read: August 10th, 10th, 2022 
Source: Ebook.bike
Reason Why: Love her writing and this world, and they're Historical Fiction 2022 Books, Prequel & Sequel 2022 Books, and Marked by Stars is a WTC Book!
Publisher: Twinkle Press
Published: December 4th 2018, May 4th 2019

Marked by Stars:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Followed by Thunder:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars