A Blog of Books and Tea

(Rattle the Stars PR Review)

Tropes:

• Hidden Identity
• Slow Burn
• Protective MMC
• Forced Proximity
• Sci-Fi Romance
• Skeptical Human X Undercover Alien
• “I didn’t mean to fall for you.”
• Yearning

Stars – 🫖🫖🫖🫖🫖

Spice Level – 🌶

Synopsis –

It’s definitely not aliens.

At least, Raven Barrister’s pretty sure it isn’t.

Between double shifts, looming exams, and an embarrassingly intense crush on her way-too-attractive bartender coworker, Sky, she doesn’t have time for alien nonsense, anyway.

But everything changes the night she crashes into a UFO. Suddenly there’s a glowing artifact, a robot that isn’t from around here, unexplained lights in the sky…and Raven’s starting to think maybe it is time to put the extra in extraterrestrial.

Marked with strange symbols and haunted by memories no one else has, she doesn’t know what to believe. The only person with answers may be the one guy she’s no longer sure she can trust: Sky.

He’s hiding something. Something big.

Too bad nobody gave her the study guide for cosmic chemistry, galaxy-sized problems, or…you know, what to do when your crush might not be from this planet.

It’s definitely not aliens.
…But what if it is?

Thoughts –

As this was my first sci-fi romance, I was a little skeptical about whether or not I would enjoy it. However, it was out of this world! (a little too “on the nose”? 😂) Elle De’Yesso has done an absolutely fantastic job with this book! It really does tick all of the right boxes for me, making it an engaging read from start to finish. The world-building is intricate and imaginative, the characters are incredibly relatable, and the chemistry between them adds an intense layer to the narrative, creating a yearning that is truly palpable.

I absolutely loved how well written and descriptive the whole story was. It truly felt like I was seeing the events unfold as I read. I feel that the plot was so intricately written to the extent that I felt like the events were occuring in real time. I also enjoyed the use of sci-fi themed language. It was enough to make it obvious it was a sci-fi without being overly complicated to the point of needing Google while reading!

I also found the chapter titles hilarious. They made me want to keep reading well past my bedtime, as each title seemed to promise a new adventure or a delightfully hilarious twist that I simply couldn’t resist. The clever wordplay and wit woven into each chapter title ignited my curiosity, compelling me to turn the pages late into the night. However, the sleep deprivation was 100% worth it, as the stories unfolded in a way that kept me thoroughly entertained, leaving me with a mix of laughter and intrigue that lingered long after I finally put the book down.

I think Raven, the FMC was the perfect level of dorky and sassy. Her reactions to the events around her were so relatable, especially her utter awkwardness around Sky. It was refreshing to have a FMC that didn’t ooze confidence within herself or the situation she found herself in. Her inner monologue was hilarious and made me laugh out loud so many times!

Sky, our MMC, was also perfectly imperfect. Although he came across as quite calm throughout the start of the book, it becomes apparent as the story progresses that he can also lose his composure. Especially when it comes to our FMC. It’s obvious that he cares for Raven and wants to protect her, but he also has a overriding need to protect his Creed.

The slow burn romance and yearning was impeccable. You really get a sense of the longing that is felt on both sides throughout the story. The stolen glances, burning faces and that god damned kiss was swoon worthy… I practically squealed!

If you’re a fan of evocative prose, riotous humour, and yearning that is sublime.. Then Stardusted really needs to be added to your TBR! I absolutely loved it, and cannot wait to see what’s in store for Raven and Sky in Starfalling.

Watch this space for my review of Sarfalling, available on Kindle and paperback on the 12th February 2026!