Title: Star-Touched Stories (The Star-Touched Queen #2.5)
Author: Roshani Chokshi 
Rating: ★★★★★

ARC provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

Roshani Chokshi has quickly become one of my favorites authors. Her writing is incredibly beautiful and her storytelling is always mesmerizing. I didn’t realize how much I wanted/needed these short stories from the world of The Star-Touched Queen until I started reading this, and now I want a hundred more. All three stories were magical and the perfect compliments to The Star-Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes.

Death and Night    ☆☆☆☆☆

“Whatever form she took, I would recognize her. Because it was not me that knew her, it was my soul. And it could never forget her.”

In Death and Night, we are told the backstory and history behind Maya and Amar from The Star-Touched Queen, which I now desperately need to reread. I loved this story way more than I had been expecting; it was so splendid and the writing and imagery was breathtaking.

Poison and Gold    ☆☆☆☆

“She wanted, now, what any human wanted. A place among people. A home in someone’s heart. She wanted to be a person. A true person.”

The focus of this story is Aasha, one of the characters I adored from A Crown of Wishes, as she attempts to find her place in the human world. I really enjoyed reading about her training as the Spy Mistress and her growth as a character. Gauri and Vikram are also present in this story and it gave me all the feels.

Rose and Sword    ☆☆☆☆☆

“The bravery to hold loss in your heart and love anyway. The bravery to let go at the end. And she knew, even as she reached for the flame of his last breath, that loving him would be the bravest thing she had ever done.”

I loved the format of Rose and Sword; we have an older woman telling a story to her young granddaughter, and it was absolute perfection. The brief interruptions by the little girl reminded me of the movie version of The Princess Bride, and it was so whimsical and wonderful. I also loved how it tied together really well with Death and Night. I don’t want post spoilers or give anything away so all I will say is that I FEEL SO BLESSED BY THE CHARACTERS FEATURED. This story was everything I could have asked for and more.