The Lord of Stariel Audiobook By AJ Lancaster cover art

The Lord of Stariel

Stariel, Book 1

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The Lord of Stariel

By: AJ Lancaster
Narrated by: Finty Williams
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The Lord of Stariel is dead. Long live the Lord of Stariel. Whoever that is.

Everyone knows who the magical estate will choose for its next ruler. Or do they? Will it be the lord’s eldest son, who he despised? His favourite nephew, with the strongest magical land-sense? His scandalous daughter, who ran away from home years ago to study illusion?

Hetta knows it won’t be her, and she’s glad of it. Returning home for her father’s funeral, all Hetta has to do is survive the family drama and avoid entanglements with irritatingly attractive local men until the Choosing. Then she can leave. But whoever Stariel chooses will have bigger problems than eccentric relatives to deal with.

Winged, beautifully deadly problems.

For the first time in centuries, the fae are returning to the Mortal Realm, and only the Lord of Stariel can keep the estate safe. In theory.

The Lord of Stariel is the first book in the Stariel quartet.

©2018 AJ Lancaster (P)2020 Podium Audio Epic Epic Fantasy Fairy Tales Fantasy Fiction Historical Magic Feel-Good
Engaging Characters • Magical Worldbuilding • Intriguing Plot Twists • Strong Female Protagonist • Well-balanced Romance
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
“Does everybody in this household have some deep dark secret that they’ve been
keeping from me in order to reveal it at the most dramatic point possible?”

I do love a cheekily self aware book.

Well done cozy urban fantasy is hard to find. Too many cozies drown in syrupy sweetness or are forgettably bland. This one has interesting characters and magic, brought to life with fantastic narration.
I agree with other reviewers, that this feels like a magical Downton Abby.

There’s some LGBTQ plot points that feel organic to the world and not too preachy. If anything was a tad heavy handed, it’s the recurring theme of Hetta being undervalued as a woman.
Even that, however, is quickly dispensed with, never taking over this easy breezy urban fantasy.
This works as YA and for teens.

Series warnings:
By book 3, this no longer qualifies as cozy, but remains on the lite end of fantasy.
Book 3 ends in a cliffhanger, has one F bomb, and gets into risqué sex discussions (still pretty tame).
Book 4 brings a narrator change, which took a bit for me to adjust to, and F bombs.
This has a four book arc. Book 5 branches out as a MM romance for two supporting characters.

Victorian Fantasy Lite - perfect for the holidays

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As a free book on audible I wasn't sure how I would like this book. The summary of the book makes it sound like it's going to be a totally different story! But the story I got was full of colorful characters, with a reliable witty and charismatic main character (which many main female leads dont manage) deep feeling, mystery, romance and magic! I fully enjoyed it and quickly devoured it over two days and bought the next book! I love this world and am excited to see where the stories conflict goes and how the characters face it!

I loved this!

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I really enjoyed this book. The characters are likable, the plot was interesting, and the world was unique. I found the outcome a little predictable, but it didn’t take away from the story. The narration was also wonderfully done. I look forward to listening to the next book in the series.

Interesting and unique

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What a lovely surprise! A tiny but slow at the start … stick with it. You will not regret it. Outstanding story line - fascinating characters with interesting backstories — unique, eclectic family — magic, fae, deception, mysteries. Worth the listen!!

Outstanding — unexpectedly delightful

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Loved this book, takes you to a world of mortals and fantasy intertwined, Real but then not real! Characters and backgrounds of them are well laid out and makes you wonder what will happen to them. Connection to some real world issues we deal with daily all wrapped up in fantasy.

Fantasy

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Admittedly, I went in to this with fairly low expectations. I was wonderfully surprised! The storyline was unique and very well done. The narrator did a great job, even with the male characters. I very much enjoyed her. On to Book 2!

Unexpectedly delightful

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Great story and writing. And the narrator was fantastic! I look forward to reading the other books in the series.

Excellent story!

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The narrator was fantastic and the writing was superb. If you like historical period novels (but with a twist), this is a great choice.

Loved it!

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This was a delightful book! I very much enjoyed it. I definitely will be reading the next book.

Good book

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Great story- well written with a witty, intelligent and strong female character! Interesting and fun!

The main character Hetta

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