Nightweaver – Past Midnight Book Reviews & More

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating:

Title: Starchaser (Nightweaver, #2)

Author: R.M. Gray

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 448

Publication Date: 11/4/25

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Series, Romance, Pirates

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I am vengeance. Fury. Power.

Seventeen-year-old pirate Aster Oberon faces a stunning new reality, gifted with magical ability that she’s struggling to master. Worse, both she and Will—the Nightweaver who has captured her heart—have been cursed. In mere weeks, they will become ferocious Underlings, creatures forced to serve the evil Queen Morana. The only way to break the curse is by procuring Morana’s blood.

To track down the cure, Aster teams up with both Will and Titus, the infuriatingly handsome prince of the Eerie who secretly aims to overthrow his royal family’s tyrannical reign. The trio’s journey takes them to Castle Grim where danger is around every corner, and no one is who they seem.

Between deadly dinners, extravagant balls, and shifting desires toward Will and Titus, Aster will have to keep her daggers at the ready and determine who she can trust before the ticking clock of her curse runs out.

Layered with devastating revelations and twisty romance, this heart-pounding sequel to Nightweaver will leave readers racing toward the truth about Aster and her destiny.

Content Warning: violence, death, torture

+ I don’t know why I thought this was a duology but I was wrong, and I didn’t realize this until 50% into the book. But, despite my own misunderstanding of which book in the series this is, I actually enjoyed this sequel.

+ Aster, Titus and Will have a plan. But it involves sussing out who Morana’s spirit has possessed. Titus has a clue, but Aster’s power to see Sylks’s is what is supposed to help him confirm it. But Aster doesn’t see it, so who could it be? Time is running out before Will turns into a beast, and Titus marries Leo, so they have to figure this out quick. I did like the mystery and trying to figure out who it could be. I had my suspects but even I was thrown off. And that’s not the only thing Aster is trying to figure out because someone is after her, and she doesn’t know who it is.

+ There is also the bigger picture of taking down the kingdom but again, plans are changed with the not knowing of who Morana has been embodying. But there is a lot revealed at the end of the story, lots of twists. I also like that we learn more about Titus in this story!

+ The ending is wild. There are reveals, betrayals, and I need book three to know what will happen to Will and Titus!

+~ The love triangle. I don’t totally love it because I’m leaning a certain way and it’s between two best friends. Why does have to be between two best friends? I don’t like it. None of these people are perfect, Titus, turns into a killer, but Will is about to turn into one too. So…I’m gonna chose the guy who remembered her favorite color. 😅. But yikes…Aster doesn’t know what she feels. I guess we’ll see what happens in book three.

~ Aster is supposedly coming into her power but I actually didn’t see much of it in this sequel. Titus even says he’ll train her but we got only one or two scenes of that and that was it. I hope her power comes through in book three.

Final Thoughts:

There is a lot that happens in this sequel. We get a lot of twists, reveals, betrayal, and time ticking down on executing the plan Aster has with her friends. But I did want more out of Aster’s character in aspects to her power, which was pretty non-existent. If you like a love-triangle, you might enjoy this one, but because I’m leaning towards one guy in particularly and still don’t know how Aster feels about both of them, I’m not really enjoying this love triangle. Overall, this is a solid sequel and can’t wait to see what happens in book three!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From this Author:

Nightweaver by. R.M. Gray | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Nightweaver (Nightweaver, #1)

Author: R.M. Gray

Format: hardcover (own)

Pages: 432

Publication Date: 3/4/25

Categories: Fantasy, Pirates, Young Adult, Romance

Six hundred years ago, Nightweavers, cursed beings with untamed power, claimed the continents for their own. The ocean was meant to be a safe haven for humanity, including seventeen-year-old Aster Oberon and her pirate family. But after Aster’s brother is killed in an epic battle at sea against Nightweavers, Aster and her family are thrust into a new life on land.

When a handsome Nightweaver named Will offers the Oberons protection and work at his opulent estate, Aster is suspicious. As the arrogant and entitled right hand to the wicked prince, Will is everything that she has been taught to hate. But as he shows empathy and kindness, Aster can’t ignore a blooming attraction. And even more, Will opens her eyes to a new There are monsters worse than Nightweavers, monsters who may be behind her brother’s death.

As Aster hunts the creatures responsible, dark secrets threaten to unravel everything she once believed about her family, herself, and her world.

Filled with elemental magic, forbidden romance, and breathtaking twists, this is a propulsive romantasy about an iron-willed heroine avenging her brother and discovering her destiny—perfect for fans of Powerless and Heartless Hunter.

Content Warning: death, violence, possession, death of pet, death of family members

+ The beginning of this book caught my attention fast because Aster and her family are pirates! And right away they are embroiled in a fight at sea – it’s violent, bloody and things don’t turn out the way Aster thought it would, dashing her hopes and dreams.

+ Aster is young and isn’t afraid to fight for her family. I love how resilient she is even through whatever she is going through physically and mentally. There are other characters in this story like Will and Captain Shade that make the story very interesting also. I also loved the side characters of her family and Will’s family members.

+ There is a lot of political intrigue going on and I thought the twists and turns were entertaining. There is a clear side of good versus evil but I wonder where that leaves Aster and her knew knowledge of what she is and her powers. It will be interesting to see where the story goes. I thought the world building was great.

+ The romance is not the focus of this book, but I thought Aster and Will’s growing attachment was sweet although he’s keeping a lot of secrets. It’s definitely a forbidden romance with will being a Nightweaver and Aster being a human but again, it will be interesting to see what happens in book two.

~ I wanted more piracy because the first chapter where the pirates are the focus is so fun! It’s been awhile since I read a pirate book and it was nice to have it in this story! I think there is a tiny bit of a lull (not enough to stop me from reading – took me 2 days to read this one) in the middle of the book because Aster and her family is on land and not at sea. Also Will is supposed to be helping her find the Sylk that killed her brother but through out the “helping” all they are doing is spending time together. There was no hunting the Sylk involved.

~ Please don’t be a love triangle – PLEASE because I like both guys. Which is the worst.

Final Thoughts:

I enjoyed this one a lot minus the few issues I had which doesn’t make me less eager for book two any less. I was entertained! It’s got pirates, magic, political intrigue, romance and I can’t wait to see what happens next.