Once We Were Starlight

By: Mia Sheridan

Narrated by: Connor Crais, Trina Nishimura

Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

A bed posed on a stage under a dazzling spotlight. An audience of hungry eyes. And him, the other half of my soul, our supple bodies moving as one....

Sundara: the lush and forbidden oasis in the desert where men travel to watch acts of sexual deviancy, and the only existence 17-year-old Karys has ever known. But despite a life where secrets and sin are in high supply, and freedom remains far beyond their reach, Karys and her partner, Zakai, find safety in each other, their passionate love the light that helps them both survive the darkness.

Very suddenly, Karys and Zakai find themselves in the bright and confusing world of New York City, navigating separation, school, and relatives who are all but strangers. If they've been found, why do they still feel so lost? As their new lives threaten to drive them apart, and Zakai spins out of her grasp, Karys must figure out who and what can be trusted in this strange city, seemingly filled with more venom than the desert they once called home.

©2021 Mia Sheridan (P)2021 Audible, Inc.

Perfect... almost

Great story. 4.5 stars 🌟 🤩 I just thought the prelogue should've been omitted, the story skipped way too many years and the marriage proposal and reconciliation was too soon. But even with this, it was a GREAT story that gave me all the feels❤️

Great!!

Hard to read in parts due to the topic. Mia does such a good job with her characters and identifying not just the relief of their rescue but also the tragic heartache they each went through to heal.

“Once we were starlight. But now, now we were a un

Once We Were Starlight…this story is an amazing journey…it takes you through years of experiences for Karys and Zakai, two lovestruck kids taken prisoner and survived for each other. They deal with painful memories and separation from each other when they are rescued and placed into a world that they do not have any experience with. It is an amazing tale, written in a style that is only Mia Sheridan’s…one that keeps you reading and engaged. I have always enjoyed reading Mia’s books and was so glad to find one that I had missed along the way. Also, the audiobook for this story was so well done and added to the written words on the page…and that is not always the case. “Once we were starlight. But now, now we were a universe.” 5-stars is probably not enough.

A top listen/read this year!

All of the stars to this book!
I can't even start to explain my feelings while listening to this great story!

It's hard, raw, emotional, sensible, cruel and painfully beautiful!

It's so different of anything that I'd read before, and truthfully, i still don't know how to review it without spoilers.

This couple are soulmates!
They're the other half of each other through and through!
Their story starts when he was 9 and she was 6, and it was in a way that could have been way worst than what they had, while growing up in a sex traffic ring!

The book tells their story along the years as captive, and what happens to them when they're finally rescued and thrown in the real world, and it's so painful to see their struggles, but also fulfilling to watch their growth.

Their journey was as much as for each other, but also and mostly, for themselves! I loved everything!

It's another incredible book by Mia Sheridan, and she's easily becoming a favorite!

🎧 About the Audiobook Narration 🎧

Narrated by Trina Nishimura and Connor Crais.
It was a perfect narration and she was able to do a younger voice on the past chapters, and a mature one on the present. It was great!
Connor had only one chapter and I wish I could have had more of him!

Another moving story form Mia Sheridan

This is my second Mia Sheridan book. It was very different than what I was expecting. It was a beautiful story with more complexity than I thought it could have. I was deeply riveted by Karys & Zakai's story. Thank you for taking us on this journey with them, Mia. Trina Nishimura was a new to me narrator. Both Trina & Connor Crais were terrific

Shine!

A relevant subject told in a heartbreaking, heartfelt way. I did cry. I did rejoice in the main characters tenacity. Excellent story.

Poor narration

Mia Sheridan creates engaging characters with original backstories that involve a whole lot of compelling heartache. Unfortunately, my enjoyment of this novel was hampered by Trina Nishimura's (principal narrator's) inability to create male voices. With the occasional exception for Zakai's (hero's) voice, which she sometimes barely managed to pull off, the male characters all ended up sounding like chirpy pre-adolescent girls. I kept hoping that the male narrator, Connor Crais, would make an appearance sooner than later but alas! He narrates only the epilogue. Nishimura's high-pitched, breathy voice was quite good, though, for the heroine Karys, who is naive and innocent. This would have been a five-star read with a better narrator.

finished despite narrator...

so that should tell you the storyline is pretty good! the female narrator (and don't be fooled- Connor crais is hardly in this book) is fine for general narration and female voices but she does all the men in this weird high pitched hyper-like voice. it was incredibly annoying, but I love mia sheridans writing and this story has so many heartbreaking ups and downs I still kept listening. if you can look past a not so great narrator I definitely recommend.

Such a rich and full story, the kind that sticks with you…

Mia Sheridan is such an underrated author! My first was “Archer’s Voice” (if you haven’t read it or listened, do it now) and it was one of those rare books that had such a profound effect on me. So I read all of her available books right after because I was so impressed with her work and her character development is just amazing. I just stumbled on this one, saw it was new and got it right away. It’s very original, never read/listened to anything like it. It gives you all the feels, you won’t be able to stop listening, and it’s one of those books you will want to revisit often because it’s just THAT GOOD! 🙏

A love since childhood

Do I read blurbs? No.
Does that make for interesting reads? Yes.

I picked this book up not knowing anything about it except for who the author is and knowing I've enjoyed her books in the past.

As I reading chapter 1 I kept thinking is this a sci-fi book about another planet? I was really confused about what was happening until I realized our narrator is very naive. We are viewing the world through her innocent eyes.

Karys (who is our narrator) was taken as a child and brought to a remote desert called, Sundara. She along with a young boy named Zakai are the only children in Sundara.

They are used as a sideshow for wealthy people who come to this place to indulge in sexual deviance. Zakai & Karys performed sexual acts with each other while these wealthy deviants watch. They look so much alike that these watchers are made to believe they are watching something even more taboo - twins.

All the people at Sundara work to keep Karys sheltered because they love the little ray of sunshine she brings to this bleak place.

Not until one of the people there decides to help Zakai & Karys gain knowledge about what is beyond this place does Karys start to wonder about other things.

All these "performers" are working to pay off a debt they owe by doing sexual acts. But what kind of debt can two stolen children owe?

Luckily, for my emotional state, the above is only at the beginning of the book. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to handle reading about such a hard topic as human trafficking throughout the whole book.

Even once they are out of that horrid situation they're people who aren't good to them. It really begs the question what happens to children who grow up in that lifestyle and are set free as adults how do they function in society? Who helps them readjust?

I did feel like the end of the book had some flavors of the book - Epilogue (The Dark Duet by C.J. Roberts), and the beginning of the book at first had me thinking of the book, Becoming Calder (by Mia Sheridan).

Once We Were Starlight is a read that keeps your attention throughout the book. Never a dull moment.