The Heart of the Lost Star

Tales of the High Court, Book 3

By: Megan Derr

Narrated by: Michael Stellman

Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Kamir is on the verge of losing everything. Knowing full well he can't meet the ultimatum his parents have issued, he instead finally puts in motion his plans to live completely independent of them. His plans are interrupted, however, by the unexpected return of his despised ex-husband - and thrown even further into upheaval when he ends up comforting the man he's secretly loved for years.

Jader may not know where he comes from, but he knows where he belongs and what he wants - until he helps rescue some stranded Bentan travelers, one of whom looks almost exactly like Jader, throwing his life and everything he thought he knew into tumult. Scared and overwhelmed, Jader flees - and lands unexpectedly in the arms of a man he's always seen, but never really noticed.

©2019 Megan Derr (P)2020 Megan Derr

Wonderful!

I love this author and this series especially. The wonderful narrator only added to the story.

as great as a first two can't wait for the fourth

I really love the first and second books. now i live the 3rd book, and cant wait for the fourth book to become a audiobook.

As good as the first

In this world, there are no trans characters, because gender is not assigned at birth. what we think of as male genetalia, is just genetalia there, and it seems to come in a variety of configurations. Children announce their gender when they're ready.

I truly loved both main characters here, and with plenty of appearances from old beloved characters, there was lots to enjoy here.

the narrator for this series is perfect.

Fresh air

These books are wonderful, and a dream of fresh air in the LGBTQ+ book collection. So many books rely too much on the relationship and sex and I’m not from the story. And while that is not always bad it can get repetitive very fast. But this book and the rest in the series true,y rely on plot and it just happens to be a couple. It has a great romance, it’s well written, and world is well constructed!! 10/10

High Court Highly Recommended!

Of all Megan's characters, Kamir and Jader have always been among my favorites! The Tales of the High Court series is amazing!

Very good

I enjoy this author and being able to listen while I'm doing crafts is great.

So good!

This is the third book on the series and it is as good or probably better than the previous ones. Kamir and Jader's found a way to be together in the middle of family drama, intrigue, envy, danger and abusive exes, Both deserved happiness and it was a treat witnessing them to find it in each other. Another amazing book, part of the world of the Tales of the High Court series written by Ms Derr. Regarding the narration, Mr Stellman's performance is captivating with his smooth voice and amazing characterizations. So good!

Couldn’t love more

I couldn’t love this story and series more. It is so sweet, wholesome, fun, and beautiful. I love books and especially fantasy that portrays happy, healthy, functioning relationships, even if there are adventures along the way. This book makes me feel happy and warm and I absolutely love it. It will be a re-listen anytime I need a pick me up.

More world building and complex characters!

I'm continuing on with my epistolary rabbit hole I've gone down! Fantasy romance, trans & cis men, pregnancy and lots of kiddo content in here. (No on page birth though.)

The pacing in this threw me off a bit. The first 50% is the MCs relationship development/f*cking/dating casually, then the next 40% they're separated and sending letters back and forth, then the last 10% is a very abrupt ending that was too rushed for me. This was a rare situation where I didn't care for the letter elements either, especially since each lead was keeping vital information from the other. Usually the epistolary elements give some deep intimacy elements, but this was just the letter equivalent of s*xting and withholding important discussions (for example, being pregnant and getting injured.)

I do love Derr's world building, and love that there's this "shrug, whatever gender you want to be is cool" element to the society. Each person chooses who they want to be, and it's not dependent on genitals. Love that! I was missing a bit on the romance side, and the plot wasn't the most interesting of the series, but this audio kept my attention which I'll count as a win!

My least favorite

her writing is good, as usual, but something about this story just wasn't my favorite. I feel like it sort of dragged out a little too much, and the constant reminder of Kamir's ex-husband and how horrible he was, and is, sort of drew me out of it. I understand it was an important part of why Kamir was the way he was, but hearing it said the same way so many times made it feel like the story kept going forever. not to mention that him constantly talking down about himself, and about all that his relationship with Jader wasn't kind of got old real fast. Strangely he's probably the character I could relate to the most out of all three books, and because he reminds me of me, I can't really like him all that much. The narrator did a fine job as usual, those some of his pronunciations continue to make me raise an eyebrow.