Sooooo I do have to admit that my personal feelings about having three main characters who are a wlw couple and an aroace young man have influenced my thoughts on it greatly but I still have to give it my first 3 star rating of this year,,, I'm so sorry u_u

"Tarnished are the Stars" is beautiful to look at, and while the worldbuilding is incredibly interesting, the book itself kind of brushes along with it in an incredibly fast pace. I personally think that a few more words and chapters would have done WONDERS for the overall feeling of "what?" I had every other chapter or so. The ending itself felt very convenient (why on earth was That Person suddenly on Earth Adjacent??) and while I LIKED where it was going, I wish there had been some more information on how it came to pass, some more emotions involved in the entire process

However! The things I liked about it. Oh, SO MANY.
Again, the representation is beautiful. The author even explicitly spells out "aromantic" and "asexual" when it comes to one of the main characters! Which is something I found incredibly charming and wonderful, and it made my heart SOAR. The three main characters were overall solid and enjoyable, and I might have fallen head over heels for Eliza--- look, I have a thing for pretty women in beautiful dresses who could kick my ass any time.

Overall, I do not regret reading this book, as it was enjoyable and sweet but I do think it was a bit lacking in some areas. I hope to see more from the author! PLease, PLEASE give us more aroace characters in space, that is a brand I can ENTIRELY get behind <3