The Time Traveler

There’s an exciting YA book coming this August. It’s none other than Alex Aster’s Lightlark!

Image from https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lightlark-alex-aster/1140972942?ean=9781419760860

By Alex Aster

For those who don’t know, Alex Aster is an award-winning author whose viral TikTok video (aka BookTok) of her Lightlark landed her a six-figure book deal with Amulet Books. She utilized the social media platform to launch her young adult fantasy novel by garnering interest and support from the public.

Author Alex Aster. Photo from her official website: https://www.asterverse.com/

She and her publisher even let the online community choose the cover of Lightlark through an online poll:

Alex Aster is truly brilliant to have marketed her ideas for her upcoming novel so effectively! Just look at the TikTok video that helped launch Lightlark:

@alex.aster It’s called Lightlark #booktok #bookstan #bookclub #yabooks #books ♬ original sound – yeah

*If the video doesn’t load, visit Alex Aster’s Tik Tok video HERE.

Along with the interesting synopsis, the video makes it impossible not want to learn more about Lightlark!

So, along with many other IG/Tik Tok users, I’ve preordered the book and took a small part in helping Lightlark rank #1 in “Barnes & Noble’s Top 100: Book Bestsellers.” And it’s arriving at my doorstep this August! 😆

Preorder

Photo by Ines Sayadi.

Now, you see, I usually don’t buy books because I already have too many. There are stacks of classics and fictions I haven’t gotten to yet, so I borrow books I don’t have from the library. But Alex Aster’s video made me purchase a book months before its release.

I genuinely wanted to read about the mysterious island that appears every 100 years. About the deadly games the six rulers have to play in order for them to break their wicked curses. And I also wanted to receive the official gifts.

*To receive the gifts, you need to have preordered the novel before 6/5/2022 and submitted this form: https://lightlark.abrams.link/?utm_source=AlexAster&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=LightlarkGWP

Official Gift #1: 6 Page Overlays

The first set of gifts being awarded to those who preordered is a set of 6 custom page overlays of the six rulers from Lightlark illustrated by Karla Ortega (@kalisamiii). One ruler is being revealed every 2 weeks on Alex Aster’s IG page, and so far, the main character Isla Crown of Wildling, Celeste of Starling, Azul of Skyling, and Cleo of Moonling have been revealed:

Images from Alex Aster’s official IG page.

7/9/2022 Update: King Oro has been revealed!

7/22/2022 Update: The final ruler – Grimshaw aka Grim – was just revealed today!

These beautiful character overlays add even more hype to Lightlark for sure! 😍 I honestly can’t wait to see Grimshaw of Nightshade.

*Click HERE for Karla Ortega’s official website for more lovely illustrations.

Official Gift #2: Sneak Peek

The second gift is the privilege to read the first five chapters of Lightlark before its official release on August 23rd. I was given access to the chapters last Thursday when Abrams Books emailed me a link to NetGalley.

Snapshot of the email sent from Abrams Books.

I did have to create a NetGalley account using the email address I used when submitting my preorder proof form. But it was easy to do and free.

Once I logged on to NetGalley, there were 3 different ways to access the exclusive sneak peek: 1) accessing the chapters via the NetGalley Shelf App 2) sending them to Kindle 3) downloading them directly.

Screenshot from NetGalley.

For some reason, I couldn’t download the chapters – I was only downloading inaccessible files. So I opted for the first option and devoured the first five chapters of Lighlark on my phone via the app.

Review of the First 5 Chapters of Lightlark

Photo by Johannes Plenio.

The first five chapters of Lightlark were as interesting as the synopsis! They did live up to the hype with fascinating world building and characters that you want to read more about.

Too Many Rules & Conditions

But I do think that there are lots of rules and conditions attached to the fantastical world of Lightlark that make it confusing. Like, how…

  • the island of Lightlark appears for just a hundred days every hundred years for the six rulers of different realms to participate in the deadly games called the Centennial.
  • this year’s Centennial was the first the Nightshade ruler Grimshaw had been invited to.
  • the island was cut into several pieces thousands of years ago, and each island piece is ruled by a different ruler.
  • but the Sunling ruler of the Sun Isle is the king of Lightlark.
  • on the night of the curses that were cast 500 years ago, all six rulers died and their powers transferred to their heirs.
  • one of the current six rulers has to die to break the curses.

And there are much more! But I won’t list all of them out since this book hasn’t been published yet. (And to comply with “Gift with Purchase Promotion Terms” listed by Abrams Books.)

With all these different details, it’s hard to keep up with the story. The author does spend much time explaining these, but I’m still left confused. If someone were to ask me about the world of Lightlark, I wouldn’t be able to list out all the facts. Whereas I feel like I could for other fantasy novels.

Excited For More

Regardless, I do want to find out what happens next! Especially about the Nightshade ruler Grimshaw, the Sunling ruler Oro and their relationships with the protagonist, Isla of the Wildlings.

But if Grimshaw turns out to be Isla’s main love interest (which I suspect to be true), they would be another creepy literary couple. He’s 500 years old and she’s implied to be like 25 (being friends with Celeste and all). 😬 This is worse than Twilight‘s approxinatley100 year old Edward and 17 year old Bella. (Click HERE for the Twilight review.)

I’m curious to see how Alex Aster will bring the ginormous plot of the detailed, complex fantasy world to an end with no loose ends. And what she’ll do with Isla, Grim, Oro, Celeste, Azul and Cleo.

Though I’m slightly worried about the plot, I can’t wait to read the rest of Lightlark!

Photo by Sixteen Miles Out.

P.S. Great news – the six page overlays of Lightlark characters are still being given! Preorder before 8/23 and fill out the form HERE to get yours!

For latest Lightlark news, follow Alex Aster’s IG or Tik Tok account. 👈😉

P.P.S. There’s going to be a “Lightlark BookTok Book Tour” where Alex Aster will visit 7 different cities across the country. 🤩 Each stop will have a Lightlark realm-themed party with…

  • Boston as Starling 🌟 (held in Brookline, MA. Click HERE for more).
  • Atlanta as Sunling ☀ (held in Decatur, GA. Click HERE for more).
  • Chicago as Skyling ☁ (held in Naperville, IL. Click HERE for more).
  • Austin as Nightshade 🌌 (held in Austin, TX. Click HERE for more).
  • San Francisco as Moonling 🌕 (held in San Francisco, CA. Click HERE for more).
  • Los Angeles as Wildling 🥀 (held in Culver City, CA. Click HERE for more).

For all dates and tickets as well as info on the national Lightlark launch event soon to be held in NYC, visit https://lightlark.abrams.link/

*Update on 8/29/22: Guess what? I finished Lightlark and attended the tour event, the one held at San Francisco’s Ferry Building! Click HERE for the book and event review. 🤩

The Time Traveler is an upcoming author who holds great appreciation for both classic literature and history. The author aspires to publish historical fictions and other written works in the near future, in hopes of creating works that entertain, inform, and inspire. The author also appreciates all things aesthetic and enjoys traveling around the world to learn and observe.

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