Touched by the Morningstar: Touched by a Star (Rise of the Fallen Book 1) by Kaeya Lee

Touched by a Star is the first episode in a why choose series by Kaeya Lee.

From the blurb:

Yuri met the man of his dreams the night the world ended.

When Star vanished back into the shadows leaving Yuri to find a way to survive, Yuri returned home, hoping to hide from the Fracture of worlds and the monsters that spewed from the rift. Time passed and Yuri's memory of that night faded into dreams, until their camp was raided by vampire warriors from another world.

Taken by the warriors and delivered to the feet of their leader, Yuri finds himself facing a Master of magic, power, and desire.

Will Yuri find his way back to Star or lose his heart along the way?

Tags:

Angels, demons, Lucifer, vampires, Dracula, and one unusual human chef! This is a why choose serial with mild enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, with angst and Yuri is a cinnamon roll character with need for affection surrounded by a bunch of warriors, princes, kings, and monsters drawn to seek out his gooey center.

Jacquie's Review:

A series format story with episodes coming every couple of week, Touched by a Star sets the scene for what is to come.

Yuri meets Star and has a night with him (this is told is a separate story) as the world ends around them. Flash forward 10 years and Yuri is facing his end after a decade surviving in his father's cult. There's a pretty scary confrontation with the "demons" that have taken over the world, before Yuri is taken to a strange castle through a rift.

There's a lot of world-building and scene setting for what's to come and it was fascinating. The author managed to paint a pretty vivid picture with only a few words. There are a number of characters that I'm interested in, and, since this is a why choose scenario, Yuri might end up connected with them.

Seems that night with Star might have been Yuri's saving grace.

Rating: 5 Stars

Nedra's Review:

A different genre than my normal reading, and I am still left unsure exactly what I just experienced. Maybe because dystopian novels are not my style, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. 

The word building was astounding, character development was great, and the tone for the continuation of the story was set nicely. There were a lot of unanswered questions, which I’m sure will be answered in future releases. 

The jump in time after Yuri spent a night with Star, along with a brief explanation of what happened, had me on edge, waiting for Star to come back. But there’s obviously something special about Yuri that Star must have seen, and I cannot wait to find out more.  Left off on a cliffhanger, I have no choice but to continue with the next release. 

Rating: 4 Stars

Angel's Review:

A very promising start to a brand new serial series. 

This is part one of a multi-part series written by Kaeya Lee (aka Lissa Kasey). I read this book in one sitting, about 30 minutes. It's a very quick read, but it's very dystopian. The theme/background is an end of the world situation. Yuri is a human who worked as a bartender before the night that changed everything. When the end of the world started happening, he wanted to have Star while he could. But! Since Star has the touch of death, he was hesitant about touching Yuri, but couldn't resist him his wish.  

After that night Yuri wakes up alone with nothing but memories of Star. It feels more like a dream than reality. This book is told in Yuri's point of view, and we get knowledge of how he has been living through the end of the world after it started 10 years prior. Then Yuri gets taken to the Master of the creatures that have descended on earth, and Yuri knows the Master sounds familiar to him but isn't sure why.  And it ends with Yuri taking a nap. 

I enjoyed this; I think it's a good start to a series. I've never read a book series that's been a serial format before. So while I'm tempted to say it's too short, I have to remember it's the first in a serial and it was just the beginning. There was a lot of world building in this first book which was done very well. I'm curious to see where this goes! 

Rating: 4 Stars

Holly's Review:

This tiny but mighty book packs a punch and left me waiting with bated breath for the next installment. 

One night with Star would never be enough, but it would have to do for now. As the world descends into chaos and Star vanishes back into the shadows. Ten years later - the story picks up with Yuri still fighting for survival in a world where no one understands him and fearing to venture outside thanks to the monsters that plague the earth, Yuri is lonely, with only the memories or dreams of Star to keep him company.

Yuri is captured by vampire warriors and finds himself hoping his death will be quick. But instead he’s transported to a whole new world, one where he is viewed as valuable but yet still dispensable unless he can prove otherwise. Here he meets the Master, who seems both cruel and kind. 

The dystopian world Kaeya Lee has created is incredible with a huge number of mythical creatures both familiar and new. Through Yuri’s eyes, we get to experience it all in its raw and gritty reality. There is a play between darkness and light which I love and event though this is a short read - part of a serial - I was left wanting more, but at the same time content.   

Rating: 5 Stars

Touched by a Star is available to buy as an ebook or to read with Kindle Unlimited subscription.