{A Stardust Trilogy Review} Reign of Silver & Stardust by Diana A. Hicks

Reign of Silver & Stardust by Diana A. Hicks
Series: Stardust Trilogy #1
on August 27th, 2026
Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Adventure
Format: ARC
Source: Netgalley
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My twin sister was murdered. To find her killer, I had to die.

CATALINA
I was never supposed to survive.
As the mortal spare to an immortal sister, I lived in the shadows
until Ry was murdered by a weapon that shouldn't exist.
Now, justice is all I want.
To find her killer, I must take her place in the Queen’s Elite Cadre
and become the very monster everyone fears.
But becoming a weapon means losing my humanity…
and losing the one man I can't resist.

VALOREK
The immortals bleed my world dry while my sister rots from the inside out.
I swore to burn their reign to the ground,
until I met her.
Sterling is the enemy,
a silver-blooded soldier of the regime that destroyed my family.
But the electricity between us is undeniable.
We are on opposite sides of a brewing war,
and falling for the enemy is a dangerous mistake
neither of us can afford.

I received Reign of Silver & Stardust for free. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

What would you do if you met the man of your dreams? Catalina is forced to make a choice when the man she’s seen die several times in her dreams shows up in her real life. She runs into Valorek in a place she really shouldn’t be and feels an attraction she absolutely shouldn’t feel. As they venture out on the riskiest mission of their lifetimes, nothing in their lives will ever be the same.

Against the backdrop of a highly advanced spaceship, Epoch, and the planet Veridia, Catalina, Valorek, and their “crew” enter a fight not just to stay alive, but to survive. I was completely absorbed by the two paths Catalina and Valorek walk after they part ways following their explosive first meeting. Valorek is swept up in a whirlwind of family drama between himself, his sister Ari, and their father, James. Catalina’s twin sister, Ry, sends her into a grief spiral when she is murdered in front of her. Ry was a perfect specimen who was given the Ukruum virus at eighteen to make her immortal. Catalina’s world crumbled when Ry stepped in front of a bullet to save her sister’s life, never knowing that the outcome would ultimately cost her own immortality.

Catalina now faces even more challenges when Ry’s death sends her to Captain Weston, Ry’s friend and fellow officer. The constant tension between Weston and Catalina had me in a chokehold. It was clear that Weston did everything he could to hate her, but it seemed increasingly possible that he had transferred his warm feelings from one twin to the other. Many of the secondary characters gave this dangerous story a touch of personality and a sense of fellowship, while the relationship between Catalina and Valorek made the larger adventure feel even more personal.

The connection Hicks established between this destined couple seemed inevitable from the very first page. Reign of Silver & Stardust combines romance, science fiction, adventure, and a great deal of danger in a story concerning fate, choice, and the lengths we go to protect the people we love. Catalina and Valorek’s journeys were by no means simple, and it is precisely this that gives the story its appeal. For anyone wanting a romance set in a larger universe, this book offers plenty of stars, danger, and heartfelt moments. I look forward to seeing how the story will progress in book two, Legacy of Blood & Scars.