And always, always, I listen for her whistle in the dark.
To Kill a Prince
Katherine Macdonald
What Lies Between Stars, book one
ebook, 497 pages
Published October 24, 2025
ASIN B0F1QNC2QT
A prince without sight.
A spy without loyalty.
A love without a future.
Wren has spent her life walking the fine line between two worlds—half-fae, half-human, and wholly untrustworthy in the eyes of both. But it is her unique ability to lie that makes her valuable. When her grandmother, a ruthless fae enchantress, places her in the service of Prince Cassiel—the recently blinded second son of the realm—Wren knows she’s meant to earn his trust... and, eventually, take his life.
It should be easy. Cassiel hates the fae who stole his sight, and he’s just as sharp-tongued and impossible as the rumours say. Wren just has to keep her distance. But as she helps him navigate his new reality, she realises that beneath the bitterness is a man who is fiercely intelligent, deeply wounded, and entirely too compelling. And worse—he’s beginning to trust her.
As tensions between humans and fae ignite into war, Wren is forced to choose between the family who raised her and the man she was never meant to love. But Cassiel isn’t as blind as he seems, and if he discovers the truth about her, she may not live long enough to make that choice at all…
A prime example of ‘never judge a book by its cover’ because while it may be pretty, the cover is rather plain and just does not do this story justice. No offense to the artist (which may or may not be the author herself), but it just deserves so much more, imo.
It took only the first page. I was a goner from there.
Positively giddy.
Another Wren. Unapologetically herself.
Cassiel. The broken hero. And a tactician at that.
Put it down, and the withdrawals instantly kicked in. I was hooked.
Then I made the mistake of looking at the author's instagram... as I had intentionally ignored the character descriptions... as I am wont to do... and yes, she's a rebel. Blonde MMCs are not end game. Why must the masses keep reminding these rogue writers of this settled science?
But it's not the characters' general appearances that made me stop mid-scroll. It was Cassiel. Cassiel *looking* at Wren. Seemingly *seeing* Wren. Error or spoiler, I couldn't be sure.
Wren, though half fey (from her father's line), is sent to infiltrate the human kingdom as a contender to become a guard to Cassiel, the second eldest prince who has been left permanently blinded from an attack.
A spy, most certainly.
An assassin, quite possibly.
But Wren's only instruction from her grandmother is to simply befriend the prince.
And friends they do become. It's sweet. It's fun. The banter, both acerbic and clever, is heart-sweepingly adorable. She presses. He pushes back. She teases. He blushes. She steals his peaches. He's... not entirely opposed to it.
Oh, why did this book languish on my TBR for so long?
If you're in the mood for a break from the smoldering villain and need a nice guy that's unfortunately been reduced to a reclusive lifestyle after losing his sight from an enemy attack, Cassiel is your man. He doesn't hate the fey, as the blurb states. I wouldn't use such a strong word to define Cass's feelings towards them. Although I'd be hardpressed to fault him for it should that be the case. His father was murdered at the hands of their matriarch, in retaliation for his act of taking the life of her son.
Cassiel's father slays Wren's father.
Wren's grandmother claims her vengeance in kind.
And Wren, bless her, she tried. She tried so hard to save them all from war.
Almost rolled out of my seat when Cassiel hugged Dain. That distraught and tortured soul that he is. Cassiel is a softie, wrapped up in green flags with a golden bow. The story is told through a dual first person pov and his part is ev-ver-ee-thing.
Spent much of the book wondering who the villain was. Was it the humans? The fey? Both? Neither?
My jaw shall lie shattered on the floor if this book does not end up being my favorite read for all of 2026. I give it all the stars. The bar has been set. Book two is an instant preorder.
5 out of 5 stars.
Available in ebook | paperback
Next in the series:
2026/03