Author: Elizabeth Watson
Series: The North Stars Saga #1
Genre: Urban Fantasy/Romance/New Adult
Publisher: Elizabeth Watson Books
Publication Date: February 25, 2026
Edition: eBook
Source: NetGalley
Pre-Order: Amazon US | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop |
Synopsis:
Welcome to Soleil: magic is illegal, politics are deadly, and falling in love is the most dangerous act of all.
When Scarlett Heroux witnesses her father’s assassination from mere inches away, her world shatters. The 22-year-old heiress to a political dynasty is thrust into her newly inherited seat in Parliament, compelled to fulfill her father’s revolutionary dream of opening Soleil’s borders to a world of magic her people have long rejected.
After Scarlett reveals her intention to open Soleil’s borders to magic, she is threatened, assaulted, and knocked unconscious. She flees to her mother’s homeland where she discovers magic flowing through her veins and a fated bond she shares with her childhood friend, the handsome Brayden Maddox. Their smoldering connection—and years of mutual pining—ignites into a blaze when magic pushes them together. Yet as bodies and magic entwine, Scarlett resists surrendering to fate. How can she choose pleasure when the cost is leaving her country to the politicians behind her father’s murder?
With Brayden at her side, Scarlett returns to expose Soleil’s corrupt underbelly and open the borders. But another assault pushes Brayden to use his still-illegal magic to protect Scarlett, and the long arm of the law comes for them both. Scarlett must use her new powers to free Brayden and see her persecutors arrested by any means necessary—legal or not.
If she fails, she’ll pay with her life.
When Scarlett Heroux witnesses her father’s assassination from mere inches away, her world shatters. The 22-year-old heiress to a political dynasty is thrust into her newly inherited seat in Parliament, compelled to fulfill her father’s revolutionary dream of opening Soleil’s borders to a world of magic her people have long rejected.
After Scarlett reveals her intention to open Soleil’s borders to magic, she is threatened, assaulted, and knocked unconscious. She flees to her mother’s homeland where she discovers magic flowing through her veins and a fated bond she shares with her childhood friend, the handsome Brayden Maddox. Their smoldering connection—and years of mutual pining—ignites into a blaze when magic pushes them together. Yet as bodies and magic entwine, Scarlett resists surrendering to fate. How can she choose pleasure when the cost is leaving her country to the politicians behind her father’s murder?
With Brayden at her side, Scarlett returns to expose Soleil’s corrupt underbelly and open the borders. But another assault pushes Brayden to use his still-illegal magic to protect Scarlett, and the long arm of the law comes for them both. Scarlett must use her new powers to free Brayden and see her persecutors arrested by any means necessary—legal or not.
If she fails, she’ll pay with her life.
The Rise of Scarlett Heroux is the fast-paced first installment in a new adult trilogy. A sizzling romantasy full of seething betrayals and forbidden magic.
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This book was a little different from what I was expecting. I'd say this book is less Romantasy, and more paranormal romance/urban fantasy. There are fantastical elements in this book, but it's also set in a fictional modern(ish) world. Like an early 2000s, modern with how some of the technology is described. Which threw me off at first with 'romatasy' as a descriptor. I still ended up enjoying it, I just don't view this as part of that sub-genre.
At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like Scarlett. Spoiled rich-girl is a tough sell as a protagonist, but she was surprisingly enjoyable to read from. It helped that she had no delusions that she was wealthy and better off than most people, she didn't come across like a snob, but being in her head she likely wouldn't think she was one. Her ex-boyfriend Alastair probably thought she was one, but he's the kind of person that projects his failings onto others. Glad he was dealt with properly. He sucks and I really hope he doesn't play much of a role in the next book.
The plot over all was really fast. Sometimes it moved a little too fast and other times it dragged. The halfway point did shift focus away from the main plot of who killed her father, and shifted to just focusing on the romance. For me, I felt that the balance between the two wasn't equal. The romance did slowly overshadow what I view as the main plot, for me. I liked the MMC, and their romance was sweet, even if it did move really fast.
I am curious where this series is headed. The events presented at the end of the book open things up for a larger story, and I look forward seeing where it goes.
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