'Star Wars' Book Review: 'Eyes Like Stars'
Image Source: StarWars.com
Some might have been skeptical about Eyes Like Stars, written by Ashley Poston, when it was announced at NYCC 2025, and the limited information about the release in the months since likely hasn’t helped matters. However, we are happy to say that with the novel’s full release on July 21st, 2026, it can stand proud next to several other notable Star Wars romance-tinged stories from the new canon. While the narrative has a few flaws which we won’t be able to expand on properly due to their connection to story spoilers, ELS has a very well constructed main character and is replete with important messaging based around family and struggles for individuality and independence.
Focused around one week in the life of Ardent Quay, when her world gets flipped upside down upon meeting the rakish and mysterious Sian, Eyes Like Stars has a familiar formula tread by Star Wars before. Despite the marketing as the “first” official romance for the franchise, this story shares many of its beats with novels like Lost Stars or Crash of Fate, where a sudden event pushes the love interests together, while broader plot details work to keep them apart and complicate their budding romance. Indeed, ELS is actually somewhat tame compared to some of those other stories, though it doesn't miss its chance for powerful amorous moments of connection between two different people finding out what they appreciate in the other.
RELATED:
Image Source: StarWars.com
The supporting cast of this story is wonderfully diverse and flavorful, a ship full of crew who Ardent cares for like family, as well as two cantankerous droids add further life and fun moments to the narrative. One or two of the guests aboard her father’s starship cruise vessel are also quite fun, and it is important to mention how queer-positive this story is, with inclusive language and several instances of same-sex attraction. The villains are a bit tougher to discuss, but do provide their own degree of menace, though we’ll say little else there to avoid spoilers. The story is also packed with references and nods to wider canon, with some surprising cameos, as well as interesting expansions of the Sequel Trilogy era.
But to end on some of the novel’s shortcomings, for as much as the story seeks to confront, or discuss, the nature of the happily ever after or the myths built around certain people or events, those critiques have some flaws when considering ELS itself. The novel isn’t massively hypocritical or directly contradicts itself, but certain characters lack exploration that detracts from this messaging. More confrontations and more information to understand why certain characters have acted the way that they have throughout Ardent’s life and journey should have been considered for the story given how quickly events wrap up as the story comes to a close. We are still left satisfied with the conclusion, to be clear, but there are deeper issues the story touched on through Ardent that are not returned to.
Despite these flaws, one can only hope that we might see those issues resolved in a future story featuring the same characters. While it is somewhat unlikely to be another “official romance” narrative, Star Wars has seen unofficial sequels to other stories before, such as when Delilah S. Dawson’s Black Spire Outpost served as a clear follow-up to the novel Phasma. We are excited to see the future of this budding relationship between Ardent and Sian in future storytelling, and hope Poston gets the chance to expand the characters she has now added to the franchise!
Rating: 8.5/10
CultureSlate: Made by humans, for humans.
Please consider supporting our AI-free content via our Patreon page
READ NEXT:
Source(s): Eyes Like Stars
Latest News
Featured
