Spotlight & Giveaway: Queen of the Night Sky by Amalie Howard

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Amalie Howard to HJ!

Hi Amalie and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Queen of the Night Sky!

 
Thank for having me!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

QUEEN OF THE NIGHT SKY is the epic conclusion to THE STARLIGHT HEIR in the Starkeeper duet. After Suraya Saab unites with her chosen love, King Roshan Acharia, to save Oryndhr from subjugation, a tiny seed of corruption remains, and Suraya’s greatest fear is realized when Roshan weaponizes her power with magical bracers to control her magic. After an assassination attempt, Suraya escapes with an imprisoned azdaha—a mythical dragon—only to find herself in Everlea, the realm of the Night King, Darrius Nightsong…the shadow man from her dreams who just might be her soul-fated mate. An unhinged Roshan will stop at nothing to get her back, and as war looms between the realms, new prophecies of ruthless gods will rise. Torn between two kings—her chosen and her fated—Suraya must free her trapped magic to fight an ancient evil before it’s too late…or all Endara will be lost to darkness.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

This is one of my favorite scenes between Darrius and the Royal Star, Ve, when they’re talking about the infinite nature of love.

“Love makes space for everyone,” Ve says sagely. “She won’t love you less because she also loves another. You’re a deity, you know this. You’ve seen all the wondrous shapes of the phenomenon of love in dozens of lifetimes.”

They’re not wrong. I do know this. Love is infinite, perfectly imperfect, and layered in its complexity. It might bring hardship and take sacrifice or work, but it never dies. It endures through any storm. Love only fails if you give up on it.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

Fun fact, I didn’t start out with the idea of writing a why choose MFM relationship. But when my editor told me how much she loved Roshan when I was saying how much I loved Darrius, she posed this simple question: why not both? It rocked my entire story universe in the best way. Because why shouldn’t Suraya have the option of two devoted partners who love her equally in different ways and help make her the person she is? And, more importantly, how do I ensure these two suitors are worthy of earning her love? Nothing is sexier than being seen and loved as you are. At the end of the day, love can be whatever we need it to be. The most important thing is to make sure that you’re receiving the kind of love that you’re worthy of…that you unequivocally deserve.
Bonus fun fact, I also write to music and have playlists for each book.

Here’s the QUEEN OF THE NIGHT SKY Playlist (available on my Spotify)! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0kUTRkWHywEIqczXjVguAf

As the World Falls Down, Girl in a Coma
End of Beginning, Djo
The Fate of Ophelia, Taylor Swift
Ojos Tristes, Selena Gomez
Myself & I, The Fat Rat
Born Alone, Die Alone, Madalen Duke
Graveyard of a Million Dreams, Besomorph
Nightmare, Halsey
The Sound of Silence – CYRIL remix, Disturbed
Part Goddess, Part Gangster, Madalen Duke
Sail, AWOLNATION
Holy Garden, Madalen Duke
Piercing Light, League of Legends
All the Things She Said, t.A.T.u.
Welcome to my Nightmare, Madelen Duke
Ace of Hearts, Zella Day
Separate Ways (Worlds Apart), Journey
A Thousand Years, Jada Facer
Snakeskin, Madalen Duke
The Line, Arcane, Twenty One Pilots
you should see me in a crown, Billie Eilish
How Villains are Made, Madalen Duke
i like the way you kiss me, Artemas
Royalty, Egzod
Unfinished Sympathy, Massive Attack
Die With a Smile, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars
Passacaglia, Rolf Løvland

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Apart from physical chemistry because let’s face it, they’re all hot, Roshan is drawn to Suraya because of her fearlessness, her capacity to love, and the way she always tries to see the best in people, even those who might fail her. Suraya is attracted to Roshan because of his nobility of character and his heartfelt desire to do right by his people, which is why she’s so heartbroken when the very core of what makes him the man she loves begins to rot. Darrius and Suraya are soul-fated, which means they’ve already been chosen by fate, but I loved playing with their enemies-to-lovers vibe especially within the parameters of the fated-mates trope. Darrius is determined to keep her at a distance to preserve his own power while Suraya loathes his domineering, broody nature. However, he can’t help but be impressed by her tenacity and the fact that she doesn’t shy away from fear of the unknown, and she is struck by how deeply protective he is and how much the citizens of Everlea hold him in the highest esteem.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

Uhhh…I’m blushing now. As I mentioned, this is my first time writing an MFM relationship and I really wanted to do justice to the characters and their shared intimacy. It’s probably one of the hottest love scenes I’ve ever written. Hope you enjoy the snippet leading up to it!

Standing, they’re both of a height, towering over me, and the thought of being pressed between them makes me swallow a decadent whimper. If they don’t get their shit together, I’m going to have to take matters into my own hands.

Maybe I should.

Deliberately, I block the bond, feeling Darrius’s flicker of surprise. I watch in my peripheral vision as my magic winds around their throats, sending other ribbons to bind their arms behind their backs and dragging them back into their seats. Coils wrap around their wide chests and finally slide over their mouths. Roshan’s eyes are wide with lust, while Darrius’s stare promises a host of retribution—the wickedest kind.

“I’m in charge now,” I say. “You speak when spoken to, and you do not move unless I command it. No magical shadows, either. You do not question your queen. Do you consent? If you don’t, I will not fault you for it. We can pretend this never happened. But I need this, and I need both of you to cooperate.” When they nod in turn, I remove the magical gags from their lips. “Words, please.”

“Yes,” the king of Oryndhr says huskily. “Anything, always.”

The king of Everlea’s gaze flashes black to gold and back again. “As you wish,” he rasps.

Readers should read this book….

QUEEN OF THE NIGHT SKY is my love letter to the fantasy and romance genres. I’ve always adored reading cinematic stories with worlds that are so immersive you never want to leave, and in this series, I wanted to combine dangerous magic, high-heat romance, edge-of-your-seat tension, nonstop action, and rich worldbuilding with my deep-seated belief that love is fluid, infinite in its capacity, and makes space for everyone.
I sometimes see readers lamenting that all fantasy romance or romantasy books are the same, and I beg to gently differ. Expand your worldview and read a fantasy romance by a diverse author. Like the Starkeeper duet, these worlds are steeped in the richness of other cultures and can bring a unique lens not just to worldbuilding, but also to narration, the complexity of social structures, and political commentary as well as food, family, and interpersonal dynamics. I promise you that all the tropes you love—enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, just-one-bed, forehead kisses, grumpy/sunshine, morally gray, power imbalance—they’re all here.
 

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

’ve just turned in the first book in a new young adult dark academia fantasy romance series for Joy Revolution (Penguin Random House), which will be out in 2027. That was so fun to write, and I can’t wait for readers to get their hands on it. I’ve also just signed a new adult fantasy romance series contract that hasn’t been announced yet, but I’m super excited about that because it’s twisty, twisted, and very spicy.
As far as upcoming releases, the third book in The Diamonds series, which started with Queen Bee, REBEL HEIRESS, comes out this May. That novel is pitched as Bridgerton meets She’s The Man, only with mathematics and astronomy, in which a society heiress pretends to be her cousin to attend Cambridge University, and countless shenanigans ensue when she falls for her very handsome and gifted tutor.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: 1 copy of THE STARLIGHT HEIR and 1 copy of QUEEN OF THE NIGHT SKY. open to US only

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: If you could pick any romance book subgenre to live as a main character for one week (contemporary, sports, fantasy, paranormal, dark, science fiction, historical, mystery/thriller, horror, etc.), what would you choose and why?

Excerpt from Queen of the Night Sky:

Quietly, I push the covers off and ease from the bed, grabbing the dagger in its sheath on the bedside table. My mother’s blade that I reforged with my own hands is a comfort more than a need. The pol-ished golden head of the simurgh on the hilt is a reminder of where I came from as well as what I am, and a symbol of the magical entity that lives inside of me.
I feel her ripple in response, a gentle brush along my senses.
It took weeks of training with Aran before I felt even capable of summoning the simurgh’s incandescent presence—a majestic, winged spectacle that was everything the king needed me to be. And the moment I had manifested her as a demonstration of my magic in the Oryndhrian court, Roshan’s closest naysayers had gone quiet. A king with the powerful Starkeeper as his right hand was invincible.
It’s no wonder your keeper doesn’t let you out of his sight, an inner voice taunts. You’ve become the very thing you said you never wanted to be—weaponized.
I don’t know if it’s my conscience or my magic speaking. My simurgh has communicated with me before, but this doesn’t sound like her. No, it sounds like the lingering bitterness I’ve kept at bay since Coban. Exhaling harshly, I push the warning away and swallow the knot rising in my throat. I have to believe that Roshan will keep his promise that this isn’t forever.
On silent feet, I pad from the bedroom to the balcony beyond that overlooks the palace courtyard. It’s a moonless night, only the barest sliver of a curve visible. No stars wink through the clouds, though I know they’re there. I can feel them like part of the living tapestry of my soul. Once, Vena had offered me a chance to join them in immor-tal rest, but I’d chosen to return to the mortal world for Roshan . . . for a chance at love and a future together.
I’ve never regretted it, but lately, I find myself wondering if I made the right decision.
Shivering in the cool air, I wrap my arms around myself, peering up. It’s been months since Vena spoke through Amma. None of us had been able to discern what she’d truly meant.
I peer up into the sky. “Vena? Are you there? I could really use a friend.”

But there’s no answer. Again.
A sad sigh leaves me. I used to resent when she appeared on a whim in the guise of a crone with her esoteric advice on how to master my Starkeeper gifts, but now, I’d give anything to see a familiar face. Has she abandoned me? Have my actions and the abuse of my gifts sick-ened her? I would not be surprised: I’ve sickened myself. My eyes burn with unshed tears for what I’ve done in the name of the Starkeeper.
In the name of a man I love.
Is this how villains are born? With the best of intentions?
“Sura,” a drowsy, deep voice says as two thick arms band over mine and a heavy body crowds mine from behind. “What are you doing out here?”
Desperate for any comfort, I lean back into my king’s tall frame, breathing in his earthy iron-and-bergamot scent. Emotion swamps me. Stars, I’ve missed him. Missed this. Being held by him for no reason at all. One would think sleeping in the same bed would mean something, but most nights, he collapses after hours spent arguing with his council on matters of the realm, or he’s gone for days to other cities to meet with the houses or the Dahaka.
“I was watching the stars,” I murmur.

From the book QUEEN OF THE NIGHT SKY: A Novel by amalie howard. Copyright © 2026 by Amalie Howard. Published on March 17, 2026, by Avon Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Excerpted by permission.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

The sequel to The Starlight Heir and the epic conclusion to the romantasy duology that Rebecca Yarros calls, “a breathtaking, sexy romantasy full of twists and adventure.”

The Kingdom of Oryndhr has been saved by the will of the Royal Stars. But King Roshan, once Sura’s best friend and chosen love, has changed. She can sense corruption growing in him, and her own magic is being twisted by his command to dangerous ends. As dreams of her strange shadow guardian return in force, she is left unsure of her path—and of her heart.
When an attempt on her life leads to her rescue on the back of an azdaha, the dragon-like creature she once thought a myth, Sura truly finds herself in uncharted territory—in a land far beyond Oryndhyr’s borders. Everlea is full of magic, ruled by the deadly and enigmatic Night King, Darrius. And to Sura’s shock, Darrius is none other than the man in her dreams…and possibly her soul fated mate.
As a prophecy unfolds, the old gods awaken, and a war between kingdoms looms, Sura has no choice: she must fully embrace her destiny as Starkeeper and the entirety of her power before it’s too late. But all power comes at a cost…and darkness has a way of slithering into the smallest spaces.
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Meet the Author:

Amalie Howard is a USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestselling romance author. She is also the author of several award-winning young adult novels. Her books have been featured in The Hollywood Reporter, Entertainment Weekly, and Seventeen Magazine. When she’s not writing, she can usually be found reading, being the president of her one-woman Harley Davidson motorcycle club, or power-napping. She lives in Colorado with her family.
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