Review: Heavenly Bodies (Heavenly Bodies #1)

Heavenly Bodies, Book 1 in the Heavenly Bodies Series by Imani Erriu

Published By: Penguin
Publication Date: February 14, 2022
Date Read: April 22, 2026
Genre: Adult – Epic Fantasy / Romantasy
Source: Bought
Format: Audiobook
Pages: 493

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Heavenly Bodies is the first book in a new romantasy series that blends Greek mythology and shadow magic with an enemies-to-lovers romance that will rewrite the stars.

“You know the most dangerous kind of villain? A woman with nothing left to lose.”

In a world ruled by the cruel and merciless Stars, Elara has been cursed by fate. A prophecy promises she will fall for a Star, but that it will kill them both.

So when Ariete, Star of Wrath, War and Chaos, descends to wreak havoc on Elara’s kingdom, she flees her home—the Kingdom of Night—for the neighbouring Helios, Kingdom of Light.

And strides straight into the arms of an enemy prince.

Fearing that Ariete might turn his sights to Helios next, Prince Lorenzo is forced to train Elara as a weapon—one worthy of battling against the tyrannical reign of the Stars. But there are shadows even within the Kingdom of Light—and they threaten to reveal the darkness in Lorenzo’s past and the ancient magic that slumbers in Elara’s veins.

And with it all comes an undeniable, star-crossed pull between Elara and Lorenzo that neither can seem to resist…

“A woman can be both, you know. Soft and fierce. She does not have to choose.”

Heavenly Bodies was a book that I bought not long after it released. I just loved the look of the cover and thought it sounded like something I would enjoy. And then, as with all of my other books, it just sat there looking pretty on my bookshelf for years. Enter my ‘Read 12 Books Recommended by 12 Friends Challenge’ for 2026, and my amazing friend Liv recommended me Heavenly Bodies. I am so glad she did as this book was fantastic. I absolutely loved every moment of this book.

I’m such a lover of all things fantasy, but I won’t lie I’ve started to fall out of love with Romantasy a bit as I feel like the romance overpowers the storyline a lot of the time and I grow a bit bored. That was not the case with Heavenly Bodies. While the romance is definitely at the forefront of this storyline, the plot is just as strong and it was just the perfect balance of both. This book has restored my faith and love in the Romantasy genre, and I have to say this is how you do Romantasy well.

Heavenly Bodies follows the story of Elara and Lorenzo (Enzo). In this world the Stars as powerful Gods and when Elara was born it was prophesised that she would fall in love with a Star and it would kill them both. After a powerful Star finds out about this prophecy, kills her family, and overtakes her kingdom, she is taken to a neighbouring kingdom to be trained in how to kill them. As she is training with Enzo, Elara starts to form a friendship with him, one that is forbidden. I loved this premise, the idea of stars as Gods was a really unique storyline for me, and I was obsessed with it right from the start. I honestly couldn’t put this book down.

One thing I loved about Heavenly Bodies was that it was so different from other Romantasy books out there. Elara is the one with shadow magic, and Enzo controls light. After reading so many books with the MMC being the dark, broody shadow wielder, I found out FMC being the one with darker magic as a nice change. It was really refreshing for me, and definitely made me fall in love with the book just that much more.

Heavenly Bodies was a fantastic, action packed, fast paced read. I listened to this one on audiobook, and while I usually just listen while I’m driving, I was finding more and more reasons to listen whenever I could, as I just couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen to these characters. The narrator did an absolutely fantastic job of bringing this book to life, and I would definitely recommend the audio edition to any audiobook lovers out there. This book is just filled to the brim with twists and turns, and while I guessed a little bit of the revelation, I was definitely shocked by more of it. I was sat there listening, mouth agape as I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I think this will definitely be one I will re-read, as I can’t wait to see what hints I missed out on upon my first experience of this book.

Heavenly Bodies is one of the easiest 5-star ratings I have given. I truly loved everything about it. The world, the celestial magic, the characters… everything! I loved it so much, that I have actually already started listening to book 2 (and I never binge read). I am so glad I finally read this one, and I will definitely be recommending this one to everyone who will listen. If you’re been interested in this one, I definitely recommend giving it a go. You won’t be disappointed!

“I do not just tolerate you, Elara. You are my favourite part of the day.”