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⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ 4/5
A blacksmith's apprentice with nothing to lose walks into a competition full of people who have everything.
That's the setup for Starside, Alex Aster's new adult romantasy audiobook—and honestly, it's a great one.
In this Starside audiobook review, we're looking at what works, what doesn't, and whether this lengthy audiobook is worth your time.
Twenty hours is a big ask for any audiobook, but this one earns most of that runtime. The competition setting, slow-building romance, and fantasy elements give the story plenty to keep you listening.
Listen to it if: you want a competition-arena fantasy with a slow-building enemies-to-something romance.
Skip it if: you're not in the mood for a long commitment or you've burned out on "deadly trial" plots.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Title | Starside |
| Author | Alex Aster |
| Narrator(s) (audiobook) | Vanessa Moyen, Anthony Palmini (duet narration) |
| Series | Starside, Book 1 |
| Genre | Romance |
| Subgenre | Fantasy Romance / Romantasy |
| Audiobook length | 20 hours, 2 minutes |
| First published | 2026 |
| Publisher | Avon |
Hundreds of years ago, a war split a land in two.
Starside is where the immortals live, the descendants of gods, in a paradise built on magic.
Stormside is where the mortals scrape by on whatever magic is left over.
Every fifty years, the gates open. Fifty challengers get the chance to cross into Starside and chase a pool of magic that can heal, grant wealth, or extend life.
Most people enter for power. Aris enters for vengeance.
A goddess killed her family when she was a child, and she's spent her whole life since then getting ready for this.
She's an orphaned blacksmith's apprentice, which means she's walking in without the money or the weapons the Great House heirs have.
What she does have is the ability to claim a sword, not just inherit one, and that changes everything about how the other competitors see her.
Getting through the gates is only step one. Ancient creatures, immortals who don't play fair, and something new and dangerous that comes out at night all stand between Aris and what she wants.
And then there's Harlan Raker. The king's guard. The man who betrayed her years ago.
He may be the last person she can trust. He also might be the only one who can help her survive.
Aris works as a protagonist because her motivation never gets soft or vague.
She's not chasing some abstract idea of justice. She wants specific people to pay for a specific loss, and that clarity keeps the book moving even through its slower stretches.
Harlan is the more interesting swing. Betrayal is a heavy word to put on a love interest, and Aster doesn't rush to smooth it over.
Their scenes together carry a real charge, mostly because neither of them is handing the other easy trust.
Every conversation feels like it's happening with a knife half-drawn, which is exactly the kind of tension this trope needs to work.
It's a slow build. If you want them locking eyes and falling instantly, this isn't that book.
If you want two people who have every reason to hate each other slowly running out of reasons, this delivers.
Alex Aster built her name on YA fantasy with the Lightlark series. Starside is her first adult romantasy, and you can hear her stretching into the extra room that comes with writing for an older audience.
The world itself is the standout. The divide between Starside and Stormside isn't just a backdrop, it's the whole engine driving the plot, and the mythology underneath it feels like it's setting up something bigger for the rest of the series.
Then there's the magic system. Swords in this world aren't inherited, they're claimed, and that single rule does a lot of heavy lifting. It gives Aris a real, structural reason to be dangerous instead of just handing her plot-armor.
Now the honest part, because that's what a real audiobook review should give you.
Twenty hours is a long runtime, and the middle stretch, once the competition itself kicks in, starts to repeat its own beats. Some listeners have also flagged a few worldbuilding inconsistencies along the way.
None of that derailed the story for me, but if you're someone who tracks lore closely, you'll probably notice the seams too.
Duet narration was the right call for this book, and Vanessa Moyen and Anthony Palmini make the most of it.
Moyen carries Aris's chapters with a controlled kind of anger that never tips into melodrama, which suits a character who's been holding herself together for years.
Palmini gives Harlan an edge that comes through even in his quieter scenes, which helps a lot given how much of his character is built on things he's not saying.
Having two distinct voices for two characters who spend so much of the book distrusting each other makes the push and pull land harder than it might on the page.
The pacing of the narration stays steady even through the longer competition sequences, which is no small thing over twenty hours.
Good fit if you like arena or competition-style fantasy with real stakes attached.
Good fit if slow-burn, enemies-to-something romance is your thing.
Good fit if you enjoy duet-narrated audiobooks and want to hear how well this format can work.
Not a great fit if you want a shorter, breezier listen.
Not a great fit if repeated plot beats in a long middle stretch tend to lose you.
Starside is a big, ambitious start to a new series, and it mostly earns that ambition.
It's not flawless. The length asks a lot, and the middle stretch could have been tightened.
But the world is genuinely interesting, the central relationship has real teeth, and the narration makes the most of both.
If you've been curious about Alex Aster's move into adult romantasy, this is a solid place to start.
Most audiobook platforms offer a free trial credit for new listeners, so if the twenty-hour length has you on the fence, that's a low-risk way to find out if this world hooks you.
Who narrates the Starside audiobook?
Starside is narrated by Vanessa Moyen and Anthony Palmini in duet narration, with Moyen voicing Aris and Palmini voicing Harlan.
How long is the Starside audiobook?
It runs about 20 hours and 2 minutes.
Is Starside a standalone or the start of a series?
It's Book 1 in a new series. The sequel, Stormside, is set to release November 17, 2026.
Is Starside audiobook worth the twenty-hour commitment?
If you enjoy competition-style fantasy with a slow-burn romance, yes. The middle stretch drags a little, but the world and the central relationship carry it through.
Do I need to have read Alex Aster's Lightlark series first?
No. Starside is a separate, standalone world and Aster's first adult romantasy.
How can I listen to Starside audiobook free?
If the price tag is holding you back, a free trial through Audiobooks.com is worth a look. Most new accounts get at least one free credit to spend, which is typically enough to cover Starside — terms and availability do shift, so it's worth a quick check before you sign up.
