The godling, Ristriel, is very mysterious and will not disclose the reason as to why he is in hiding. In return, he agrees to serve as a guide in return. While on her mission to find her family, she encounters a godling and rescues him from his pursuers. Displaced in time with no known relatives, she embarks on another journey to find her family's descendants in a world completely different from what she knows. To her surprise, she doesn't return nine months later – but rather 700 years have passed since she left. Saiyon asks her to stay in his palace with him, but her desire to reconnect with her family is stronger and she returns to Earth. When the star is ready to come into the world, Ceris expects these to be her final moments as she fulfills her duty. However, she wins them over, along with Saiyon, with her persistence as her belly grows. She tries to befriend the godlings who wait on her, but they understandably resist her attempts since she will not survive the birth of the star. She makes love to Saiyon, the Sun God (which is extremely painful for mortals), and spends the pregnancy in his palace. In doing so, she helps her family and gives one last gift to her love.Ĭeris then starts her journey to fulfill one of the most important roles in life. Knowing her betrothed will never love her in that way, she makes the selfless decision to become the next Star Mother. In the meantime, the people of Endwever are searching for a new Star Mother to replace the deceased star.

She is betrothed to another young man, but he is in love with another woman. When readers first meet Ceris, she is a bit of a prankster and understands her place in the world. holmberg proves her talent for creativity and world-building in this start to a new duology.

However, Ceris does what no other Star Mother in history has done before – she survives. Ceris Wenden knows this and decides to make the ultimate sacrifice to become the next Star Mother. While villagers revere the woman who becomes the Star Mother and brings honor to her family, she does not survive. In order for this to happen, the Sun god must create one with a mortal woman. When a star dies, a new one must be born.

Star Mother by Charlie N. Holmberg