A Sky of Emerald Stars (The Golden Court, Bk. 2)
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Overview
From bestselling author A.K. Mulford comes the second installment in the Golden Court trilogy — a groundbreaking romantasy that weaves high-stakes war, fierce self-discovery, and love in all its forms into one unmissable adventure.
The Golden Court is slowly healing after years crushed beneath the sorceress Sawyn's rule. New leadership has brought new hope — but peace, it turns out, is fragile. When a rival Wolf king named Nero kidnaps Ora, the Queen's beloved friend and mentor, any chance of a quiet rebuilding disappears overnight.
The story follows two women navigating impossible odds on opposite fronts. Sadie Rauxtide, newly appointed royal guard, is sent on a covert mission with Navin and Maez to win fresh allies and uncover Nero's hidden secrets. The problem? Navin is keeping secrets of his own — and Sadie is supposed to be rooting them out, not falling for the man who once betrayed her.
Meanwhile, Queen Calla rides to the Ice Wolf pack of Taigos, desperate to build a coalition against Nero's brutal reign. But the Queen of Taigos is unpredictable, uncommitted, and refuses to respect Calla's gender identity — making every diplomatic overture feel like a battle before the real war has even begun. Calla must decide how much of themselves they're willing to sacrifice for the sake of an alliance.
Both women quickly discover that the world of Aotreas holds far more secrets than anyone bargained for. A hidden fortress. A secret song. And a revolution that no one can stop. As war edges closer, Sadie and Calla must find the strength to fight on every front — political, personal, and deeply human.
"The book's exploration of gender, sexuality, and identity is groundbreaking in the fantasy genre." - The Book CLB
Series Information
Series Name: The Golden Court
Series Reading Order
This series is best read in publication order.
Book 1 - A River of Golden Bones
Book 2 - A Sky of Emerald Stars
Book 3 - A Heart of Crimson Flames
Reviews and Author Praise
"I inhaled this novel. A River of Golden Bones by A.K. Mulford is a gorgeously written queer fairytale fantasy conjured with the bones of wicked worldbuilding and laced with decadent spice. Get ready to devour this wolfish tale."
— Charissa Weaks, bestselling author of The Witch Collector
"This book is a must-read for fans of YA fantasy and romantasy, especially those seeking representation and stories of self-discovery."
— Goodreads
"The book's exploration of gender, sexuality, and identity is groundbreaking in the fantasy genre."
— The Book CLB
"A steamy romance between Calla and Grae unfolds amid battles against monsters and dark magic, intertwined with Calla’s fight against patriarchy and oppression and her burgeoning acceptance of her own genderqueerness. This series is off to an exciting start."
— Publishers Weekly on A River of Golden Bones
"A beautiful journey of self-discovery and queer identity, filled with heart-stopping romance and page-turning adventure. A River of Golden Bones is a must read for fantasy and romance readers alike. I couldn’t put it down!"
— Cait Jacobs, author of Medievally Blonde
Topics and Key Themes
Narrative Tropes
Enemies to Lovers
Forced Proximity
Slow Burn
Forbidden Love
Female Gaze
Key Themes
Identity under siege — a nonbinary queen fights for recognition while building war alliances in hostile territory.
Betrayal rewritten — Sadie must decide if the man who once betrayed her has truly changed.
Fragile peace before war — a healing kingdom fractures when a kidnapping pulls every front into crisis.
Hidden secrets as weapons — covert missions reveal that allies and enemies are rarely who they claim.
Revolution no one can stop — a secret song and hidden fortress ignite an unstoppable uprising across Aotreas.
Who is this book for?
Primary Genre: Romantasy
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ 3/5: Spicy
Open-door romance with balance. You’ll find some on-page intimacy with moderate detail, woven into the story. A sweet spot for readers who enjoy both emotional depth and a bit of steam.
Fans of Sarah J. Maas and Raven Kennedy will enjoy the dual-POV wolf-shifter world-building, enemies-to-lovers tension, and identity-driven emotional arcs set against a backdrop of political intrigue and brewing war.
About the Author
A.K. Mulford is a bestselling author of romantasy fiction, best known for The High Mountain Court series, a sweeping five-book fantasy romance saga set in the world of Okrith. Her work features wolf-shifters, fae courts, and richly built magical worlds, with a strong focus on found family, diverse representation, and romantic tension. She is also the author of the first book in the Golden Court trilogy, A Court of Gilded Horns. Originally from New Zealand and now based in Australia, Mulford draws on her love of nature and adventure in her storytelling. She is an advocate for LGBTQ+ representation in fantasy fiction.
Similar Authors
Sarah J. Maas, Raven Kennedy, Nisha J. Tuli
Reader FAQs
The balance leans toward romance. The political intrigue and world-building of Aotreas provide a meaningful backdrop, but the emotional core is the relationships — Sadie's fraught history with Navin and Calla's identity-driven diplomatic struggle take clear precedence over fantasy mechanics.
Both share enemies-to-lovers tension and wolf-shifter world-building, but A Sky of Emerald Stars has lighter world-building and a more focused political scope. Mulford also centres queer identity and nonbinary representation in a way that distinguishes the series from Maas's work.
The book is marketed as YA fantasy but carries a spice level and thematic complexity — including identity politics, war, betrayal, and moderate romantic content — that positions it comfortably for readers aged 16 and up, with particular appeal to older teens and adults.
The book contains moderate sexual content, themes of betrayal and political violence, depictions of war and kidnapping, and sustained exploration of gender identity discrimination. Readers sensitive to misgendering of a nonbinary character should be aware that this conflict is a central element of the story.
The emotional register is high. The dual-POV structure gives sustained attention to internal conflict — Sadie's slow rebuild of trust after betrayal and Calla's fight for identity recognition under pressure make this a character-driven read as much as a plot-driven one.
Info
ISBN: 9780063291478
Published Date: December 24, 2024
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Language: English
Page Count: 354
Size: 9.25" l x 6.25" w x 1.00" h
Category
Fiction