Heavenly Bodies by Imani Erriu | Read Along Week One
Welcome to week one of our Heavenly Bodies read along by Imani Erriu. The opening was a stellar moment that sucked me in immediately. Elara is strong, capable, and honestly a little scary—even if she’s not strong enough to fight her way completely free.
We wouldn’t have a story if she did, right?
Still, what she does is spot on for building a queenly character, even a sheltered one. And Elara very much is sheltered, kept hidden away because of a prophecy that binds her to a Star…aka a god.
Here’s the thing: she creates this excellent backbone, this spitfire persona, while also revealing how broken she is inside—her emotions locked away, her past sealing her powers tight.
And then those powers come spilling out in the first quarter of the book.
To her enemy.
The one who forced and coerced her into cooperating. Who allowed a seer to pick through her insides.
Um…what?
If you want to read along with future fantasy romance picks like this one, check out our current February book box featuring Heir of Illusion by Madeline Taylor.
Mixed Feelings on Elara & Early Character Progression
This strong queen caved that easily? Just laid it all out—no hemming, no hawing? It didn’t feel earned yet. A few of the early training progressions also haven’t felt fully earned so far.
What does work for me is the banter between Elara and Enzo. I like her internal softness—how she treats Merissa, and even Leonardo, after stepping into the general’s dreams.
I’m less convinced by how quickly she promises not to expose him. It almost feels like she doesn’t truly believe her people—her parents and kingdom—were persecuted by the very people who kidnapped and imprisoned her.
You know what I mean? If someone rips me from my home and I get leverage on them? Yeah. I’m holding onto that truth for a while, buddy.
I’m doing my best to remember this character isn’t me, but I think my resistance comes from some early personality inconsistencies. She’s fire and strength…yet she’s bowled over too easily.
Enzo, Consent Metaphors, and Uneasy Power Dynamics
I do appreciate Enzo’s consistency. His arrogance feels like a mask, and I can already see his softening toward Elara—especially after her confession about being forced to swallow that shaft of light.
It’s one of the strongest metaphors for sexual violation I’ve seen in a fantasy romance that doesn’t explicitly cross that line. Yikes.
Because of that, her confession also feels even less realistic. The emotional pacing doesn’t quite line up yet.
And why are they hiking all over creation just to spar? Weird—but I can roll with it.
Final Thoughts for Week One
Overall, I have mixed feelings about part one, but we’re still early. I’m willing to suspend disbelief for now because the core premise is compelling:
A Star—a god—who cannot kill Elara. A destiny where he’s meant to fall in love with her…and where they both perish. The prince of light and the queen of darkness growing stronger together to ultimately take the Star down.
That kind of ambition never ends well.
I’m fully expecting things to go wrong. Too much has been easy so far.
Let me know your thoughts on Heavenly Bodies by Imani Erriu so far, and come back next week as we read through Chapter 35 for week two of our Heavenly Bodies read along.
Until then—happy reading.
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