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The Maven Knight #2
The Maven Knight: Ones of Aster
As one hero falls, another rises to take their place. After escaping the Nanite storm within the Marün Canyons, Sarina, the lost heiress of Z’hart, continues into the dangerous Outlands with her companions. Seeking the final beacon to lead them to Providence, the group proceeds into the land of Asi in a desperate attempt to find the mythical fortress. With the Remnant Order sowing seeds of chaos and the Nanite storms threatening to consume the world, Sarina makes a bold decision so that they might complete their quest to save the world. In Z’hart City, Lady Sahari navigates the harrowing political system while secretly trying to uncover the mysteries Sarina left her with. With the help of her consort, Sahari searches for Centum’s spy in her midst so that she might prevent any hints of treachery from the Remnant. Though she lacks the experience for this role, she must play her part as Z’hart’s regent carefully in order to bring peace to her nation. Yet, not all things are as simple as they appear to be. There's always two sides to every story.
615 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2026
About the author
Matthew Romeo
6 books42 followersMatthew Romeo is a warrior poet. He has a healthy obsession with Star Wars, the Stormlight Archive, Cobra Kai, and Halo. When it comes to his career as a writer, he's been inspired by the likes of Frank Herbert, Bandon Sanderson, and Pierce Brown. Pure chaos is the way of his writing style, often flitting between methodical outlining or just winging the story as he goes. Outside of being an author, he works for an international shipping company and is a dad of two cats named Korra and Toph. He spends much of his free time playing Dungeons&Dragons, learning swordsmanship, practicing martial arts, and going clay shooting.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 24, 2021
'The Maven Knight: Ones of Aster' dropped us right back where the last book ended. Sarina and the others continue their quest to find the legendary city of Providence. Unbeknownst to them, Tálir has been captured by the Remnant.
Like the first book, Ones of Astor is full of action. Both Sarina and Tálir focus on honing their Maven Knight skills and are forced to overcome a whole manner of obstacles to reach their respective endgames. We also read in Sahari's POV, which focussed less on the action and more on political intrigue. Not only did this give a deeper insight into the web of political games, betrayals and secrets, but it served as a well-needed break between the other heavy action chapters. Watching Sahari's journey was also a pleasure to witness, as she battles her self-doubt like a champ.
Sarina's journey was intriguing. Struggling to fit into the shoes of a legendary Maven Knight, her fight for peace, as well as their continued search for Providence, was a realistic portrayal of highs and lows, wins and defeats. The ending chapters tugged at the heartstrings, and her budding relationship with Devin definitely put a smile on my face. I loved the camaraderie in Sarina's chapters -- having known the characters now for a while, you really feel the tights bonds of friendship emanating between them, and only added to the stakes.
Tálir's POV is definitely the most complex. I was intrigued from start to finish: his initial assessments, his rivalry, his determination... And then later, the revelations that turn his whole beliefs on their head.
While Tálir's journey was perhaps my favourite out of the three, it is also incredibly action-packed, with one event coming very quickly after another. This is reflected in Tálir's decisions, which seemed to happen without much thought, and while I do understand his motivations, I found myself questioning his willingness to blindly accept. A part of this might be explained by the time span of events, which occurred during the best part of a year, and yet for me, it only felt like a few weeks. On the switch side, given a year had passed, I found it difficult to reconcile Tálir's hang-ups about Sarina, especially given his growing relationships with the others. I could get behind Devin and Sarina a lot more, given I saw sparks in the first book, but Tálir's romance felt quite unreliable at times.
Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed this part of The Maven Knight trilogy. With magic armour, intense battle scenes, and a political upheaval that made my jaw drop, I am very keen to see where the last instalment of this fantastic sci-fi tale takes me.
Like the first book, Ones of Astor is full of action. Both Sarina and Tálir focus on honing their Maven Knight skills and are forced to overcome a whole manner of obstacles to reach their respective endgames. We also read in Sahari's POV, which focussed less on the action and more on political intrigue. Not only did this give a deeper insight into the web of political games, betrayals and secrets, but it served as a well-needed break between the other heavy action chapters. Watching Sahari's journey was also a pleasure to witness, as she battles her self-doubt like a champ.
Sarina's journey was intriguing. Struggling to fit into the shoes of a legendary Maven Knight, her fight for peace, as well as their continued search for Providence, was a realistic portrayal of highs and lows, wins and defeats. The ending chapters tugged at the heartstrings, and her budding relationship with Devin definitely put a smile on my face. I loved the camaraderie in Sarina's chapters -- having known the characters now for a while, you really feel the tights bonds of friendship emanating between them, and only added to the stakes.
Tálir's POV is definitely the most complex. I was intrigued from start to finish: his initial assessments, his rivalry, his determination... And then later, the revelations that turn his whole beliefs on their head.
While Tálir's journey was perhaps my favourite out of the three, it is also incredibly action-packed, with one event coming very quickly after another. This is reflected in Tálir's decisions, which seemed to happen without much thought, and while I do understand his motivations, I found myself questioning his willingness to blindly accept. A part of this might be explained by the time span of events, which occurred during the best part of a year, and yet for me, it only felt like a few weeks. On the switch side, given a year had passed, I found it difficult to reconcile Tálir's hang-ups about Sarina, especially given his growing relationships with the others. I could get behind Devin and Sarina a lot more, given I saw sparks in the first book, but Tálir's romance felt quite unreliable at times.
Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed this part of The Maven Knight trilogy. With magic armour, intense battle scenes, and a political upheaval that made my jaw drop, I am very keen to see where the last instalment of this fantastic sci-fi tale takes me.
August 1, 2021
What a master class in making readers feel conflicted…
Ones of Aster is an unrelenting thrill ride, twisting your expectations into bronze pretzels and smashing them to pieces. The story takes everything good from the first Maven Knight and pushed harder, while cleaning up the minor issues in the first book.
Plus, any time a story makes you adore a character who’s clearly cast as a villain, that’s well done writing. Seeing someone fight for what they think us write despite it clearly being wrong humanizes even those twisted characters who delight in bloodying their twin daggers.
What a worthy sequel. It’s got me eager to dig into Heirs of Providence. If you struggled through the first Maven Knight, give Ones of Aster a chance anyway because it will blow your mind and tear through your thoughts for days afterwards, like one of the roils.
Well done.
Ones of Aster is an unrelenting thrill ride, twisting your expectations into bronze pretzels and smashing them to pieces. The story takes everything good from the first Maven Knight and pushed harder, while cleaning up the minor issues in the first book.
Plus, any time a story makes you adore a character who’s clearly cast as a villain, that’s well done writing. Seeing someone fight for what they think us write despite it clearly being wrong humanizes even those twisted characters who delight in bloodying their twin daggers.
What a worthy sequel. It’s got me eager to dig into Heirs of Providence. If you struggled through the first Maven Knight, give Ones of Aster a chance anyway because it will blow your mind and tear through your thoughts for days afterwards, like one of the roils.
Well done.
May 18, 2021
(2025 reread)
The first Maven Knight novel got me hooked into the world of Pan'gea and its inhabitants, and Ones of Aster kept me there as Matthew Romeo gives the reader a wider look at the setting, the cultures and go-political layout of his science fantasy setting as the characters he introduced us to start to grow in new ways... Some of the scenes I particularly enjoyed involved the protagonists Talir and Sarina making mistakes, falling short, proving that the hero doesn't always win, but they grow from it and learn to be better as a result... The world of Z'hart and the surrounding cities is so richly and lavishly detailed, and Matthew Romeo is a masterfully talented world builder as he explores the geo-political structure and political power games of this world in a manner that is always informative and doesn't cause the reader to disengage, while the action scenes are constantly thrilling, as well as often subverting expectations by keeping the protagonists and readers on edge because you can't be sure they're going to win...
The Maven Knight: Ones of Aster is a spectacularly gripping story with plot twists and unexpected revelations worthy of The Empire Strikes Back! There were moments when what I read genuinely made my jaw drop and Matthew Romeo is a man after my own heart with his use of powerful villainesses. With truly inspiring action sequences and a greater exploration of a world that the story brings to life in lavish depth and detail, The Maven Knight: Ones of Aster is definitely a must read for lovers of scifi and science fantasy! Can't wait to get started on Heir of Providence, the final book in the series!
If you're not already reading the Maven Knight series, then you should really think about starting!
The first Maven Knight novel got me hooked into the world of Pan'gea and its inhabitants, and Ones of Aster kept me there as Matthew Romeo gives the reader a wider look at the setting, the cultures and go-political layout of his science fantasy setting as the characters he introduced us to start to grow in new ways... Some of the scenes I particularly enjoyed involved the protagonists Talir and Sarina making mistakes, falling short, proving that the hero doesn't always win, but they grow from it and learn to be better as a result... The world of Z'hart and the surrounding cities is so richly and lavishly detailed, and Matthew Romeo is a masterfully talented world builder as he explores the geo-political structure and political power games of this world in a manner that is always informative and doesn't cause the reader to disengage, while the action scenes are constantly thrilling, as well as often subverting expectations by keeping the protagonists and readers on edge because you can't be sure they're going to win...
The Maven Knight: Ones of Aster is a spectacularly gripping story with plot twists and unexpected revelations worthy of The Empire Strikes Back! There were moments when what I read genuinely made my jaw drop and Matthew Romeo is a man after my own heart with his use of powerful villainesses. With truly inspiring action sequences and a greater exploration of a world that the story brings to life in lavish depth and detail, The Maven Knight: Ones of Aster is definitely a must read for lovers of scifi and science fantasy! Can't wait to get started on Heir of Providence, the final book in the series!
If you're not already reading the Maven Knight series, then you should really think about starting!
April 9, 2021
Now THIS is how to do a sequel.
Building upon the heart racing action and fun character dynamics of the previous novel, Maven Knight: Ones of Aster cranks every single aspect to eleven and never lets up. In all respects, this an improvement on the first novel.
Having been left in precarious situations at the end of the first book, our characters are left to deal with tons of new conflicts and situations that are constantly testing them. They’re done carefully and concisely, with each character undergoing extensive growth over the story’s runtime (this is like twice the length of the original and OH is it warranted).
Concepts introduced in the first novel are not only explored here but given far more depth and nuance than anticipated.
This is a story that embodies “two sides of the same coin” in many respects, and it’s executed wonderfully by reflective character drama and reflective environments. There’s a good bit of dramatic and narrative irony riddled throughout the novel that will keep you intrigued as you progress through the story.
There are three principle POVs to follow, as opposed to just two, and all three are unique and interesting stories that, thematically, work well with one another while also maintaining a unique flavor to them (one’s a military story, one’s an adventure story, and another is a mystery). That keeps things fresh and new whenever there is a shift.
Similar to how the first Maven Knight took a good bit of inspiration from “Star Wars” this one definitely leans into “The Empire Strikes Back” in many regards, which is always a good thing!
Maven Knight: Ones of Aster is an excellent science-fiction journey that keeps you guessing and will have you wondering where it will take the characters next. It’s a great page turner and makes excellent strides with what was build upon from then first novel. It only has me more excited, and curious, for what’s to come with the third and final novel of the trilogy!
Building upon the heart racing action and fun character dynamics of the previous novel, Maven Knight: Ones of Aster cranks every single aspect to eleven and never lets up. In all respects, this an improvement on the first novel.
Having been left in precarious situations at the end of the first book, our characters are left to deal with tons of new conflicts and situations that are constantly testing them. They’re done carefully and concisely, with each character undergoing extensive growth over the story’s runtime (this is like twice the length of the original and OH is it warranted).
Concepts introduced in the first novel are not only explored here but given far more depth and nuance than anticipated.
This is a story that embodies “two sides of the same coin” in many respects, and it’s executed wonderfully by reflective character drama and reflective environments. There’s a good bit of dramatic and narrative irony riddled throughout the novel that will keep you intrigued as you progress through the story.
There are three principle POVs to follow, as opposed to just two, and all three are unique and interesting stories that, thematically, work well with one another while also maintaining a unique flavor to them (one’s a military story, one’s an adventure story, and another is a mystery). That keeps things fresh and new whenever there is a shift.
Similar to how the first Maven Knight took a good bit of inspiration from “Star Wars” this one definitely leans into “The Empire Strikes Back” in many regards, which is always a good thing!
Maven Knight: Ones of Aster is an excellent science-fiction journey that keeps you guessing and will have you wondering where it will take the characters next. It’s a great page turner and makes excellent strides with what was build upon from then first novel. It only has me more excited, and curious, for what’s to come with the third and final novel of the trilogy!
May 10, 2021
A rollercoaster in book form.
Whoa. Romeo is a brilliant and somewhat devious mastermind. I was blown away with the twists and turns, and the ending was absolutely astonishing. It left me reduced to an illiterate blob after the events that occurred, and I had to sit and process "did I just read that?" I will admit, it was a tad boring in the beginning, as the climb to the top of a rollercoaster often is, but certain plot points and chapter endings kept me turning the pages, needing to know what happened next.
The characters did a complete 180 turn for me from the first book. The one that I wasn’t a fan of turned into the character I loved the most, and the character who was my favorite became the one who irked me. There were times I was mentally screaming for fictional people to listen to me, to do something or not do something, and then I screamed some more when they did the opposite. Basically a lot of screaming, but just like a rollercoaster I loved the ride.
I cannot remember the last time I’ve read a book so frustrating yet so good that I continued to read in an intense love-hate relationship. There were so many homages to Star Wars, but Romeo does it in a unique way, playing with “what ifs” of the franchise and putting his own spin. This is not your typical good vs evil book. There were times I had no idea what side to root for, who was right, or what was actually happening. "There are always two sides to the story."
I think I predicted only one thing in the whole 600 pages, and the rest I sat there going “Oh? Oh! OHMYSAGEGOD!” I hated it. But I loved it.
Whoa. Romeo is a brilliant and somewhat devious mastermind. I was blown away with the twists and turns, and the ending was absolutely astonishing. It left me reduced to an illiterate blob after the events that occurred, and I had to sit and process "did I just read that?" I will admit, it was a tad boring in the beginning, as the climb to the top of a rollercoaster often is, but certain plot points and chapter endings kept me turning the pages, needing to know what happened next.
The characters did a complete 180 turn for me from the first book. The one that I wasn’t a fan of turned into the character I loved the most, and the character who was my favorite became the one who irked me. There were times I was mentally screaming for fictional people to listen to me, to do something or not do something, and then I screamed some more when they did the opposite. Basically a lot of screaming, but just like a rollercoaster I loved the ride.
I cannot remember the last time I’ve read a book so frustrating yet so good that I continued to read in an intense love-hate relationship. There were so many homages to Star Wars, but Romeo does it in a unique way, playing with “what ifs” of the franchise and putting his own spin. This is not your typical good vs evil book. There were times I had no idea what side to root for, who was right, or what was actually happening. "There are always two sides to the story."
I think I predicted only one thing in the whole 600 pages, and the rest I sat there going “Oh? Oh! OHMYSAGEGOD!” I hated it. But I loved it.
June 15, 2026
Book 2 in the Maven Knight Chronicles. I’m truly amazed by the world that Matthew has created. Each character is so unique. There’s so many layers to the story and details that will keep you intrigued throughout and wanting more. I truly can’t get enough of this series! So happy there’s book 3:)
Review of advance copy received from Author
The first Maven Knight novel got me hooked into the world of Pan'gea and its inhabitants, and Ones of Aster kept me there as Matthew Romeo gives the reader a wider look at the setting, the cultures and go-political layout of his science fantasy setting as the characters he introduced us to start to grow in new ways... Some of the scenes I particularly enjoyed involved the protagonists Talir and Sarina making mistakes, falling short, proving that the hero doesn't always win, but they grow from it and learn to be better as a result... The world of Z'hart and the surrounding cities is so richly and lavishly detailed, and Matthew Romeo is a masterfully talented world builder as he explores the geo-political structure and political power games of this world in a manner that is always informative and doesn't cause the reader to disengage, while the action scenes are constantly thrilling, as well as often subverting expectations by keeping the protagonists and readers on edge because you can't be sure they're going to win...
The Maven Knight: Ones of Aster is a spectacularly gripping story with plot twists and unexpected revelations worthy of The Empire Strikes Back! There were moments when what I read genuinely made my jaw drop and Matthew Romeo is a man after my own heart with his use of powerful villainesses. With truly inspiring action sequences and a greater exploration of a world that the story brings to life in lavish depth and detail, The Maven Knight: Ones of Aster is definitely a must read for lovers of scifi and science fantasy! Can't wait to get started on Heir of Providence, the final book in the series!
If you're not already reading the Maven Knight series, then you should really think about starting!
The Maven Knight: Ones of Aster is a spectacularly gripping story with plot twists and unexpected revelations worthy of The Empire Strikes Back! There were moments when what I read genuinely made my jaw drop and Matthew Romeo is a man after my own heart with his use of powerful villainesses. With truly inspiring action sequences and a greater exploration of a world that the story brings to life in lavish depth and detail, The Maven Knight: Ones of Aster is definitely a must read for lovers of scifi and science fantasy! Can't wait to get started on Heir of Providence, the final book in the series!
If you're not already reading the Maven Knight series, then you should really think about starting!
October 18, 2025
Excuse me while I pick my jaw up off the floor...
Matthew has done it again. This sequel took everything I loved about the first book and took it to a new level. He made me love characters I never thought I would and turned this world upside down. Honestly, this was a 6-star read for me. The world-building is unparalleled. Every culture is rich and the settings feel lived in without being excessive. And then there are the character arcs...Wow. The pacing is on point, giving the reader plenty of action and also sufficient breaks for all the new information to sink in.
And those last few chapters? Whew. Get ready to stay up late into the night to finish this one.
Do yourself a favor and jump on this bandwagon; you won't regret it!
Matthew has done it again. This sequel took everything I loved about the first book and took it to a new level. He made me love characters I never thought I would and turned this world upside down. Honestly, this was a 6-star read for me. The world-building is unparalleled. Every culture is rich and the settings feel lived in without being excessive. And then there are the character arcs...Wow. The pacing is on point, giving the reader plenty of action and also sufficient breaks for all the new information to sink in.
And those last few chapters? Whew. Get ready to stay up late into the night to finish this one.
Do yourself a favor and jump on this bandwagon; you won't regret it!
November 24, 2025
The Maven Knight: Ones of Aster is an exciting, layered continuation of the series. Sarina’s journey through the Outlands feels bigger and more dangerous than ever, and her determination to push forward even with nanite storms and the Remnant Order closing in made her easy to root for. I especially loved the shift between her quest and Lady Sahari’s political tightrope back in Z’hart; it adds tension in a completely different but equally gripping way.
The worldbuilding is rich, the stakes feel real, and every character has something meaningful to lose. It’s one of those sequels that raises the bar without losing the heart of the story. I’m already eager for the next part.
The worldbuilding is rich, the stakes feel real, and every character has something meaningful to lose. It’s one of those sequels that raises the bar without losing the heart of the story. I’m already eager for the next part.
Review of advance copy received from Author
I have to say that I’m so glad I’m new to this series. I started with the prequel that came out last year I think…maybe the year before…and I feel that gave me more insight into book 1 and 2. Let’s just say the final word in chapter 45 is a mic drop even though I was waiting for it. I am on the edge of my seat waiting for the relaunch of book 3 that I’m definitely gonna get in on the kick starter!
Full review on my website on 4.7.26.
www.mommodeloading.com
Full review on my website on 4.7.26.
www.mommodeloading.com
April 14, 2022
I am definitely not a fan of post apocalyptic worlds, but Matthew Romeo’s book character development and scenes caught me quickly. One or the other must be spot on to make me interested in finishing a book, even though I will eventually. There were some places where the editing could get improved.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews