Book Review: The Court of Venus by Bel Banta
ARC Review: I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and Tor in exchange for an honest review. As always, all thoughts here are my own.
Published: September 29, 2026
Series: Book #1 of Duology - Name TBA
Genres: Adult // Fantasy, Romance
Rating: ⭐️⭐️.5
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️ (Open Door)
Quick Thoughts: I was really excited to get the ARC for The Court of Venus. I love just about any book with a star/astronomy based magic system and the promise of court politics. Unfortunately, while this book has a lot of great ideas, the execution doesn't do them justice.
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What is The Court of Venusabout?
In Alvion, magicians have always ruled beside kings. Blessed at birth by one of the seven planets, their abilities are miraculous and extremely rare. Magicians born under Jupiter influence luck. Saturnborn can speak to the dead. Venusborn read the desires of the living.
At the moment of Bianca Mortlake’s birth, the stars and planets aligned just so, making her the first Moonborn magician in over a thousand years. A sorcery so rare that even the history books cannot say what she is capable of.
After a childhood training under the realm’s most powerful magician—and alongside a most insufferable Venusborn named Roland—Bianca lives a quiet life far from court. Until a chilling missive arrives in the night, summoning her back.
A mad and deadly court awaits. Two queens have met the executioner’s blade, and one wrong move could see any of them next beneath its steel. As power is pulled between ruthless royals and courtiers like the tides by the moon, Bianca must rely on the last person she would ever want to—the infuriatingly alluring Roland.
Because something is terribly wrong in Alvion. And only this moon-blessed magician and her oldest rival can save the court—and each other—from the dark fate they see written in the stars.
The Court of Venus Review
I was really excited to get the ARC for The Court of Venus. I love just about any book with a star/astronomy based magic system and the promise of court politics. Unfortunately, while this book has a lot of great ideas, the execution doesn't do them justice. Throughout the book, I noticed a lot of the details, context, and backstory were missing, and we were expected to take a lot at face value, from the character relationships to the magic system to the plot. I wanted to love this but it just ended up being a confusing read.
What I didn’t Like
The magic system is the clearest example of the problem I had with this book. There are so many powers and star signs, plus things that affect their potency like the phase of the moon, the time of day, the year, and so on. It makes for an interesting, complex system, but it's all presented to us at random. There were no points where we were given a clear explanation or overview of the magic, which made it impossible to dissect how it all worked.
The relationships are just as unclear, even though court politics is a huge part of the book. Side characters cycle in and out, people spy on each other, different sides try to overthrow each other. It has all the makings of great political intrigue, but people's motivations and goals aren’t explained, so the conflict between all the different sides is hard to follow.
What I Liked
The one good thing I can say is that the story felt unique. I read romantasy almost exclusively, so a lot of stories start to blur together, with the same tropes, character archetypes, and worlds. That wasn't the case here. The astrology-based magic system, the tangle of court politics, and the Tudor-inspired setting felt fresh and interesting.
So, should you read The Court of Venus?
Overall, I think there's a good book somewhere in here. I did not enjoy this enough to continue the series, but if you're looking for an interesting magic system and a Tudor-inspired world, you may enjoy it more than I did.
Check out this review on Goodreads or Storygraph.
Happy reading!
Kim
The Court of Venus FAQs
Some of the answers may be spoilers if you haven’t read it already. Proceed with caution!
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Potential spoilers ahead ⚠️
Gore/violence
murder
grief and loss
profanity
mentions of psychological and physical abuse (off-page)
body horror
alcohol
animal cruelty
anxiety and depressive thoughts
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Potential spoilers ahead ⚠️
rivals to lovers
courtly intrigue
Tudor-inspired setting
magic tournament
slow burn/will-they-won’t-they
murder mystery
she falls first, he falls harder
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As of the writing of this post, The Court of Venus book 2 has not been announced.
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Yes, The Court of Venus is the first book of an expected duology. As of the writing of this post, book 2 has not been announced yet.
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Yes, The Court of Venus is a 3 out of 5 🌶️ or open door. That means readers are in the room for spice scenes but they aren’t told in explicit detail.