Alex Aster is ending 2025 with a major triumph. With her third and final release of the year on the way, we're finally getting to see what happened after the events of Skyshade in the Lightlark series. After getting to see more of Grim and Oro's histories and points of view with the recent companion novel, Grim and Oro: Dueling Crowns Edition, the author is now giving us even more with the release of the fourth book in the series that is sure to keep us on our toes as we continue to follow Isla's journey.

Cosmopolitan has an exclusive look at Crowntide by Alex Aster, which is set to be released on December 2, 2025. The book follows Isla, who is now trapped in Skyshade with none other than Lark. With Grim and Oro trapped back in their original world, they now have to work together to try to bring her back and save her, that's if she is able to survive what's left for her in this wild new world. Here's more information from our friends at Amulet Books:

THREE MILLION SERIES COPIES SOLD!

The highly anticipated fourth novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Lightlark Saga, by acclaimed author and #BookTok sensation Alex Aster

Some worlds deserve to be destroyed . . .

Isla Crown has charted a new destiny and leapt into the unknown, determined to defeat her insidious ancestor, Lark, no matter the cost. But Skyshade is nothing like she anticipated, and she’ll have to use all of her skills just to survive, let alone end Lark for good.

Meanwhile, Grim and Oro would sooner set fire to their own kingdoms than leave Isla stranded on a path toward certain death. But getting her back will involve forging an alliance—if they can find a way to forgive their long history of betrayals.

The key to Isla’s return—and the fate of the realms—lies close to her heart. But in the face of her most powerful enemy yet, will Isla be able to reconcile her past in order to carve a future of her own making?

Filled with secrets, deception, romance, and twists worthy of the darkest thrillers, The Lightlark Sagais a must-read for fans of legendary fantasy writers Marie Lu, Marissa Meyer, and Leigh Bardugo.

And what better way to find out what happens next that by sharing not just one, but two chapters featuring Grim and Oro. Read the exclusive excerpts below! Just make sure to pre-order Crowntide and check out some of Alex's other books while you're at it!

An Excerpt From Crowntide
By Alex Aster

Grim

Grim Malvere had never known pain like this in his long life.

He stood alone at the edge of the maze, staring within its depths as if he could will Isla to emerge. Even when she had died, died in his arms, at least that agony had been useful. There was a way to revive her. An ancient, sacred, dangerous way of sharing life and power.

But now?

He didn’t even know where to start. He was completely lost without her.

His portaling flair had always felt like a curse and a blessing. It was the reason all his siblings were dead. It was also his only escape from the role that had suffocated him for centuries.

Until her.

She was a breath of spring in the middle of winter. She was a guid- ing star in his dark sky, the axis on which his world turned.

And now . . . now, he didn’t even know if she was alive.

No. He banished that thought. If she was dead, he would feel it. Right? He would be dead too. They shared a lifeline . . .

They shared a very soul. When they were together, he couldn’t tell where hers ended and his began. They were one in every way.

She was alive. She had to be.

Only that faith—in her, in the persistence of them— kept him grounded in this endless sea of agony. The belief that one day, they would be together again.

“Nothing in this universe can keep me from you,” Grim said to the night sky. He hoped, wherever she was, she could hear him. “I will rip down the constellations themselves to see you again.”

Then he portaled to the table in his winter castle, where Oro was waiting. His clothes were still bloodied, but he had healed his broken nose. Washed his face. Grim hadn’t bothered healing anything, and he didn’t miss how the Sunling frowned at the bruise he could still feel blossoming around his eye.

If his father knew the king of Lightlark would one day be sitting here, he would have killed Grim himself.

But Grim didn’t give a damn. Not when Isla’s life was hanging in the balance.

Oro’s irritating friends walked in a moment later. The redhead with the fiery wings. The thief he’d had the displeasure of spending far too much time with recently. The hulking Moonling who listened more than he spoke. He, at least, wasn’t as annoying as the rest. Astria, his general, entered the room last. They all sat down—and looked to Grim.

“So?” Oro said, from the other end of the table. “How do we go there? How do we bring her back?”

Grim fought the urge to turn him to ash. Isla wouldn’t like that. And the king wouldn’t be much help as a pile of cinders, would he?

In a voice ground from the pit of his aggravation, he said, very carefully, “Do you think if I knew that, I would be sitting here, across from all of you? Do you think I would be doing anything else but going to get her?”

The redhead carelessly leaned back in a chair that was easily twice her age. “Your flair is portaling. Shouldn’t you know?”

His shadows’ edges sharpened, clawing against the floor.

“The portal is closed. The only other one is on Lightlark, and though I have no prob lem using it and destroying all of you, I know my wife would.” He didn’t miss the Sunling flinching at the word wife. Good. Flinch, Sunling. He looked directly at Oro when he said the next words. “I can feel her. The bond between us.” The Sunling glared at him. He knew that Grim had bound himself to her in order to revive her. He should be grateful. He wouldn’t even have known her if it wasn’t for him.

And that was one of Grim’s greatest regrets. Ever giving her the chance to love Oro. He blamed only himself for every thing that happened after he had erased her memories. He had thought that he was helping her, but he had really taken away her choice. And even though she had forgiven him, he would never forgive himself.

“She’s a guiding star to the otherworld, then,” the thief, Zed, said. “Your . . . bond . . . is a map to her.”

Grim nodded. If he could only follow that thread across the universe to her. He had tried, of course, the moment he left the maze. But his portaling ability wasn’t strong enough. And Isla had taken the knowledge of how to create and close portals with her.

Grim sensed a flare of impatience from Oro, bright against the agonizing grief that echoed his own emotions. Oro seemed to understand that of course Grim had already tried to portal to her. His brows came together. “Your flair is our best shot at getting to her. So how do we amplify your power?”

Grim still wanted to kill the Sunling, but at least he wasn’t a complete idiot.

He shook his head. He didn’t have an answer.

Oro gripped the side of the table in frustration. “ There isn’t anything here? Any relic? Anything like the heart of Lightlark?”

There was something— not that it would be much use to them. “Well, there is a stone. More powerful than anything else in this world . . . including your heart of Lightlark.”

Oro blinked. He clearly didn’t know what Grim was talking about.

Grim sighed. “According to myth, it’s the most powerful object in this universe, and even Cronan couldn’t claim it. Many of my other ancestors tried, over the centuries. My father included.” He frowned, picturing his father toward the end of his life, so frail that he could hardly keep himself upright on his throne. “The stone rejected him, cursing him instead.”

“Where is it?” Oro demanded, his words clipped and serious.

Grim leaned back in his chair. “It was on an island north of here, called Atlas.”

Enya’s fiery eyes narrowed. “Why did you say was?”

“Because I claimed it.”

Silence. Grim could feel the emotions in the room eddying together— flashes of surprise, of concern . . . of hope, from Oro.

“And where is it now?” Zed fi nally said, the words spilling out of him, tinged in irritation.

Grim’s eyes met Oro’s as he said, very slowly, “Around her neck.”

Oro

She needs me,” Oro said. Isla had only been gone hours, but he felt her absence like a gap in his soul. It would be so easy to allow himself to go hollow, for the embers of himself to extinguish beneath this grief, but instead, he had to ignite. For her, he had to find his strength even within this panic.

“The island needs you,” Enya said.

Oro and his friends were back in their favorite floor of the Mainland castle. Grim had portaled them here, at Oro’s request, while he went to calm Lynx and his dragon. Both creatures had become inconsolable in Isla’s absence.

Enya was right. Lark’s turmoil had left the island in pieces. Most of his people were gone, portaled to the newlands, for their own safety. Many who had remained had already been turned into undead soldiers by Lark.

His duty was to his people and this island. He knew that.

And yet.

“I need to do this,” Oro said. “I need her.” He didn’t miss how his friends glanced at each other. He also knew they wouldn’t keep their thoughts to themselves.

“And what if this world is better off without her?” Zed fi nally said. At that, fire flared in Oro’s hands. Zed studied the flames and kept speaking. “Try to take your heart out of it, Oro. Isla Crown is now the most power ful person in our histories. Possibly, in the entire universe. Do we really want her back here?”

“Yes,” he said, without missing a beat.

Zed continued as if he hadn’t said anything at all. “Maybe . . . this was the best thing she could have done for every one. She rid us of Lark. She sacrificed herself to do so. Maybe . . .” Oro’s jaw clenched as he predicted his next words. “Maybe she doesn’t want to be found.”

He’d had that thought before, right after he and Grim had beaten each other to bloody pulps in the maze. Isla knew the danger of her powers. She knew the pain and havoc those abilities had already brought unto this world. She knew the prophecy and that it meant killing either him or Grim . . .

Maybe Zed was right. Maybe she was trying to outrun the prophecy. Make it so she wasn’t even in the same worldas them. Maybe she thought it would be enough to change her fate.

But Oro knew, deep in his bones, that Zed was wrong. This world needed Isla. She had endless won der. Endless hope. She always saw light where most would see darkness. It was why Oro had fallen in love with her. She was his reminder that this world could be better. She was his light in dark places. She was his eternal summer.

And this world would need her light and her abilities to rebuild. She was a worldmaker, just like Lark. She could restore the island to what it once was.

“We’re better off with her here. We need that power,” Oro said. He had to convince his friends that this was true. He couldn’t do this without their help.

Calder sighed. Every one turned to face the Moonling, the wood of his seat sagging beneath the weight of his towering form. “She is the most power ful person to come from this world. She is wearing a necklace with a diamond made of pure power. We need her back.”

Oro sagged in relief, before Enya said, “And I bet there are those in that world who want that power for themselves. Other worlds too, maybe.”

Including Cronan.

There it was. His worst fear. That Isla would be in trouble, and Oro would be stuck worlds away. Terror crept through his blood like ice. The necklace she wore was bound by her marriage oath to Grim and could only be released with her death. What if Cronan found her? What if he wanted that diamond? What if he—

The thought had him gripping the sides of his chair until the wood broke off.

He stood. “I’m getting her back,” Oro swore, circling the room. “Not just because I love her.” He caught a flash of pity in Enya’s eyes. “But because this world is better with her in it.”

“And how far will you go?” Enya asked.

Oro remembered what Grim said. That he would tear apart worlds if he had to. Oro knew deep in his soul that he would do the same. As a rule, he tried not to lie. He wouldn’t start now. “To the ends of the universe,” he said.

That was when Enya fi nally looked afraid.

His oldest friend opened her mouth—but before she could say a single word, Grim appeared in a torrent of darkness. His shadows shredded the ground, circling impatiently, reflecting his storm-like mood. There was a long claw mark along his side, the fabric of his cape torn.

Clearly, Lynx was angry. Oro couldn’t blame him.

“Well?” Grim demanded, completely ignoring Oro’s friends. “Any thoughts?” When no one immediately responded, he said, “She was already close to death when she left. We have just days to get to her.”

Panic bled through his chest. Oro didn’t know how they were going to create a portal. Or how they were going to amplify Grim’s powers. But the more he thought about Isla’s plan to take Lark into the otherworld, the more he became convinced that she would have had help from someone who wanted her to succeed.

“We need to talk to Cleo,” Oro said.

Excerpt from Crowntide by Alex Aster Text copyright © 2025. Reprinted by permission of Abrams Books.

Crowntide, by Alex Aster will be released on December 2, 2025 from Amulet Books. To preorder the book, click on the retailer of your choice:

AMAZON AUDIBLE BARNES & NOBLE BOOKS-A-MILLION BOOKSHOP APPLE BOOKS KOBO LIBRO.FM TARGET WALMART POWELL'S BOOKS HUDSON BOOKSELLERS GOOGLE PLAY EBOOKS.COM