Starcrossed , by Josephine Angelini

Paperback, 514 pages

Published June 3rd 2011 by Macmillan Children's Books (first published May 2011)

ISBN

0330529730 (ISBN13: 9780330529730)

edition language

English

original title

Starcrossed

series

Starcrossed #1

characters

Helen Hamilton, Lucas Delos

 

Set on the island of Nantucket, STARCROSSED tells the tale of Helen Hamilton, a young woman whose destiny is forever altered when she meets Lucas Delos and tries to kill him in front of her entire high school. Which is terribly inconvenient, not only because Lucas is the most beautiful boy on the island, but also because Helen is so achingly shy she suffers physical pain whenever she is given too much attention.

Making matters worse, Helen is beginning to suspect she’s going crazy. Whenever she’s near Lucas or any member of his family she sees the ghostly apparitions of three women weeping bloody tears, and suffers the burden of an intense and irrational hate. She soon learns that she and Lucas are destined to play the leading roles in a Greek tragedy that the Three Fates insist on repeating over and over again throughout history. Like her namesake, Helen of Troy, she’s destined to start a war by falling in love. But even though Lucas and Helen can see their own star-crossed destiny, they’re still powerfully attracted to each other. Will they give up their personal happiness for the greater good, or risk it all to be together?

 

 My Review

The plot was complex, the characters irritating and annoying at times, but totally fun and lovable. The whole scenario of the book had me on tenderhooks the whole way throughout it. This was a novel and a half that just seemed original and new all at the same time. In many ways it remined me of the goddess novels by P.C.Cast but at the same time it was different and new as well. I loved the idea of the Demi Gods, and how Lucas and Helen were meant to hate one another. I suppose at the beginning you do get a little confused by this. Afterall how can two people who have never ever met one another, hate one another so much, in that they want to kill one another. There is a lot within this novel that I feel is left unsaid, but is explained if you chose to read between the lines. The characters personas are well expressed and written out and for once I was glad to read a book where romance was not the cliche tale end of it all, where all they did was make out. It was a sort of love hate romance instead. They want to be together, but there not allowed to be together.

 

Everytime you thought the plot had been figured out though, a new one replaced it. A new one that was more vicious and stronger that you wanted to dive into the book and actually join in with all the drama. I loved the whole thing with a necklace because it made me chuckle a little, that other people were seeing it as what they wanted and not what it actually was. However, Helens mum Daphne, really added the overall twist to it all, to a point where you wanted to shout at Helen and Lucas to stop being so blind and stupid. Even I could see that if your mum was prepared to leave you for years on end to apparently "protect you" there was something wrong with that. A mum would always stay with her child surely? It did therefore kind of annoy me that they believed they were cousins to one another. Your heart wants them to get together without any such thing as curse to break them apart.

The story is graphic, fun and mysterious. Its a great start to a triology of books and more and more I find myself wanting the second one right about now. I did fall in love with Lucas' personality in the book because it was bad boy and yet it was protective as well. you could sort of see this soft eyed, fully romantic person who just wanted to be there for someone and yet at the same time had to make sure that the worst was not caused or placed upon the world. In someways it was a bit like the new Romeo and Juiliette, they want to be together but because of their families they can't be together, it just has a fantasy twist to it now. The author did really well with this book to make it engaging and vibrant. she used imagery and imagination, whilst also teaching you a few things here and there. After all was the wooden horse of troy true or not?

I'm really looking forward to sometime getting my hands on the second novel as and when it comes out. If your a lover of the fantasy series, and more particularly the goddess and god tup books then I would suggest giving this one I go. I can't say that I have anything negative to go on about here, there just seemed to be this highlight of positives on how a book should be written!!

  

My rating