108th out of 1,173 books
—
8,383 voters
Starling (Starling #1)
by
Lesley Livingston (Goodreads Author)
Mason Starling is a champion fencer on the Gosforth Academy team, but she's never had to fight for her life. Not until the night a ferocious, otherworldly storm rips through Manhattan, trapping Mason and her teammates inside the school. Mason is besieged by nightmarish creatures more terrifying than the thunder and lightning as the raging tempest also brings a dangerous st...more
Hardcover, 341 pages
Published
August 28th 2012
by HarperTeen
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1.5 Stars
Mason Starling is a champion fencer. One night while in the middle of practice, a terrible storm rips through her swanky New York school. With the storm comes some apocalyptic killer zombie and a naked sword wielding blonde worrier, The Fennrys Wolf. Who also happens to have a bad case of amnesia. This book revolves around Norse mythology and prophecies for the end of the world and somehow Mason is caught in the middle of it all.
That sounds awesome right?
WELL DON’T BE FOOLED!!!
The openi...more
Mason Starling is a champion fencer. One night while in the middle of practice, a terrible storm rips through her swanky New York school. With the storm comes some apocalyptic killer zombie and a naked sword wielding blonde worrier, The Fennrys Wolf. Who also happens to have a bad case of amnesia. This book revolves around Norse mythology and prophecies for the end of the world and somehow Mason is caught in the middle of it all.
That sounds awesome right?
WELL DON’T BE FOOLED!!!
The openi...more
Apr 14, 2012
Paperpanda (Miguel Cruz)
marked it as to-buy
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2013-paperback-release
UPDATE (July 25, 2012): Based on Norse Mythology? i didn't notice that..
"Readers who fell in love with Lesley Livingston’s Wondrous Strange trilogy and those who love Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series will be captivated by the sweeping romance and pulse-pounding action of Starling."
Well then... I FREAKING NEED TO BUY THIS NOW.
"Readers who fell in love with Lesley Livingston’s Wondrous Strange trilogy and those who love Cassandra Clare’s Mortal Instruments series will be captivated by the sweeping romance and pulse-pounding action of Starling."
Well then... I FREAKING NEED TO BUY THIS NOW.
Similar Books: Valkyrie Rising by Ingrid Paulson, Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep, and City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Confession: I'd never read a Lesley Livingston book before picking up Starling. I know. It's hard for me to believe, too. And I'm just gonna go out on a limb here and say that I'm about to go buy every single book in the Wondrous Strange series.
I've been looking forward to Starling ever since I saw the pitch for it on Goodreads almost a year ago. I'm a mythology whore, so anyth...more
Confession: I'd never read a Lesley Livingston book before picking up Starling. I know. It's hard for me to believe, too. And I'm just gonna go out on a limb here and say that I'm about to go buy every single book in the Wondrous Strange series.
I've been looking forward to Starling ever since I saw the pitch for it on Goodreads almost a year ago. I'm a mythology whore, so anyth...more
4.5 stars.
OMG- WAS SO NOT READY FOR THAT ENDING. MY MIND IS REELING. STILL TRYING TO CATCH UP WITH THE LATEST EVENTS.
DAMN. THIS TOOK 'OTHERWORDLY" TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL.
THERE WERE GODS AND GODDESSES, DEMONS, ZOMBIES, GHOSTS, WEREWOLVES, FARIES, VIKINGS AND GODS KNOWS WHAT ELSE.
I got to say the ending was the best- I just didn't see that coming!! I was on edge until the very last page, glued to the story and waiting to see what happened next.
This book was unpredictable and unforseeable you jus...more
OMG- WAS SO NOT READY FOR THAT ENDING. MY MIND IS REELING. STILL TRYING TO CATCH UP WITH THE LATEST EVENTS.
DAMN. THIS TOOK 'OTHERWORDLY" TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL.
THERE WERE GODS AND GODDESSES, DEMONS, ZOMBIES, GHOSTS, WEREWOLVES, FARIES, VIKINGS AND GODS KNOWS WHAT ELSE.
I got to say the ending was the best- I just didn't see that coming!! I was on edge until the very last page, glued to the story and waiting to see what happened next.
This book was unpredictable and unforseeable you jus...more
Thanks to the Epic Reads team, from which I received an ARC of Starling. They have cool contests for books that you can win at epicreads.com and pitchdark.com so check them out!
Starling was fantastic! It had me hooked from the very beginning. It has action, romance, and awesome characters, everything I love in a book. Norse mythology plays a part in the story, and it was interesting to learn about its myths and legends. Mason is an interesting character, as her family is shrouded in mystery in t...more
Starling was fantastic! It had me hooked from the very beginning. It has action, romance, and awesome characters, everything I love in a book. Norse mythology plays a part in the story, and it was interesting to learn about its myths and legends. Mason is an interesting character, as her family is shrouded in mystery in t...more
Jeezums. Well there's a cliffy if I ever saw one....sigh.
review to come.
~~~
See the full review on my blog! http://much-ado-about-books.blogspot....
I'll start off by saying I'm already a fan of Lesley Livingston; I read her Wondrous Strange trilogy in the span of two days. (I love anything Shakespeare, if you haven't gotten that already.) When I heard about this book, I didn't know until quite a while later, that it was a spin-off series, sort of centering around the supporting character, Fennrys...more
review to come.
~~~
See the full review on my blog! http://much-ado-about-books.blogspot....
I'll start off by saying I'm already a fan of Lesley Livingston; I read her Wondrous Strange trilogy in the span of two days. (I love anything Shakespeare, if you haven't gotten that already.) When I heard about this book, I didn't know until quite a while later, that it was a spin-off series, sort of centering around the supporting character, Fennrys...more
WOW! I just finished listening to the audio version of this book and I am blown away. This story is not at all what I expected. When the story first started out I was a little confused because I thought Mason was a boy. Once I got past that part and realized Mason is a girl, the story flowed a lot better lol.
The story starts out with action and ends with action and a tiny spoiler here, it ends on a cliffhanger that left me sitting at my desk at work and I had to stop what I was doing with a very...more
The story starts out with action and ends with action and a tiny spoiler here, it ends on a cliffhanger that left me sitting at my desk at work and I had to stop what I was doing with a very...more
2. 5 Stars.
This book started off like a shot. It was engaging and fun, for the most part. The twists were nice, although a tiny bit gimmicky; circumstances cause us to "like" a character, then later despise them and soon we are supposed to like them again. This is the case for several characters. TFW/Fenn seemed a bit off, for such an "old world" type creature; he sure knew how to keep up with slang, while simultaneously unable to work a computer mouse.
There is a definite lull towards the midd...more
This book started off like a shot. It was engaging and fun, for the most part. The twists were nice, although a tiny bit gimmicky; circumstances cause us to "like" a character, then later despise them and soon we are supposed to like them again. This is the case for several characters. TFW/Fenn seemed a bit off, for such an "old world" type creature; he sure knew how to keep up with slang, while simultaneously unable to work a computer mouse.
There is a definite lull towards the midd...more
The synopsis of this book had me so excited, a girl who is a gifted fencer, a wolf, monsters, mythology and the apocalypse. Nothing could go wrong, Right!?
Wrong.
The very beginning of the book(first couple of chapters) was exhilarating, a monstrous storm blows through New York City, blowing a tree through Gosforth Academy's Gym where the protagonist Mason and her classmates happen to be. Zombie like creatures called the draugr attack them. A mysterious naked young man who is later revealed to be...more
Wrong.
The very beginning of the book(first couple of chapters) was exhilarating, a monstrous storm blows through New York City, blowing a tree through Gosforth Academy's Gym where the protagonist Mason and her classmates happen to be. Zombie like creatures called the draugr attack them. A mysterious naked young man who is later revealed to be...more
Mason Starling wants to make the national fencing team. That desire takes second fiddle to survival when a violent storm destroys the school gym and brings monstrous "storm zombies" who seem to have it in for her. But a handsome, amnesiac, blond, sword-wielding guy, who calls himself the Fennrys Wolf, drops in to save the day. Of course, Mason is attracted to him and begins to sneak out to meet him, train with him, and try to help him find his erased past. She must also deal with an over-protect...more
The beginning of Livingston’s new paranormal series – previous series: Fairy infused NYC paranormal series Wondrous Strange, Darklight & Tempestuous.
Conveniently, Mason Starling is at fencing practice when a nasty bunch of otherworldly creatures invades. Luckily though, a naked otherworldly warrior lands at the same time. The Fenrys Wolf was a trickster type love interest in Livingston’s previous series, and this story will follow his adventures as he battles evil nasties again trying to inf...more
Conveniently, Mason Starling is at fencing practice when a nasty bunch of otherworldly creatures invades. Luckily though, a naked otherworldly warrior lands at the same time. The Fenrys Wolf was a trickster type love interest in Livingston’s previous series, and this story will follow his adventures as he battles evil nasties again trying to inf...more
So to start of this review id at least like to say i did like it. Didnt love it it but i did like it.
"So i can keep stabbing you, then?" She smiled brightly up at him. "Id actually prefer you didnt" he said "not for my sake, so much as my wardrobes, you understand."
Mason is a champion fencer at Gosforth Academy when her life gets altered when a giant storm locks her and a couple companions in the school gym for the night. Here she meets Fenn who saves them and then vanishes the next morning. Bel...more
"So i can keep stabbing you, then?" She smiled brightly up at him. "Id actually prefer you didnt" he said "not for my sake, so much as my wardrobes, you understand."
Mason is a champion fencer at Gosforth Academy when her life gets altered when a giant storm locks her and a couple companions in the school gym for the night. Here she meets Fenn who saves them and then vanishes the next morning. Bel...more
This book wasn't exactly up to my expectations. I was expecting a fast paced novel that would rock my socks off with all its mythology and action, but what I got was just a mythological novel that fell flat to me.
Mason Starling is a girl who is a master in fencing. She can take over any competition and win against anyone. One night while practicing, a storm come and almost wipes out her entire school, Gosforth Academy. With the storm comes a mysterious stranger whom makes all the difference i...more
Mason Starling is a girl who is a master in fencing. She can take over any competition and win against anyone. One night while practicing, a storm come and almost wipes out her entire school, Gosforth Academy. With the storm comes a mysterious stranger whom makes all the difference i...more
Oct 04, 2012
Terry (Ter05 TwiMoms/ MundieMoms)
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
supernatural,
young-adult
I was so looking forward to this book as although the Wondrous Strange trilogy is not my favorite YA series, it is one I really enjoyed. The Fennrys Wolf..or "Fenn" is my favorite character in that series although he is more or less part of a triangle - the left out part. Just a little background but The Fennrys Wolf was kidnapped by the fey King as a small child and trained and made into a Janus Guard and thus has long outlived his family and time in the real world. He was a Viking Prince desti...more
At a Glance:
Starling was an exciting beginning to new story where so many supernatural and mythological creatures come together. Being based mostly on Norse mythology, but with pieces of faery lore, made this book something original and intense. I really enjoyed it!
The Audio:
I love it when the author reads her own books for the audio production, if she's good, that is. I thought Lesley did a great job with the reading. She sounded as good as any other reader I've heard, and I liked knowing that...more
Starling was an exciting beginning to new story where so many supernatural and mythological creatures come together. Being based mostly on Norse mythology, but with pieces of faery lore, made this book something original and intense. I really enjoyed it!
The Audio:
I love it when the author reads her own books for the audio production, if she's good, that is. I thought Lesley did a great job with the reading. She sounded as good as any other reader I've heard, and I liked knowing that...more
I've read so many great books and just when I think that I couldn't possibly find anything as great to read, I open up a book like "Starling". WOW!! I'm actually depressed that I have to leave Mason Starling's world!
This is a story about the end of the world being near, but the events leading up to the "big" event(does it or doesn't it happen? hmmm, you'll have to read this incredible book to find out!) are tied to Viking myths and legends; something I knew nothing about. These Norse myths are m...more
This is a story about the end of the world being near, but the events leading up to the "big" event(does it or doesn't it happen? hmmm, you'll have to read this incredible book to find out!) are tied to Viking myths and legends; something I knew nothing about. These Norse myths are m...more
2.75 to 3 stars (yeah, Fennrys saved this for me).
Um, wow, I dunno what to say to be honest than I was a bit disappointed.Okay I was RATHER disappointed with Starling. I'm sorry but I really was.
I really like all of Lesley Livingston's books, heck I've been a fan ever since her first book,Wondrous Strange, fell into my hands through a contest.
However this was-- is basically setting up the entire story. Personally I would have liked it to have been one complete story (I see that this a duology)....more
Um, wow, I dunno what to say to be honest than I was a bit disappointed.
I really like all of Lesley Livingston's books, heck I've been a fan ever since her first book,Wondrous Strange, fell into my hands through a contest.
However this was-- is basically setting up the entire story. Personally I would have liked it to have been one complete story (I see that this a duology)....more
Jul 27, 2012
Skyla
marked it as to-read
Please don't let her mess up Norse mythology as badly as she messed up Celtic mythology and British history. There is artistic license and there is stupidity and the her "Once Every Never" falls perfectly into the stupidity category.
Why are the synopsis' for her books so intriguing?
Before Mocha disappeared this is the book I wanted to know if she had finished.
Why are the synopsis' for her books so intriguing?
Before Mocha disappeared this is the book I wanted to know if she had finished.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review.
This book surprised me. It's taking on a lot and granted it's the beginning to a series, but I went in to it with my expectations a little low. I ended up really enjoying Mason's adventure. The Norse mythology use was fascinating.
The writing was a little weak in the beginning. I admit to rereading some parts because they were a bit confusing as written but by chapter 5, things seemed to even out and I was pretty involved in the story....more
This book surprised me. It's taking on a lot and granted it's the beginning to a series, but I went in to it with my expectations a little low. I ended up really enjoying Mason's adventure. The Norse mythology use was fascinating.
The writing was a little weak in the beginning. I admit to rereading some parts because they were a bit confusing as written but by chapter 5, things seemed to even out and I was pretty involved in the story....more
ARC reviewed by Jessica for Book Sake.
I loved the idea behind the story and absolutely love the role that fencing played in it. Mason has got some serious skills and any scene having to do with her fencing was written wonderfully. And who can resist a character that doesn’t remember anything more than his name – and what a name it is – the Fennrys Wolf. All of the characters were realistic and I easily felt as if I knew the characters personally. In some books authors will make a character do so...more
I loved the idea behind the story and absolutely love the role that fencing played in it. Mason has got some serious skills and any scene having to do with her fencing was written wonderfully. And who can resist a character that doesn’t remember anything more than his name – and what a name it is – the Fennrys Wolf. All of the characters were realistic and I easily felt as if I knew the characters personally. In some books authors will make a character do so...more
Starling was such a great read. I enjoyed it so, so much! Fast-paced and action packed, it made me want to continue reading it, no matter what. I've missed books with action very much. Lately, YA books are focused more in the romance or just don't have action. Well, this one has. A lot. And, damn, if I needed some kick ass action!
I enjoyed Lesley Livingston's writing, too. The perspective was often changed, which I liked a lot, because we understand the book's world better, we got to see importa...more
I enjoyed Lesley Livingston's writing, too. The perspective was often changed, which I liked a lot, because we understand the book's world better, we got to see importa...more
I tried. I really did. I guess the main thing to not to do is watch Thor before. Start reading and you'll find out why. I kept waiting for Chris Hemsworth to make an appearance. lol.
It started off great with the horrific wind storm, being stuck in the school's basement/cellar after being attacked, but it just went down hill from there. I could tell the author was trying to be vague and keep everything a mystery, but when you leave too much out, it leaves the story really boring. I even flipped...more
It started off great with the horrific wind storm, being stuck in the school's basement/cellar after being attacked, but it just went down hill from there. I could tell the author was trying to be vague and keep everything a mystery, but when you leave too much out, it leaves the story really boring. I even flipped...more
'Kay.
this book, as a whole, was a disappointment. I'm sorry. I know its harsh but its true for me. The first part of the book where it has the epic storm and battle really pulled me in, but besides the ending, I felt like that was the only action in it. Everything else was either about the love triangle (which is totally not a good love triangle: two thirds of the time Fenn is described as scared and vulnerable and I was never attracted to him; whereas Cal is funny, in on things and awesome. Oh...more
this book, as a whole, was a disappointment. I'm sorry. I know its harsh but its true for me. The first part of the book where it has the epic storm and battle really pulled me in, but besides the ending, I felt like that was the only action in it. Everything else was either about the love triangle (which is totally not a good love triangle: two thirds of the time Fenn is described as scared and vulnerable and I was never attracted to him; whereas Cal is funny, in on things and awesome. Oh...more
Okay, so this book is littered with cliches, but dammit, I loved it. I found Starling to be such a charming read and Livingston gave me Fennrys, the adorkable einherjar, who made me laugh and smile through most of this book. His fascination with the human world was sweet, endearing, a touch dippy, but so innocent at the same time. This book somewhat reminded me of that cheesy movie Kate and Leopold, only Fennrys was cute and Leopold was... Hugh Jackman (yum). Fennrys is a bit one-dimensional at...more
I was really looking forward to reading this book! I've been going through a fencing phase and I really wanted to like this more!
The story is sweet and there are some cool fighting scenes, but I feel that they weren't highlighted like I expected them to be... Mason keeps losing her confidence in her skills and even after all the practice and effort she put into her traing a few verbal jabs from a former teammate are enough to throw her off her game. :P I expected Mason to be a more kickass char...more
The story is sweet and there are some cool fighting scenes, but I feel that they weren't highlighted like I expected them to be... Mason keeps losing her confidence in her skills and even after all the practice and effort she put into her traing a few verbal jabs from a former teammate are enough to throw her off her game. :P I expected Mason to be a more kickass char...more
I feel pretty stupid for not remembering who Fen was! It took me 250 pages to figure it out lol! In my defense it has been like 2 years since I read Tempestuous (I think that's how it's spelled) I loved this a bit more than her Wondrous Strange series. I need to re read it and find out what happened again. I remember some of it but I need a refresher. Anyways, I love Fen and Mason! Boo Cal. It ended very cliffhangery. With Cal falling off a bridge and Mason meeting her mom in Hell who has suppo...more
I can’t wait for the next book!
Now, I’d like to start off by saying that, yes, it took me four days to read this book but it had nothing to do with the book itself. I just happen to be really busy with other things while reading it.
As you can see on my recommendation, I was going to brand this a casual perusal half way through the book because the middle of it got a bit slow for me. Especially since it started off with fast pacing. It was slow but not any less interesting and it rewarded readers...more
Now, I’d like to start off by saying that, yes, it took me four days to read this book but it had nothing to do with the book itself. I just happen to be really busy with other things while reading it.
As you can see on my recommendation, I was going to brand this a casual perusal half way through the book because the middle of it got a bit slow for me. Especially since it started off with fast pacing. It was slow but not any less interesting and it rewarded readers...more
This was a really exciting, fast paced book that was pretty fun to read. It has just enough drama to make it interesting, but not too much that I'd want to throw the book against the wall out of anger. LOL.
The characters were great, I especially liked Fenn. ;) What an absolute sweetheart! *swoons* I think what makes him even more attractive is that hint of vulnerability in him. There were times when he'd say something sweet, and I'd just turn into a puddle of goo.
I was also a bit attracted to Ro...more
The characters were great, I especially liked Fenn. ;) What an absolute sweetheart! *swoons* I think what makes him even more attractive is that hint of vulnerability in him. There were times when he'd say something sweet, and I'd just turn into a puddle of goo.
I was also a bit attracted to Ro...more
This book was okay. The writing was nice but, sometimes certain words were used out of context. Like gustily, and stuff. I just remember gustily 'cause only that stuck in my mind. When you read too many YA novels(I have easily read more than 100), it gets kinda predictable. Love triangle, mythology everything falls flat and the author has to much more than what she did in this book to impress.
Forbidden love. Forbidden love has become a kind of prerequisite for YA. There was forbidden love in thi...more
Forbidden love. Forbidden love has become a kind of prerequisite for YA. There was forbidden love in thi...more
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“Death holds no fear for me. I shall conquer it as I conquer all things.”
—
13 people liked it
“Don't ever say that, Fennrys," she said. "I don't ever want to hear you say that you don't deserve or you aren't worthy. You do. You are.”
—
4 people liked it
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Jan 02, 2013 05:35pm