Bookanista Review: STARCROSSED
Recently I signed up for NetGalley, and the first ARC that caught my eye was STARCROSSED by Josephine Collins due out 5/31/11 from HarperCollins. Read below to see what I thought.
Here's the official blurb from the publisher:
How do you defy destiny?
Helen Hamilton has always known she's different from the other teens on tiny Nantucket, but it's not until Lucas Delos moves to town that she realizes just how special she is. Facing Lucas in the halls of high school, Helen's possessed by a powerful need to kill him–and she almost succeeds. But when their mutual hatred of each other transforms into desire, Helen and Lucas discover they are both Scions–descendants of Greek gods–and that their two families have for centuries been engaged in a deadly blood feud. As Lucas teaches Helen to use her powers, which include flying, controlling lightning, and an immunity to weapons (in addition to her gorgeous face, which she's inherited from a certain namesake whose own face "launched a thousand ships"), the two grow ever closer–but can never be together until they find a way around the curse that's destined to keep them apart.
I'm going to admit to a secret. A secret that many in the YA world now consider a DIRTY secret. Ready? Here goes. I LIKED THE TWILIGHT SERIES. You just fell over, right? Seriously, I don't know why it's become a pleasure sport to bash a series that millions upon millions of people loved. What does my Twilight love have to do with this review? A lot, actually.
Right on NetGalley, the publisher made a brave(?) move comparing the romance in STARCROSSED to that of TWILIGHT. I decided to read the novel anyway (not because of that description which gets overused WAY too much), but because something about the cover caught my imagination. And I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading.
Helen and Lucas are a lot of fun to read about. They are definitely similarities to TWILIGHT, including a cast of school friends and family members. Plus Helen lives with her father. Yes, this is a story about starcrossed lovers. BUT Stephenie Meyer wasn't the first writer to use those scenarios, so I'm putting a stick in the ground and saying that's where the similarities end.
Because while I didn't love Helen for the first couple of chapters (she seemed a wee bit negative), I grew to like her a lot as the story went on. She's a strong MC who makes up her own mind about things. Her choices get her in trouble sometimes, but she's definitely making choices that I can respect.
Put all of that aside, though, and I have to say that I love the action and the unique twists that Collins puts on the Greek mythology and paranormal powers of her characters. I read this book in a day and found myself thoroughly entertained. Thumbs up from me on this first novel from Collins and I can't wait to read the next in the series.
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