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Starlight Saga #1
Lost in Starlight
High school is tough. Romance with a sexy outsider? Even tougher
Star reporter Sloane Masterson knows she has one helluva story when she witnesses hottie Hayden Lancaster bending forks with his mind. . .
Like any good journalist, Sloane sets out to uncover the truth, even if it includes a little stalking. When the superhuman feats start to pile up and the undeniable heat rises between them, Hayden has no choice but to reveal his family's darkest secrets.
They’re as different as night and day—she’s a curvy, purple-haired, horror junkie and he’s a smoking hot, antisocial, brainiac—yet the intense fascination between them refuses to go away.
Even at Hayden’s insistence that dating each other is “off limits” and dangerous, their fiery attraction threatens to go supernova.
And then one passionate kiss changes their lives forever. . .
*This series is intended for upper-YA readers, has lots of steamy romance and campy humor, and is not considered hardcore science fiction.
Star reporter Sloane Masterson knows she has one helluva story when she witnesses hottie Hayden Lancaster bending forks with his mind. . .
Like any good journalist, Sloane sets out to uncover the truth, even if it includes a little stalking. When the superhuman feats start to pile up and the undeniable heat rises between them, Hayden has no choice but to reveal his family's darkest secrets.
They’re as different as night and day—she’s a curvy, purple-haired, horror junkie and he’s a smoking hot, antisocial, brainiac—yet the intense fascination between them refuses to go away.
Even at Hayden’s insistence that dating each other is “off limits” and dangerous, their fiery attraction threatens to go supernova.
And then one passionate kiss changes their lives forever. . .
*This series is intended for upper-YA readers, has lots of steamy romance and campy humor, and is not considered hardcore science fiction.
354 pages, Paperback
First published January 26, 2014
12 people are currently reading
612 people want to read
About the author
Sherry J. Soule
36 books375 followersI am Sherry J. Soule and I was a writer of romantic horror. Please do not confuse me with another author with a similar name that writes fiction, too.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
April 9, 2015
**This book was provided to me by the author in exchange for my honest review**
Rating: 3.5 stars
Very reminiscient of Alienated by Melissa Landers, Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout, and Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. One of those books I love, the other two I absolutely am not a fan of. This book shares qualities from all three of them, which is why I found it so difficult to rate/review this. On initial thoughts, I want to say I didn't like this book because it reminds me of two books/series that I simply think are poorly written. On the other hand, there are a lot of good things about Lost in Starlight that I can't judge it unfairly because of what it reminds me of.
First off, this is not an original story. At least not to me. I predicted everything that happened. From Sloane and Devin to her father to every single one of Hayden's actions and reactions. I think that's one peeve for me with this book -- there were no surprises. I wasn't shocked. I wasn't taken off guard or thrown for a loop. This book felt very safe to me.
With that being said, I still thought it was interesting. Playing it safe isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially the first book of a potential series. The first book has to set up book two. Which is what I think Soule was doing. Or at least I hope so.
Let's talk world building -- it was good, but it was a little weak for me. I didn't necessarily gather that anyone was really an alien. Just a byproduct of a science experience. It didn't feel sci-fi to me, just paranormal. Which is fine, but I feel like the world is way bigger than what is given to me in book one. But then again, like I've stated, book one could just be setting everything up. The concept of hybrids is great, but their way of life and customs aren' very believeable. I didn't feel anything when Hayden and Sloane were threatened and captured. I just didn't feel the cause and effect added up enough for their to be as big of an outcry that occurred in the book. There were instances between Sloane and Devin that just didn't make any kind of sense to me. Her reactions to his blatant sexual assault throughout the entire book were completely unbelieveable for me. You have someone invading your personal space, touching your body, and you do nothing because you "work with him" on the school paper? Illogical. And Sloane appeared to be smarter than that. When dealing with Devin, she felt dumbed down a lot.
Characters? They were decent. Hayden was pretty good. Sloane was good. Zach was even tolerable. The supporting characters, to me, were pointless. Other than the antagonists. Sloane's friends weren't memorable. Neither were her parents and Hayden's parents. Even though, I saw what happened with Sloane's dad coming from a mile away. I really did like that Soule didn't make Sloane your typical thin, blonde hair, blue eyed girl. She was unique and representative of the common teenage girl. Mad respect for that.
There could have been more in depth development between Sloane and Hayden, especially considering how intrusive she was on Hayden's life initially. It just went quite fast for me. And then to have what occurred at the end take place like that? It was an up and down rollercoaster that lead to an unnecessarily flatline. Hayden went from zero to 100 back to zero and I couldn't follow why. I mean, he explains why, but even so... it didn't leave me satisfied -- at least until book two.
Now for everything that I loved. Soule does a great job emoting. She created some nice "feels" moments throughout the books, when it came to our two lead characters. I will say that they were really cute together. And it was nice to witness Hayden being himself. That was the only time that I believed their relationship -- when they were in it. I didn't like the lead up and I didn't like the lead out. But the in? That was really good.
There is an amazing concept with fantastic potential in this book, but right now, I'm not enjoying the execution. Too much reminded me of other books, including the dialogue. I know that you can't always be 100% original, but it was just too close for me.
With that being said, I did enjoy reading the book. I did like the concept, and I do see the potential for greater things. Everything is on the precipice of being better than it is currently, and that is why I'm giving this book the rating that I did. I did like it, but I'm hypercritical because it could be way better than it is. I'm not invested in this world yet, but I could be. With the proper tweaks.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Very reminiscient of Alienated by Melissa Landers, Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout, and Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. One of those books I love, the other two I absolutely am not a fan of. This book shares qualities from all three of them, which is why I found it so difficult to rate/review this. On initial thoughts, I want to say I didn't like this book because it reminds me of two books/series that I simply think are poorly written. On the other hand, there are a lot of good things about Lost in Starlight that I can't judge it unfairly because of what it reminds me of.
First off, this is not an original story. At least not to me. I predicted everything that happened. From Sloane and Devin to her father to every single one of Hayden's actions and reactions. I think that's one peeve for me with this book -- there were no surprises. I wasn't shocked. I wasn't taken off guard or thrown for a loop. This book felt very safe to me.
With that being said, I still thought it was interesting. Playing it safe isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially the first book of a potential series. The first book has to set up book two. Which is what I think Soule was doing. Or at least I hope so.
Let's talk world building -- it was good, but it was a little weak for me. I didn't necessarily gather that anyone was really an alien. Just a byproduct of a science experience. It didn't feel sci-fi to me, just paranormal. Which is fine, but I feel like the world is way bigger than what is given to me in book one. But then again, like I've stated, book one could just be setting everything up. The concept of hybrids is great, but their way of life and customs aren' very believeable. I didn't feel anything when Hayden and Sloane were threatened and captured. I just didn't feel the cause and effect added up enough for their to be as big of an outcry that occurred in the book. There were instances between Sloane and Devin that just didn't make any kind of sense to me. Her reactions to his blatant sexual assault throughout the entire book were completely unbelieveable for me. You have someone invading your personal space, touching your body, and you do nothing because you "work with him" on the school paper? Illogical. And Sloane appeared to be smarter than that. When dealing with Devin, she felt dumbed down a lot.
Characters? They were decent. Hayden was pretty good. Sloane was good. Zach was even tolerable. The supporting characters, to me, were pointless. Other than the antagonists. Sloane's friends weren't memorable. Neither were her parents and Hayden's parents. Even though, I saw what happened with Sloane's dad coming from a mile away. I really did like that Soule didn't make Sloane your typical thin, blonde hair, blue eyed girl. She was unique and representative of the common teenage girl. Mad respect for that.
There could have been more in depth development between Sloane and Hayden, especially considering how intrusive she was on Hayden's life initially. It just went quite fast for me. And then to have what occurred at the end take place like that? It was an up and down rollercoaster that lead to an unnecessarily flatline. Hayden went from zero to 100 back to zero and I couldn't follow why. I mean, he explains why, but even so... it didn't leave me satisfied -- at least until book two.
Now for everything that I loved. Soule does a great job emoting. She created some nice "feels" moments throughout the books, when it came to our two lead characters. I will say that they were really cute together. And it was nice to witness Hayden being himself. That was the only time that I believed their relationship -- when they were in it. I didn't like the lead up and I didn't like the lead out. But the in? That was really good.
There is an amazing concept with fantastic potential in this book, but right now, I'm not enjoying the execution. Too much reminded me of other books, including the dialogue. I know that you can't always be 100% original, but it was just too close for me.
With that being said, I did enjoy reading the book. I did like the concept, and I do see the potential for greater things. Everything is on the precipice of being better than it is currently, and that is why I'm giving this book the rating that I did. I did like it, but I'm hypercritical because it could be way better than it is. I'm not invested in this world yet, but I could be. With the proper tweaks.
December 23, 2014
ok you alien lovers, here's a love story human, alien.
well written, thought out storyline, not rushed. very cute love scenes , not too mushy but sweet and the main male character planned these. nice right? it's usually the women. you have some violence, better then girls, always , just a given. A very different character,Salone, she is just herself and is ok with it. even being self conscious she is still confident. She's crushing on Hayden, the new boy at school who is more man then boy tiny opinion, very nicely built, loving, hates bullies, disrespecting men, treats everyone nice when deserving, still kicks some ass whereas Salone Is chubby ,loves to eat. some of the scenes when she's describing her yummy goodness of food it made me hungry. a zombie movie lover, critic, story chasers for her paper and kind of funny at times .very well developed book.
It's forbidden love, human and alien we know this right? Hayden rebels because he's so attracted to Salone..she knows it's trouble but she doesn't care. well she doesn't fully let it click in her brain until it's too late. but she's been crushing on him since day one. when he lets his feelings be known she just can't believe he'd like a girl like her, purple hair, dresses funky, kinda chubby but cool girl.
she falls fast and they have to hid their relationship even though Zach seems to figure it out and he's such a jerk, anger issues and seems to me a bit of a hater , constantly throwing fat remarks at Salone, just not a cool guy. very different personalities for brothers.
but as the story goes on everything just keeps falling into place, the crazy ex girlfriend, the sunglass man. I put that together halfway through the book but no spoilers here.
Devin the perv whos discussing and got what he deserved.
some decent characters and I did not h ave a hard time falling into the storyline or the characters. easy to relate too. a nice easy read. interesting. every character has a unique quality about them. even the short lived characters.
I'd recommend this book to anyone, young adult, alien book fans, adults who want a different light read.
well written, nicely thought out, I didn't feel.it was rushed, feel together nicely and easily relatable to characters
I'll be checking out some other series that look interesting. and I won't mind reading book 2 , I'm very curious to what comes next after this ending. by the way nice ending. not a bad cliff hanger but enough to keep you wanting a next book.
I was given this book for a honest review.
well done Miss Soule.
.
well written, thought out storyline, not rushed. very cute love scenes , not too mushy but sweet and the main male character planned these. nice right? it's usually the women. you have some violence, better then girls, always , just a given. A very different character,Salone, she is just herself and is ok with it. even being self conscious she is still confident. She's crushing on Hayden, the new boy at school who is more man then boy tiny opinion, very nicely built, loving, hates bullies, disrespecting men, treats everyone nice when deserving, still kicks some ass whereas Salone Is chubby ,loves to eat. some of the scenes when she's describing her yummy goodness of food it made me hungry. a zombie movie lover, critic, story chasers for her paper and kind of funny at times .very well developed book.
It's forbidden love, human and alien we know this right? Hayden rebels because he's so attracted to Salone..she knows it's trouble but she doesn't care. well she doesn't fully let it click in her brain until it's too late. but she's been crushing on him since day one. when he lets his feelings be known she just can't believe he'd like a girl like her, purple hair, dresses funky, kinda chubby but cool girl.
she falls fast and they have to hid their relationship even though Zach seems to figure it out and he's such a jerk, anger issues and seems to me a bit of a hater , constantly throwing fat remarks at Salone, just not a cool guy. very different personalities for brothers.
but as the story goes on everything just keeps falling into place, the crazy ex girlfriend, the sunglass man. I put that together halfway through the book but no spoilers here.
Devin the perv whos discussing and got what he deserved.
some decent characters and I did not h ave a hard time falling into the storyline or the characters. easy to relate too. a nice easy read. interesting. every character has a unique quality about them. even the short lived characters.
I'd recommend this book to anyone, young adult, alien book fans, adults who want a different light read.
well written, nicely thought out, I didn't feel.it was rushed, feel together nicely and easily relatable to characters
I'll be checking out some other series that look interesting. and I won't mind reading book 2 , I'm very curious to what comes next after this ending. by the way nice ending. not a bad cliff hanger but enough to keep you wanting a next book.
I was given this book for a honest review.
well done Miss Soule.
.
June 6, 2014
~ I gigantic thank you to Sherry Soule for providing me with a copy of her novel in exchange for an honest review ~
I am a firm believer in the possibility of life on other planets. We would have to be pretty egotistical to believe that we are the only ones in the whole entire universe. Have you checked the universe lately? Do you know how ever expanding that thing is? And I guess it is because I believe in the likelihood of life outside of our green and blue planet, that I desperately wish for some sexy non-human beings to enter our ecosystem. And if one of those sexy beings happened to be Hayden…well I would be super ok with that.
“If i’d never met you, Sloane, I have the strangest feeling that I’d spend the rest of my life looking for someone like you…”
Hayden | Lost in Starlight
Soule has created a riveting character driven first book in what is sure to be a heart melting series. One of the things that I loved about this book was the main character. She was written with such a strong voice that you as a reader have a clear image of who she is, which is always awesome to read. Yes at times (ok well really all the time) she was obsessed with the uber hot male, but who wouldn’t be! And in all honesty, just let the girl be..she’s in high school. She is allowed to be boy crazy! And anyway she rationalises it like any teenage girl, it’s for research into an article she is writing. Slightly stalkerish..but she acknowledges this fact.
I really enjoyed this ones take on aliens, or I guess alien hybrids, and I don’t want to give too much away because it will spoil the awesomeness of it…Don’t you hate it when I do that.
It was a bit of a shame the the synopsis given for this book mentions ‘extraterrestrial’ life, because it meant I was waiting for Sloane to uncover this fact..and it took a lot longer then necessary for the main character to catch up with what the reader already knows. As mentioned previously it is highly character driven, which means the adventure elements don’t really happen until the last few chapters. I would have liked to have seen more governmental influences, but in the first book of a series there is a lot that needs to be set up for the remaining books.
A cute, fun read with an ending that makes your draw drop to the ground (like in those awesome 90s cartoons). It is heavily romantic and definitely one for a lazy day.
Happy Reading!
I am a firm believer in the possibility of life on other planets. We would have to be pretty egotistical to believe that we are the only ones in the whole entire universe. Have you checked the universe lately? Do you know how ever expanding that thing is? And I guess it is because I believe in the likelihood of life outside of our green and blue planet, that I desperately wish for some sexy non-human beings to enter our ecosystem. And if one of those sexy beings happened to be Hayden…well I would be super ok with that.
“If i’d never met you, Sloane, I have the strangest feeling that I’d spend the rest of my life looking for someone like you…”
Hayden | Lost in Starlight
Soule has created a riveting character driven first book in what is sure to be a heart melting series. One of the things that I loved about this book was the main character. She was written with such a strong voice that you as a reader have a clear image of who she is, which is always awesome to read. Yes at times (ok well really all the time) she was obsessed with the uber hot male, but who wouldn’t be! And in all honesty, just let the girl be..she’s in high school. She is allowed to be boy crazy! And anyway she rationalises it like any teenage girl, it’s for research into an article she is writing. Slightly stalkerish..but she acknowledges this fact.
I really enjoyed this ones take on aliens, or I guess alien hybrids, and I don’t want to give too much away because it will spoil the awesomeness of it…Don’t you hate it when I do that.
It was a bit of a shame the the synopsis given for this book mentions ‘extraterrestrial’ life, because it meant I was waiting for Sloane to uncover this fact..and it took a lot longer then necessary for the main character to catch up with what the reader already knows. As mentioned previously it is highly character driven, which means the adventure elements don’t really happen until the last few chapters. I would have liked to have seen more governmental influences, but in the first book of a series there is a lot that needs to be set up for the remaining books.
A cute, fun read with an ending that makes your draw drop to the ground (like in those awesome 90s cartoons). It is heavily romantic and definitely one for a lazy day.
Happy Reading!
June 27, 2014
Looking for a standout heroine in a paranormal romance? One who is smart, sassy and dares anyone to deny her right to “dance to the beat of a different drummer?” Maybe you’d like to find a hero who is “special,” tough, and loyal while wearing his heart on his sleeve. Two teens, whose lives and hearts entwine in a world who would never understand, rather sounds a little like Romeo and Juliet, don't you think? Maybe, except this Romeo is a hybrid, part human and part alien and his laws state he can never reveal who and what he is and this Juliet is the school reporter, who a nose for news, always hunting down her next great byline and in the blink of an eye, she has discovered the biggest scoop of her life. This love story is like a swirling top, spinning and spinning as each vivid piece of eh story becomes a collage of chaotic color.
Sloane is a quirky and unique voice in this tale, with purple hair, and just a little full-figured, but she fears nothing and from her mind and her lips come some of the best lines I have ever read! It also seems, her large bust is often the center of attention, but, come on, this is high school, if her snark and attitude didn’t make the constant mammary attention completely hysterical, I would say it was overdone.
Hayden is brilliant, athletic and a powerfully quiet presence that causes girls to swoon, but Sloane is his weakness and his forbidden fruit. The existence of his kind is a well-kept secret human. When they are discovered by Hayden’s people, there can be only one solution; Sloane’s mind must be swiped clean of everything “Hayden,” forever tearing them apart. Likened to mind rape, Hayden will do everything in his power to keep Sloane safe, but will it be enough?
Lost in Starlight is a turbo-charged fantasy from the pen of author Sherry Soule that you will NOT want to miss! Ms. Soule's writing is bold, creative and she managed to transport me into the world she has created with ease! From each scene to each character, there was never a dull moment, never a plot lag as she deftly switched from tender to daring moments in this emotional character driven plot. A dash of intrigue, a dollop of deceit and a delicate love story and Lost in Starlight is an Earthbound teens perfect summer read as one fights to keep their heart from becoming bruised one moment and wanting to kick some "authority" butt the next!
I received an ARC edition from Sherry Soule in exchange for my honest review.
Publication Date: June 22, 2014
Publisher: Moonlight Publishing
Genre: YA Sci-fi |Paranormal Romance
Print Length: 293 pages
Available from: Amazon
Sloane is a quirky and unique voice in this tale, with purple hair, and just a little full-figured, but she fears nothing and from her mind and her lips come some of the best lines I have ever read! It also seems, her large bust is often the center of attention, but, come on, this is high school, if her snark and attitude didn’t make the constant mammary attention completely hysterical, I would say it was overdone.
Hayden is brilliant, athletic and a powerfully quiet presence that causes girls to swoon, but Sloane is his weakness and his forbidden fruit. The existence of his kind is a well-kept secret human. When they are discovered by Hayden’s people, there can be only one solution; Sloane’s mind must be swiped clean of everything “Hayden,” forever tearing them apart. Likened to mind rape, Hayden will do everything in his power to keep Sloane safe, but will it be enough?
Lost in Starlight is a turbo-charged fantasy from the pen of author Sherry Soule that you will NOT want to miss! Ms. Soule's writing is bold, creative and she managed to transport me into the world she has created with ease! From each scene to each character, there was never a dull moment, never a plot lag as she deftly switched from tender to daring moments in this emotional character driven plot. A dash of intrigue, a dollop of deceit and a delicate love story and Lost in Starlight is an Earthbound teens perfect summer read as one fights to keep their heart from becoming bruised one moment and wanting to kick some "authority" butt the next!
I received an ARC edition from Sherry Soule in exchange for my honest review.
Publication Date: June 22, 2014
Publisher: Moonlight Publishing
Genre: YA Sci-fi |Paranormal Romance
Print Length: 293 pages
Available from: Amazon
June 29, 2014
Oh, what a fun read! With a kickass, snarky heroine, a swoon-worthy hero, intrigue and snappy writing, Lost in Starlight was, as Sloane would say, awesomesauce!
Sloane Masterson is an exceptional heroine. This purple-haired, full-figured, horror-film loving girl is smart, snarky, and not afraid to stand up for herself. As a reporter for her school's newspaper, she's investigating one sexy Hayden Lancaster, whom she's been crushing on since his arrival in town. Her investigations bring to light some interesting things and put her on Hayden's radar.
Hayden Lancaster is one intelligent HOTTIE. And he does his best to keep his head down and avoid attention. Which is probably why he noticed Sloane - and her stalking. Hayden has some pretty big secrets - secrets that those close to him are willing to go to drastic measures in order to protect.
As Sloane and Hayden get closer, they face discrimination, danger, and uncertainty - not only from those wanting Hayden and his secrets protected, but from someone in Sloane's camp as well. These two young lovers must decide if what they've found in each other is worth the risk.
I delighted in Ms. Sloane's writing - her use of pop cultures references and the use of Sloane's Friday Night Babble articles in between chapters. It was exciting trying to figure out what was going to happen next and trying to unravel the mysteries. Plus, Sloane and Hayden are definitely a couple to root for. The similarities in their story and Romeo and Juliet made for entertaining reading. I liked Hayden's comment:
"I just finished reading Romeo and Juliet, and do you know what the first thing I thought was? It's called a tragedy for a reason. They were this young couple, and they died because their families wouldn't let them be together. There isn't anything romantic about that. It's just stupid and sad."
Lost in Starlight was enchanting. I'm very anxious for the next installment in the series. I'm eager to see where things go between Sloane and Hayden AND to see what comes of the revelation at the end. Whoa!
**I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.**
Sloane Masterson is an exceptional heroine. This purple-haired, full-figured, horror-film loving girl is smart, snarky, and not afraid to stand up for herself. As a reporter for her school's newspaper, she's investigating one sexy Hayden Lancaster, whom she's been crushing on since his arrival in town. Her investigations bring to light some interesting things and put her on Hayden's radar.
Hayden Lancaster is one intelligent HOTTIE. And he does his best to keep his head down and avoid attention. Which is probably why he noticed Sloane - and her stalking. Hayden has some pretty big secrets - secrets that those close to him are willing to go to drastic measures in order to protect.
As Sloane and Hayden get closer, they face discrimination, danger, and uncertainty - not only from those wanting Hayden and his secrets protected, but from someone in Sloane's camp as well. These two young lovers must decide if what they've found in each other is worth the risk.
I delighted in Ms. Sloane's writing - her use of pop cultures references and the use of Sloane's Friday Night Babble articles in between chapters. It was exciting trying to figure out what was going to happen next and trying to unravel the mysteries. Plus, Sloane and Hayden are definitely a couple to root for. The similarities in their story and Romeo and Juliet made for entertaining reading. I liked Hayden's comment:
"I just finished reading Romeo and Juliet, and do you know what the first thing I thought was? It's called a tragedy for a reason. They were this young couple, and they died because their families wouldn't let them be together. There isn't anything romantic about that. It's just stupid and sad."
Lost in Starlight was enchanting. I'm very anxious for the next installment in the series. I'm eager to see where things go between Sloane and Hayden AND to see what comes of the revelation at the end. Whoa!
**I received a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.**
June 19, 2014
Review: 3 out of 5 stars
For some reason when I was reading this book I would often think of Twilight, there were a few similarities where I couldn’t help but compare but it also had its own unique story-line as well, we are dealing with aliens here rather than vamps.
Our main protagonist is Sloane Masterson, just a regular girl investigating for the school paper the popular ‘bad boy’ in school; she was a character that I liked but didn’t love, she was believable in her actions and reactions but she was also a little slow when it came to a few obvious little details that we as a reader were able to work out quite early on in the book.
Our love interest is broody Hayden Lancaster, a likable enough character, protective and secretive; I was keen to learn more about him but I do feel he wasn’t as developed as Sloane but I’m sure we’ll find out more about him in the next installment.
The plot initially focused on Sloane researching Hayden for the school newspaper and then as the book progressed we find out more about who and what Hayden is, I liked the details we were given on the hybrids and zetas; we get small amounts of action throughout and I’m keen to see where the author takes the story. You can tell a lot of thought was put in to the world-building but I feel there were certain tidbits that were lacking such as background particulars on the hybrids, family, rules and hierarchy so hopefully we will learn more. I felt that this was more of a character driven book.
The romance was done well and I enjoyed the forbidden aspect, a few parts were cheesy and it felt a little rushed but overall I liked it.
Sherry Soule’s writing is engaging and I liked the way she blended the suspense, mystery, and action sequences with a sweet budding romance; it made for an entertaining read.
I mostly enjoyed this book, as a first in the series it was interesting but it did end on a cliff-hanger so I am eager to see where the author takes it in the sequel.
Thank you to the author Sherry Soule, for providing me with a copy of Lost in Starlight to read and review.
For some reason when I was reading this book I would often think of Twilight, there were a few similarities where I couldn’t help but compare but it also had its own unique story-line as well, we are dealing with aliens here rather than vamps.
Our main protagonist is Sloane Masterson, just a regular girl investigating for the school paper the popular ‘bad boy’ in school; she was a character that I liked but didn’t love, she was believable in her actions and reactions but she was also a little slow when it came to a few obvious little details that we as a reader were able to work out quite early on in the book.
Our love interest is broody Hayden Lancaster, a likable enough character, protective and secretive; I was keen to learn more about him but I do feel he wasn’t as developed as Sloane but I’m sure we’ll find out more about him in the next installment.
The plot initially focused on Sloane researching Hayden for the school newspaper and then as the book progressed we find out more about who and what Hayden is, I liked the details we were given on the hybrids and zetas; we get small amounts of action throughout and I’m keen to see where the author takes the story. You can tell a lot of thought was put in to the world-building but I feel there were certain tidbits that were lacking such as background particulars on the hybrids, family, rules and hierarchy so hopefully we will learn more. I felt that this was more of a character driven book.
The romance was done well and I enjoyed the forbidden aspect, a few parts were cheesy and it felt a little rushed but overall I liked it.
Sherry Soule’s writing is engaging and I liked the way she blended the suspense, mystery, and action sequences with a sweet budding romance; it made for an entertaining read.
I mostly enjoyed this book, as a first in the series it was interesting but it did end on a cliff-hanger so I am eager to see where the author takes it in the sequel.
Thank you to the author Sherry Soule, for providing me with a copy of Lost in Starlight to read and review.
January 12, 2015
This one reminded me of a mix between the Twilight series and TV series Smallville.
While the main reason I read this book was because it was part of a group reading challenge, I did end up enjoying.
I give credit to author for envisioning the heroine as a size 14, horror flick geek, snarky, young girl.
However, the romance is choke-full of teen angst. I found myself cringing at the drama.
So do I recommend it? Yes. I feel that this young adult science fiction romance is likely to win the hearts of many YA readers.
While the main reason I read this book was because it was part of a group reading challenge, I did end up enjoying.
I give credit to author for envisioning the heroine as a size 14, horror flick geek, snarky, young girl.
However, the romance is choke-full of teen angst. I found myself cringing at the drama.
So do I recommend it? Yes. I feel that this young adult science fiction romance is likely to win the hearts of many YA readers.
June 27, 2014
I received a copy of Lost in Starlight from author Sherry Soule in return for an honest review.
I really enjoyed the first book in the Starlight Saga, Lost in Starlight.
Sloane Masterson, our quirky protagonist, is a smart-as-a-whip sixteen year old with a style all her own (read purple hair, a Hot Topic shopping habit, a love for horror films and a crush on the hottest boy in school.) A reporter for her school's newspaper, the Haven Gazette, Sloane is asked to cover a story on a recent computer hack at the school. Rumor has it, Hayden Lancaster, Sloane's mega-crush, is suspect number one and like any good reporter, Sloane hunts down the facts with her trusty Hello Kitty notebook in tow.
But Hayden Lancaster and his basktetball playing brother Zach are suspect of Sloane and her snooping. Zach doesn't take kindly to her, confronting Sloane every opportunity he gets, telling her to stay away from his brother while taunting her with fat jokes.
Weight is the one thing that really hits Sloane right where it hurts and quite frankly he is as much an antagonist in this story as Tama, the crazy ex-girlfriend who stalks Hayden and her love-lorn side kick, Darion (amongst others of course!)
Sloane, the resourceful sleuth that she is, doesn't let a few nasty jokes get in the way of her story. She gathers enough clues to determine Hayden is hiding a big secret. She can't put her finger on it but the clues she's collected paint an interesting picture, one that questions whether Hayden is human or super-human.
Despite Hayden's best intentions, the boy has been crushing on Sloane for a while and their constant run-ins further fuels their attraction for one another. Finally, Hayden comes clean and confesses to Sloan that one, he is attracted to her and two, he is part alien, part human and his existence is a super-secret.
The remainder of the book follows the trials and tribulations of the star-crossed lovers as they try to hide their budding romance, stay under the radar of the Galactic Brotherhood, keep the lid on Hayden's secret and try not to get killed along the way.
Lost in Starlight is entertaining. I love Sloane. She is dynamic, smart and unapologetic. She does have her weaknesses, for one, the whole weight thing can really pull her down. Sloane does her best not to let fat jokes get to her but again, she is real and I like her spirit. She gets over it and embraces who she is which really makes her a great role model for today's teenage girls obsessed with being a size zero and blindly believing being super-skinny is the standard for beauty.
I gave this book four stars on Goodreads and Amazon. Here's why. As I read Sloane and Hayden's story, I couldn't help but feel there were some similarities with another uber-popular romance, Twilight. Despite Sloane having nothing in common with Bella, I did find common ground between Hayden and Edward's characters. The chronology of turning points were also alike. I did feel like I was reading the alien version of Twilight and hence the rating.
Nonetheless, I read this book in less than twenty-four hours, engaged and entertained throughout. The twist at the end of the book definitely made me groan because book 2 wasn't available yet so I couldn't continue reading Sloane and Hayden's story.
I e-mailed Sherry as soon as I finished the book, wanting to know when the next book in the series would be out. I've already lined up to read and review book 2 (which should be out in 6-7 months - straight from Sherry!)
Sherry is a talented writer with a fun YA voice. There are some pretty cool book features I haven't seen in other YA reads before. I enjoyed the Fright Night Babble chapters, posts from Sloane's blog about all thing horror movies. It's a fresh concept and gives more dimension to Sloane. This kind of creativity cements Sloane's character with all her quirks, setting her apart and making her an unforgettable character. She is what makes this book so worth the read.
The whole part-human, part-alien angle was something I didn't think I could get into, but again, I was wrong. The premise is different in all the right ways.
Like I said earlier, I've already asked the author for an advanced reader copy of book 2. If you enjoy YA and are in the market for some good reads, add Lost in Starlight to your list. It is a must-read!
I really enjoyed the first book in the Starlight Saga, Lost in Starlight.
Sloane Masterson, our quirky protagonist, is a smart-as-a-whip sixteen year old with a style all her own (read purple hair, a Hot Topic shopping habit, a love for horror films and a crush on the hottest boy in school.) A reporter for her school's newspaper, the Haven Gazette, Sloane is asked to cover a story on a recent computer hack at the school. Rumor has it, Hayden Lancaster, Sloane's mega-crush, is suspect number one and like any good reporter, Sloane hunts down the facts with her trusty Hello Kitty notebook in tow.
But Hayden Lancaster and his basktetball playing brother Zach are suspect of Sloane and her snooping. Zach doesn't take kindly to her, confronting Sloane every opportunity he gets, telling her to stay away from his brother while taunting her with fat jokes.
Weight is the one thing that really hits Sloane right where it hurts and quite frankly he is as much an antagonist in this story as Tama, the crazy ex-girlfriend who stalks Hayden and her love-lorn side kick, Darion (amongst others of course!)
Sloane, the resourceful sleuth that she is, doesn't let a few nasty jokes get in the way of her story. She gathers enough clues to determine Hayden is hiding a big secret. She can't put her finger on it but the clues she's collected paint an interesting picture, one that questions whether Hayden is human or super-human.
Despite Hayden's best intentions, the boy has been crushing on Sloane for a while and their constant run-ins further fuels their attraction for one another. Finally, Hayden comes clean and confesses to Sloan that one, he is attracted to her and two, he is part alien, part human and his existence is a super-secret.
The remainder of the book follows the trials and tribulations of the star-crossed lovers as they try to hide their budding romance, stay under the radar of the Galactic Brotherhood, keep the lid on Hayden's secret and try not to get killed along the way.
Lost in Starlight is entertaining. I love Sloane. She is dynamic, smart and unapologetic. She does have her weaknesses, for one, the whole weight thing can really pull her down. Sloane does her best not to let fat jokes get to her but again, she is real and I like her spirit. She gets over it and embraces who she is which really makes her a great role model for today's teenage girls obsessed with being a size zero and blindly believing being super-skinny is the standard for beauty.
I gave this book four stars on Goodreads and Amazon. Here's why. As I read Sloane and Hayden's story, I couldn't help but feel there were some similarities with another uber-popular romance, Twilight. Despite Sloane having nothing in common with Bella, I did find common ground between Hayden and Edward's characters. The chronology of turning points were also alike. I did feel like I was reading the alien version of Twilight and hence the rating.
Nonetheless, I read this book in less than twenty-four hours, engaged and entertained throughout. The twist at the end of the book definitely made me groan because book 2 wasn't available yet so I couldn't continue reading Sloane and Hayden's story.
I e-mailed Sherry as soon as I finished the book, wanting to know when the next book in the series would be out. I've already lined up to read and review book 2 (which should be out in 6-7 months - straight from Sherry!)
Sherry is a talented writer with a fun YA voice. There are some pretty cool book features I haven't seen in other YA reads before. I enjoyed the Fright Night Babble chapters, posts from Sloane's blog about all thing horror movies. It's a fresh concept and gives more dimension to Sloane. This kind of creativity cements Sloane's character with all her quirks, setting her apart and making her an unforgettable character. She is what makes this book so worth the read.
The whole part-human, part-alien angle was something I didn't think I could get into, but again, I was wrong. The premise is different in all the right ways.
Like I said earlier, I've already asked the author for an advanced reader copy of book 2. If you enjoy YA and are in the market for some good reads, add Lost in Starlight to your list. It is a must-read!
October 25, 2014
3.5/5 Stars
This review and many others can be found on my blog - Feed Your Fiction Addiction
This was an enjoyable book, but I have to admit that it didn’t feel incredibly unique and was a little bit predictable, which is why it only gets 3.5 stars from me. Still, it was a quick read, and by the end of the book I was definitely engaged in the story – and I’m intrigued to find out what will happen in the next book!
What I LOVED:
Sloane.
Sloane was a fun, snarky character with an investigative mind (she was a journalist, after all). Once she set her mind to figuring out what was going on with Hayden, she was not about to give up. Overall, I really liked Sloane’s feistiness, though I did wish she was a little bit stronger where one character was concerned (see my negatives below). I also loved that Sloane was a fan of horror films and blogged about them. The snippets from her blog that we got at the end of each chapter were really fun and gave us amusing insight into Sloane’s personality.
Aliens.
Can’t help but love a book about aliens, right? I really enjoyed the supernatural storyline. The second half of the book, once Sloane knew about the aliens, picked up a lot. The alien storyline was interesting because it wasn’t just plain aliens – there’s a bit of a twist to it regarding who Hayden and his people really are (and who knows about them). Plus. the alien storyline set up a believable barrier to the romance (aliens and humans supposedly can’t have kids together because a human woman wouldn’t survive the pregnancy), which gave us some dramatic tension.
The ending.
I kind of saw the ending coming, but I still really loved it. It definitely set us up for an interesting new perspective in book #2. I now have lots of questions and I’m very interested to see where Soule takes the story from here!
Mixed Feelings:
Body image.
I was a bit torn about the topic of body image when it came to this book. On the one hand, I appreciated that Sloane was generally happy with her curvy self. There were times when people made fun of her or put her down and she started to let doubts creep in, but the overall message was that Sloane liked who she was. Hayden insisted that he liked a girl with curves, so that was good too. But sometimes I thought the body image thing was just brought up a little too much and that the book was kind of advocating an unhealthy lifestyle. Sloane’s mom was kind of made out to be insensitive or mean for telling Sloane things like maybe she shouldn’t eat a huge thing of ice cream as a snack in the middle of the day. Um, this seemed pretty reasonable to me. I just think that there’s a difference between being happy with your body and feeling like it’s good to just eat unhealthily and not take care of your body. I just couldn’t get 100% behind the message, but I did think that body image was handled well overall.
The Negatives:
No one notices.
I thought it was kind of odd that Hayden did all these extraordinary things right out in the open and only Sloane ever noticed them. At one point Hayden and his brother were having an argument in the school cafeteria – surely lots of people were looking at them, so why was Sloane the only one who noticed when Hayden did something supernatural? I had a hard time believing this every time it happened (which was more than once).
Devin.
There was kind of a side-story with a creepy, pervy guy named Devin that continuously sexually harassed Sloane. I didn’t quite understand why Sloane didn’t stand up for herself sooner. And then at the end she does something that was just kind of … well, I don’t want to spoil anything, so I won’t talk about it, but I wasn’t crazy about how it all played out.
So, overall this book was an enjoyable read and I’m curious to see what Soule has in store in book #2. I give it 3.5/5 stars.
***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
This review and many others can be found on my blog - Feed Your Fiction Addiction
This was an enjoyable book, but I have to admit that it didn’t feel incredibly unique and was a little bit predictable, which is why it only gets 3.5 stars from me. Still, it was a quick read, and by the end of the book I was definitely engaged in the story – and I’m intrigued to find out what will happen in the next book!
What I LOVED:
Sloane.
Sloane was a fun, snarky character with an investigative mind (she was a journalist, after all). Once she set her mind to figuring out what was going on with Hayden, she was not about to give up. Overall, I really liked Sloane’s feistiness, though I did wish she was a little bit stronger where one character was concerned (see my negatives below). I also loved that Sloane was a fan of horror films and blogged about them. The snippets from her blog that we got at the end of each chapter were really fun and gave us amusing insight into Sloane’s personality.
Aliens.
Can’t help but love a book about aliens, right? I really enjoyed the supernatural storyline. The second half of the book, once Sloane knew about the aliens, picked up a lot. The alien storyline was interesting because it wasn’t just plain aliens – there’s a bit of a twist to it regarding who Hayden and his people really are (and who knows about them). Plus. the alien storyline set up a believable barrier to the romance (aliens and humans supposedly can’t have kids together because a human woman wouldn’t survive the pregnancy), which gave us some dramatic tension.
The ending.
I kind of saw the ending coming, but I still really loved it. It definitely set us up for an interesting new perspective in book #2. I now have lots of questions and I’m very interested to see where Soule takes the story from here!
Mixed Feelings:
Body image.
I was a bit torn about the topic of body image when it came to this book. On the one hand, I appreciated that Sloane was generally happy with her curvy self. There were times when people made fun of her or put her down and she started to let doubts creep in, but the overall message was that Sloane liked who she was. Hayden insisted that he liked a girl with curves, so that was good too. But sometimes I thought the body image thing was just brought up a little too much and that the book was kind of advocating an unhealthy lifestyle. Sloane’s mom was kind of made out to be insensitive or mean for telling Sloane things like maybe she shouldn’t eat a huge thing of ice cream as a snack in the middle of the day. Um, this seemed pretty reasonable to me. I just think that there’s a difference between being happy with your body and feeling like it’s good to just eat unhealthily and not take care of your body. I just couldn’t get 100% behind the message, but I did think that body image was handled well overall.
The Negatives:
No one notices.
I thought it was kind of odd that Hayden did all these extraordinary things right out in the open and only Sloane ever noticed them. At one point Hayden and his brother were having an argument in the school cafeteria – surely lots of people were looking at them, so why was Sloane the only one who noticed when Hayden did something supernatural? I had a hard time believing this every time it happened (which was more than once).
Devin.
There was kind of a side-story with a creepy, pervy guy named Devin that continuously sexually harassed Sloane. I didn’t quite understand why Sloane didn’t stand up for herself sooner. And then at the end she does something that was just kind of … well, I don’t want to spoil anything, so I won’t talk about it, but I wasn’t crazy about how it all played out.
So, overall this book was an enjoyable read and I’m curious to see what Soule has in store in book #2. I give it 3.5/5 stars.
***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
June 26, 2014
Sherry Shoule had approached me on Goodreads and asked if I was interesting in reviewing her book Lost in Starlight, and as soon as I read the synopsis I knew this was a book I was going to have to check out. I would up with a little bit of a girl crush on the main character. Sloane Masterson reminds a litte of Veronica Mars with her super sleuthy reporting skills and bad ass attitude. Also I would love to own her closet and if I wasn't so attached to my red hair I would totally be trying to rock purple hair. I think I related to Sloane so much because she is a geek girl and doesn't exactly fit in with the norm. She's kinda the queen geek and star reporter for the newspaper at her school and doesn't really care what others think about her fashion choices. She likes to do things that make her happy and doesn't care about taking crap for it.
When we first meet Sloane she is getting her stalk on and investigating Hayden Lancaster. The hot new boy at school she has been crushing on for 6 months and finally has the chance to learn more about him. He was suspected in hacking the school's computer system and her Editor and friend Devin has asked her to look into it, and Sloane of course jumps at the chance. Turns out there is a lot more going on with Hayden than his high IQ and impressive hacking skills. When strange things start happening around him Sloane needs to know more. Hayden on the other hand isn't so keen on Sloane investigating and following him around. He has secrets that could be dangerous to anyone who learns the truth about him. Hayden tries his hardest to push Sloane away but they two are inexplicably drawn together. Now there was three things that I didn't like about this book. Number One: The whole insta love thing between Sloane and Hayden, especially when he really was quite rude and awful to Sloane. It's not my favourite when books pull out the whole love at first, drawn to each other thing even when the guy is being a total douche canoe. I would rather see a relationship build up over time with the main characters and be based on something with more substance than just being so physically drawn to each other. That said I did enjoy their relationship later on in the book when you saw more of the real Hayden and them opening up to each other. Number Two: I didn't like that Hayden was such a jerk in the beginning, it just didn't seem to match his personality later on. I get he was trying to push her away and protect his secret but it just didn't seem to fit in with who he was. I could see him politely but firmly trying to get rid of her not being mean. Lastly Number Three: The situation with Devin, Sloane's Editor and "friend", seemed like something Sloane wouldn't have let happen based on other actions and standing up to people who treat her badly. The guy is downright pervy and I can't see her remaining friends with him or letting him to do the things he does later on in the book. I didn't like she was a tough girl and had a strong personality but let that skinny little twit treat her they way he did. He did get his comeuppance in the end but I felt like it should have happened sooner.
So those were my three complaints but otherwise I really did enjoy this book and found the pacing to go fairly well. As I said I really love Sloane's character and I find her best friend Viola to be really interesting as well. I actually would like to read more about Viola in future books or even have a short story, I think there is a lot more to tell about her. I also found of the hierarchy the Zeta hybrids interesting. It seemed like for being part alien race they had a lot of control over what happened to humans when they find out about them. I would have thought the government would be worried about them gaining too much power. I am looking forward to seeing more of how they operate in future. Overall I think this was a fun, well paced read that will leave you wanting more. I can't wait to see more of Sloane and Hayden and how the next chapter of the story unfolds.
I would give Lost in Starlight 3.5 stars!
When we first meet Sloane she is getting her stalk on and investigating Hayden Lancaster. The hot new boy at school she has been crushing on for 6 months and finally has the chance to learn more about him. He was suspected in hacking the school's computer system and her Editor and friend Devin has asked her to look into it, and Sloane of course jumps at the chance. Turns out there is a lot more going on with Hayden than his high IQ and impressive hacking skills. When strange things start happening around him Sloane needs to know more. Hayden on the other hand isn't so keen on Sloane investigating and following him around. He has secrets that could be dangerous to anyone who learns the truth about him. Hayden tries his hardest to push Sloane away but they two are inexplicably drawn together. Now there was three things that I didn't like about this book. Number One: The whole insta love thing between Sloane and Hayden, especially when he really was quite rude and awful to Sloane. It's not my favourite when books pull out the whole love at first, drawn to each other thing even when the guy is being a total douche canoe. I would rather see a relationship build up over time with the main characters and be based on something with more substance than just being so physically drawn to each other. That said I did enjoy their relationship later on in the book when you saw more of the real Hayden and them opening up to each other. Number Two: I didn't like that Hayden was such a jerk in the beginning, it just didn't seem to match his personality later on. I get he was trying to push her away and protect his secret but it just didn't seem to fit in with who he was. I could see him politely but firmly trying to get rid of her not being mean. Lastly Number Three: The situation with Devin, Sloane's Editor and "friend", seemed like something Sloane wouldn't have let happen based on other actions and standing up to people who treat her badly. The guy is downright pervy and I can't see her remaining friends with him or letting him to do the things he does later on in the book. I didn't like she was a tough girl and had a strong personality but let that skinny little twit treat her they way he did. He did get his comeuppance in the end but I felt like it should have happened sooner.
So those were my three complaints but otherwise I really did enjoy this book and found the pacing to go fairly well. As I said I really love Sloane's character and I find her best friend Viola to be really interesting as well. I actually would like to read more about Viola in future books or even have a short story, I think there is a lot more to tell about her. I also found of the hierarchy the Zeta hybrids interesting. It seemed like for being part alien race they had a lot of control over what happened to humans when they find out about them. I would have thought the government would be worried about them gaining too much power. I am looking forward to seeing more of how they operate in future. Overall I think this was a fun, well paced read that will leave you wanting more. I can't wait to see more of Sloane and Hayden and how the next chapter of the story unfolds.
I would give Lost in Starlight 3.5 stars!
January 18, 2015
I don't believe we are alone in the universe. Have you seen the size of it? Have you listened to what NASA has believed they have found through out the years? Strange sightings? Getting my vibe here? I am serious. Lost in Starlight by Sherry Soule can be real in a sense that it kind of scare me. But if one of those alien hybrids happened to be Hayden....I would super alright with that.
Soule created a character I could immediately relate to. Sloane works on the school newspaper and her latest story is to dig up dirt on the sexy new student Hayden Lancaster. But she got more then she bargained for when she witnesses him bending a metal fork with nothing but his mind. She admitted that she was stalking him to get the information she needed, and yes she was obsessed with him at times but she is seventeen years old. Us teenage girls tend to be boy crazy.
"I've never been what most people would consider skinny and over the years, the extra poundage has crept on slowly..."
-Slaone
I was easily able to relate with her. I struggled with my weight (I still do) for all my life. Most heroines are super skinny, not that that is anything wrong with that but not every heroine has to be a size five. It made me happy to see the Soule broke through the stereotype. I was even angry every time someone would pass a comment about her weight. She is curly okay? For most of the book she would pretty cool with her size and I admire that in a character a lot. A lot of things with Sloane made her different from other female heroines as well.
When I saw extraterrestrials I expected Hayden to be an Alien. The actual aliens are called Zeta's who had come to earth, experimented on willing humans, and then left. That made Hayden a hybrid who has both human and Zeta DNA. I wasn't unhappy with that though. I liked it. It actually seems more realistic in a sense that actually aliens. That is the part that scared me.
But just because Hayden is a hybrid doesn't mean he doesn't have a strict code of rules to follow. What is the biggest rule you ask? No dating humans. That is a problem when Sloane and Hayden have a growing attraction for each other. The romance in Lost in Starlight had my heart melting. It was so sweet. They have so much against them but they still try to make it work.
This review and more can be found at The Book Bratz
Soule mentions a lot of bands and TV shows in the book and if Sloane was a real person I think we would get along great! I was bouncing up and down when they were discussing The Walking Dead. Who knew alien hybrids liked zombies? Not me!!
On the downside I wish the government was a bit more involved. The Sector Thirteen agent wasn't in the story as much as I hoped he would be. Which actually isn't as much as a bad thing. But they are still another book for that to happen!
I have nothing but amazing things to say about this book. I loved the characters, the setting, the whole idea behind it. It was an easy read that I could have finished a lot faster if I didn't have family commitments.
I am such a picky person with endings, of course this ending makes me want to have the second book in the series in my hands right about now. I need to know what happens. I expected that ending though, in all honestly, so I was easily prepared instead of completely blind sided.
June 25, 2014
Reviewed on Lili Lost in a Book
When I first heard about this book, I knew I needed to read it. I mean, a purple-haired girl who loves horror, plus a hot alien boy? Yes please! And it just sounded like a lot of fun! I was very excited to start it and had high hopes for it... way, way, high hopes.
One of my favorites things about this book were Sloane's blog posts! They were so much fun to read and as a horror movie lover myself, I totally agree with them!! Sloane, I really liked her as our main character. She's so quirky and fun and oh my gods she loves horror movies! :D I LOVE horror movies, too (as I mentioned already)!! But even though she did stand up for herself, there were some instances where she needed to take charge and stop being a pushover... I'm (mostly) talking about the ending here with the sleaze-ball Devin. It was so frustrating that she let herself be walked all over by this guy! Do something! Punch him in the neck!! He deserved a good beating after that first ogling, seriously.
And then there's Hayden... Can you believe that I actually didn't fall for this guy? Yeah, me either. Although he is described as a super gorgeous, sweet, protective alien guy, I felt like his character was a bit underdeveloped. Not totally swoon-worthy for me, just... meh.
And right along with that, the supporting characters (i.e. Sloane's friends) felt a little bit underdeveloped, too. I mean, we are told about them but we aren't really shown what they are really like. They were kinda just... there.
As for the story itself, it was incredibly similar to Twilight, making me feel like I've read this before. And then there seemed to some insta-love going on... sort of? I don't like insta-love, and this book really gave me that vibe between Sloane and Hayden. Which brings me to the romance that was so epically cheesy I found myself rolling my eyes more often than not. Not that romance is bad, but this book was just too heavy on the romance for my liking (Well, duh, Lili. It's a romance. Yeah, yeah, I know. Shut up me *eye roll*). I am going to admit that I was expecting the romance to be a sub plot to something major, which is usually what I go for. But this is actually your starcrossed-lovers-trying-to-find-a-way-to-be-together/"forbidden love" type of book. And in all that romance you didn't like anything? No, I did :) There were actually some really sweet moments that made me go "awws."
Lets talk about the ending, because we all know how much I love surprises! First, Hayden's decision there at the end didn't really surprise me and I felt like the moment was dragging on. *glances at Sloane* Girl, just no. Second, the very, very end when Sloane gets home... holy alien spaceship! I did NOT see that coming!! That is a total game changer, right? RIGHT?! I NEED TO KNOW!!
*takes deep breath*
Overall, I can honestly say that although my expectations for this book were not completely met, I thought it was a fun read and I really did enjoy it. Sloane is such a great, quirky character any girl can relate to, and that is one of the things I loved about her! Although there was too much lovey-dovey romance for my taste, I highly recommend this one to anyone who is a fan of romance novels or in need of a little hot alien romance fix ;) I really think you'll like this one!
When I first heard about this book, I knew I needed to read it. I mean, a purple-haired girl who loves horror, plus a hot alien boy? Yes please! And it just sounded like a lot of fun! I was very excited to start it and had high hopes for it... way, way, high hopes.
One of my favorites things about this book were Sloane's blog posts! They were so much fun to read and as a horror movie lover myself, I totally agree with them!! Sloane, I really liked her as our main character. She's so quirky and fun and oh my gods she loves horror movies! :D I LOVE horror movies, too (as I mentioned already)!! But even though she did stand up for herself, there were some instances where she needed to take charge and stop being a pushover... I'm (mostly) talking about the ending here with the sleaze-ball Devin. It was so frustrating that she let herself be walked all over by this guy! Do something! Punch him in the neck!! He deserved a good beating after that first ogling, seriously.
And then there's Hayden... Can you believe that I actually didn't fall for this guy? Yeah, me either. Although he is described as a super gorgeous, sweet, protective alien guy, I felt like his character was a bit underdeveloped. Not totally swoon-worthy for me, just... meh.
And right along with that, the supporting characters (i.e. Sloane's friends) felt a little bit underdeveloped, too. I mean, we are told about them but we aren't really shown what they are really like. They were kinda just... there.
As for the story itself, it was incredibly similar to Twilight, making me feel like I've read this before. And then there seemed to some insta-love going on... sort of? I don't like insta-love, and this book really gave me that vibe between Sloane and Hayden. Which brings me to the romance that was so epically cheesy I found myself rolling my eyes more often than not. Not that romance is bad, but this book was just too heavy on the romance for my liking (Well, duh, Lili. It's a romance. Yeah, yeah, I know. Shut up me *eye roll*). I am going to admit that I was expecting the romance to be a sub plot to something major, which is usually what I go for. But this is actually your starcrossed-lovers-trying-to-find-a-way-to-be-together/"forbidden love" type of book. And in all that romance you didn't like anything? No, I did :) There were actually some really sweet moments that made me go "awws."
Lets talk about the ending, because we all know how much I love surprises! First, Hayden's decision there at the end didn't really surprise me and I felt like the moment was dragging on. *glances at Sloane* Girl, just no. Second, the very, very end when Sloane gets home... holy alien spaceship! I did NOT see that coming!! That is a total game changer, right? RIGHT?! I NEED TO KNOW!!
*takes deep breath*
Overall, I can honestly say that although my expectations for this book were not completely met, I thought it was a fun read and I really did enjoy it. Sloane is such a great, quirky character any girl can relate to, and that is one of the things I loved about her! Although there was too much lovey-dovey romance for my taste, I highly recommend this one to anyone who is a fan of romance novels or in need of a little hot alien romance fix ;) I really think you'll like this one!
August 3, 2014
I was given the ARC by the author for an honest review. I give this book three stars. It was a challenge rating this book, because I really wanted to love, but I just couldn’t. Starlight is a YA Paranormal Romance surrounding Sloan Masterson and Hayden Lancaster. Sloan is a quick witted curvy school newspaper journalist with a horror movie blog. I was so excited about this heroine in the beginning. The author set Sloan up to be this vivacious senior that didn’t take crap from anyone, but as soon as she linked up with Hayden, she became the typical damsel in distress, and quickly lost her luster. It started out strong, but didn’t maintain the tempo of a great paranormal romance.
Overall Impression of the Book.
This book is comparable to Jennifer Armentrout's Lux Series, but lacks the same enthusiasm. While reading this book, I kept thinking of unicorns and rainbow instead of badass alien-human hybrids. Although the pace of the book was not exactly slow, nothing significant really happens in the story. You know by reading the preview that Hayden is an alien hybrid, so there was some good tension wondering when Sloan would find out the truth. Once she did, the book took a slight nose dive. The most interesting character in the book was Devin, and he was not even the primary antagonist in the book.
What separates paranormal romance from regular romance is the world building and the action in the story. Simply put, this book lacked those attributes. The make-out sessions between Hayden and Sloan were far more descriptive, than the action scenes, which I found odd. The author is brilliantly descriptive…
“To me, the lunchroom is more than just a place to chow down on industrial-grade food. It reminds me of a prison scene, with its hostile mingling and violent chaos, like inmates at mealtime”…freaking hilarious.
I could literally picture that lunch room scene. If the author was just as descriptive during important parts of the book, like fully fleshing out the action scenes and world building, this story could have been great. Soft mushy love stories have no business in this genre. Overall the book lacked intensity.
Characters
Sloan – Was a unique heroine in the beginning and as much as I wanted to love her, I just couldn’t. I know the author wanted to emphasize that she was a curvy girl, but I got sick of the fat jokes and comments. The book was laced with way too many of them, and she never really put anyone in their place.
Hayden – Was an okay hero. I liked him more in the beginning. He is just not the book boyfriend type. He needs some flaws, deep rooted issues, something that will make me feel for him. Right now, he is simply forgettable.
Plot & Writing – To be honest I am not sure what the plot really was, beyond Sloan and Hayden trying to be together. Maybe more information about the government, or some interaction between Hayden and his parents would have strengthened the plot. I just didn’t “feel” the danger in the story until the club scene toward the end of the book. The writing was fantastic. This author has a way with words that I really enjoyed, and unlike a lot of ARCs, this book was edited wonderfully.
The book ended on a cliffhanger that was very predictable. I applaud the author’s effort in trying to make a different kind of story, and I hope that she picks up the tempo in the sequel.
Overall Impression of the Book.
This book is comparable to Jennifer Armentrout's Lux Series, but lacks the same enthusiasm. While reading this book, I kept thinking of unicorns and rainbow instead of badass alien-human hybrids. Although the pace of the book was not exactly slow, nothing significant really happens in the story. You know by reading the preview that Hayden is an alien hybrid, so there was some good tension wondering when Sloan would find out the truth. Once she did, the book took a slight nose dive. The most interesting character in the book was Devin, and he was not even the primary antagonist in the book.
What separates paranormal romance from regular romance is the world building and the action in the story. Simply put, this book lacked those attributes. The make-out sessions between Hayden and Sloan were far more descriptive, than the action scenes, which I found odd. The author is brilliantly descriptive…
“To me, the lunchroom is more than just a place to chow down on industrial-grade food. It reminds me of a prison scene, with its hostile mingling and violent chaos, like inmates at mealtime”…freaking hilarious.
I could literally picture that lunch room scene. If the author was just as descriptive during important parts of the book, like fully fleshing out the action scenes and world building, this story could have been great. Soft mushy love stories have no business in this genre. Overall the book lacked intensity.
Characters
Sloan – Was a unique heroine in the beginning and as much as I wanted to love her, I just couldn’t. I know the author wanted to emphasize that she was a curvy girl, but I got sick of the fat jokes and comments. The book was laced with way too many of them, and she never really put anyone in their place.
Hayden – Was an okay hero. I liked him more in the beginning. He is just not the book boyfriend type. He needs some flaws, deep rooted issues, something that will make me feel for him. Right now, he is simply forgettable.
Plot & Writing – To be honest I am not sure what the plot really was, beyond Sloan and Hayden trying to be together. Maybe more information about the government, or some interaction between Hayden and his parents would have strengthened the plot. I just didn’t “feel” the danger in the story until the club scene toward the end of the book. The writing was fantastic. This author has a way with words that I really enjoyed, and unlike a lot of ARCs, this book was edited wonderfully.
The book ended on a cliffhanger that was very predictable. I applaud the author’s effort in trying to make a different kind of story, and I hope that she picks up the tempo in the sequel.
June 25, 2014
Lost in Starlight is a highly entertaining and very swoon-worthy romance that brings the intrigue of science fiction into a forbidden romance - which, in all honesty, never gets old. I enjoyed reading Lost in Starlight, and think that is an excellent choice of book to look into, whether one normally reads sci-fi romances or not.
I love the voice of Slone. She's not the typical YA heroine (I mean, she actually eats, which is exciting on it's own) but her humor and charm will instantly appeal to readers. Being a horror junkie and aspiring screenwriter myself, I was easily able to connect with her as a character, and thought that she had a great perspective. The writing style never lost sight of her voice, which was refreshingly unique. Her commentary on the cliches of horror films were perhaps the single most wonderful fictional blog/print posts in all of my reading experience.
Although plot-lines incorporating both 'aliens' and 'forbidden romance' can be overdone, I enjoy them both to such an extent that it really doesn't bother me either way. Of course, Lost in Starlight brings a new spin to each of these concepts. Yes, we see aliens all the time in literature, and yes, we even see them pretty ingrained in the human race. However, I have never seen it quite like this, and the result was definitely exciting. In addition, there have been stories were the forbidden part of the romance is a direct effect of the two parts of the relationship being of different species, but I feel that the dangerous part normally lies within that of the non-human. I didn't need another love interest spewing the whole I love you but my instinct makes me want to kill you, yet I promise I'll try to protect you...from myself. It's more refreshing to see an outside threat, which not only allows Hayden's want to protect Slone to run deeper, but can more easily transition to real world problems that people actually experience.
As awesome as the science fiction portions were, Lost in Starlight still is a romance, and what is a romance without a strong love interest? Luckily for all the readers who enjoy their heart melting, Hayden - the tall, dark and handsome sex bomb of a nonhuman - has nothing if not all the lines. The things that boy says seems reason enough to risk a lot for the sake of love. And there aren't enough superhuman bad-boy hunks in fiction who still want to be scientists. I mean, come on.
Despite the awesome addition of aliens to a romance, and the super steamy make out sessions, some aspects of the plot just seemed so predictable. There were some twists, but I saw them coming, and they just didn't do it for me. The plot did not keep rolling in a way that made it unable to quit. I couldn't put the book down, but that was because I liked the characters and the language, not because I was hanging at the edge of my seat. This isn't necessary a bad thing, but I believed it could have taken the book from really good to freaking unbelievably great.
Nonetheless, the ending will still leave readers heartbroken eager to find out what happens next, and I'm excited to continue with the series. I definitely can recommend the book, as whether or not you agree with my statements previously, it should be a very enjoyable read.
I love the voice of Slone. She's not the typical YA heroine (I mean, she actually eats, which is exciting on it's own) but her humor and charm will instantly appeal to readers. Being a horror junkie and aspiring screenwriter myself, I was easily able to connect with her as a character, and thought that she had a great perspective. The writing style never lost sight of her voice, which was refreshingly unique. Her commentary on the cliches of horror films were perhaps the single most wonderful fictional blog/print posts in all of my reading experience.
Although plot-lines incorporating both 'aliens' and 'forbidden romance' can be overdone, I enjoy them both to such an extent that it really doesn't bother me either way. Of course, Lost in Starlight brings a new spin to each of these concepts. Yes, we see aliens all the time in literature, and yes, we even see them pretty ingrained in the human race. However, I have never seen it quite like this, and the result was definitely exciting. In addition, there have been stories were the forbidden part of the romance is a direct effect of the two parts of the relationship being of different species, but I feel that the dangerous part normally lies within that of the non-human. I didn't need another love interest spewing the whole I love you but my instinct makes me want to kill you, yet I promise I'll try to protect you...from myself. It's more refreshing to see an outside threat, which not only allows Hayden's want to protect Slone to run deeper, but can more easily transition to real world problems that people actually experience.
As awesome as the science fiction portions were, Lost in Starlight still is a romance, and what is a romance without a strong love interest? Luckily for all the readers who enjoy their heart melting, Hayden - the tall, dark and handsome sex bomb of a nonhuman - has nothing if not all the lines. The things that boy says seems reason enough to risk a lot for the sake of love. And there aren't enough superhuman bad-boy hunks in fiction who still want to be scientists. I mean, come on.
Despite the awesome addition of aliens to a romance, and the super steamy make out sessions, some aspects of the plot just seemed so predictable. There were some twists, but I saw them coming, and they just didn't do it for me. The plot did not keep rolling in a way that made it unable to quit. I couldn't put the book down, but that was because I liked the characters and the language, not because I was hanging at the edge of my seat. This isn't necessary a bad thing, but I believed it could have taken the book from really good to freaking unbelievably great.
Nonetheless, the ending will still leave readers heartbroken eager to find out what happens next, and I'm excited to continue with the series. I definitely can recommend the book, as whether or not you agree with my statements previously, it should be a very enjoyable read.
June 4, 2015
I thoroughly enjoyed Lost in Starlight by Sherry Soule. Her youthful voice, fun and quirky characters, and intriguing plot hooked me from the first chapter. There were a lot of similarities to Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Obsidian – the main character runs a review blog, but in this case horror films and not books, there’s a hot alien with unusual eye color, an equally hot alien ex-girlfriend, a secret alien society, and oppressive government involvement. But there were also enough differences that I found myself lost in the story and stopped trying to compare the two.
Plot
The plot moves along, the dialogue is witty, and I’m ready to read the rest of the series whenever it’s available. To me, that’s solid storytelling. There were a few things that kept it from being a full five-star review. For one, I felt like there were a few gratuitous kissing scenes. Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE kissing scenes, they are among my favorite types of scenes. But they tend to lose their effect when there are so many of them, and nothing really develops. I’m not saying that things needed to escalate, but if there is no escalation, we don’t need the play-by-play for every kiss. If it’s just more of the same, it’s okay to gloss over it to keep the plot moving forward.
Another issue I had was that Sloane seemed to overthink things to the point that I didn’t feel like she was developing as much as I’d hoped. She seemed stuck, and given her situation, that’s understandable, but the reader doesn’t need to revisit the same points with her over and over again.
Characters
Sloane is fantastic. She’s strong, smart-mouthed, funny, and confident. I love that she’s not super skinny and that she’s mostly content with her size 12/14 body. That really sets her apart from so many other young adult protagonists. I love her crazy purple hair. In fact, my daughter just had her hair colored and chose purple, so when I read about Sloane, she was already somewhat endeared to me just because of that. And I can personally relate to having big boobs in high school and the utter obsession boys have at that age of talking to your chest.
I adore her two best friends. Both of them are interesting, non-stereotypical, loyal, and exactly the kind of girls I’d want to have for my besties. Hayden is pretty cool, too, although I’m still trying to piece him together. In some ways, he’s a selfish teenage boy who just happened to fall in love with the wrong girl, but manages to do the right thing at times. In other ways, he seems far older than 18 and he talks way more than any teenage boy I’ve ever met. But all things considered, he’s not your average teenage boy, which makes him interesting and unpredictable.
About the only characters I found lacking to the point of distraction were Tama and Darion. Without giving anything away, I’ll just say I had a hard time believing their actions. It’s possible we’ll get a little more insight into them in the next book in the series, but for this story, I had to suspend a lot of disbelief to get through their scenes.
Bottom Line
Lost in Starlight is a fast-paced, fun read that left me wanting to read more.
Disclaimer
I was provided a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Plot
The plot moves along, the dialogue is witty, and I’m ready to read the rest of the series whenever it’s available. To me, that’s solid storytelling. There were a few things that kept it from being a full five-star review. For one, I felt like there were a few gratuitous kissing scenes. Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE kissing scenes, they are among my favorite types of scenes. But they tend to lose their effect when there are so many of them, and nothing really develops. I’m not saying that things needed to escalate, but if there is no escalation, we don’t need the play-by-play for every kiss. If it’s just more of the same, it’s okay to gloss over it to keep the plot moving forward.
Another issue I had was that Sloane seemed to overthink things to the point that I didn’t feel like she was developing as much as I’d hoped. She seemed stuck, and given her situation, that’s understandable, but the reader doesn’t need to revisit the same points with her over and over again.
Characters
Sloane is fantastic. She’s strong, smart-mouthed, funny, and confident. I love that she’s not super skinny and that she’s mostly content with her size 12/14 body. That really sets her apart from so many other young adult protagonists. I love her crazy purple hair. In fact, my daughter just had her hair colored and chose purple, so when I read about Sloane, she was already somewhat endeared to me just because of that. And I can personally relate to having big boobs in high school and the utter obsession boys have at that age of talking to your chest.
I adore her two best friends. Both of them are interesting, non-stereotypical, loyal, and exactly the kind of girls I’d want to have for my besties. Hayden is pretty cool, too, although I’m still trying to piece him together. In some ways, he’s a selfish teenage boy who just happened to fall in love with the wrong girl, but manages to do the right thing at times. In other ways, he seems far older than 18 and he talks way more than any teenage boy I’ve ever met. But all things considered, he’s not your average teenage boy, which makes him interesting and unpredictable.
About the only characters I found lacking to the point of distraction were Tama and Darion. Without giving anything away, I’ll just say I had a hard time believing their actions. It’s possible we’ll get a little more insight into them in the next book in the series, but for this story, I had to suspend a lot of disbelief to get through their scenes.
Bottom Line
Lost in Starlight is a fast-paced, fun read that left me wanting to read more.
Disclaimer
I was provided a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review.
June 12, 2014
*** I was provided with a copy of this book from the author in return for an honest review ***
Lost In Starlight follows Sloane, a high school reporter who absolutely loves horror movies and zombies. But when she gets assigned to spy on and gather information on the mysterious brooding Hayden Lancaster, things doesn't go as planned. She soon discovers that there's more to Hayden Lancaster than what meets the eye. And being the curious person she is, Sloane isn't ready to back off from finding out the truth, even if Hayden himself warned her not to. But the truth she finds is not even near anything that she was expecting, and if she ever reveals it to anyone else than her own life would be at risk. Sloane should be worried, fearful even but it just isn't possible, espeically when the risk of loosing her heart to Hayden is higher than ever, not to mention that loving him is forbidden. Yet, neither Hayden or Sloane can seem to stay away from each other and in order to be together they need to be sure if it really is worth risking their lives for love.
I really liked this book. This was the first book that I have read by Sherry Soule and am looking forward to reading other books by her as well. This was a nice paranormal romance story with a science fiction twist. I really liked how it was written and the pacing of this story was perfect. There were lots of suspense, mystery, and also some action which really made this story interesting.
I loved Sloane's character and how she stood up for her self, as well as her witty comments and sense of humor. Her love for food and fashion and her unique personality really made her character very interesting and different from most other female protagonists. Hayden was totally swoon worthy and as much as I loved his character, I also wanted to slap him at the end. I don't want to spoil the story, but seriously Hayden shouldn't have done what he did at the end. Lucky for him, he was such a great character throughout the entire book, that I am willing to forgive him and hope that he fixes everything in the next book. The interaction between Sloane and Hayden were intense from the minute they started talking to each other and remained throughout the book. I loved all the scenes between these two, especially their funny arguments and comments.
My only problem with this book was that the relationship between Hayden and Sloane didn't really develop that much. They were a great couple, but I think it would have been better if their relationship developed a little bit more and they got to know each other more before deciding to officially be together. This book had a lot of details, but I still wanted to know more about Hayden's family and the hybrid world and how everything worked, which wasn't really mentioned as much as I'd have liked it to in this book. But besides these two things, I really liked this book and will definitely be reading the next one.
Overall, this was a great book and I really liked reading it. If you are a fan of the Lux Series, or science fiction stories involving aliens than this book is definitely something that you would enjoy reading as well.
Lost In Starlight follows Sloane, a high school reporter who absolutely loves horror movies and zombies. But when she gets assigned to spy on and gather information on the mysterious brooding Hayden Lancaster, things doesn't go as planned. She soon discovers that there's more to Hayden Lancaster than what meets the eye. And being the curious person she is, Sloane isn't ready to back off from finding out the truth, even if Hayden himself warned her not to. But the truth she finds is not even near anything that she was expecting, and if she ever reveals it to anyone else than her own life would be at risk. Sloane should be worried, fearful even but it just isn't possible, espeically when the risk of loosing her heart to Hayden is higher than ever, not to mention that loving him is forbidden. Yet, neither Hayden or Sloane can seem to stay away from each other and in order to be together they need to be sure if it really is worth risking their lives for love.
I really liked this book. This was the first book that I have read by Sherry Soule and am looking forward to reading other books by her as well. This was a nice paranormal romance story with a science fiction twist. I really liked how it was written and the pacing of this story was perfect. There were lots of suspense, mystery, and also some action which really made this story interesting.
I loved Sloane's character and how she stood up for her self, as well as her witty comments and sense of humor. Her love for food and fashion and her unique personality really made her character very interesting and different from most other female protagonists. Hayden was totally swoon worthy and as much as I loved his character, I also wanted to slap him at the end. I don't want to spoil the story, but seriously Hayden shouldn't have done what he did at the end. Lucky for him, he was such a great character throughout the entire book, that I am willing to forgive him and hope that he fixes everything in the next book. The interaction between Sloane and Hayden were intense from the minute they started talking to each other and remained throughout the book. I loved all the scenes between these two, especially their funny arguments and comments.
My only problem with this book was that the relationship between Hayden and Sloane didn't really develop that much. They were a great couple, but I think it would have been better if their relationship developed a little bit more and they got to know each other more before deciding to officially be together. This book had a lot of details, but I still wanted to know more about Hayden's family and the hybrid world and how everything worked, which wasn't really mentioned as much as I'd have liked it to in this book. But besides these two things, I really liked this book and will definitely be reading the next one.
Overall, this was a great book and I really liked reading it. If you are a fan of the Lux Series, or science fiction stories involving aliens than this book is definitely something that you would enjoy reading as well.
August 4, 2014
First off I'd like to thank the author Sherry Soule for sending me this book to review because I really enjoyed it and can not wait for the second book!
I have to admit that this book is "my type" of book. Paranormal/sci-fi romances are probably my favorite genre. That already set me up to love this book. I also loved the originality of the bstory, I mean I have never read a book with a purple haired and not-so perfect heroine. The thing about YA is that it can be very repetative and cliché from one novel to the next. With that said, I still love all YA books but its nice to have a new refreshing story to read and I thought this story was my "refresher".
Part of the originality of this book comes not only from the characters but also the plot and the pacing of the novel. "Lost in Starlight" moved very quickly into the story and jumped right in. I thought that the first few chapters should have been slower and more of a transition but I found that that did not bother me too much. I actually really enjoyed the pacing and learned to love it after a few chapters because I saw how it fit into the novel. The plot was really connected to the pacing. I loved how the plot moved quickly and when one problem was thought to be solved, another would take its place. I think the whole basis of the story was really well thought out.
Now moving on to one of the most important aspects of the novel; the characters. I adored this change in character! The originality was beyond me. I loved Sloane's crazy purple hair and hard headed personality. I liked that she wasn't perfect because in a lot of books I read, the main character is just too perfect and only seems to need to deal with fictional problems. I liked that Sloane faced real world problems while still having to deal with some pysco-aliens. The only issue I had with some of the characters is that they were sometimes hard to relate to. Sometimes the characters' life style and just at certain parts of the story were sometimes hard to relate to.
My favorite part of the whole book was no doubt the “Fright Night Babble”. The “Fright Night Babble” is Sloanes column in her school's online newspaper. Here she talks about horror movies and cliché things she hates about movies. I thought this was really funny and would lighten the mood a little between every few chapter. I liked that I could see Sloane's stubborness and hard headedness. I also thought it was, again, very original. It was definitally my favorite part and also helped develope and reveal SLoane's true personality.
So with all of that said, I totally reccomend this book and hope you go pick it up at a bookstore or library! Happy reading!
Buy LOST IN STARLIGHT (Volume 1)
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L89JAB2
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Starligh...
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/eboo...
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1muANKA
All Romance: http://bit.ly/1nBXloM
I have to admit that this book is "my type" of book. Paranormal/sci-fi romances are probably my favorite genre. That already set me up to love this book. I also loved the originality of the bstory, I mean I have never read a book with a purple haired and not-so perfect heroine. The thing about YA is that it can be very repetative and cliché from one novel to the next. With that said, I still love all YA books but its nice to have a new refreshing story to read and I thought this story was my "refresher".
Part of the originality of this book comes not only from the characters but also the plot and the pacing of the novel. "Lost in Starlight" moved very quickly into the story and jumped right in. I thought that the first few chapters should have been slower and more of a transition but I found that that did not bother me too much. I actually really enjoyed the pacing and learned to love it after a few chapters because I saw how it fit into the novel. The plot was really connected to the pacing. I loved how the plot moved quickly and when one problem was thought to be solved, another would take its place. I think the whole basis of the story was really well thought out.
Now moving on to one of the most important aspects of the novel; the characters. I adored this change in character! The originality was beyond me. I loved Sloane's crazy purple hair and hard headed personality. I liked that she wasn't perfect because in a lot of books I read, the main character is just too perfect and only seems to need to deal with fictional problems. I liked that Sloane faced real world problems while still having to deal with some pysco-aliens. The only issue I had with some of the characters is that they were sometimes hard to relate to. Sometimes the characters' life style and just at certain parts of the story were sometimes hard to relate to.
My favorite part of the whole book was no doubt the “Fright Night Babble”. The “Fright Night Babble” is Sloanes column in her school's online newspaper. Here she talks about horror movies and cliché things she hates about movies. I thought this was really funny and would lighten the mood a little between every few chapter. I liked that I could see Sloane's stubborness and hard headedness. I also thought it was, again, very original. It was definitally my favorite part and also helped develope and reveal SLoane's true personality.
So with all of that said, I totally reccomend this book and hope you go pick it up at a bookstore or library! Happy reading!
Buy LOST IN STARLIGHT (Volume 1)
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L89JAB2
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Starligh...
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/eboo...
Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1muANKA
All Romance: http://bit.ly/1nBXloM
June 26, 2014
> Full Review
I think we all have guilty pleasures when it comes to books and mine is teen aliens. I loved the Roswell TV show, as well as the books that inspired it, and I also love the Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Therefore Lost in Starlight seemed like my kind of book from the start. The story focuses on a teenage girl who has to investigate the whereabouts of one of her classmates for the school paper. Instead of the hacking story she was looking for, she discovers much more. Hayden is definitively not human, he is a hybrid, and what Sloane finds is a whole alien community that might not be so happy about a regular human snooping around their business…
I really liked our main character, Sloane. She is very resilient and pugnacious as it’s something I love. Maybe because I’m very resilient too so I like that when I find the same quality in a book character. Aside from her motivation, Sloane was also interesting because of her eccentricities. She is passionate by horror flicks, has her very own fashion sense, and totally owns her differences. Even when people try to get her down, particularly about her curves, she never backs down and always presents a strong and determinate front. Hayden, our male alien, is without surprises particularly dreamy. Aside from the obvious hotness, I found his kindness and sense of justice even more appealing. I like a guy who doesn’t define himself by his good looks and who is not scared to stand up for the people in need.
Of course the most interesting part of the story is how the whole ���teenage alien thing” was played out in this book. The back-story created by the author for the hybrids alien was interesting and quite tangible. It wasn’t too developed yet and we didn’t get to discover much of it. This first book explores more the romance than the paranormal aspect, which was not so bad since it’s clear that the background is here and ready to be more developed in the sequels. The only downside is that we didn’t get to meet someone we can identify as the big bad guy yet. The antagonists were mostly Sloane’s chief at the school paper and Hayden’s younger brother. They both were utterly annoying but it’s still mostly made for the human setting of the story, not the hybrid one. I guess I was excepting something fishy happening with the hybrids and when no one revealed himself as “the guy with evil plans to dominate the world” I was a bit disappointed.
Overall Lost in Starlight was a good first book. Sloane is a very compelling character and her star-crossed romance with Hayden was appealing, even though we didn’t get that much surprises and everything was kind of predictable. But, more importantly, the hybrid side of the story holds lots of potential and the end cliffhanger promises lots of craziness for the sequel.
I think we all have guilty pleasures when it comes to books and mine is teen aliens. I loved the Roswell TV show, as well as the books that inspired it, and I also love the Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout. Therefore Lost in Starlight seemed like my kind of book from the start. The story focuses on a teenage girl who has to investigate the whereabouts of one of her classmates for the school paper. Instead of the hacking story she was looking for, she discovers much more. Hayden is definitively not human, he is a hybrid, and what Sloane finds is a whole alien community that might not be so happy about a regular human snooping around their business…
I really liked our main character, Sloane. She is very resilient and pugnacious as it’s something I love. Maybe because I’m very resilient too so I like that when I find the same quality in a book character. Aside from her motivation, Sloane was also interesting because of her eccentricities. She is passionate by horror flicks, has her very own fashion sense, and totally owns her differences. Even when people try to get her down, particularly about her curves, she never backs down and always presents a strong and determinate front. Hayden, our male alien, is without surprises particularly dreamy. Aside from the obvious hotness, I found his kindness and sense of justice even more appealing. I like a guy who doesn’t define himself by his good looks and who is not scared to stand up for the people in need.
Of course the most interesting part of the story is how the whole ���teenage alien thing” was played out in this book. The back-story created by the author for the hybrids alien was interesting and quite tangible. It wasn’t too developed yet and we didn’t get to discover much of it. This first book explores more the romance than the paranormal aspect, which was not so bad since it’s clear that the background is here and ready to be more developed in the sequels. The only downside is that we didn’t get to meet someone we can identify as the big bad guy yet. The antagonists were mostly Sloane’s chief at the school paper and Hayden’s younger brother. They both were utterly annoying but it’s still mostly made for the human setting of the story, not the hybrid one. I guess I was excepting something fishy happening with the hybrids and when no one revealed himself as “the guy with evil plans to dominate the world” I was a bit disappointed.
Overall Lost in Starlight was a good first book. Sloane is a very compelling character and her star-crossed romance with Hayden was appealing, even though we didn’t get that much surprises and everything was kind of predictable. But, more importantly, the hybrid side of the story holds lots of potential and the end cliffhanger promises lots of craziness for the sequel.
June 15, 2014
I received a copy of this title from the author. It does not impact my review.
I’ve heard the Lux series by Jennifer Armentrout described as “Alien Twilight”, but now I have to disagree. “Lost in Starlight” fits the comparison much better. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. (Come on, you all know you loved Twilight before it was cool to hate on it.) It has a lot of similarities to Twilight and to the Lux series, but it’s still it’s own unique story in a lot of other ways.
Sloane is a pretty great main character. I waffled at times on whether or not I completely liked her, but I think that makes her a more authentic character. Teenage girls are complex, complicated beings whose moods and personalities can alter at a drop of a hat. Sloane is a strong female with integrity, but was also slightly > a lot boy crazy/dependent when it came to Hayden.
I also liked that Sloane is not the perfect size two, super popular OR super “above it all”. She has a group of friends that are different, but not necessarily “outcasts.” She dresses like an edgy Lola Nolan and in a size 12-14 (thought I don’t remember Hot Topic selling those sizes when I was in high school…). She deals with some guys only interested in her for her chest (I understood this part of the plot, but thought there was a little too much emphasis on it) and other guys fat-shaming her. I felt like her struggle with self-consciousness on her way to acceptance to be a refreshing change in YA literature – especially because the acceptance wasn’t just because a guy was into her (though it helped, obviously).
I didn’t feel Hayden was as developed as Sloane. He was a likable enough character, sweet and a little cheesy, protective. When the “big reveal” finally happens, I thought it was a little too rushed and I would have liked a lot more information on the Zetas and their community. Hopefully this will come in the next books.
The plot was a little slow, mostly focusing on Sloane’s investigation of Hayden and then developing their relationship. The end got a little more action-packed, but I wish there would have been a little more build up to it throughout the book. There is also a clue to a twist in the end that I guessed almost right away, but still really liked the way it was cleverly revealed.
Overall, I mostly enjoyed Lost in Starlight. Though there was some mild language and sexual content, I think the younger end of the YA spectrum would enjoy it a little more. I loved the character development of Sloane and the sweet moments between her and Hayden. I would recommend this book to fans of Twilight and YA paranormal romance.
Rating (out of 5):
Plot: 3
Characters: 3
Readability: 3
Enjoyability: 3
Total Average: 3 stars
See my review: http://stephaniesbookreviews.wordpres...
I’ve heard the Lux series by Jennifer Armentrout described as “Alien Twilight”, but now I have to disagree. “Lost in Starlight” fits the comparison much better. And I don’t mean that in a bad way. (Come on, you all know you loved Twilight before it was cool to hate on it.) It has a lot of similarities to Twilight and to the Lux series, but it’s still it’s own unique story in a lot of other ways.
Sloane is a pretty great main character. I waffled at times on whether or not I completely liked her, but I think that makes her a more authentic character. Teenage girls are complex, complicated beings whose moods and personalities can alter at a drop of a hat. Sloane is a strong female with integrity, but was also slightly > a lot boy crazy/dependent when it came to Hayden.
I also liked that Sloane is not the perfect size two, super popular OR super “above it all”. She has a group of friends that are different, but not necessarily “outcasts.” She dresses like an edgy Lola Nolan and in a size 12-14 (thought I don’t remember Hot Topic selling those sizes when I was in high school…). She deals with some guys only interested in her for her chest (I understood this part of the plot, but thought there was a little too much emphasis on it) and other guys fat-shaming her. I felt like her struggle with self-consciousness on her way to acceptance to be a refreshing change in YA literature – especially because the acceptance wasn’t just because a guy was into her (though it helped, obviously).
I didn’t feel Hayden was as developed as Sloane. He was a likable enough character, sweet and a little cheesy, protective. When the “big reveal” finally happens, I thought it was a little too rushed and I would have liked a lot more information on the Zetas and their community. Hopefully this will come in the next books.
The plot was a little slow, mostly focusing on Sloane’s investigation of Hayden and then developing their relationship. The end got a little more action-packed, but I wish there would have been a little more build up to it throughout the book. There is also a clue to a twist in the end that I guessed almost right away, but still really liked the way it was cleverly revealed.
Overall, I mostly enjoyed Lost in Starlight. Though there was some mild language and sexual content, I think the younger end of the YA spectrum would enjoy it a little more. I loved the character development of Sloane and the sweet moments between her and Hayden. I would recommend this book to fans of Twilight and YA paranormal romance.
Rating (out of 5):
Plot: 3
Characters: 3
Readability: 3
Enjoyability: 3
Total Average: 3 stars
See my review: http://stephaniesbookreviews.wordpres...
June 28, 2014
Sherry Soule’s writing style is always so refreshing and unique, great to unwind and just read for the heck of it. Her characters are so realistic and appealing, you can’t help it but fall in love with them or hate them if they’re bad. Hayden is your typical bad boy with a heart of gold and to be honest, I just didn’t connect with him as much as I would have liked it. Yes, he was perfect because he wasn’t really a douchebag and accepted her for who she was without trying to change anything about her, but he wasn’t really growing or developing on the pages. But then again, it’s not about me, is it? Sloane’s chemistry with Hayden sure as heck lit up the pages. They made a good team, I’ll admit it. But still, you know? Oh, and his brother… he just fell flat to me. So, a few characters need more development.
Thing is, sometimes I got a few bad vibes like the fact that Sloan just rolled with the punches. I’m still not quite sure whether her quick acceptance of things was a good thing or bad. I mean, a bit more of a surprise and shocking reaction would have been nice. What’s up with looking up things online? Everyone knows it’s innacurate. The beginning just played the “new, mysterious person in town with a big secret that I’m going to guess” card too hard. I feel like Sloan just wasn’t herself then. My pet peeve is that sometimes certain things happen like an accident and only a few eyebrows are raised. Like, there were no consequences to the strange and unexplained.
Sloan is great, though. She’s witty and doesn’t lack in the sarcasm department. No matter what, she will stand up for herself and just… be, you know. Sloan is a great role model, the poster child for what the rest of us should realize, that it’s okay to be yourself and not be “normal.” I mean, where’s the fun in that, right? The realism also comes from the normal teen issues that girls sometimes have to deal with like body image, family and, of course, boys. See, that’s the thing with YA, a teen can read it and be like, “I understand that girl (or guy), I’m going through something like that” while an adult can look back and nod because they remember having experienced it, too.
As far as the writing and everything, Sherry Soule has nailed the genre. Both adults and teens should read Lost In Starlight. It’s the perfect combination of syfy, romance and suspense. It’s both intriguing and action-packed. The romance will keep you interested and coming back for more because there’s a balance in the book where one part of it won’t suddenly overwhelm the reader. Sloan, the intrepid reporter, is like the Clark Kent of the story and I’m anxiously waiting for the next volume in the series so I can once again enjoy Sloan and Hayden’s adventures. Hopefully, next time Hayden will grow to be more than just Sloan’s boyfriend. She needs more than just a hottie.
Rating is 3.5
Thing is, sometimes I got a few bad vibes like the fact that Sloan just rolled with the punches. I’m still not quite sure whether her quick acceptance of things was a good thing or bad. I mean, a bit more of a surprise and shocking reaction would have been nice. What’s up with looking up things online? Everyone knows it’s innacurate. The beginning just played the “new, mysterious person in town with a big secret that I’m going to guess” card too hard. I feel like Sloan just wasn’t herself then. My pet peeve is that sometimes certain things happen like an accident and only a few eyebrows are raised. Like, there were no consequences to the strange and unexplained.
Sloan is great, though. She’s witty and doesn’t lack in the sarcasm department. No matter what, she will stand up for herself and just… be, you know. Sloan is a great role model, the poster child for what the rest of us should realize, that it’s okay to be yourself and not be “normal.” I mean, where’s the fun in that, right? The realism also comes from the normal teen issues that girls sometimes have to deal with like body image, family and, of course, boys. See, that’s the thing with YA, a teen can read it and be like, “I understand that girl (or guy), I’m going through something like that” while an adult can look back and nod because they remember having experienced it, too.
As far as the writing and everything, Sherry Soule has nailed the genre. Both adults and teens should read Lost In Starlight. It’s the perfect combination of syfy, romance and suspense. It’s both intriguing and action-packed. The romance will keep you interested and coming back for more because there’s a balance in the book where one part of it won’t suddenly overwhelm the reader. Sloan, the intrepid reporter, is like the Clark Kent of the story and I’m anxiously waiting for the next volume in the series so I can once again enjoy Sloan and Hayden’s adventures. Hopefully, next time Hayden will grow to be more than just Sloan’s boyfriend. She needs more than just a hottie.
Rating is 3.5
June 26, 2014
My Thoughts:
What first caught my attention was the description of Sloane. In most books, the lead protagonist is always your typical image of beauty. She would probably have long hair, be slender, have natural hair color, etc. I liked that Sloane was curvy and had purple hair. She also had different fashion sense than others. What I loved about Sloane was that she was able to admit that she liked herself and how she looked. She was confident about her image and didn't give a crap about what other people thought. She liked who she was and that was all that mattered. I loved her confidence and bravery to be different. I liked how fat shaming was incorporated into the book. It was cruel how Hayden's twin brother would tease her about her weight like that. He was constantly making fat jokes and putting her down. I was extremely pleased that Sloane didn't break down. She had fully accepted herself for who she was and she wasn't going to let anyone dictate her choices.
As much as I loved Sloane, there were some problems in the book. As well written as it was, there were some glitches. Some of the language that was used made it seem like the author was trying too hard. Then there was the part when Sloane just jumped to conclusions about Hayden being not human. It sort of reminded me of Bella from Twilight. But the biggest problem I had was that Sloane looked things up on the internet. Now, we all know that the internet is unreliable in some subject matters. Like aliens. Sloane said that she found a lot of freaky shit when she looked up aliens and I'm wondering, what was she expecting? What bothered me after that, was that she took the things on the internet seriously. It bothered me so much because Sloane was not a stupid character and I really couldn't watch Sloane take the internet seriously. I killed me on the inside.
Let's get on to Hayden now. I loved how Hayden loved Sloane. He was a hottie and he probably could've had any girl in the school. He could've gone for anyone, but he went for Sloane, the curvy, purple haired, horror movie loving girl. He loved her for who she was and he didn't try to change her. He didn't tell her to lose weight, he didn't tell her to stop wearing her weird clothes, and he didn't tell her to stop dying her hair purple. He supported her all the way. Although he was a great boyfriend, he was a bit underdeveloped. I didn't see as much growth in him as much as I did in Sloane. He was just Sloane's boyfriend in my head. Nothing that special.
Overall, I think the book covered a lot of different topics. Although it was about aliens, it talked about accepting your body, loving yourself, and standing up to people.
My Rating: 3 Stars
What first caught my attention was the description of Sloane. In most books, the lead protagonist is always your typical image of beauty. She would probably have long hair, be slender, have natural hair color, etc. I liked that Sloane was curvy and had purple hair. She also had different fashion sense than others. What I loved about Sloane was that she was able to admit that she liked herself and how she looked. She was confident about her image and didn't give a crap about what other people thought. She liked who she was and that was all that mattered. I loved her confidence and bravery to be different. I liked how fat shaming was incorporated into the book. It was cruel how Hayden's twin brother would tease her about her weight like that. He was constantly making fat jokes and putting her down. I was extremely pleased that Sloane didn't break down. She had fully accepted herself for who she was and she wasn't going to let anyone dictate her choices.
As much as I loved Sloane, there were some problems in the book. As well written as it was, there were some glitches. Some of the language that was used made it seem like the author was trying too hard. Then there was the part when Sloane just jumped to conclusions about Hayden being not human. It sort of reminded me of Bella from Twilight. But the biggest problem I had was that Sloane looked things up on the internet. Now, we all know that the internet is unreliable in some subject matters. Like aliens. Sloane said that she found a lot of freaky shit when she looked up aliens and I'm wondering, what was she expecting? What bothered me after that, was that she took the things on the internet seriously. It bothered me so much because Sloane was not a stupid character and I really couldn't watch Sloane take the internet seriously. I killed me on the inside.
Let's get on to Hayden now. I loved how Hayden loved Sloane. He was a hottie and he probably could've had any girl in the school. He could've gone for anyone, but he went for Sloane, the curvy, purple haired, horror movie loving girl. He loved her for who she was and he didn't try to change her. He didn't tell her to lose weight, he didn't tell her to stop wearing her weird clothes, and he didn't tell her to stop dying her hair purple. He supported her all the way. Although he was a great boyfriend, he was a bit underdeveloped. I didn't see as much growth in him as much as I did in Sloane. He was just Sloane's boyfriend in my head. Nothing that special.
Overall, I think the book covered a lot of different topics. Although it was about aliens, it talked about accepting your body, loving yourself, and standing up to people.
My Rating: 3 Stars
July 24, 2014
First off I'd like to thank the author Sherry Soule for sending me this book to review because I really enjoyed it and can not wait for the second book!
I have to admit that this book is "my type" of book. Paranormal/sci-fi romances are probably my favorite genre. That already set me up to love this book. I also loved the originality of the bstory, I mean I have never read a book with a purple haired and not-so perfect heroine. The thing about YA is that it can be very repetative and cliché from one novel to the next. With that said, I still love all YA books but its nice to have a new refreshing story to read and I thought this story was my "refresher".
Part of the originality of this book comes not only from the characters but also the plot and the pacing of the novel. "Lost in Starlight" moved very quickly into the story and jumped right in. I thought that the first few chapters should have been slower and more of a transition but I found that that did not bother me too much. I actually really enjoyed the pacing and learned to love it after a few chapters because I saw how it fit into the novel. The plot was really connected to the pacing. I loved how the plot moved quickly and when one problem was thought to be solved, another would take its place. I think the whole basis of the story was really well thought out.
Now moving on to one of the most important aspects of the novel; the characters. I adored this change in character! The originality was beyond me. I loved Sloane's crazy purple hair and hard headed personality. I liked that she wasn't perfect because in a lot of books I read, the main character is just too perfect and only seems to need to deal with fictional problems. I liked that Sloane faced real world problems while still having to deal with some pysco-aliens. The only issue I had with some of the characters is that they were sometimes hard to relate to. Sometimes the characters' life style and just at certain parts of the story were sometimes hard to relate to.
My favorite part of the whole book was no doubt the “Fright Night Babble”. The “Fright Night Babble” is Sloanes column in her school's online newspaper. Here she talks about horror movies and cliché things she hates about movies. I thought this was really funny and would lighten the mood a little between every few chapter. I liked that I could see Sloane's stubborness and hard headedness. I also thought it was, again, very original. It was definitally my favorite part and also helped develope and reveal SLoane's true personality.
So with all of that said, I totally reccomend this book and hope you go pick it up at a bookstore or library! Happy reading!
I have to admit that this book is "my type" of book. Paranormal/sci-fi romances are probably my favorite genre. That already set me up to love this book. I also loved the originality of the bstory, I mean I have never read a book with a purple haired and not-so perfect heroine. The thing about YA is that it can be very repetative and cliché from one novel to the next. With that said, I still love all YA books but its nice to have a new refreshing story to read and I thought this story was my "refresher".
Part of the originality of this book comes not only from the characters but also the plot and the pacing of the novel. "Lost in Starlight" moved very quickly into the story and jumped right in. I thought that the first few chapters should have been slower and more of a transition but I found that that did not bother me too much. I actually really enjoyed the pacing and learned to love it after a few chapters because I saw how it fit into the novel. The plot was really connected to the pacing. I loved how the plot moved quickly and when one problem was thought to be solved, another would take its place. I think the whole basis of the story was really well thought out.
Now moving on to one of the most important aspects of the novel; the characters. I adored this change in character! The originality was beyond me. I loved Sloane's crazy purple hair and hard headed personality. I liked that she wasn't perfect because in a lot of books I read, the main character is just too perfect and only seems to need to deal with fictional problems. I liked that Sloane faced real world problems while still having to deal with some pysco-aliens. The only issue I had with some of the characters is that they were sometimes hard to relate to. Sometimes the characters' life style and just at certain parts of the story were sometimes hard to relate to.
My favorite part of the whole book was no doubt the “Fright Night Babble”. The “Fright Night Babble” is Sloanes column in her school's online newspaper. Here she talks about horror movies and cliché things she hates about movies. I thought this was really funny and would lighten the mood a little between every few chapter. I liked that I could see Sloane's stubborness and hard headedness. I also thought it was, again, very original. It was definitally my favorite part and also helped develope and reveal SLoane's true personality.
So with all of that said, I totally reccomend this book and hope you go pick it up at a bookstore or library! Happy reading!
August 14, 2014
2.5 stars rounded up to 3
When Sherry Soule approached us about reviewing Lost in Starlight, I was kind of excited. I’m not typically an alien fan, but the description sounded really good, so I decided to give it a try. I’m still kind of confused as to how I felt about it.
Lost in Starlight mainly centers on Sloane, a slightly overweight teenage girl, and Hayden, the hot, unattainable new guy. They are inexplicably drawn to each other, putting her life in danger.
The story line of Lost in Starlight was not too bad, except that it really reminded me a lot of Twilight. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Twilight, but in this case, the comparison wasn’t really a favorable one. I still can’t explain what it was about Twilight, but I was hooked from page one. I didn’t get the same attachment with Lost in Starlight.
There were also lots of little things that may not bother someone else but just really bugged me. For one thing, in almost every new scene, we got a description of what Hayden and/or Sloane were wearing. Occasionally, these descriptions are okay, but they were just overdone. Also, there was just too much focus on Sloane’s huge boobs. Seriously, it was referred to a lot, even being referred to as the “double D’s”. I just didn’t care for it. And the fat-shaming. I’m sure it was just a comment on society, but seriously, every negative interaction Sloane had led to her being called some form of fat.
I lacked a connection for most of Lost in Starlight. In all honesty, I had decided to DNF it at 46%, not because I hated it, but because I just couldn’t get into it. However, I decided to give it another chance and did end up finishing it. It definitely got better, though still not great. My biggest complaint is that it got very predictable. I mean, there were a couple things I didn’t see coming, but most of it I did.
Also, there were small sections of Friday Night Babble, which is Sloane’s article on horror film cliches. I get what the author was trying to do here, but I just didn’t feel like it fit. They just seemed kind of out of place to me. I don’t know. Maybe you’d feel differently.
Okay, so overall, I know that this a negative review, but here’s where I get confused: I did like the ending, even if it was predictable, and I’m interested in reading the sequel, when it comes out, so I liked it a little. Even though the story line mimicked Twilight more than I would have liked, the differences were pretty good. I found the alien aspects to be interesting, though I hope that they’re developed even more in future books.
This review was originally posted on Two Moms Reading
When Sherry Soule approached us about reviewing Lost in Starlight, I was kind of excited. I’m not typically an alien fan, but the description sounded really good, so I decided to give it a try. I’m still kind of confused as to how I felt about it.
Lost in Starlight mainly centers on Sloane, a slightly overweight teenage girl, and Hayden, the hot, unattainable new guy. They are inexplicably drawn to each other, putting her life in danger.
The story line of Lost in Starlight was not too bad, except that it really reminded me a lot of Twilight. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Twilight, but in this case, the comparison wasn’t really a favorable one. I still can’t explain what it was about Twilight, but I was hooked from page one. I didn’t get the same attachment with Lost in Starlight.
There were also lots of little things that may not bother someone else but just really bugged me. For one thing, in almost every new scene, we got a description of what Hayden and/or Sloane were wearing. Occasionally, these descriptions are okay, but they were just overdone. Also, there was just too much focus on Sloane’s huge boobs. Seriously, it was referred to a lot, even being referred to as the “double D’s”. I just didn’t care for it. And the fat-shaming. I’m sure it was just a comment on society, but seriously, every negative interaction Sloane had led to her being called some form of fat.
I lacked a connection for most of Lost in Starlight. In all honesty, I had decided to DNF it at 46%, not because I hated it, but because I just couldn’t get into it. However, I decided to give it another chance and did end up finishing it. It definitely got better, though still not great. My biggest complaint is that it got very predictable. I mean, there were a couple things I didn’t see coming, but most of it I did.
Also, there were small sections of Friday Night Babble, which is Sloane’s article on horror film cliches. I get what the author was trying to do here, but I just didn’t feel like it fit. They just seemed kind of out of place to me. I don’t know. Maybe you’d feel differently.
Okay, so overall, I know that this a negative review, but here’s where I get confused: I did like the ending, even if it was predictable, and I’m interested in reading the sequel, when it comes out, so I liked it a little. Even though the story line mimicked Twilight more than I would have liked, the differences were pretty good. I found the alien aspects to be interesting, though I hope that they’re developed even more in future books.
This review was originally posted on Two Moms Reading
June 26, 2014
My Thoughts:
The Cover: I really like the cover for LOST in Starlight. Our pretty purple haired protagonist graces the lower corner. Hayden watches her from the top corner. It's all very starry and cosmic.
The Plot: Wow, okay, I have read lots of "YA romance stories". I have read lots of books where there is some major action and drama. But I have never read anything like Lost in Starlight. The plot is so different, but at the same time, it is very well written. I must admit, I found it started slow, but once things started happening it was non-stop right until the very last page.
Characters: I loved Sloane. Not only is she a funny, kick ass heroine, but she is real, as in being self-conscious about her weight. I didn't like Hayden at first. Well, let's face it, he was a jerk. But as the story went on, I began to realize that he was actually a very kind and conscientious individual, who had very real feelings for our heroine.
And where would our feisty Sloane be without her bestie, Viola. I absolutely love this girl's style and the fact that she was truly a great friend to Sloane; there when she needed her, but willing to wait until Sloane could give her all the dets on all the latest.
All of Lost in Starlight's characters are very well written, right from Sloane and Hayden, to the friends and family, to our villains, Darion and then vengeful biotch,Tama. I can't wait to continue their story in the next book
Is it Worth Reading?: Oh damn, yeah! This is definitely one kick ass book. I absolutely love Sloane's take no prisoners attitude. And I cannot wait to see where their adventures will take Hayden and Sloane in the next book. I definitely recommend Lost in Starlight to readers of Y A contemporary and give it 4/5 crossbows.
You can get your own copy of Lost In Starlight:
Buy LOST IN STARLIGHT (Volume 1)
ISBN 978-0692224427 / ASIN B00L89JAB2
Genre Upper YA / Paranormal Romance
Paperback Edition: http://amzn.to/1lUM5Hp
Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00L89JAB2
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Starligh...
Barnes and Noble: N/A
Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/eboo...
Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/1mjf9sg
All Romance: http://bit.ly/1nBXloM
You can find my review http://goo.gl/V7eiCI as well as other reviews at my blog beccasbookaffair@blogspot.ca
September 30, 2015
{my thoughts} – This book was incredibly well written. It pulled me in from the beginning. I suppose because I am one of those individuals that really do enjoy a casual, not to frightful, yet entertaining story to read.
Sloane Masterson works for the High School newspaper and was assigned a story to get the inside scope on a new boy named Hayden Lancaster. Devin the chief editor of the paper seems to have a thing for Sloane and can’t seem to make his eyes look any where other then her chest. This annoys her as well as those around her that see what he is doing. He is the one that gave her the story to chase and that is exactly what she plans to do – chase the story. Or should I say chase the guy!
She ends up getting to know Hayden and they become friends. Throughout the book they develop an understanding where he is going to be her friend ad protect her and she is going to be his friend and not write the story. She just wanted to know him, to know his secrets, write her story and be done with it all, but she ended up getting in way over her head. In the end she was dealing with far more then she could have ever bargained for!
The end of the book. I can say I assumed it would be the ending, but I wasn’t certain. Make sure you pay attention to the little clues that the author nibbles you with as your reading!
{some quotes i loved} –
“Viola prefers book boyfriends over real guys, and I gotta admit, she has a point. Fictional hotties are way more exciting than the real thing.”
“If you can survive a High School lunchroom you can survive anything. Well, with the exception of a zombie apocalypse.”
“No “I, myself, am strange and unusual,” I say, quoting one of my favorite movies, Beetle Juice, Love me some Tim Burton films.”
“I want to be accepted for who I am. Respected despite my style choices. So I favor the dark-side in apparel, what’s the big deal.”
{about the author} –
Award-winning author, Sherry Soule writes thrilling tales of romance and suspense, of-ten mingled with a dash of the mystical and a splash of trendy fashion.
Her published novels do not include any graphic sex, explicit violence, or excessive profanity, so that all of her novels can be read and enjoyed by both teens and adults Sherry currently lives with her family and one very spoiled black cat in California’s San Francisco Bay Area.
Sloane Masterson works for the High School newspaper and was assigned a story to get the inside scope on a new boy named Hayden Lancaster. Devin the chief editor of the paper seems to have a thing for Sloane and can’t seem to make his eyes look any where other then her chest. This annoys her as well as those around her that see what he is doing. He is the one that gave her the story to chase and that is exactly what she plans to do – chase the story. Or should I say chase the guy!
She ends up getting to know Hayden and they become friends. Throughout the book they develop an understanding where he is going to be her friend ad protect her and she is going to be his friend and not write the story. She just wanted to know him, to know his secrets, write her story and be done with it all, but she ended up getting in way over her head. In the end she was dealing with far more then she could have ever bargained for!
The end of the book. I can say I assumed it would be the ending, but I wasn’t certain. Make sure you pay attention to the little clues that the author nibbles you with as your reading!
{some quotes i loved} –
“Viola prefers book boyfriends over real guys, and I gotta admit, she has a point. Fictional hotties are way more exciting than the real thing.”
“If you can survive a High School lunchroom you can survive anything. Well, with the exception of a zombie apocalypse.”
“No “I, myself, am strange and unusual,” I say, quoting one of my favorite movies, Beetle Juice, Love me some Tim Burton films.”
“I want to be accepted for who I am. Respected despite my style choices. So I favor the dark-side in apparel, what’s the big deal.”
{about the author} –
Award-winning author, Sherry Soule writes thrilling tales of romance and suspense, of-ten mingled with a dash of the mystical and a splash of trendy fashion.
Her published novels do not include any graphic sex, explicit violence, or excessive profanity, so that all of her novels can be read and enjoyed by both teens and adults Sherry currently lives with her family and one very spoiled black cat in California’s San Francisco Bay Area.
June 26, 2014
Title: Lost In Starlight - Starlight Saga Book 1
Author: Sherry Soule
Publisher: Moonlight Publishing
Published: 6-22-2014
ISBN: 10: 0692224424
ISBN-13: 978-0692224427
ASIN E-Book: B00L89JAB2
Pages: 354
Genre: Young Adult
Tags: Paranormal
Overall Rating: Very Good
Reviewed For: Sherry Soule
Reviewer: DelAnne
Capture Line: High school is tough. Romance with a sexy alien--even tougher.
Sloan Masterson gets a lot of her idea from the great melting pot of the school cafeteria, not to mention a great view of Hayden Lancaster and his equally hunky brainiac brother, Zach. True she had a crush on Hayden, but she also had been assigned to do an expose on the brothers, by her sleaze of a boss, Devin Greenspan, editor of the school paper and also proof that adult creepy, dirt bags started as teen creepy, dirt bags.
Sloan begins to make notes about Hayden and some strange events surrounding him. Then she learns the truth about the two brothers, but by then she is feeling more than a crush and must decide to either write the story that could get her a Pulitzer or protect the guy she likes as a person and is beginning to love with all her heart. Life has just become unbelievably more complicated.
I was given a quick synopsis when asked to review this story and it captured my imagination. I could not wait to read the story. I was not disappointed by the story or the characters. Sloan's little brother, Jonah, reminded me of that time in which my own brother and I shared that love/hate relationship. Sloan's dogmatic approach to problems is endearing. I kept looking to see what she would do next.
Sherry Soule has developed a story line that makes you believe it could happen and has set up the ending to lead into book two, Tracing The Stars. Pick up a copy of Lost in Starlight and begin a new dramatic journey.
Author: Sherry Soule
Publisher: Moonlight Publishing
Published: 6-22-2014
ISBN: 10: 0692224424
ISBN-13: 978-0692224427
ASIN E-Book: B00L89JAB2
Pages: 354
Genre: Young Adult
Tags: Paranormal
Overall Rating: Very Good
Reviewed For: Sherry Soule
Reviewer: DelAnne
Capture Line: High school is tough. Romance with a sexy alien--even tougher.
Sloan Masterson gets a lot of her idea from the great melting pot of the school cafeteria, not to mention a great view of Hayden Lancaster and his equally hunky brainiac brother, Zach. True she had a crush on Hayden, but she also had been assigned to do an expose on the brothers, by her sleaze of a boss, Devin Greenspan, editor of the school paper and also proof that adult creepy, dirt bags started as teen creepy, dirt bags.
Sloan begins to make notes about Hayden and some strange events surrounding him. Then she learns the truth about the two brothers, but by then she is feeling more than a crush and must decide to either write the story that could get her a Pulitzer or protect the guy she likes as a person and is beginning to love with all her heart. Life has just become unbelievably more complicated.
I was given a quick synopsis when asked to review this story and it captured my imagination. I could not wait to read the story. I was not disappointed by the story or the characters. Sloan's little brother, Jonah, reminded me of that time in which my own brother and I shared that love/hate relationship. Sloan's dogmatic approach to problems is endearing. I kept looking to see what she would do next.
Sherry Soule has developed a story line that makes you believe it could happen and has set up the ending to lead into book two, Tracing The Stars. Pick up a copy of Lost in Starlight and begin a new dramatic journey.
June 26, 2014
First off, I love alien books! So this one was perfect for me. Sloane is an average girl who goes to school, writes a column for the school paper, and has a crush on a guy. She has purple hair, loves horror movies, and is not a rail thing chick. She has rockin curves which sometimes makes her an easy target for bullies. She has been observing Hayden, crush guy, for a while for an article. When she starts to see weird things. Bending utinsels without using hands and moving from one place to another at crazy speeds. Something about Hayden is not normal. He's hiding something and Sloane is going to figure out what it is! Through the course of her investigation her feelings for Hayden grow and he realizes how amazing Sloane is. Will figuring out Hayden's secret be worth it or will it destroy them?
Hayden is an insanely smart guy who has huge dreams. Oh, and he's an alien so that complicates things. Being with Sloane is against the rules. It puts them both in danger. From both the government who is trying to keep the aliens a secret and from Tama. Tama is Hayden's crazy jealous ex-girlfriend. I guess that is one thing humans and aliens have in common. I mean, we can all guess who is scarier (crazy ex!). Sloane and Hayden are so good for each other. Despite all the people in their lives telling them otherwise. Things for them are not easy and keeping their relationship a secret is harder. Would you be able to do it? I know I wouldn't have with crazy teenage hormones! Things between them get seriously hot at times. Will their forbidden relationship last?
This books is a perfect combination of action, love, and danger. I read it in 2 days. I really enjoyed this book. Of course I love scifi and aliens. I loved how we got to read Sloane's articles during the book. I felt like we could have been friends. Being a female, I think we all know what it's like to be made fun of especially with it comes to your body. She dealt with it so well and she didn't change because of it which is awesome! I can't wait for book 2!
Hayden is an insanely smart guy who has huge dreams. Oh, and he's an alien so that complicates things. Being with Sloane is against the rules. It puts them both in danger. From both the government who is trying to keep the aliens a secret and from Tama. Tama is Hayden's crazy jealous ex-girlfriend. I guess that is one thing humans and aliens have in common. I mean, we can all guess who is scarier (crazy ex!). Sloane and Hayden are so good for each other. Despite all the people in their lives telling them otherwise. Things for them are not easy and keeping their relationship a secret is harder. Would you be able to do it? I know I wouldn't have with crazy teenage hormones! Things between them get seriously hot at times. Will their forbidden relationship last?
This books is a perfect combination of action, love, and danger. I read it in 2 days. I really enjoyed this book. Of course I love scifi and aliens. I loved how we got to read Sloane's articles during the book. I felt like we could have been friends. Being a female, I think we all know what it's like to be made fun of especially with it comes to your body. She dealt with it so well and she didn't change because of it which is awesome! I can't wait for book 2!
July 6, 2014
Yum Yum, she's in love with an alien. Sloane Masterson is the it girl of her high school. She has a sense of style all her own and doesn't let people get to her. She is a horror movie lover with cool purple hair and has extra curves in all the right places. Enter Hayden Lancaster, the ultra hottie who she admires from afar until she learn that he may posses some nonhuman super powers. Sent to write an expose on Hayden, Sloane finds out a little more than she bargained for. With black suits following her and a family that will not approve of her at any cost, will Sloane and Hayden be able to hold on to there extraterrestrial love life? Or will the universe keep them apart? Not to mention the creepy Devin. He has always has a crush on Sloane and he will do anything to get her, even if it means exposing Hayden.
I loved this book so much more than I thought I would. I feel in love with the cover. Sloane is that cool girl in high school that we all wanted to be but didn't have enough nerve. She has gorgeous hair and killer clothes and isn't afraid to be herself. I didn't like Hayden's character when I first started reading this book. He came off brass and hostile while trying to protect his secret. He softened up though when he started getting closer to Sloane. She brings out the best in him. The cliffhanger ending was torture. I can't wait to read the next book in this series!
Thank you to author Sherry Soule for sending me a copy of this book in change for a fair and honest review. This in no way influenced my thoughts or review.
Quotes that made me smile
His eyes never leave mine. No one has ever looked at me quite that way before.
Love means never having to say, "You're butt-ugly/
"Who needs some alien lovin' right now?"
Good stuff!
I loved this book so much more than I thought I would. I feel in love with the cover. Sloane is that cool girl in high school that we all wanted to be but didn't have enough nerve. She has gorgeous hair and killer clothes and isn't afraid to be herself. I didn't like Hayden's character when I first started reading this book. He came off brass and hostile while trying to protect his secret. He softened up though when he started getting closer to Sloane. She brings out the best in him. The cliffhanger ending was torture. I can't wait to read the next book in this series!
Thank you to author Sherry Soule for sending me a copy of this book in change for a fair and honest review. This in no way influenced my thoughts or review.
Quotes that made me smile
His eyes never leave mine. No one has ever looked at me quite that way before.
Love means never having to say, "You're butt-ugly/
"Who needs some alien lovin' right now?"
Good stuff!
September 22, 2014
Lost in Starlight is the first book in the Starlight Saga series by Sherry Soule. It's a young adult paranormal romance about a high school girl named Sloane. It turns out that the quiet, sexy new boy in school that she has been crushing on is half alien. Things get really complicated, and dangerous, once the romance starts heating up between them.
Teen/young adult readers will absolutely love the character of Sloane. She has purple hair and she is curvy instead of the typical, perfect looking character. She loves the goth look (but don't call her goth), and she loves to watch and review horror movies. She is a strong, sassy character that you will love reading about.
Readers will also swoon over Hayden, the perfect book boyfriend. The romance was maybe a little rushed and reminded me a little of Twilight. It's a sweet romance though and I really liked the forbidden aspect of it. I really liked this line from Hayden:
“I don't want someone who meets my criteria. I'd rather have someone so amazing that they change it...”
The storyline is fast paced, and the author keeps it exciting. The “voice” of the main character is very high-schoolish. I know it's supposed to be that way. With some young adult books, you can almost forget that you're reading a YA book because the author makes the characters seem older than what they are. This book is not like that. So, I recommend this to the younger crowd. I think that teenagers will absolutely love this book. I'll warn you that there is a little bit of a cliffhanger at the end. Though the book did seem a little young for me (I'm in my early 30s) – I was still able to get into the story enough to where I'm dying to know what happens next.
Teen/young adult readers will absolutely love the character of Sloane. She has purple hair and she is curvy instead of the typical, perfect looking character. She loves the goth look (but don't call her goth), and she loves to watch and review horror movies. She is a strong, sassy character that you will love reading about.
Readers will also swoon over Hayden, the perfect book boyfriend. The romance was maybe a little rushed and reminded me a little of Twilight. It's a sweet romance though and I really liked the forbidden aspect of it. I really liked this line from Hayden:
“I don't want someone who meets my criteria. I'd rather have someone so amazing that they change it...”
The storyline is fast paced, and the author keeps it exciting. The “voice” of the main character is very high-schoolish. I know it's supposed to be that way. With some young adult books, you can almost forget that you're reading a YA book because the author makes the characters seem older than what they are. This book is not like that. So, I recommend this to the younger crowd. I think that teenagers will absolutely love this book. I'll warn you that there is a little bit of a cliffhanger at the end. Though the book did seem a little young for me (I'm in my early 30s) – I was still able to get into the story enough to where I'm dying to know what happens next.
December 5, 2018
Lost in Starlight begins when Sloane has to do a story on her crush the secretive bad boy Hayden who just moved here six months ago. She starts to notice some strange things about him, but things change when her crush turns into something so much more. Now after uncovering his secret she must now be very careful not to let anyone know about it. And since Hayden must follow certain rules these two can't be in a romantic relationship... or can they?
This book reminds me a lot of the Lux series, with a little bit of "superhero" thrown in. It was very good though! I really enjoyed the plot line, and both of the main characters. The chemistry between the Hayden and Sloane was explosive as well, and I couldn't get enough of it. I loved Sloane's personality. She wasn't afraid to stick up for herself, and for those she loves. And Hayden is a lot like that as well, but he's sort of the rebel too.
There were only three things that bugged me about the story:
1) The cliffhanger ending. Ahh I loved where the ending took us, but I also didn't like it because it just left us hanging. Now I can not wait till the next book.
2) I felt once Hayden and Sloane "got together" things for them sort of went really fast.
3) I hated the fact that Sloane was so smart she knew something strange was going on with Hayden, but when someone strange was following her she tried to blow it off. Now this last one didn't last too long, but it still bothered me that she didn't pick up on who it was faster, it made it seem like she wasn't as smart as she originally seemed.
Other than those three things this book was awesome. And now I can not wait to read more in this series!
This book reminds me a lot of the Lux series, with a little bit of "superhero" thrown in. It was very good though! I really enjoyed the plot line, and both of the main characters. The chemistry between the Hayden and Sloane was explosive as well, and I couldn't get enough of it. I loved Sloane's personality. She wasn't afraid to stick up for herself, and for those she loves. And Hayden is a lot like that as well, but he's sort of the rebel too.
There were only three things that bugged me about the story:
1) The cliffhanger ending. Ahh I loved where the ending took us, but I also didn't like it because it just left us hanging. Now I can not wait till the next book.
2) I felt once Hayden and Sloane "got together" things for them sort of went really fast.
3) I hated the fact that Sloane was so smart she knew something strange was going on with Hayden, but when someone strange was following her she tried to blow it off. Now this last one didn't last too long, but it still bothered me that she didn't pick up on who it was faster, it made it seem like she wasn't as smart as she originally seemed.
Other than those three things this book was awesome. And now I can not wait to read more in this series!
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