Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini | Book Review

(Starcrossed #1)

Published: May 31st 2011

Synopsis:

How do you defy destiny?

Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it’s getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she’s haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they’re destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.

As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.

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My Rating: 4/5 (Really Good)

Book Information:

Publisher: HarperTeen

Genre(s): Young-Adult Fantasy Romance

Page Count: 487

Format: Hardcover

ISBN: 0062011995

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Hey guys! I’m back with a review on Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini, which I finished re-reading recently. Hope you enjoy! 🙂

Note: I’ll be breaking this review into 2 main parts: the characters, and plot. This time I won’t be putting a summary in my own words. Sorry! 😉

So, starting with characters: we Helen Hamilton, who’s the super-pretty-but-doesn’t-know-it type we see in other novels, as our protagonist. Handsome and protective Lucas Delos plays the love interest, and there is no sign of a love triangle in this book. We also have a supporting cast of the Delos clan (Hector, Jason, Ariadne, Cassandra, the parents, etc.), as well as Helen’s best friend Claire, among other characters.

Helen’s undermining herself didn’t bug me too much, although I’m sure it will for other people. I did wish she would see herself in higher standard, but I kind of understand her reasons, in a weird, inexplicable way. I had some issues with her at the beginning of the book, but as I continued reading she kind of started to grow on me, however she still had her unfavorable moments at times. I was able to overlook that though, because she wasn’t an annoying character or anything, and overall she made for an enjoyable read, so really, there’s not huge complaint I have against her. There are some characteristics that could come to be more developed, so I’m looking forward to seeing that in the next books

Lucas Delos I also really enjoyed, and although he kind of reminds me of Edward Cullen from Twilight at some moments, he’s his own person and I liked the moments between him and Helen in the second half of the story. 🙂 As for the other characters, they were a nice addition, and I especially liked the big Delos family, for reasons unknown. They added little things that added positively to the overall reading experience, in my opinion. One of the characters I came to enjoy later on in the story was Hector. He was a jerk at first to Helen and I was completely annoyed and angry with him, but later on I actually really liked him. 🙂

Overall, the characters were pretty good.

Next part: plot. The plot was really what called to me before and even after reading this book. I’m always a sucker for any kind of mythology, not to mention Greek mythology (*cough* Percy Jackson *cough* <3). And this was unlike most books I’ve read that are based on Greek mythology, it puts a kind of twist on the way I thought of it. Starcrossed involves stuff that I’m not sure are actually in the myths, which made it an even cooler experience reading about it since I’ve never even heard of the kind of stuff the book mentions. There are our traditional Greek gods of course, but it’s unlike whatever mythology I’ve read about.

The story line of course was really good; fast paced, interesting, and kept me on the edge of my seat most of the time. I mean, it’s Greek mythology. How could you go wrong? Especially with author Josephine Angelini’s ability to create a wonderful scene and story, this book was definitely really enjoyable.

This is one of my shorter reviews, but I believe I’ve covered the main points about the book (for once I’m being able to NOT ramble on and on about the same thing! Victory! 🙂 ) All in all, this book may not be for everyone (after all, there always is at least one person who disagrees with the usual and common opinion), but I definitely recommend this for people who enjoy Greek mythology (and are okay with stretches on the actual myths, as well as additions that may or may not be in the actual myths) and YA fantasy romance. Don’t forget to check out the book trailer below!

Have you eaten yet? No? Let’s go eat this, then! But before that, leave a comment below with your thoughts on this book!

-A