Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini
Starcrossed
by Josephine Angelini
reviewed by Megsly
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.
So I kinda, sorta, maybe have this little obsession with Greek mythology. And now that I’ve discovered tons of books centering around Greek mythology that modernize it, I’ve gotten a bit greedy in my readings. Starcrossed is definitely a modernized Greek mythos that centers around all of my favorite little themes, such as love, violence, drama, hot mens, and super original plots.
As I’m sure you can deduce from the plot, the main character’s name is Helen. Does that ring any bells? Let me go ahead and throw in there that she is breath-takingly stunning, incredibly intelligent, and extraordinarily modest. She’s not popular, has severe anxiety attacks whenever anyone takes notice of her, and does everything within her power to fly under the radar, even though her best friend has to be one of the loudest and funniest characters I’ve read in a while. Quite interesting, if you ask me.
To give you a little back story on the plot, Helen is being raised by her father after her mother just up and disappeared years before and she holds quite a bit of resentment towards her mother for that though she’s never seen her or spoken to her. When a new family arrives at her school, Helen begins seeing three women sobbing tears of blood and when she finally comes face to face with the members of the Delos family, murder is the only thing that crosses her mind. After many violent threats and barely escaped battles where Helen just can’t seem to grasp her sudden bloodlust and the incredible strength that seems to overtake her body whenever she comes within yards of any member of the Delos family, things finally come to a head. She and Lucas Delos find themself in a situation neither can avoid, and as fate flips it’s coin and changes the course of their future, they find themselves as unlikely allies.
I have to say, this book really sucked me in. I wasn’t expecting such a thrilling ride as this, nor was I expecting the rather intricate plot twists that the author threw in for reader’s enjoyment. Angelini really knows how to throw in the element of surprise to her readers, and she manages to maintain an air of mystery throughout the entire course of the novel so that with each tiny twist and turn, with each little hidden nuance, the reader finds themselves caught up in the whirlwind of the plot and unable to put the book down.
Angelini’s character’s are also surprisingly deep, considering how little time is actually dedicated to the character development of everyone other than Helen. She throws in tiny little clues that really help you to see the depth and character behind each individual within the novel, and you, as the reader, can’t help but to believe in their cause. You can’t help but root for them, even if you still don’t know the real reasoning behind their actions.
And as far as plot goes? Starcrossed is a breathtaking twist on an extremely popular Greek mythos. She takes the original story and doesn’t change it, but merely makes it a part of the history that is shaping what happens in present day. Not only is it believable in the context of the original mythology, but it’s truly unique and highly entertaining. I, for one, cannot wait to read the next book in this series and find out what other adventures are in store for Helen, Lucas and friends.
Below is my rating of Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini. These are reflective strictly of my opinion of the novels I’ve read and reviewed, and are not necessarily reflective of the other staff members of MVF.
-Story Elements (plot) – 9.5
-Character Development – 8
-Grammar & Punctuation – 8
-Prose – 8
-Paranormal Element – 9
Total Score: 8.5/10
(total score is derived from the average of the 5 individuals scores)
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