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Starcrossed Josephine Angelini Books

Review:

Unpopular opinion alert!

I have to admit, if I hadn’t read as much YA before taking on this book, then I would have definitely taken it more lightly and even liked the book, as it however stands, this was a compilation of clichés and plot devices that have slowly and steadily appeared on my “avoid at all costs” list. There was no love triangle – yet – but everything else I try to steer clear of was represented. So, I’m probably more harsher than I should be, but I can’t lie to myself.

Same old same old, is what comes to mind first. So let’s start with some of the aspects that didn’t have me singing for joy:

Helen, the heroine, was so gorgeous, but of course, didn’t see herself as this goddess, she was so over powerful that it was boring, but still needed constant protection and whined when she needed to train, and she was simply dull with a side dish of mopey, weird (the non-cute kind), insecure, childish and Mary Sue. How can a character, if we look at her stats: descendant of gods, awesome powers, dazzling looks, endless capabilities, such history and potential – be such a blob? She was the worse kind of special snowflake, a mixture of all the YA heroines I’m not fond of.

Insta love is a device that needs to disappear or at least be believable and try to come across slightly natural. In this case, I felt that it was too rushed and left me asking “Uh? When? What? How?” The romance, having started with such cliche-ness, I felt there was only one step from hating to endless love, no actual development and it didn’t leave space for the most important component, which is chemistry. There were some adorable moments between Lucas and Helen, I won’t deny that, but the overall atmosphere and course of their relationship wasn’t entirely original or exciting.

The we-are-siblings-and-thus-can’t-be-together-but-actually-aren’t trope needs to be buried deep deep underground. It just aids in stalling the plot and encourages love triangles. Also, adding here the we-shouldn’t-be-together-because-it-means-the-end-of-the-world is just too much for me to bear.

Please let’s also stop with the annoying, overly opinionated and obtrusive best friends, Claire was a wacko.

It’s not all bad though, there were some aspects that were quite intriguing, but were overshadowed by the bothersome stuff:

The overall plot and backstory of the book was actually quite decent and a fresh take on Greek mythology. Even me, who knows her Greek gods, goddesses and legends, and thus, is prone to read everything related to it, hasn’t encountered anything overly similar in other stories in regards to what aim and form the mythology took in this book. Then again, nothing really surprised me and I figured out several things before they, I'm guessing, were meant to be revealed.

I actually grew really fond of Hector. He seemed to be the only voice of reason, didn’t hesitate to act or tell things how they were and seemed to be the only one who actually DID something when needed. Pluss, his fate is quite intriguing and I hope I wasn’t the only one who saw potential in the end with him and “her”…

I quite liked the huge family dynamics and the big cast of characters as well.

Overall:

The idea had potential and the whole plot was so promising, but what can you do when annoying clichés dominate and the redeeming factors are scarce. I know that this is a very popular series and I’m in the minority, but I have to be honest, this book wasn’t for me.


Tags : Amazon.com: Starcrossed (9780062011992): Josephine Angelini: Books,Josephine Angelini,Starcrossed,HarperTeen,0062011995,Legends, Myths, Fables - Greek & Roman,Paranormal, Occult & Supernatural,Romance - General,Mythology, Greek,Mythology, Greek;Fiction.,Nantucket Island (Mass.),Nantucket Island (Mass.);Fiction.,Supernatural,Supernatural;Fiction.,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9),Fantasy & magical realism (Children's Teenage),Fiction,JUVENILE,Juvenile Fiction,Juvenile Grades 7-9 Ages 12-14,Legends, Myths, & Fables - Greek & Roman,Massachusetts,Monograph Series, 1st,Paranormal,TEEN'S FICTION FANTASY,TEEN'S FICTION ROMANCE,United States,YOUNG ADULT FICTION,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Paranormal, Occult & Supernatural,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Romance General,Young Adult Fiction Family General (see also headings under Social Themes),Young Adult Fiction General,Young Adult Fiction Legends, Myths, Fables Greek & Roman,Young Adult FictionFamily - General (see also headings under Social Themes),Legends, Myths, & Fables - Greek & Roman,Paranormal,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Paranormal, Occult & Supernatural,YOUNG ADULT FICTION Romance General,Young Adult Fiction Family General (see also headings under Social Themes),Young Adult Fiction General,Young Adult Fiction Legends, Myths, Fables Greek & Roman,Young Adult FictionFamily - General (see also headings under Social Themes),Fiction,YOUNG ADULT FICTION,Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9),Fantasy & magical realism (Children's Teenage)

Starcrossed Josephine Angelini Books Reviews

** spoiler alert ** This is my second Mythology series so far this year and I enjoyed this one more. This book went more into the details of the house and the Trojan war than the other series I read. I found the entirety of this plot interesting with Helen wanting to be with Lucas towards the ending, but at the beginning they wanted to kill each other. Helen's mother left her when she was young and Helen didn't even remember her but turns out her mother just wanted to protect her from the other houses. Helen learns she has powers because she is a descendant of Zeus and she has to learn to control them with Lucas's family. It was a strange take because the gods didn't want them to be together, but all they wanted was each other. It was a different cross in how this love story started and this book was long for me, but there was always something going on. I enjoyed the twist ending and will definitely be continuing in this series.
I really REALLY love Greek mythology, so this was a really fun read. I loved the buildup between Helen & Lucas, and the pace leading into the 2nd & third books was captivating. I couldn't wait until bedtime to pick it back up! The reason for only 4 stars are a couple (minor) things. 1. The setup of the story is kind of a rip-off on Twilight - New mysterious family in town with boys that are ridiculously strong/good looking/stand out among EVERYONE else at school because of strange abilities. Cute small sister that is the the "nice" one, and then there's the "standoffish" one that can see the future. Maybe that's just the way fantasy families are set up, i don't know. And then 2. I understand it's a YA novel, so maybe this is just my bias that no adult author has delved into the Greek world (please do btw, there IS an audience obviously). It was just too PG even for me. *spoiler*
I think they only kiss like once throughout the whole novel. But with all the pent-up emotions, it just didn't seem realistic. If any age-group is going to have a high level of self-control, it is DEFINITELY not 17 & 18 year olds. I think the author is obviously a very respectful writer in regards to the age group, but it made the novel fall flat in some places.
But it was a page-turner, and if she picked the series back up I would definitely keep buying this series!
Review

Unpopular opinion alert!

I have to admit, if I hadn’t read as much YA before taking on this book, then I would have definitely taken it more lightly and even liked the book, as it however stands, this was a compilation of clichés and plot devices that have slowly and steadily appeared on my “avoid at all costs” list. There was no love triangle – yet – but everything else I try to steer clear of was represented. So, I’m probably more harsher than I should be, but I can’t lie to myself.

Same old same old, is what comes to mind first. So let’s start with some of the aspects that didn’t have me singing for joy

Helen, the heroine, was so gorgeous, but of course, didn’t see herself as this goddess, she was so over powerful that it was boring, but still needed constant protection and whined when she needed to train, and she was simply dull with a side dish of mopey, weird (the non-cute kind), insecure, childish and Mary Sue. How can a character, if we look at her stats descendant of gods, awesome powers, dazzling looks, endless capabilities, such history and potential – be such a blob? She was the worse kind of special snowflake, a mixture of all the YA heroines I’m not fond of.

Insta love is a device that needs to disappear or at least be believable and try to come across slightly natural. In this case, I felt that it was too rushed and left me asking “Uh? When? What? How?” The romance, having started with such cliche-ness, I felt there was only one step from hating to endless love, no actual development and it didn’t leave space for the most important component, which is chemistry. There were some adorable moments between Lucas and Helen, I won’t deny that, but the overall atmosphere and course of their relationship wasn’t entirely original or exciting.

The we-are-siblings-and-thus-can’t-be-together-but-actually-aren’t trope needs to be buried deep deep underground. It just aids in stalling the plot and encourages love triangles. Also, adding here the we-shouldn’t-be-together-because-it-means-the-end-of-the-world is just too much for me to bear.

Please let’s also stop with the annoying, overly opinionated and obtrusive best friends, Claire was a wacko.

It’s not all bad though, there were some aspects that were quite intriguing, but were overshadowed by the bothersome stuff

The overall plot and backstory of the book was actually quite decent and a fresh take on Greek mythology. Even me, who knows her Greek gods, goddesses and legends, and thus, is prone to read everything related to it, hasn’t encountered anything overly similar in other stories in regards to what aim and form the mythology took in this book. Then again, nothing really surprised me and I figured out several things before they, I'm guessing, were meant to be revealed.

I actually grew really fond of Hector. He seemed to be the only voice of reason, didn’t hesitate to act or tell things how they were and seemed to be the only one who actually DID something when needed. Pluss, his fate is quite intriguing and I hope I wasn’t the only one who saw potential in the end with him and “her”…

I quite liked the huge family dynamics and the big cast of characters as well.

Overall

The idea had potential and the whole plot was so promising, but what can you do when annoying clichés dominate and the redeeming factors are scarce. I know that this is a very popular series and I’m in the minority, but I have to be honest, this book wasn’t for me.