Title: Starstruck
Release Date: August, 2013
I can’t really summarize the book any better than the synopsis does without giving away spoilers, so I’ll just jump directly into my review.
- Some clichés. There were some parts of this book (especially the beginning) that felt a bit too typical YA. The uncool, “nothing special about her” protagonist falls for the mysterious ultra-cool guy. Most of the first half or so of the book was dedicated to the romance blossoming between M and Rigel, so it felt a little cliché. Still, I found myself enjoying the story anyway and, luckily, the second half of the book really improved – once you find out the paranormal secret, the book gets much more unique and interesting!
- M. Even though I said that M is a pretty typical YA heroine, I still found myself really liking her. I appreciated that she was intelligent and a bit geeky without being overly self-deprecating or a total loner (I loved her best friends Bri and Deb – I thought that those friendships seemed very realistic both when they were getting along and when they were fighting!). I also liked that when things start to get crazy (in a paranormal sort of way), she doesn’t automatically believe everything that she’s told – she responds in a very realistic way!
- Rigel. Rigel was a very swoon-worthy love interest. He was also sweet and smart – an all-around good guy – and I was definitely rooting for M and Rigel to be together. I loved that he put M’s interests and happiness above his own and he didn’t abandon her, even when it seemed that he might have to!!
- M’s aunt and uncle. The tension between M and her aunt and uncle (especially her aunt) added a really interesting dynamic to the story and made M a more sympathetic character. I hope that, in future books, we get to see those relationships develop even more and come to understand a little bit more about what makes M’s aunt treat M the way she does. We definitely get part of the story in this book, but I would love to see even more!
- The unique paranormal story. I can’t say too much about the paranormal aspect of this book without spoiling things, but I was happy that it was very unique and interesting. I loved the literal sparks that flew between M and Rigel and the fact that this book came to a satisfying conclusion, but left us with room for more books in the series because the paranormal storyline is definitely not finished!
Author of sixteen novels to date, primarily Regencies and historicals from Harlequin and HarperCollins, Brenda Hiatt is now indie publishing her historical backlist and continuing to write and publish new books, her most recent a mystery, OUT OF HER DEPTH, from Bell Bridge Books. Her first original indie book, STARSTRUCK, launches in September 2013, a YA science fiction romance. For the past dozen years, Brenda has collected data on writers’ earnings, which she shares at her website.

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