Posted by Lauren in Book Reviews, Featured, Paranormal | 8 Comments
Starling by Lesley Livingston
Starling by Lesley Livingston
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release date: August 28, 2012
Pages: 352
Summary: Mason Starling is in the middle of fencing practice when a freak storm rolls in. Monsters crash through the windows of her gym, startling her teammates. Mason is backed into a corner when a mysterious man shows up, armed with a sword and killer fighting skills. He calls himself the Fennrys Wolf, and though he clearly has a purpose, his memory has been wiped clean.
My thoughts: Starling is a mish-mash of a story. It’s part paranormal romance, part amnesiac mystery, and part Norse myth. Yet these elements do not blend together effortlessly. Rather, the story feels thrown together, and the reader has no idea what to expect. It’s this uncertainty that will keep you reading: despite the seemingly unorganized storyline, you just need to know where Livingston is taking her protagonist. The mythology is initially rough and under-explained, but you keep reading in hopes that Livingston will eventually flesh it out (she does, though in the last few chapters). That’s the odd thing about Starling: I couldn’t put it down, but I didn’t love it (usually un-put-downable books fall into the “love” category!).
Mason is a rather unremarkable protagonist, aside from her unique skill: fencing. The story begins to expose Mason’s personality during the first few chapters of the book, but everything halts when Fennrys turns up. Thus begins one of the most disappointing aspects of Starling: the love interest trumps the protagonist. Fennrys’ presence exposes Mason’s weaknesses, and he plays the role of overprotective hero very well. Fennrys shifts into Mason’s spotlight, his mysterious memory problems becoming Mason’s ultimate concern.
I’m tired of heroes upstaging the heroines in paranormal romance, so this choice by the author was a big part of why I didn’t enjoy Starling as much as I could have.
These are just my opinions, of course: I’m sure readers, especially those fond of paranormal romance, will enjoy Starling. If the mythology and overall concept had been more clearly defined, and the heroine had been more dynamic, I would have felt differently about Starling.
3/5 stars
For those who like: Norse mythology, paranormal romance
Find the author at LesleyLivingston.com.
Comment question: Have you read Starling? If so, what did you think? If not, have you ever read a book that you didn’t really like, but had trouble putting down anyway?
Haven’t read this one yet, but I was really attracted to the Norse mythology and the characters based on the back cover.
If I Stay by Gayle Forman was unputdownable but I didn’t love it. I LOVED Where She Went, but If I Stay seemed a little cliche. I was more interested in Mia’s relationship with Adam, and I didn’t really see her totally in love with him, she was kind of selfish, I don’t know, it just didn’t blow me away. I found Adam a much more intricate and interesting narrator. Much more real. I do agree they belong together, it’s just that Mia wasn’t an awesome narrator. But I still had to finish the book even though I knew she lived because the sequel was already out.
Oh what a shame, hun! I haven’t heard much about this but I really need a strong MC to connect with a book. Great review!
VeganYANerds recently posted..Something Like Normal by Trish Doller
I was really looking forward to this book but I haven’t he’d many good things about it but I am still going to give it a go! Great review, looking forward to reading more and I love your new contest idea!!! I’m sure you are right that if the mythology was better it would have been a much better book! Thanks for the review!!!
Isobel recently posted..Book Review for The Fault in our Stars by John Green
Oh shoot! I was really curious about this one, Lauren. I would definitely have big issues with the under explained mythology and a ho-hum heroine. I think I’m going to pass on this one for now.
Rummanah recently posted..Picture Book Reviews: Circus Ship, Ant and Grasshopper, and Clemente!
Thanks for the fab review. I have been looking forward to this book, but hadn’t heard too much about it. One of the last books I read that I didn’t love, but couldn’t stop reading was probably Don’t You Wish by Roxanne St. Claire. For most of the book I actually didn’t like it at all. It wasn’t until the last 1/3 of the book I started liking it. Even so, I couldn’t put it down, I wanted to know how it would all end up.
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i was looking forward to this book! bum. i do love paranormal romance though, so maybe i’ll like it more than you.
Aww, I’m sorry to hear that the protagonist of this one was rather unremarkable and that the romance seemed to overpower everything! :/ I feel like that’s the case with the majority of novels these days and it’s so hard to find one that has a nice blend of everything. I think I’m going to try Valkyrie Rising when it releases as it also contains Norse Mythology and I really love their myths, so I’m sorry this one didn’t quite work out for you, Lauren!
I’ve read a lot of book I didn’t like and just couldn’t put down though, such as Beautiful Disaster. It was one of those novels where I hated the protagonist and the romance was too controlling for my liking, but I just could not put it down. I guess another one would be Fang, which is the (5th? 6th?) novel in the Maximum Ride Series and while I didn’t enjoy reading it, I had to keep flipping the pages frantically anyway. It makes me wonder sometimes if that type of skill is a mark of a good writer too, since sometimes, my favorite authors are ones whose novels do take a little while to get into. *shrug* Anyway, fantastic review as always, Lauren! :)
Keertana @ Ivy Book Bindings recently posted..Review: Split by Swati Avasthi
It sounds like the writer needs to keep working on her craft. Hopefully she will take note of reviews & keep at it, especially, if after all you said you still had to keep reading.