Series: Starcrossed #1
Author: Josephine Angelini
Genre: YA Mythological
Publisher: HarperTeen
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.
I’ve had Starcrossed since the beginning of the year when my cousin bought it for me on my birthday in January. For some reason I never read it. I have a question, why is it always the books that you put off reading that end up making your top 5 book list. Now those who know me, know it is very difficult for me to bump something off my top 5, so it better be effing spectacular.
My 5 are:
1. The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare
2. The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare
3. Starcrossed Trilogy by Josephine Angelini
4. Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi
5. Mara Dyer Trilogy by Michelle Hodkin
So as you can see it made the 3rd place and it knocked off Bloodlines which is quite a feat since we all know how much I love me some Adrian. See, I am a complete Greek mythology freak, to the point where I literally know everything about it –I blame this on my dad- and I RARELY read anything based on it. The only Greek myth stories I read, including this one, are Covenant Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout and the Fury Trilogy by Elizabeth Miles. I loved Covenant but hated Fury, so it’s really a hit or miss for me but Josephine’s book is just absolutely the best Greek myth book I have ever read, like hands down. The accuracy and then her take on the myth freaking blew my mind.
The way it is written is just absolutely phenomenal, and I was jealous because in my mind I knew I could never be as awesome a writer as she is. She takes the whole Battle of Troy myth and she reworks it but in a way that stays true to the myth itself and making it uniquely her own. There is this cycle that gets repeated every generation because it never gets fulfilled and I will not tell you what it is because it is a major spoiler for the other books, so they people who took part in the Troy battle basically get reborn every single time but it’s not reincarnation if that makes sense? It’s just the roles that get reborn. I really hope I’m making sense but hey if I’m not then that’s a great incentive to go read the book, yeah? It even involves a freaking curse from the Furies!
ANYWAY I must say that Helen (I guess you all know who she represents in the myth) irritated the living hell out of me in the beginning because I really cannot take the ‘poor me’ attitude in any character/person. I don’t care who you are but you will piss me off. Thank sweet baby Jesus she snapped right out of it very quickly and I was able to see her grow so much as a character in the first book already which is extremely rare and I understood why Helen had to be like that way in the beginning so that we could see the strong female heroine she would become. She thinks she is this big freak but she isn’t, she’s really a Scion, now I’m not gonna tell you guys what this is, that way I can leave the spoilers to a minimum, although those who know Greek myth, will know what I’m referring to. She doesn’t know this of course because her mother abandoned her so she is left to find out from the mysterious Delos family.
This is where I introduce the wonderfully, amazing, swoon-worthy, yumminess that is Lucas. I fell in love INSTANTLY PEOPLE, IN-STANT-LY!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now this guy is so amazing that he goes against everything, the curse, his House (House of Thebes) and his family to save Helen from himself as well as his family from killing her and simultaneously stop her from killing them even though she doesn’t know why. He is a dark haired blue-eyed guy which is obviously my weakness!
He also has these two cousins, Jason and Hector who are at first very douchy but in the end you love them so much that you just want to be in a triple layer sandwich with them but all of them have to touch you, how that would work is lost on me but I know you guys will get me!
The girl characters are just as amazing really. Jason has a twin, Ariadne (strange name and I think the ‘d’ is silent but who knows) and she is just as bad ass her two brothers and her cousin, Lucas but we don’t see her fighting that much even though you know she can. Helen’s best friend, Claire, is the main source of humour really. I cracked up reading this girl’s lines and she doesn’t take nonsense from anybody!
Honestly people this is one book series that you HAVE to read there is no “ifs”or “mayby’s” there is only “yes I will now!” You guys do not understand the astonishing affect this series had on me. I read all 3 books in 2 days. Granted I had an episode of insomnia again but who cares when you have phenomenal reading material right? If you can get me to love your rendition of a Greek myth then I bow down to your awesomeness. At the end of this book I was like
and Kristin was like
