BOOK REVIEW - DREAMLESS by JOSEPHINE ANGELINI - STARCROSSED # 2

By: Josephine Angelini

Published By : Pan MacMillan , Harper Teen

Released : 29th May 2012

Details : Paperback, Proof Copy, 503 Pages

Thankyou Pan MacMillan!

RATING: 5 OFF THE CHARTS AWESOME YA GOLD STARS!!

Book Blurb : Taken From Goodreads

Can true love be forgotten?

As the only Scion who can descend into the Underworld, Helen Hamilton has been given a nearly impossible task. By night she wanders through Hades, trying to stop the endless cycle of revenge that has cursed her family. By day she struggles to overcome the fatigue that is rapidly eroding her sanity. Without Lucas by her side, Helen is not sure she has the strength to go on.

Just as Helen is pushed to her breaking point, a mysterious new Scion comes to her rescue. Funny and brave, Orion shields her from the dangers of the Underworld. But time is running out—a ruthless foe plots against them, and the Furies’ cry for blood is growing louder.

As the ancient Greek world collides with the mortal one, Helen’s sheltered life on Nantucket descends into chaos. But the hardest task of all will be forgetting Lucas Delos.

Josephine Angelini’s compelling saga becomes ever more intricate and spellbinding as an unforgettable love triangle emerges and the eternal cycle of revenge intensifies. Eagerly awaited, this sequel to the internationally bestselling STARCROSSED delivers a gritty, action-packed love story that exceeds expectation. 

BOOK REVIEW by Michelle : 

WOW!! WOW!! WOW!! 

LOVED IT!! 

GREEK MYTHOLOGY 

A STARCROSSED LOVE 

COLOURFUL ADVENTURES

A NEW FRIEND 

SMEXUAL TENSION 

A LOVE HIDING 

VILLAINS 

TANTALUS 

HUNDRED COUSINS 

BUG GUY ( CREEPY DUDE)

HOTTIES 

ORION 

LUCAS 

MATT 

( OOO YES HE IS NOW A BUFFED HOTTIE) 

HECTOR ( Awww...I love Hector)

JASON 

PROOF COPY - THANKYOU CHARLOTTE - PAN MACMILLAN

Things aren’t looking good for Lucas and Helen. Lucas has to let go, no matter how much it hurts. He knows it has to be him. Helen is not strong enough to let go of their relationship. 

Enter Orion, oh and what a lovely entrance.

Helen must descend into the Underworld to find the Furies , with the help of Orion, they work together . Orion is the best guy. I love him. He is a whole lot of smexi, but he is also funny and you just want to take him home. Things are easier with Orion...in a kind of tough mission, way.

Claire is still a most magnificent friend. Everybody needs a Claire, loyal to the core ,and is she smart!

Daphne, Helen’s mum, is rather kickass and ninja stealth and goes about her mission in the background of this book. Without the Ninja outfit.

Helen has a lot to learn still, and is stumbling about working it as she goes. She is the Descender, but I think she needs a ‘How To’ manual.

My goodness , little ol Nantucket gets a bit of a smackdown and it was pretty ‘cool’ in a bad kind of way, very colourful in my head , and crazy going on.

I had a fave scene in this book with Orion and Helen, and all I will say is it has the letter L in it, but I can’t remember the name of it...hehe!!!.....why am I even writing this? ....oh, yeah! now I remember.....nope I forgot again......

Oh, and a bit of a costume change for Helen, that would look spectacular up on the big screen.

Visually this book was magnificent and needs to be transferred to the big screen.....especially with all these hotties....errr...did I say that out loud? I meant to say, the mythology , mixed with the dream scenes, throw in the hotties and WOW!!

Josephine’s story sparkles ! 

Visually it is quite magical. 

Just quietly, I do love the craziness of the Furies...they do get a bad rap. 

Michelle

BOOK REVIEW - STARCROSSED by JOSEPHINE ANGELINI

By : Josephine Angelini
Published By : HarperTeen
Release Date : May 31st 2011
Details : Netgalley Ebook , 310 Pages

RATING : 4.5 LUCAS STARS!!!

Book Blurb : Taken From Goodreads

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.

BOOK REVIEW:


I simply loooovvvved this book. Josephine Angelini has given great attention to detail with her Greek Gods Mythology , Trojan War, The Three Fates, demigods aka Scions. I thought this was a very clever and original book . Josephine really wove the Greek Mythology into her story of starcrossed lovers, really well. She does a lot of world building in this book, it’s not overwhelming, it’s at a good steady pace.


Visually in my mind there were some great scenes in this book. For a debut author , Josephine has written a stunning book.


I loved Lucas’s character, his strength, passion and loyalty to the ones he loves. His self control would be hard on any hot blooded teenager. Lucas has a wheelbarrow full of struggles that he must try to overcome, if the Fates will allow it. The thing is the Fates have a theory, ‘blood for blood’, this doesn’t bode well for Lucas.


Helen, the socially awkward nearly 17 yr old teenager who wanted nothing more than to blend into the scenery, to be Claire’s bff and she was happy enough with that. Her whole world, which in her case is the Island of Nantucket, is completely rocked with the Delos family moving onto the island, from her wanting to kill Lucas, to wanting nothing more than to be free to love him. Will the Fates  allow this?

Her mother left her father Jerry, to raise Helen, disappearing leaving no proof of her existence, apart from Helen. The Helen at the start of the book is very different to the Helen at the end of the book. Her character is forced to grow and discover the Helen she should be.


Claire aka Giggles , I really loved her honesty, loyalty and her willing to never give up on Helen, no matter what secrets Helen kept from her . Claire is one smart, intuitive cookie. I did laugh out loud several times at Claire’s recollection of her childhood with Helen.


Hector, he comes across as the grouchy, ready to battle cousin, but I feel a love there for Helen. Not necessarily the love triangle type love, but a growing respect for her. Hector is a protector and throws himself into keeping his family safe . I think his pet name of ‘Princess’ finally stopped when Helen earned his respect. He doesn’t hold back, even if you are a girl when he trains , he will pound you unless you fight back. He will show you humility if you need to be shown. I really loved Hector’s character.


The healing twins Ariadne and Jason , Lucas’s cousins, I really liked. Ariadne seemed the most relaxed out of the families. The sister type character to Helen. Jason was always available to step up and protect or defend his family when they are in need.


Cassandra, the youngest , only 13 years old, yet years ahead of her time was the most serious. She has a great burden to carry at such a young age.


‘Starcrossed’ , carried me away from start to finish. Every page words were not wasted. The story has depth and the characters are solid. I love a good twist as I am reading, thinking I am a smarty pants and know where the story is going, then curve ball, away we go in a surprising twist, then ....curve ball...away we go again.


Josephine keeps adding to her story, keeping the reader entertained. I liked the ending as this is a series of books, well you need the story to go somewhere for book # 2 titled ‘Dreamless’ and , she sure did that. Another struggle for the Delos family and Helen is about to unfold in ‘Dreamless’. A terrible heart wrenching lie has been told to Helen, I can’t wait to see how she handles it.

A big thankyou to Netgalley and HarperTeen for this arc read.


FAVE QUOTE:


“Is that how tall you are without those ridiculous shoes? “ he said derisively. “I think I was born bigger than that.”


“I bet you were. Five feet of fat head and two inches of ass,” Claire muttered, standing up.

Michelle