Review: Starcrossed (Starstruck #2)

 Starcrossed (Starstruck #2) by Brenda Hiatt
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Release Date: January 24, 2014
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Book Description:

Marsha Truitt’s life has changed dramatically over the past few months. Instead of a nerdy nobody, she’s the newly discovered princess of a secret civilization.

Even better, she’s dating the hottest guy in school, who just happens to be her literal soulmate. But when a new boy arrives at Jewel High, everything M thought she knew about herself and her future is turned on its head.

Will the very destiny that lifted her from obscurity now tear her away from Rigel and their happy ever after?


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"Starcrossed" is the second novel in Brenda Hiatt's Paranormal Young Adult series, "Starstruck". I read "Starstruck" right before I read this second installment and loved it, and "Starcrossed" lived up to my expectations and beyond. This series quickly became one that I am drawn into, and I already can't wait for the next book to come out. Seriously, can I have it now? Please?

Since we already got some background information on what makes our main character M and her boyfriend Rigel special in the first book (and no, I'm still not going to talk about what it is because I need you guys to read these books for yourselves), the second book doesn't take as long to pick up on the action. Instead, things start right away and keep going until the very end.

This book is also has some new additions to the character lineup when a new *spoiler* family moves in and helps M with her education on her new paranormal lifestyle. However, the new family also has a teenaged son, Sean, who might be a problem for M and Rigel's relationship.

The love triangle was done in a way that I respected. There was enough of an attraction there that gave the story some extra tension, but didn't diminish the bond M and Rigel had forged in the first book. As a reader, you can't help but love Rigel, and I kept going back and forth with whether I liked Sean or wanted to see him as a villain in the story since he was trying to mess with my Rigel.

Speaking of Rigel, he definitely got more say in this book then the last. While the majority of the book is still written in M's point of view, every few chapters we get one in Rigel's. While I've read a lot of books with point of view switches, this was one of the only ones where the voices of the different chapters are clearly distinct enough to be different characters. Hiatt did a great job with Rigel's point of view chapters and making it seem like we were inside the head of a 15 year old boy (don't worry, it's not as scary of an experience as it sounds).

I don't know what it is about Hiatt's writing, but she had my emotions going up and down all over the place while I was reading. When the adults were trying to keep M and Rigel apart and not taking their bond seriously, I was super angry on their behalf. Seriously guys, I was getting so mad I'm pretty sure I developed a tension headache. And yes, I know these are fictional characters with fictional problems, but that's just how close I felt to the world Hiatt created. You can't help but root for the good guys here and get angry at the ones standing in their way.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, "Starcrossed" as well as the whole "Starstruck" series comes highly recommended from me. I read both books in only three days, and I'm starting to wish I had gone at a slower pace so that I could still be stuck in the small town of Jewel, Indiana with M and Rigel, and going through these experiences right alongside them. 

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Author Bio:

Brenda Hiatt has published fifteen novels with Harlequin and HarperCollins, including six traditional Regency romances, one time travel romance and eight historical romances, most set in Regency England. She is now indie publishing her backlist as she continues to write in these and other genres, to include mystery/suspense and young adult romance.

In addition to writing, Brenda is passionate about embracing life to the fullest, to include scuba diving (she has over 60 dives to her credit), Taekwondo (where she recently achieved her 2nd degree black belt), hiking, traveling, and pursuing new experiences and skills.

She is an active member of Romance Writers of America, the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, and Novelists, Inc, an international organization of multipublished novelists, where she served as President in 2006. For the past dozen years, Brenda has also collected data on writers' earnings, which she shares at her website.

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