Monday, November 5, 2012

Starling by Lesley Livingston Review


Starling

Author:   Lesley Livingston
ISBN:
0062063073 (ISBN13: 9780062063076)
Release Date:
August 28th 2012
Pages: 352
Format : Hardcover
Genre: Young Adult, Mythology,
Paranormal Romance

Series:
Starling #1






Summary
Mason Starling is a champion fencer on the Gosforth Academy team, but she's never had to fight for her life. Not until the night a ferocious, otherworldly storm rips through Manhattan, trapping Mason and her teammates inside the school. Mason is besieged by nightmarish creatures more terrifying than the thunder and lightning as the raging tempest also brings a dangerous stranger into her life: a young man who remembers nothing but his name--the Fennrys Wolf. His arrival tears Mason's world apart, even as she feels an undeniable connection to him. Together, they seek to unravel the secrets of Fenn's identity as strange and supernatural forces gather around them. When they discover Mason's family--with its dark allegiance to ancient Norse gods--is at the heart of the mystery, Fennrys and Mason are suddenly faced with a terrifying future.


My Thoughts on the Book
This book wasn’t what I expected it to be. I never thought that mythology had a role in this book. I thought that it was about werewolves, as the male lead's name is Fennrys Wolf. I was surprised and intrigued by the way Norse, Greek, Egyptian, etc gods were brought into the story. An issue I did have with the book was the cover. The lead female, Mason, is a fencer. As such, you'd think that she'd have some strong muscle development through years of training with the sword. However, the girl on the cover has very skinny arms, and you know for sure that she isn’t a fencer at all. I also found it confusing was that several characters featured names starting with the letter R and have 4 letters. For example, “Rory", "Rafe" and "Roth”. I can understand that a writer may want simple names when multiple characters are involved, but they seem a little too matchy-matchy for my tastes.

The book had an overall good plot, centering around our main character Mason. Everything that happens in the book is connected to her in someway. It really picks up after Fennrys Wolf drops from the sky. Mason tries to figure out why he came, and also help him recover his memories. There's something he's supposed to remember, but he's a blank slate. The plot takes a turn when you figure out that Mason may be more then what she seems to be. Her family is also in on it, and she’s the only one who doesn’t know her own fate. It’s up to Fennrys wolf and her to figure it out.

Mason is a fencer at her school, Gosforth Academy, which is set in New York City. She is one of the top in her class in fencing, and she is trying to be the best she can to be on the national team. She gets pulled into a world that she never thought existed, and it surprised me how well she took it. Although, I believe she had help from Fennrys Wolf. She only just met him, but he was the only person she could talk to when monsters started to appear. She’s a great character, but she made me mad every time she looked at her friend Calum face and all she could do was stare at is the scars on his face (which were caused by the monsters). When she’s not staring at the scars, she wouldn’t even look at him. Some friend she is if all she can do is stare at his deformity. I wouldn’t blame Cal for being mean with the way she’s acted towards him. She did have a crush on him before the monsters appeared and scared him, so it makes me believe that she only liked him for his good looks. Especially when she ran straight to Fennrys Wolf and fell for him so fast, forgetting all about Cal.

Fennrys Wolf is one of our main male characters. He quite literally fell from the sky and into the lives of our other characters. For someone who doesn’t remember anything but his name, does seem quite calm. With the help of Mason, he struggles to unravel his past. He seems to have selective memory though. He remembers things when it's needed for that moment in the story, but he can't (or won't) elaborate. I found it to be rather annoying, and I don’t know how Mason can stand being around him. 

Mason has two brothers who are also in the book, Rory and Roth. Rory seems like your typical nice guy, but you soon realize that something more sinister is going on around him. I found the change to be very sudden, and no reason is clearly given for it. That being said, Roth is the nice one. He looks after his sister when her father is being over bearing. He’s not in it much, but when he is he does make an impact. He's the one who knows what’s happening while most of the characters do not.

Calum seems almost forgotten to Mason as you read the book. They were best friends at the beginning of the book, but after the monsters and Fennrys Wolf showed up he stayed away from her. When they do meet, he doesn’t know how to talk to her cause he see’s her staring at the scars on his face. He has liked Mason for a long time, but he lost his chance with her when Fennrys Wolf showed up.

Rating
3 out of 5 Howling Wolves

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