Book Review: Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev

Sunday, September 15, 2013
I love reading. Books are amazing. They are a form of escapism, yes, but they are also inspiration, joy, and... well. Goodness. I think in some ways I have used my appetite for reading to define parts of my personality, so it made sense for me to review some of what I read! Here we go...



Title: Eyes Like Stars
Author: Lisa Mantchev
Series: Theatre Illuminata Book One

Synopsis: "All her world’s a stage. 
Bertie Shakespeare Smith is not an actress, yet she lives in a theater.
She’s not an orphan, but she has no parents.
She knows every part, but she has no lines of her own.
That is, until now.
Enter Stage Right  
NATE. Dashing pirate. Will do anything to protect Bertie.
COBWEB, MOTH, MUSTARD SEED, and PEASEBLOSSOM. Four tiny and incredibly annoying fairies. BERTIE’S sidekicks.
ARIEL. Seductive air spirit and Bertie’s weakness. The symbol of impending doom.
BERTIE. Our heroine.

Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the actors of every play ever written can be found behind the curtain. They were born to play their parts, and are bound to the Théâtre by The Book—an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of them, but they are her family—and she is about to lose them all and the only home she has ever known.
"

My thoughts: This is one of the books drawn from my TBR jar (visit my youtube channel for more info).

I really wanted to absolutely adore this book, but a few things held me back. To start with, Bertie's construction was fascinating, but her execution wasn't always interesting. I wondered from time to time if she was intentionally written to always pale in comparison to her more characterful friends - after all, it could be an indication of her not feeling like enough. Whatever the reason, Bertie just didn't excite any emotions in me - I didn't really feel connected to her.
The other characters, however, were brilliantly written. Ariel in particular made me really intrigued, and when the story was drawing toward the end of the book, I found his actions to be most entertaining and affecting.
I pushed through the first half of the book on sheer determination to complete another book from my TBR jar, but in the second half I kept reading because I was fascinated with where the story was going. I don't want to give anything away, but what happens was definitely worth the read.

I may pick up the next book at some point - I have not decided yet. But if there is more Ariel, I think I'm in.

You would like this book if: You enjoy spin-offs of classic plays; you like girls with blue hair and a tendency to talk to mischievous fairies.

Rating:  7/10

If you'd like to keep up to date with what I'm reading, follow me on Goodreads here!

0 whisperings:

Post a Comment

All content owned by Bethwyn Walker unless otherwise stated. Powered by Blogger.

books | chronic illness | lifestyle | wellbeing

Powered by Blogger.
Back to Top