Thursday, January 6, 2011

Book Review- Starstruck

I finished reading Starstruck by Cyn Balog for an Around the World Tour.

From Goodreads:

Gwendolyn "Dough"  doesn't think she has much going for her—she carries a few extra pounds, her family struggles with their small bakery in a town full of millionaires, and the other kids at her New Jersey high school don't seem to know that she exists. Thank the stars for her longtime boyfriend, Philip P. Wishman—or "Wish." He moved away to California three years ago, when they were 13, but then professed his love for her via e-mail, and he's been her long-distance BF ever since.

At the beginning of her junior year, though, Wish e-mails that he's moving back to Jersey. Great, right? Well, except that Dough has gained about 70 pounds since the last time Wish saw her, while Wish—according to his Facebook photos—has morphed into a blonde god. Convinced that she'll be headed for Dumpsville the minute Wish lays eyes on her, Dough delays their meeting as long as she possibly can.

But when she sees Wish at school, something amazing happens. He looks at Dough like she's just as gorgeous as he is. But Wish is acting a little weird, obsessed with the sun and freaked out by rain. And the creepy new guy working at the bakery, Christian, is convinced that there's more to Wish's good looks than just healthy eating and lots of sun. He tells Dough that a mark on Wish's neck marks him as a member of the Luminati—an ancient cult of astrologers who can manipulate the stars to improve their lives. Is Wish and Dough's love meant to be—or are they star-crossed?
 
I am kind of torn on this book.  The first probably two-thirds of the book really had me interested.  I really liked Gwen.  I found her funny and real.  She did seem a little too hard on herself sometimes though. 
 
The plot had me intrigued.  I knew something was going on with Wish, but I just couldn't figure out what.  And I liked that he still liked and cared about Gwen even though she had changed so much from when he had last seen her.
 
But what got me was the ending and the explanation about Wish.  For some reason, I just don't buy it.  Or like it.  In fact, it seemed a little cheesy to me and it turned me off.  I don't want to give too much away but I just didn't like it.  Oh well.
 
I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

Starstruck will be released on July 12, 2011
 
This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
2011 A to Z Challenge: B
2011 100+ Reading Challenge: 2
2011 ARC Reading Challenge: 2
2011 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 2
 
*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.

2 comments:

  1. I wanted to read this one, but now I'm not so sure after reading your review I'm a bit torn. Sounds like a good premise and a fizzled ending - bummer...

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  2. It seems intriguing, but I understand why you would rate it 3.

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