Title: The Star Child
Rating: ★★★
Genre: YA / Supernatural / Mythology
Publisher: Inkspell
Release Date: September 21, 2012
Review:
Because of the mix of Irish and Welsh mythology, I was really interested in The Star Child. I loved the basic plotline, but, overall, it was an okay read for me.
Kellan, while precocious (graduating Yale at the age of 17), was sweet and kind, lovable in all aspects. The tense relationship between Kellan and his father and brother was believable and my heart went out to him for trying so hard only to be shut down time and time again. But where his familial relationship excelled, as far as readability is concerned, I felt that his relationship with Calienta was underdeveloped. With a name like Calienta, I expected her to be cunning and wise with a smart and fiery side, but she turned out to be a stock heroine with little to offer. After learning that Kellan had been dreaming of her since he was six, I wanted her to be amazing. My expectation fell short.
I felt that the scene in which Kellan became the sole heir, at the age of seventeen, to his grandmother’s entire estate, was quite far-fetched. Legally speaking, it doesn’t work that way. And since his grandfather was still alive, although he lived in another country, I was confused as to why he didn’t live in France with his grandfather, or why his grandfather didn’t travel to Ireland to stay with him. After all, he may be smart, but Kellan is still a minor.
I wanted the relationship between Kellan and Calienta to unfurl naturally and I was immediately put-off by hearing the about it from Kellan’s grandmother (although it was in memorium). By page 27, we already know that Calienta is a mythology girl, that she’s called a Star Child, and that Kellan is in love with her. Because of the information overload in the beginning of the story, we don’t get that build-up of a normal, teenage relationship. There’s quite a bit of exposition and I’m more of a show-don’t-tell reader. I don’t want to hear about it; I was to watch it happen.
I gave this book three stars because it was a quick and easy read and it proved to be a good source of entertainment for about two and a half hours. On the other hand, it got three stars because it was underdeveloped and lacked a sense of urgency or expediency. The plot moved too slowly.
Synopsis:
The world is about to be cloaked in darkness.
Only one can stop the night.
Kellen St. James has spent his entire life being overlooked as an unwanted, ordinary, slightly geeky kid. That is until a beautiful girl, one who has haunted his dreams for the past eleven years of his life, shows up spinning tales of a prophecy. Not just any old prophecy either, but one in which Kellen plays a key role.
Suddenly, Kellen finds himself on the run through a Celtic underworld of faeries and demons, angels and gods, not to mention a really ticked off pack of hellhounds, all in order to save the world from darkness. But will they make it in time?
Book Trailer:
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http://www.inkspellpublishing.com/1/post/2012/09/the-star-child-blog-tour.html
