Catching Stars

by Cayla Keenan

[Amber (The Literary Phoenix)]

There were a lot of bits and pieces to Catching Stars that didn't work for me. The cover and summary present it as an amazing fantasy world with witchcraft and fugitives and I suppose at its barest bones, it contains a witch and a fugitive. Unfortunately, the author didn't take the time to make her world immersive. She also taunted a lot of possible, fascinating plot opportunities - a plague, attempted genocide, an underground rebellion! - but settled on a star-crossed love story. It was the epitome of disappointment.

Overall, I found the writing weak, the characters flat, and the plot unimpressive. I wanted to like this book, because on the outside it flaunts all sorts of things that draw me in as a reader, but it was lazily and predictably written. After the fifth time a chapter ended with the characters losing consciousness, I knew this book and I were never going to hit it off. I pushed through to the end, but it wasn't worth the effort. Not for me.

If you like dialogue-heavy fantasy love stories, you may enjoy Catching Stars, but the rest of us will be left wanting.