Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Starcrossed (Starcrossed, #1)

by Josephine Angelini

When shy, awkward Helen Hamilton sees Lucas Delos for the first time she thinks two things: the first, that he is the most ridiculously beautiful boy she has seen in her life; the second, that she wants to kill him with her bare hands.

With an ancient curse making them loathe one another, Lucas and Helen have to keep their distance. But sometimes love is stronger than hate, and not even the gods themselves can prevent what will happen . . .

The first book in Josephine Angelini's thrilling series, Starcrossed is a passionate love story that began thousands of years ago in a world of gods and mortals.

Reviewed by Leigha on

4 of 5 stars

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Helen discovers she is a decedent from the Greek Gods in this ho-hum young adult contemporary romance.

I remember reading and enjoying this series when it released many, many moons ago. My husband asked for a book recommendation when we started dating, and I recommended this series. It’s a miracle he didn’t laugh in my face. For some reason, it came across my desk recently so I decided to give it a re-read. What I remember and what I read are not one and the same.

The series is based off Greek mythology, specifically influenced by Homer’s Iliad. It had the makings to be intriguing and unique, but somewhere in book two it grew tedious. The one-on-one of each character corresponding to a Greek myth was unnecessary. The gods and goddess do eventually show their faces, which is always fun and entertaining.

The most time and attention is given to the trinity of Helen, Lucas, and Orion. Helen’s journey from shy wallflower to powerful Goddess is fun, although Lucas’ journey is the most surprising. Orion was my favorite – too bad he never had a shot with Helen. The secondary characters were all over the place. Either I disliked them, such as Jason and Clair, or I disliked how they were treated, like Matt and Ariadne. Matt’s arc was a particular sour pill to swallow. I hated how he betrays Helen, and then is killed sparring with Hector. Just *screams in eternity*

tl;dr While an interesting retelling of the Iliad, I found myself disliking the supporting characters and overall arc of the story.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 7 February, 2020: Finished reading
  • 7 February, 2020: Reviewed