Eyes Like Stars (Theatre Illuminata, #1)

by Lisa Mantchev

[celinenyx]

I've been wanting to review this book for quite a while now, but somehow I can't seem to figure out what to say about Eyes Like Stars. I'm not often at lost for words, but somehow this book has left me speechless.

Eyes Like Stars is nothing like a book I have ever read before. And I know I say this kind of thing quite often, but I can't stress enough that this book is truly unique. I have nothing to compare it to. I can't even give it a proper rating, because I don't have a frame of reference. Maybe it deserves 5 stars. Maybe it deserves only 3. I honestly couldn't decide, so I gave it a diplomatic 4.

Beatrice lives in a theatre. The stage is her bedroom. The players come and go as they please. With her four fairy friends she has many adventures, to the annoyance of the Stage Master. When she somehow causes a cannon to explode, she has gone too far. Now Beatrice has to prove she is necessary to the theatre, or she will be kicked out the only home she has ever known.

In this book reality and magic are so weaved together it is sometimes hard to distinguish the difference between the two. It actually took me a while to grasp the concept of the magical stage. It can do things that are completely impossible, like flood the whole thing, then somehow suck the water out again. Yet these improbabilities are explained as if they are made possible by smart contraptions built within the stage.

I really liked the character of Beatrice. She is more of a tomboy, having grown up with all kind of exciting stage props. Even though she practically lives in some kind of fairytale, she's easy to relate to. And what I liked even more is that she's not so terribly prudish as a lot of female leads are.

The cover is absolutely stunning. A big thumbs up to the cover artist, Beatrice actually has blue hair in the story. She looks just like I would imagine her.