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A review by katskinner
Starcrossed by Katie Jane Gallagher
5.0
It’s all very well to make out with an alien prince. A few kisses should be harmless—right? Yet that alien prince is the only male present on the spaceship that serves as Corinne Kaminski’s gilded prison.
THE BLURB
Faced with a thorny status quo, Corinne begrudgingly keeps plotting her escape, despite her growing feelings for Del.
Complicating matters even more is the sudden, grand entrance of Del’s sisters onto the ship. The two cunning princesses would be most unhappy to learn that their brother, heir to the throne of Ailopt, has his eye on a human girl from Montana—and that said human girl returns his affection.
Then a chance at freedom becomes tantalizingly close, just when things are heating up behind closed doors. Corinne will have to decide what’s more important: returning home for good or taking a chance on cosmic love?
TONE OF THE BOOK
Starcrossed is a neutral toned novel. There isn’t any comedy to make it a light hearted novel. The character drama isn’t particularly heavy, though if you are after a lighter/fun novel to read you may find it a bit strong.
SENSITIVE TOPICS
This novel is aimed at mature readers.
It features some action scenes, although not particularly gory in any manner.
The focus of the novel is on adventure. There is some talk of death and dealing with post-traumatic trauma.
SERIES SYNOPSIS
Starcrossed is the second novel in the Beauty and Her Alien series.
The novel is 194 pages long, making it shorter than a standard romance novel length (of 300 pages average).
You can find out more about this series on the Beauty and Her Alien Series Review page.
REVIEW
I enjoyed Unearthly, the first novel in the series. Starcrossed takes the story to another level. Whilst Unearthly was primarily used to establish setting and to introduce characters, Starcrossed brings across the tension, drama, character development and action.
In Starcrossed you start to learn about Del’s backstory, and it’s so intriguing. Many of his behaviours from the earlier novel and beginning of this one start to become more apparent. The entire backstory is relatively slow reveal over a number of conversations and clues, and you’ll find yourself turning the page to find out what happened, and what will happen.
I particularly enjoyed Corinne’s slow emotional change that occurs throughout the novel. There is no “insta-love”, but a slow and growing mutual respect between her and the alien prince. Even then, her experience on board the space ship is ripe with misunderstandings and cultural differences.
There is significantly more world building within this novel. You will get a brief glance at the planet that Del will one day reign. The introduction of his sisters on board will also present you with more insights into their culture. In fact much of this novel could highlight some of the future tensions and many of the challenges that Corinne will face in the future.
Starcrossed is also a bit more action heavy. The threat posed by the sisters brings about a level of tension that hangs in the air. Whilst Corinne’s own actions and adventures on board are set up to build towards the climax of the novel.
FINAL WORD
I really enjoyed reading Starcrossed. I loved the slow build up of action, and how each scene adds to a character’s story or purpose. I am looking forward eagerly to the third instalment of the series.