Thursday, July 26, 2012

Review: Dark Star by Bethany Frenette



3.5 stars

Wow, this book is absolutely not your normal definition of superhero book.

Audrey has always been idolizing her mother, the superhero Morning Star. It’s bad enough that her mother doesn’t seem very keen to have Audrey following her path, but it’s even worse when her mother’s sidekick, Leon, keep tugging her patience. Strange things are happening in the city with high school girls gone missing, but Audrey’s mother refuses to give out any information to her. When Audrey’s friend is falling victim and almost dead, Audrey decides to take matters into her own hands and uncovers what her mother and Leon has been fighting all this time. But like Gram said, there are some places it’s best not to look…

The writing in Dark Star is great and very easy to follow. I also like the relationship between Audrey and her mother. Although they fight at times because Audrey’s mother tends to keep her in dark, it’s clear that both of them love each other very much. I like how Audrey keeps first aid kit everywhere in their house because her mother doesn’t want to get Audrey worry when she comes home injured. Leon, with her cookies smell, flour in his hair, and ironed shirt also get some pieces of my heart too.

However, I felt like the characters in this book are not used wisely. They have just the right characteristics to make them even more awesome: a bit reckless and justice-must-be-served heroine, a vigilante superhero as her mother, a mysterious sidekick, stern grandmother, and supporting best friends, but I feel like I didn’t know them much better in the end. I also wished for more romance in air because really, Audrey needs more time to talk to Leon without getting into banter and later, fight.

In overall, Dark Star is a good read but it’s not something that I expected. Although this book gives sense of comic-like superhero, it’s nothing near. It’s a great book but with the superhero thing stamped in the synopsis, I think I raised my expectation bar too high. I think devoted fans of paranormal stories (who can endure slow pacing in their books) would fall in love with this book. I hope there would be a sequel because for me, Dark Star felt more like an opening for an enjoyable series.

But that night I lay awake thinking of girls lured out into the sweet night air, the darkness that awaited them, vanishing lights and a rising wind. Tricia and Kelly and those other nameless girls, bound to me by a shared ancestry and by the cuts above our heels. And when I slept, my dreams were filled with blood.





 

I rate this book: 
Three cups of tea. I like it.  Recommended to read in spare time.

23 comments:

  1. YAY YAY YAY! I am so glad to hear you enjoyed this one because it sounds so super awesome!!! I adore the cover and premise!! And of course super heroes?!?!? That is soooo fabulous!! However the fact that you don't love the characters is a bit disappointing! Thanks for the awesome review Hilda!!! Although I am not a big fan of slow pacing I think I might enjoy this one.


    SeeitORreadit


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  2. I feel so drawn to this book, and your review just confirmed that I need to read it asap. Seriously, I can't resist superheroes, everyone has their guilty pleasure and that just happens to be mine. Give me a book about kids with superpowers and I'll drop everything else in a second.
    Although the characters weren't used wisely and the book leaves something to be desired in that area, I still think it sounds defintiely worth mine and everybody else's time.
    Wonderful review, darling!

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  3. Your expections for this book sounds exactly like mine. Sounds like i might not enjoy it that much but i want to give it a try.

    But i can't stop loving the cover! >_<

    Awesome review! =D

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  4. Awesome review, Hilda! I've been waiting for this review ever since seeing this cover! This really does sound like an unusual premise, I didn't expect that either. Too bad things fell flat though...sometimes a book just needs that extra boost to push characters from okay to amazing. Still, I agree that it may be an opening to a great series. I think I'll still check it out! Thanks for another fantastic review, Hilda dear! <3

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  5. A brilliant review, Hilda! This book has a great premise but it's a shame it didn't blow you away. I will still be reading it though as I have a somewhat nerdy addiction to super-hero type stories. I'll just be sure not to expect anything too great. ;) I also didn't realise that this was a series. I hope the second book is good too! :)

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  6. This is on my TBR, I am happy to hear this is not a typical superhero book and that you enjoy the characters, characters tend to be my favourite part of a book.

    Sandy
    Scribing Shadows

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  7. I agree with you spot on Hilda! I just finished reading this one and I think the superhero emphasis in the synopsis really raised my bar for this and it didn't deliver on that front. While I enjoyed the story and thought the novel itself was quite good, like you, I didn't feel as if I knew the characters as well as I would have liked and the romance was rather non-existent until the sudden kiss at the end which was a tad bit unexpected (especially since I didn't get the feeling that Leon liked Audrey in that sense). Either way, I'm curious about the sequel, so I hope we get to learn more about these characters as the series progresses. Fantastic review, Hilda! :D

    ~Keertana
    Ivy Book Bindings

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  8. Fantastic review Hilda! This book has been on my TBR list for a while and I thought the synopsis was intriguing and unique. Too bad it fell kinda flatt--though the characters do sound pretty good! I'll have to check it out! :)

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  9. Aw, I'm sad to hear that the superhero aspect of this book was lacking! That's what drew me to this book but it does seem like a fun, enjoyable book overall. It does still intrigue me & sounds interesting though. Thanks for your review! :)

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  10. Gahh this doesn't sound like what I expected it to be, and I don't like slow paced books, but I'm probably gonna give this one a try anyway. Thanks for the honest review:)

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  11. I really want to read this once I found the cover and summary but I need some advice, so thank you so much for sharing your thought about this book.

    The story sounds really amazing, I'm a sucker of superhero story so this one catch my attention a lot. But as your review above maybe I won't let my expectation too high. I hope I could read this soon.

    Thank you for awesome review, Hilda! =)

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  12. Oh, I like that last quote! Super-heroes?? I'll admit, I've sort of been overlooking this book, but your review convinced me that I must at least check it out to see if it's for me, Hilda! Your review is wonderful! <3 I'm glad you liked it, in spite of some of your qualms. A fun, entertaining read if anything, yeah? :)

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  13. This book seems a little 'meh'. I wonder how I'll like it ... Chances are I won't really enjoy it too much either, since we mostly share the same tastes in books.
    I adore the cover and the premise. It's such a shame that the characters weren't used wisely. This probably had the potential to be exceptional.
    Anyways, lovely review, Hilda. It was very honest, so thank you for that! :)

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  14. Pretty sure I've seen this book around before but I never actually read a review on the book so your review is the first I've read, Hilda! ;) Dark Star sounds really interesting and wow, the book is about superheroes? Count me in! Love the quote you used on your review too, Hilda!

    Awesome review! ♥ Glad you enjoyed it :)

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  15. Ever since I saw and read the description of this one I've been really excited. I guess this quite live up to yours. Sometimes though if I go into a book with lowered expectations I'll enjoy it more. Consider my expectations lowered. Great review Hilda. :)

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  16. GREAT REVIEW, HILDA-SWEETIE!!!!! My review copy is set to arrive sometime soon, and I can't wait!!! But Imma try not to raise my expectations too high because then I might be a little disappointed. I'm so sad to hear that it was slow-paced, though! :( Ugh. But maybe I'll still love it?? Fingers, toes, knees, ankles, EVERYTHING crossed. Oh how I want to love this book!!!! Btw I LOVE the last quote you included in your review, Hilda!! It's so creepy and awesome at the same time. LOEVLY review, Hilda-sweets!!! <333

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  17. Aw, I'm sorry this one didn't quite work for you. It sounds like such an interesting story and I'm a bit obsessed with superheroes these days. Maybe if there IS a sequel, the premise will live up to itself a bit more.

    -Lauren

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  18. I've been wanting to read this book forever. Sorry that it didn't really live up to your expectations. I think I would feel the same way if I read a book that had a lot of potential that didn't really deliver.

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  19. Oh, it's such a shame you didn't enjoy this as much as you would have liked, Hilda :( I only just heard about this a few weeks ago and I was won over by the beautiful cover <3 The relationship between Audrey and her mother seems a little typical: always arguing but loving each other really. But it's awesome her mother's a superhero - WOW! And it's a shame the characteristics weren't exploited effectively!

    Lovely, honest review, Hilda <3

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  20. Great review Hilda. I really need romance in my books to and I like to have a definite connection with the characters. Sorry this one didn't live up to your expectations.

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  21. Aw, sorry you didn't enjoy this as much as you'd thought you would, Hilda. I think the stunning cover would be what caught my eye in a bookstore, and then to find out the mother was a superhero?! Awesome!

    I also have to have romance in the books I read! Thankyou for this wonderful review, Hilda. :D xxx

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  22. This does sound like a really good idea, I like the idea of the mum being a super hero! But it's a shame the characters lacked a little depth!

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  23. This book sounds amazing Hilda, I'm sorry that parts of it didn't work out for you, but glad that on the whole you enjoyed it. I think I might have to check this one out, I seem to have a super hero complex! ;) lovely review hun :)

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