StarCrossed

This is one of those books I feel might have been written specifically for me, as a reader! It was such a fun book to read, too. It's got a well-detailed nifty fantasy setting, interesting characters, nice twisty plot, mystery, adventure, magic! Oh, and several different strong female characters! I ate it up. And I want more! This one has really crawled into my heart and stuck with me, too. It's a world and characters I want to go back to. Fortunately there's a sequel on the way, so I can do just that.

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.

Quick & Dirty: Fun fantasy with a great heroine and a great story filled with action and adventure.

Opening Sentence: I couldn’t think.

The Review:

Digger is a thief and she is pretty skilled at it, but a job has just gone terribly wrong. She lives in the city of Gerse and now she is on the run. Her partner for the last few years didn’t make it out and she needs to find a way out of the city and fast. She happens to run into some nobles who decide to take pity on her and help her. She ends up as a Lady’s maid to the sweet young Merista Nemair. They end up traveling with Merista’s parents to a castle far up in the mountains where all it does is snow. They are preparing for Merista’s show more kernja-velde,which is a celebration of a girl becoming of age and entering into society. Digger is now going by the name of Celyn and she is noticing that she is becoming soft and use to the luxuries of the nobility.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t last too long. Visitors come to stay with the Nemair’s and one of them is the devious Lord Daul. He is like a brother to Lord Nemair or at least he pretends to be. He discovers some of Diggers secrets and starts blackmailing her for information. He has Digger looking for things to try and implement the Nemair’s in a traitorous plot against the king. As Digger starts to uncover the truth she finds that not everyone is who they seem to be and she starts to doubt where her true loyalties should lie. Digger also has lots of secrets that she doesn’t want discovered, but that is becoming harder and harder all the time.

I really loved Digger as a character. She is smart and funny with lots of wit. Yeah, she is a thief and a spy, but she has a sense of loyalty to those that have helped her. She had an interesting upbringing, but she has really tried to make a better life for herself away from her past. As she starts to open up to those around her, she ends up making great friends, and discovering that she is stronger than she knew. I instantly connected to her and I can’t wait to hear more of her story in the coming books.

This was a really fun read for me. I found the story really intriguing and it flowed really well. The beginning was a little slow for me and it took me some time to get into, but once I did I was totally hooked. The only thing I felt that it lacked was in the romance department. Not all books have to have romance, but I felt that this plot would have been a little better if some romance would have been added. There were hints of some romance so I am hoping that in the next book this is explored more. The plot defiantly kept me interested and it kept me pleasantly surprised the whole way through. This is the first book that I have read by Bunce, but it will defiantly not be my last. I would highly recommend this book to people that are fans of any kind of fantasy.

Notable Scene:

“I see you brother is a very powerful man.”

My hand jerked, and I felt Daul flinch. Damn.

“Not so powerful,” I said tartly – and loudly. “He couldn’t even get nuns to hold on to me!”

The audience laughed again, and I pulled my hand back, easy, easily…

He slapped me. Under the table, fingertips to the back of my wrist. The look on his face shifted to sharp awareness as he met my eyes, and then back again as smoothly as a moon disappearing behind fog. “Well, I think it’s as well that someone should look after you, Lady Celyn,” he said. “There is a darkness looming in your future, I’m afraid. As well as a new association.”

“Not one of the Cwalo boys, I hope!” I tried to laugh with the others, but my wrist stung like I’d been burned, and my heart was a frantic flame in my chest. I couldn’t believe it. I never got caught.

FTC Advisory: Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic provided me with a copy of Star Crossed. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. show less

I first read Star Crossed in 2013 and I remember loving it enough that I bought the sequel… but one thing led to another and I never read it. Since this was read in the time before I kept a steady blog, there’s no review for the book, but when I pulled it from my TBR jar, I knew I remembered liking it. I had just forgotten how much.

Star Crossed is a perfect blend of adult fantasy world building and plot woven into a YA book. There’s a complicated magic system, a corrupt political system, whispers of war, alliances… Bunce even took the time to build healing lore. All this was put together in such a way that there weren’t info dumps, one of the banes of adult fantasy. There was romance, but it didn’t usurped eh overall story. show more And the plot was complicated – things came into play that didn’t seem important or interesting at the time but were vital later in the story.

All this to say – reading Star Crossed was a refreshing journey into a YA fantasy world that didn’t make me roll my eyes at cliche tropes and copy-paste heroines and love stories that won’t end. As a character, Digger is interesting. She’s an adaptable person with an unfortunate past and no future. She is a little rash, but doesn’t realize it until she’s made major mistakes. She’s loyal and curious to a fault. And she’s smart and skilled – she’s not perfect at everything (a trait that I abhor in many heroines – nobody is that good) but she know-how to put her skills to good use.

There are a lot of things about Digger’s past we don’t know, but ultimately, they aren’t important to the story, so I kind of appreciate that they weren’t dumped on the reader. The characters surrounding Digger are interesting as well – I quite liked Meri and I thought Daul was a worthy villain. Lady Lyll and Lord Antoch have such potential for a spinoff prequel. I liked that we only knew as much about these characters as Digger did. While I yearn for the deeper story, I also appreciate how focused the book is.

At the same time, I think that is Star Crossed’s singular fault. While there is clearly a rich world and complex characters behind everything, much of it lives in Bunce’s head. The story only reveals the items the reader needs to know, and often they are revealed without too much explanation. There’s a fine balance between too much and not enough and while it’s a close line… I think I would have like a little more context for some of the lore. Just a little, mind you.

Still – I liked Star Crossed just as much now as I did eight years ago. Fantasy stories with a rogue protagonist are a favorite of mine, and I think Bunce did an excellent job of building a YA fantasy story that doesn’t rely on romance to propel it forward. It’s immersive enough to really grab you and after the first one-hundred pages while the reader gets situated… the story takes off. I enjoyed it as a world to disappear in, and I’m glad I have Liar’s Moon on hand because I will certainly be reading the sequel. show less

I really enjoyed this. It's light fantasy (inasmuch as the world isn't heavy on magical difference), with some lovely legit day-to-day historical detail, and a charmingly believably journey for our savvy heroine to go on. (I could've done with a little more of the things that restrain her from making the smartest plot choice immediately; the things are there, but because it's deep psyche stuff and we're first-person here, she can't admit to them, can she? I feel that they could have been shown a little more explicitly, though, which would have lessened some of my frustration.)

That one niggle aside, this was a wonderful blend of fun and genuine serious business, and I found that both realistic and a delight to read. Definitely want to show more see more of this. show less

I came across this book laying on a table at the local library (it drives me nuts when patrons do not put away the books. Must be my OCD!). From the look of the cover, I honestly thought it was a book aimed at very young children, so I almost passed it up. I picked it up to set it on the "return to shelf" cart (I'm so helpful), but decided to read the jacket first. I thought to myself, "Wow....this actually sounds promising" so I checked it out with my other finds of the day. I am so thrilled that I decided to give this book a go. First, let me say this book is not aimed at the very young. It does contain what some may consider violent situations. I think it would fine for older middle school-aged children and above. Okay, parental show more advisory over.

Star Crossed by Elizabeth C. Bunce is story about 16-year-old Digger, who is a thief/spy among the feuding religious factions of Gerse. In the beginning of the story we find out that a job goes terribly wrong for Digger and her partner/lover, Tegen. She believes Tegen is killed and disguises herself in hopes to escape. A group of young nobles befriend her and invite her for a ride on their pleasure boat. She gives them a fake identity and life-story. As Celyn Contrare, she sneaks out of the city with them and becomes a lady-in-waiting for one of the young noblewomen at the stronghold of the powerful Nemair. Digger/Celyn continues to collect "loot" while enjoying a "vacation" from her reality when she gets caught. She is then blackmailed into spying on her hosts, who are believed to be planning a rebellion. That's the blurb in a nutshell without giving away any spoilers.

First off, I absolutely loved the heroine, Digger/Celyn. She is smart, independent, and strong, but she also has her faults and fears. I will not lie, there were times that I wanted to throttle her when she could have asked for help instead of digging herself deeper into the mess she was in. Then I remembered where she came from and how she was so use to depending on only herself, so I forgave her.

There were many supporting characters in the book and although the author could not deeply develop every single one, the characters she did develop were very well-rounded.

I believe what I enjoyed most about this book was that it was reminiscent of the Hunger Games. No, it is not a dystopian world where children kill each other. The resemblance was in the fact that the authors in both books chose not to focus fully on romance, but instead on the heroine's trials and growth through-out the novel.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys strong heroines and fantasy. I am looking forward to reading the second book in the Thief Errant Series, Liar's Moon. show less

I’m not really sure how to describe this book for you, readers. Because it’s so many things. STARCROSSED by Elizabeth C. Bunce had me completely ensconsed from page one with its vivid language, colorful characters, and elaborately planned world. Like a fine tapestry, there were a billion little stitches, and not one out of place. And when you step back, the big picture is just breathtaking.

STARCROSSED follows Digger, beginning on the night that a heist goes wrong and she has to leave her partner — and lover — behind, knowing that the authorities will surely take him into custody and kill him…or worse. Digger is a thief, and in a world where religious intolerance and tyranny has left an entire country living in fear, it’s show more best for her to stay invisible. So she does what any bright girl in her situation would do: she takes the first opportunity to leave the king’s city of Gerse that comes along.

Of course, what Digger — now known as Celyn — never imagined is that this wouldn’t be just another con. She is taken in by the kind family of Lady Merista Nemair, a girl who will soon be coming of age and just so happens to need a lady-in-waiting. When the entire family and a slew of guests are trapped on the Nemair’s property due to an avelanche, Digger’s plans to run away are foiled. And while she does her best not to bond with the family, Digger soon finds herself torn between loyalty to the Nemairs who have shown her kindness and Lord Dal, Merista’s conniving uncle, who knows Digger’s secret and will only keep silent if she does his bidding. Digger must become a spy, and betray Lord and Lady Nemair, and perhaps even Merista, a girl who has magic in a world where magic is considered heresy and treason.

With secrets and intrigue around every bend, this first book in a planned series is unputdownable. The twists are unpredictable, yet believable, and the characters come to life in a way that seems so hard to achieve in high fantasy. STARCROSSED is thrilling up to the very last page, and I cannot wait for the next installment of Digger’s story. show less

StarCrossed is a fun YA fantasy full of excellent world-building, political intrigue, and a fantastically quirky protagonist.

High fantasy isn’t too common in YA these days, so StarCrossed offers a breath of fresh air with its new world complete with its own languages, religions, and caste systems. Elizabeth C. Bunce does a great job building the world of StarCrossed, and though it was a bit of a learning experience, I found myself completely immersed in the culture.



StarCrossed kept me completely hooked with its plot. I’m a big fan of political intrigue (although really, when doesn’t a high fantasy novel include political intrigue?), and was glad to see it executed well in the novel. Digger’s sneaking around helped reveal the show more secrets of the nobility bit by bit, which built up the mystery perfectly. Although Elizabeth C. Bunce’s writing is a bit dense for a young adult novel (something I am totally cool with), the story will easily keep the reader turning pages.



As a protagonist, Digger was fantastic. I liked how her compact size contrasted her big attitude. She wasn’t afraid to get herself into a jam, and always figured out how to get herself out of that jam. I enjoyed her narration and the friendships she forged with the other residents of Byrn Shaer. She was a thief and a liar, but she had a good heart.



I’d definitely recommend StarCrossed to any fan of fantasy. People who enjoyed Kristen Cashore’s novels will certainly find a similar enjoyment in StarCrossed--it’s great fun and it has a new world filled with politics and mystery.
(Originally posted to 365 Days of Reading) show less