Tuesday, March 7, 2017

REVIEW: "Curse of Stars" by Donna Compositor (Fantasy, Young Adult)

CURSE OF STARS
by Donna Compositor

Publisher: Self-published
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult
Publication Date: February 19th 2017


Series: Diamond Criers, #1
Standalone: No



Description from Publisher:
Sabi Perez is the last Diamond Crier, only she doesn’t know it. Not until a crazed ruler from another world comes to collect her priceless tears and won’t take no for an answer.

Living in New York, Sabi’s seen some nasty things, but the lengths to which her captor will go to keep his crown are things found only in the darkest nightmares. Afraid and alone, Sabi finds solace in her cellmate, Anya, and Cabal, a fellow Crier who also has powers, a rare combination that buys his favor from the ruler. Only it’s a favor he doesn’t want.

In a fit of rage, power erupts out of Sabi, the same power Cabal has, and a spark of hope ignites. Together they may have a chance at escape, something no other Crier has done. Except a ruler hellbent on draining them of every last diamond tear isn’t their only hurdle. If they escape they’ll be hunted to the ends of the earth, if they survive the trek to safety. If they stay the ruler will leech them dry. Sabi would rather die trying than lie down and die, even if that means running away into even more danger.

"Both original and exciting - with a fierce heroine, a fast-paced plot, and a fascinating world. Fans of dark fantasy - pick this one up!" Mari Mancusi - Award winning author of the Scorched series and the Blood Coven Vampires

". . . vividly imagined and deftly plotted dark fantasy . . ." BookLife Prize in Fiction

My Rating:
Now, I am a fan of science fiction and fantasy, so I was excited to read this. One of my favorite things about the sci-fi/fantasy genres is the world building and mythology, which this didn't really have a lot of.

We start off with Sabi, a teenage girl who lives in New York City, being followed by a strange man who calls her his property and threatens her sister. From there, Sabi discovers that she is not from Earth (or, at least, not the same Earth?) and that she has a special ability that was hidden from her somehow for over a decade. She is ripped from her family and imprisoned by the apparently evil man who came for her.

Then, we get a small amount of mythology, a couple of new characters - Anya and Cabal - who sort of answer some of her questions, and mostly a whole lot of misery. This goes on until close to 50%. Around the middle, we get more world building and mythology, but just a taste before moving along to the next setting.

This had some interesting aspects and a lot of potential, but I feel that it missed the mark in most ways. None of the characters are especially deep or developed, even Sabi, and there are some strange things that happen that made me confused about the morality of both of Sabi's companions and whether they were good or bad.

If you are someone who enjoys dark fantasy that is still fairly light, then this is for you.
My Source: I received a digital ARC from the publisher to voluntarily review. This in no way influenced my review. My opinion is unbiased and my 100% own.

About the Author:
Donna has been writing since she was in the single digits when she first realized she needed to do something about all the thoughts in her head. After a stint with bad poetry she finally found her way to novels, mainly of the young adult fantasy variety. When she's not cranking out more stories she works a regular 9 to 5, reads anywhere from 2 to 3 books a week, drinks copious amounts of tea, eats way too much, and makes her own beauty products because her skin turns into a sentient hive if she uses anything else. This is mostly because she lives in the desert where the air siphons water clean out of her. She lives with a man named Steve and several quadrupeds: three cats named Renfield, Sam, and Dean; and a MinPin named Malfoy.Donna has been writing since she was in the single digits when she first realized she needed to do something about all the thoughts in her head. After a stint with bad poetry she finally found her way to novels, mainly of the young adult fantasy variety. When she's not cranking out more stories she works a regular 9 to 5, reads anywhere from 2 to 3 books a week, drinks copious amounts of tea, eats way too much, and makes her own beauty products because her skin turns into a sentient hive if she uses anything else. This is mostly because she lives in the desert where the air siphons water clean out of her. She lives with a man named Steve and several quadrupeds: three cats named Renfield, Sam, and Dean; and a MinPin named Malfoy.
GoodReads Website Twitter

Giveaway
a Rafflecopter giveaway

XBTBanner1

No comments:

Search