The Le Teen Café Review Corner: Starkissed by Brynna Gabrielson
Author: Brynna Gabrielson
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Synopsis (via Goodreads):
Kissing movie star Grant West may be every teenage girl’s dream, but when it happens to Sydney Kane, it’s nothing but a nightmare. Sure he’s cute, but having her face plastered all over celebrity gossip blogs is not something she’s interested in. Now cheerleaders are trying to befriend her, reporters won’t stop calling, and her mother keeps chasing her with a curling iron so she won’t be caught by the paparazzi with flat hair ever again.
Forgetting Grant is all Sydney wants and Colin, the guy she’s had a crush on since seventh grade, seems like a pretty good way to do it. Then Grant shows up at Sydney’s door begging for a second chance and the more she gets to know him, the more she isn’t sure she wants him to go away. But with Grant in the picture, Colin is backing off and she definitely doesn’t want that. Everything is a mess and Sydney doesn’t know what to do, who to choose, or how to make those pesky cheerleaders leave her alone. She only knows one thing for sure, being STARKISSED isn’t a dream come true at all.
Review:
4/5
*WARNING: very slight spoilers*
I picked this up hoping for a cutesy read because I wasn’t in the mood for studying. Starkissed turned out to be the exact thing I needed. A cute, romantic comedy that is impossible to put down, I read it in two hours nonstop and I never noticed the time ticking by.
As a rule, I’m a sucker for storylines where a rock star/movie star boy falls for an ordinary girl. Because, hello? Harry Styles anybody? And this book was so my style. I think the biggest thing that sold me was the characters. Especially Sydney. She’s so lovable and relatable. I could definitely feel Sydney’s pain with her being the only plain one in her family. And honestly, I believe everyone has felt that way at least once in their lives. When she was being compared with her sisters at school, and when she was comparing herself with her sisters... If Sydney were real, she and I would be best friends.
But the best part? First of all, I’m not very emotional, which leads to occasional emotional attacks in which I cry for hours straight nonstop, but that’s a different story. I could literally feel Sydney’s pain and happiness. My heart beat so fast whenever Sydney’s was. My heart broke when Sydney’s did. My heart leaped when Sydney’s did. I haven’t felt so connected to a main character for a long time. I think it’s got to do with me and her having so many similarities personality wise, though I would definitely say she's so much braver than I am. I could see myself acting as she did, and I could see myself thinking as she did. We would totes be crying on each others' shoulders as we bathe in our un-awesome-ness.
From time to time, I would find myself hating Syd’s family (See? I even made a nickname for my fictional best friend!). They would sometimes really piss me off. Leaving Syd to go to NYC themselves? I hate you! But I got to know them better, and eventually got to understand them at the end.
And the two boys. Hm. What should I say? They’re confusing. There’s no other way to put it. But I’m not saying they’re confusing in a bad way. It was a good kind of confusing, because it got me guessing about who Syd would end up with, though I knew who it would be. Speaking of which, although I knew who, I still speculated. It kept me on the edge of my seat, hoping Syd would end up with my favorite guy character.
The epilogue was epic. Nice touch, Brynna Gabrielson.
If I had something bad to say about this book, it would be that there weren’t enough scenes with Sydney and THE HOTTEST BOOK CHARACTER OF ALL TIME. More, I say, more!
I would recommend this book to anyone who’s looking for a quick, fun read that will make you fall in love with the characters and every teenage girl out there.
Oh and P.S. I don't like the cover. I thought Syd was supposed to be a brunette? But whatevs.
-Barista Mia-
Image: Starkissed
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