Series: The Kricket Series #1
Author: Amy A. Bartol
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-fi, Romance
Publication Date: December 19, 2013
Source: Gifted. Thank you!
Kricket Hollowell is normally not one to wish upon stars; she believes they’re rarely in her favor. Well versed at dodging caseworkers from Chicago’s foster care system, the past few years on her own have made Kricket an expert at the art of survival and blending in. With her 18th birthday fast approaching, she dreams of the day when she can stop running and find what her heart needs most: a home.
Trey Allairis hates Earth and doubts that anyone from his world can thrive here. What he’s learning of Kricket and her existence away from her true home only confirms his theory. But, when he and Kricket lie together under the stars of Ethar, counting them all may be easier than letting her go.
Kyon Ensin’s secrets number the stars; he knows more about Kricket's gifts than anyone and plans to possess her because of them. He also knows she’s more valuable than any fire in the night sky. He’ll move the heavens and align them all in order to make her his own.
When everything in their world can be broken, will Kricket rely upon love to save her under different stars?
Find Under Different Stars online
Yikes.
Yeah, you know it's gonna be bad when we're starting the review on that note. But if you had been reading my mind while I was reading this book, that'd be the word you'd find popping up the most. That and "why", "oh my gosh no", "what is actually happening", and "umm". Guys, I wanted to like this book. I mean, someone gave it to me as a gift, it has a gorgeous cover, and the synopsis sounded pretty decent. Unfortunately, things went down pretty quick from there.
So, right off the bat, we've got a major case of mary sue. I never knew a character could be so beautiful/perfect/intelligent/model-esque/powerful/coveted before. She's just super special and we find that out quickly when the first ten pages are basically just her best friend raving about how perfect she is, how blonde her hair is, how tall she is, how her eyes are so unique, and how she should be a model. Seriously. Their dialogue consisted of him describing how she looked and telling her she should be a model. While I generally enjoy having the characters described in the books I'm reading, this was so obvious and cringe-worthy, I found myself wincing. To put the cherry on top of her oh-so-special ice cream sundae, she finds out that she's an incredibly powerful alien and is desperately wanted by two warring alien species who basically consist of really hot men who all want to get with her. So, you know, love triangles. Woo.
The romance . . . just didn't feel like romance. It was cringy and came 100% out of nowhere. It felt more like an attempt at a plot? But, personally, I like my romance to not be, you know, basically the entire driving force behind the plot. So, the main love interest is named Trey and he and Kricket hate each other at first even though they keep hugging ad cuddling and lots of cheek caressing ensues, even though they definitely hate each other. I didn't understand why the hell Trey was acting like such a major asshole. Like, excuse me, you're the one that kidnapped her! Why was he throwing 'tude? I don't think the author could decide whether to make him a douche or to make him really sweet and caring so we got this really weird mix that just felt forced and uncomfortable. Not to mention the fact that he acted more like her babysitter than anything else. Oh, and they were professing their undying love for each other after like, what, a week of knowing each other? M'kay. The other "romantic lead" . . . you know, I don't even think I should mention him since he's so hideously not a love interest, despite it being shown like that in the novel.
Despite all these things, I did find myself somewhat entertained while reading this. It kind of felt like I was watching an episode of The Bachelor. It was kinda a train wreck but I couldn't really stop myself from continuing it. I wouldn't call it good, but it says something that I didn't DNF it I guess.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. I’m used to holding on to nothing as tight as I can.”
Two Teapots
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