Star Crossed by Jennifer Echols (Stargazer #1)
Contemporary Romance
February 26, 2013
Pocket
Reviewed by May
From author’s site:
Publicist Wendy Mann has always competed hotly with her rival Daniel Blackstone, but this time they’re headed for a collision. Wendy’s job is on the line if she doesn’t save the image of a spoiled young starlet who’s posting provocative pictures of herself all over the Internet in a snarky attempt at revenge on her former boyfriend. Daniel is representing the ex, a onetime teen heartthrob who never grew up. With the feuding Hollywood pair scheduled to appear on the same Las Vegas awards show, Daniel and Wendy are determined to do whatever it takes to defend their own clients.
Unfortunately, the chemistry between Wendy and Daniel is even more explosive than that of their Hollywood stars. L-O-V-E was always a four-letter word for these two ultra-competitors; they never counted on the scorching heat that erupts between them. But Wendy’s high-gloss exterior hides a dark past—one that’s lurking behind the bright Vegas lights. Their careers are on the line, and so is Wendy’s life. . . .
With this review I will start at the end and just tell you that I did not enjoy this book. I wasn’t sure if I should be expecting something light and funny, or something more serious based on the last two lines of the book description. From the start Daniel is the poor little rich boy. He works for his daddy’s company, he is supposedly the best PR guy in the business, but something is just missing. While I liked him better than Wendy, I still found him to be entirely void of personality or any unique traits.
Wendy, right from the first scene is clearly a victim of domestic abuse and is recovering from that. She is jumpy around men especially those who might get upset, and is very sensitive to the mood of those around her. While I applaud the author for giving us a female lead that is interesting, I didn’t get the feeling that this was a woman who was emotionally ready for a committed relationship. She gave me the impression that if someone raised their hand to stretch she might flinch – and that is a hard sell on a “in Vegas for the week met my true love” type romance.
Wendy is supposedly great at her job, which made me really wonder why her firm had tried to fire her prior to this Vegas assignment. If she’s really that good, if her results are so great, why let her go? She is hard on her clients, but if they send her the worst clients that need the most help how could she not be? This aspect of the plot bothered me and I never quite bought into her amazingness at her job, or that she was so hard on clients that they’d want her fired.
Wendy and Daniel aren’t strangers – in fact they went to school together. So the part of the plot that has them teaming up worked for me, they knew each other so it would make sense that they’d give each other a bit more trust. It also helps make the rather insta-love plot a bit more viable, though I continuously questioned why this couple hadn’t gotten together much sooner. If they had such chemistry and worked in the same industry, sure to see each other around, why now?
The most memorable scene for me, truly the only one that stood out was where Wendy is describing to Daniel that she hopes the walls of the club make it seem like you’re in a vagina. Then, of course she’s bummed that when she enters the place it isn’t as she imagined.
Stepping through the doorway into the second party, she noticed with disappointment that the club was decorated in blue rather than pink velvet and did not glisten or otherwise look anything remotely resembling a vagina. Clearly the designers were not as creative as she was.
I really don’t know what to say about that, except that this failed attempt at humor, the wooden characters, the predictable villain and drama element, and the clichéd Hollywood young stars all added up to a dismal read for me. I repeatedly had to force my attention to the page, make myself not skim over pages and scenes, and truly I think I’d have been better off if I hadn’t finished this book at all. It simply wasn’t for me.
Grade: D
Recent Reviews:
Happily Ever After-Reads – B
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Yeah, this does not sound so good. Sorry it sucked mostly. it sounded okay in the blurb but not every book is a gem.
I’ve really enjoyed Jennifer Echols YA novels (GOING TO FAR gets re-read on a regular basis), which means I was *crushed* by how much I didn’t like this book. Did-Not-Finish levels of dislike. Stop-reading-to-search-the-internet-for-clues-as-to-why-this-is-so-bad levels of dislike. Wendy’s “she’s awesome at her job but about to get fired” situation totally annoyed me, the foreshadowing of the abusive ex showing up in Vegas was irritating, and the amount of clunky exposition slowed everything down to a crawl. I kept wondering if this was Echol’s first novel, pulled out of a drawer and dusted off now that her more successful books had paved the way (“no”). Still no answers for my broken heart…
Aw, I am so sorry to hear this. :( I still plan on buying the book eventually (what can I say – I am fanboy enough to try it out) or getting it on sale, but to hear the general claim of dislike even from her YA romance fans is disheartening.
Her YA romances are so worth it, though. SUCH A RUSH and THE BOYS NEXT DOOR are great (one very dramatic, one very funny, both with great voices). I haven’t read all of them, but you better believe it’s on my list. Still… :/ It’s a major bummer this one didn’t work out.
Yikes! This was on my “maybe” list, but I think I’ll pass. She’s a bit of a hit-and-miss with me, but mostly miss. I will echo Julia and say that Going too Far is an excellent book, though.
May, I love your honesty; my credit card loves you more.
Yeah, you `re absolutely right. I was disappointed too. usually I can`t wait to read j echols, but this was a weak reading, didn`t feel the characters, they didn`t feel genuine in their romance