Book Review: Starling by Lesley Livingston

Starling
Starling #1
Author: Lesley Livingston
Reading Level: YA
Genre: Fantasy/mythology
Released: August 28th 2012
Review Source: Harper Teen
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) Mason Starling is a champion fencer on the Gosforth Academy team, but she's never had to fight for her life. Not until the night a ferocious, otherworldly storm rips through Manhattan, trapping Mason and her teammates inside the school. Mason is besieged by nightmarish creatures more terrifying than the thunder and lightning as the raging tempest also brings a dangerous stranger into her life: a young man who remembers nothing but his name--the Fennrys Wolf. His arrival tears Mason's world apart, even as she feels an undeniable connection to him. Together, they seek to unravel the secrets of Fenn's identity as strange and supernatural forces gather around them. When they discover Mason's family--with its dark allegiance to ancient Norse gods--is at the heart of the mystery, Fennrys and Mason are suddenly faced with a terrifying future.

Set against the gritty, shadowed back-drop of New York City, this first novel in award-winning author Lesley Livingston's epic Starling Saga is an intoxicating blend of sweeping romance and pulse-pounding action.

(3.5 Trees)

School sports should be fun and competitive, a learning experience for young people. Little did Starling know that her evening of regularly scheduled fencing practice would turn into an evening that would change her for a lifetime. Coming from a family well in the upper class, Starling and her brother Rory attend a private school, where every opportunity is available to them. Even with a comfortable life, Starling is still faced with jealousy from her peers. She is even faced with first loves. Starling's encounter with a mysterious young man leads to family secrets revealed and choices and events that can effect the entire world.

Starling was a very easy read. The plot is original, however there are some moments where it felt like deja vu. Almost as if I heard that line before. But Livingston quickly grabbed my attention back with here mythical world of good vs evil. The novel opens up and ends very strongly. The body had moments where the pacing felt a bit slow, but by that time I was already attached to all of the characters and needed to know how the story would continue.

Of course there is the saying that we shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. However, I feel that in this review I will address the the cover. I was reading Starling at lunch and my colleague asked me about the book. She liked the cover. I asked her, so if you were at the book store you would pick this book up and check it out. She stated "sure would." For me, I thought the cover did not truly prepare the reader for the intense content of the novel. So there are 2 different opinions for the future reader of the novel. I look forward to book number 2 in the series, as I'm sure more and more will be revealed and more and more lives will be saved.