Review: 5 Dark and Beautiful Stars
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 04 10, 2014
What a book! After reading the synopsis I knew the story would hook me from the very beginning – and boy it did! I didn’t want to put it down for a second. Although the blurb already said it is not a BDSM romance this book was nowhere near what I would have expected. The first half is dark and twisted and had me always second-guessing what might happen next – the other half is just plain beautiful and deeply moving. It is that kind of story that stays with you long after you finished reading.Thirteen girls wake up disoriented and helpless in an unfamiliar environment. All of them have a number between one to thirteen tattooed onto their wrists. Terrified, they have tons of questions:Where are they?Who are these other girls?What happened to them?What will happen to them now?As if it is not worse enough that they know nothing about their current situation – they also have no memory at all about their past lives – hell, they cannot even remember their own names!Soon they learn that they all are held captive by one mysterious Master who they have never seen and that their lives will be at his mercy, full of servitude and – if they don't obey – pain. Their MasterHow will they cope with all this? Are they going to fight to get back their rights – their stolen lives – no matter what the consequences might be? Or would it be better to just give up in order to satisfy the Master?Thirteen is a meaningful number for William. It is the number he associates with the most important lesson life taught him – the number that has formed him to the man he is today – a monster.Now it is his turn to teach these thirteen girls a lesson. All of these girls are chosen for a reason, because all of them are destroyed and broken in some way or another. They have to learn to trust William, to believe that everything he does serves a purpose; that they have to follow his rules or get punished if they don’t, to learn that these rules are necessary to protect them.But also William has to learn: He needs to believe that not everyone judges him based on the incidence that connects him to the number thirteen, that not everyone thinks of him as a monster.The book’s POV alternates between William’s and Number Thirteen’s. It helps to understand William on one hand and on the other you witness how Number Thirteen copes with this whole situation and how she discovers her past anew. …but most of all you experience the two of them developing feelings for each other, no matter the messed-up situation they are in. It is a unique and precious love unlike any other I have read about.Oh, William! After reading the prologue I was on his team immediately! My heart broke for him… several times. It made me trust him from the very beginning. I believed that he meant the girls no harm, no matter his suspect and arguable orders. I also think his hiding in the beginning served two purpose: Encouraging the girls to fear him even more but hiding his monster from them at once.I am absolutely digging this story! It is about survival, courage and bravery, fear and sadness, hope and faith and, most importantly, it is about trust and love. This story hit me deep in my core and I know it will stay for me for a long time. It is a book that is definitely worth a re-read!There is only one question that was never answered and that still bothers me: What really happened to Number Six??? I don’t think it is what all the girls are suspecting… but I’ll leave it at that, as I don’t want to spoil it. I just needed to get it out because it still keeps preying on my mind!!This is only the first book by Bella Jewel I’ve read, but I already count her to my favorites. It is such a breathtaking story! I’d really love a sequel of maybe Number Twelve’s and Ben’s story!!But for now, I cannot wait to start Enslaved by the Ocean very, very soon!NUMBER THIRTEEN is certainly one of my top reads in 2014!