Review: Intriguing story and characters
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 28, 2014
"You see, I didn't want to ruin his life. I just simply wanted to change mine."Star-Crossed literally JUMPED out to me when I read the blurb.18 year old Kaitlyn Laurent is Manhattan royalty. Born and bred into the wealthiest of families, Kaitlyn lives a life full of privileged and expectation.With her father and stepmother busy socializing, Kaitlyn and her step-brother, Marius, are left basically rearing themselves."Inside the fence, cooped up in my enviable Upper Easy Side mansion, I was left to my own devices. My own deeds. My own means of escape and worldly deviances. Not that I had many."While Kaitlyn is simply wanting to escape her upbringing and impending future in which her father has orchestrated for her, her step-brother Marius is more than willing to exploit his status, surroundings and those around him for his own amusement."There is one thing, first and foremost, that you should know about this story: it all started with a game."Marius offers Kaitlyn freedom, but with Marius there is always a price. If Kaitlyn can seduce her gorgeous Literature teacher she gets Marius' trust fund. If she loses, Marius gets Kaitlyn.But when Kaitlyn starts out to seduce Mr. William Tennet, she never expected to find a kindred spirit in this conquest."I wondered, looking at Mr. Tennet in that millisecond of our eyes meeting, if we were doomed to perpetually search for things we lost somewhere along the way."Will was meant to be a means to an end. But Kaitlyn starts realizing that this is more than a game and her freedom could come at a cost she is not willing to pay.I LOVED this book but it's not without it's faults. What drew me to this story was the similarities to one of my favorite movies ever, Cruel Intentions. Because I was so familiar with this movie I was a little bothered by some of the obvious inspirations taken from it.Even though I took issue with those elements, the writing, characters and plot held me hostage until the early morning hours.Kaitlyn is an interesting character. Lonely, hollow, bold and predatory, I found Kaitlyn fascinating."I knew who the real victim was, and it wasn't me. If there were some fragment of this inevitable explosion that wrote my name in blood across the tracks, I would smear it and cry hearsay. Mr. Tennet was the victim."Her metamorphosis throughout Star-Crossed was what kept me hooked to the pages. Especially her friendship with outcast, Tyler, brought a layer of depth and likeability to her.Her relationship with Will was maddening, heartbreaking, and tragic in it's circumstances."Are we star-crossed?" I asked quietly, a whisper."Yes", he said. "But I would fight against the stars for you."But what stole the show for me was Marius. He's calculating, cruel and deviant. Everything about Marius that should push you away is what draws you to him."Choice,"Marius said, after pausing for a length of time that seemed slightly too drawn out. As if he were carefully selecting his next move; the piece to slide across a chessboard."It's more than just a word. It's an action. It's perhaps the one thing that joins all of us together in this little deviant game."As you can see, I highlighted A LOT. The writing is gorgeous and flows so well. In fact, this didn't feel like I was reading an indie novel (no offense to indie authors) it just read so elegantly.While I am knocking a star off for the similarities to Cruel Intentions, I would easily agree this is a 5 star book. Not only was it entertaining but it was provocative and thought-provoking. If this is the writing I can expect from Ms. Lacour I will anxiously awaiting her next story.