REVIEW: Dark Star (Dark Star, #1) by Bethany Frenette

Dark Star
(Dark Star, #1)
by Bethany Frenette
Hardcover, 368 p.

Synopsis
Audrey Whitticomb has nothing to fear. Her mother is the superhero Morning Star, the most deadly crime-fighter in the Twin Cities, so it's hard for Audrey not to feel safe. That is, until she's lured into the sweet night air by something human and not human--something with talons and teeth, and a wide, scarlet smile.

Now Audrey knows the truth: her mom doesn't fight crime at night. She fights Harrowers--livid, merciless beings who were trapped Beneath eons ago. Yet some have managed to escape. And they want Audrey dead, just because of who she is: one of the Kin.

To survive, Audrey will need to sharpen the powers she has always had. When she gets close to someone, dark corners of the person's memories become her own, and she sometimes even glimpses the future. If Audrey could only get close to Patrick Tigue, a powerful Harrower masquerading as human, she could use her Knowing to discover the Harrowers' next move. But Leon, her mother's bossy, infuriatingly attractive sidekick, has other ideas. Lately, he won't let Audrey out of his sight.

When an unthinkable betrayal puts Minneapolis in terrible danger, Audrey discovers a wild, untamed power within herself. It may be the key to saving her herself, her family, and her city. Or it may be the force that destroys everything--and everyone--she loves.

My Review
First off for this book--IGNORE THE SUPERHERO MENTION IN THE BLURB.  This book is NOT, in ANY way, based off of superheroes.  Instead, think DEMONS.  DEEEEMONS.  This is a book about fighting DEMONS.



I actually really liked the plot, and the pacing of Dark Star. It had a nice mystery for a center plotline, and included enough twists and turns for me to get absorbed into it.  It was almost like watching a movie, except in words...yeah.  It's cliched, but true for this book.

Audrey has a superhero mom. Because of this fact, she also has to put up with the stiff-collar sidekick, Leon.  Weeeeelll...no.  Technically, her mom is a Guardian, as well as Leon, but Audrey likes superhero better.  I mean, who wouldn't? Her Special Snowflake skill is being able to use cards to "sense" people--glimpses of their past, present, future.  But girls all over the city have been turning up dead, with their ankles slit. (Oooh!) And it turns out that it's the work of these really nasty guys called Harrowers--demon-y thingies.  And so Audrey tries to use her Special Snowflake powers to try to stop the killings.

That's really all I remember of the book. Sad, I know.

It's hard to describe, but even though I loved the plot and the writing, there wasn't enough "oomph" to power the story.  You know that special connection that a good book gives you?  I forgot about the plot two days after I finished.

Leon just annoyed me.  Throughout the book, their whole dynamic was sort of an older brother/younger sister sort of thing, complete with flour bombing and snarky talk-backs.  Then he starts saving Audrey all over the place, and they have their first self-aware romantic scene in the last 10 pages of the book.  Like, hello?  Have you ever heard of building up to scenes like that?  But it was cute, so my disapproval of Leon is at a "sucky-character building" level.

But one thing that really sticks in my mind is that this did not end like most YA novels.  Usually, you'll read something along the lines of this:

GURL: I love you soooo much. But since this is a forbidden love, we've got to enjoy it while we can.
BOY: While we can?  Why can't we enjoy it FOREVER>>>
GURL: Oh, [BOY], you're so swoonworthy, I can't believe I was so lucky to get you as my boyfriend! But we've really got to consider that it's not going to last.
BOY: You don't understand, [GURL].  Love can transcend all barriers!  NOthing can stop our love!
GURL: Oh my god!  You're right! But in the next novel, I'm going to have 1/3 of the book made up of relationship angst anyways.
BOY: So lets enjoy this ending...together..
*wild make-out session ensues*

But for this one, it had this really nice reconcilliation scene with her mom.  Y'see, apart from being a DEMON-filled book, a big part of it also has to do with the relationship of Audrey and her mom, which is pretty tight, to say the least.  And I just wanted to find Frenette and THANK HER ON MY KNEES that it wasn't one of the aforementioned endings.  Because it was a beautiful ending.

My Rating
Plot was good, albeit forgettable.  Love interest was obviously forced into the role.  Mom/daughter relationship at the end was a nice change from the normal snogging scenes.

3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Happy reading!