Book Review: Starstruck by Brenda Hiatt

Nerdy astronomy geek Marsha, M to her few friends, has never been anybody special. Orphaned as an infant and reluctantly raised by an overly-strict “aunt,” she’s not even sure who she is. M’s dream of someday escaping tiny Jewel, Indiana and making her mark in the world seems impossibly distant until hot new quarterback Rigel inexplicably befriends her. As Rigel turns his back on fawning cheerleaders to spend time with M, strange things start to happen: her acne clears up, her eyesight improves to the point she can ditch her thick glasses, and when they touch, sparks fly—literally! When M digs for a reason, she discovers deep secrets that will change her formerly humdrum life forever . . . and expose her to perils she never dreamed of. Yes, the middle of nowhere just got a lot more interesting!

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So, I went into this book with low expectations because a.) it was free as an e-book, and b.) it was compared to the LUX series by Jennifer L. Armentrout. If you didn't know, the LUX series is one of my favorite series of all time, so I did not want to read a not so good copy of my favorite series. I am glad to say I was was pleasantly surprised. In this book we follow Marsha, otherwise known as M, as she starts her Sophomore year of high school. M is the nerdy student; she always does her homework; she loves to read; she also has a giant crush on the new student and quarterback, Rigel. The whole school is surprised though when Rigel starts to talk to and like M, but what made him see M in the first place?

I liked M, but sometimes I found her kind of annoying. That rarely happened though, and she had a lot more good qualities than bad. I really liked how she thought everything out and used resources around her. She thought about different plans, and how each one would turn out before acting out on one of them. I also really liked Rigel. He was just a really sweet character, and he was really good to M. He was always thinking about her, and what would be best for her. I cannot wait to see how their relationship progresses through out the series. 

Now, this series has been compared to the LUX series by Jennifer L. Armentrout, and I can see why. There are similar aspects like the alien thing, the bonding thing, and even Rigel and M's relationship. One real difference that I really enjoyed though was the politics. I am not really a big fan of a lot of politics in YA books, but I really enjoyed it in this book. It was cool to get to see how the politics on Mars is similar and different from on Earth. Now I'm sure that we are going to focus more on powers in the rest of the series, but I am excited to see how the politics aspect of this book works out.

Overall, this was a fun, fast paced book with aliens, romance, and interesting politics. I recommend this book to alien lovers.

4/5 Points

I REALLY liked this book!