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Starstruck
All that Jewish Brooklyn homemaker Abby Miller wants is to get her romance novel published, and know what it is to fall in love. Only in a semi-arranged marriage with a medical-resident husband who’s never home and overwhelmed raising their kids, Abby’s goals seem less likely than ever. On top of that, her husband DAVID decides to move—away from her mother!
Abby tries to balance everyone’s demands: her kids, mother, David’s—until meltdown: She is scared that David might have an affair with a colleague. Trying to save her marriage, Abby embarks on a mission to reignite their romance. However, when she nearly kills a soap opera star in an accident and finds a severed hand in the park-- everything just gets more complicated. Thank God her best friend Sara is the Assistant D.A. for Kings County!
Orthodox Jewish Assistant D.A Sara Oppenheimer is turning thirty and very angry. She’s angry that perps who kill little children still walk the streets. She’s angry that she has to date an endless parade of bozos and still hasn’t found anyone to love, and most of all she’s angry that the Russian embassy is impeding her prosecution of a clear-cut Russian mafia hit.
Abby tries to balance everyone’s demands: her kids, mother, David’s—until meltdown: She is scared that David might have an affair with a colleague. Trying to save her marriage, Abby embarks on a mission to reignite their romance. However, when she nearly kills a soap opera star in an accident and finds a severed hand in the park-- everything just gets more complicated. Thank God her best friend Sara is the Assistant D.A. for Kings County!
Orthodox Jewish Assistant D.A Sara Oppenheimer is turning thirty and very angry. She’s angry that perps who kill little children still walk the streets. She’s angry that she has to date an endless parade of bozos and still hasn’t found anyone to love, and most of all she’s angry that the Russian embassy is impeding her prosecution of a clear-cut Russian mafia hit.
214 pages, Paperback
First published February 25, 2013
3 people are currently reading
50 people want to read
About the author
Yael Levy
11 books25 followersA freelance illustrator and journalist, Yael Levy has been published in numerous venues, including The Jerusalem Post during her three-year stay in Israel just east of the bustling capital city of Tel Aviv.
She holds a degree in Illustration from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. But it’s the questioning journalist inside her that has launched a new career in writing literature. Her debut novel Brooklyn Love (Sept. 17, 2012, Crimson Romance) hones in on Levy’s interest in the underlying thoughts and expressions of the Orthodox Jewish culture.
A native New Yorker, Levy currently writes for The Times of Israel about her experiences as a Jewish mother now living in Atlanta. She is also studying for a Masters in Law at Emory University.
She holds a degree in Illustration from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. But it’s the questioning journalist inside her that has launched a new career in writing literature. Her debut novel Brooklyn Love (Sept. 17, 2012, Crimson Romance) hones in on Levy’s interest in the underlying thoughts and expressions of the Orthodox Jewish culture.
A native New Yorker, Levy currently writes for The Times of Israel about her experiences as a Jewish mother now living in Atlanta. She is also studying for a Masters in Law at Emory University.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
February 19, 2013
"Starstruck" by Yael Levy, while a work of fiction, rings very true. You've got true Brooklyn, portrayed by an insider, together with the difficulties of being a resident's wife and the gripping guilt of Russian family, skillfully crafted into a story line. The book was an easy, fast read, engrossing and compelling, twisting and turning. The plot and subplots constantly kept me guessing, like a good mystery. I also liked that the ending was not a "happy ever after", but a more serious take on life.
While I could not relate to the obsession with the soaps, I liked how the desire to project a fantastical world onto reality shaped the conflicts and the resolutions. It might be a good lesson to stop living inside the head and start appreciating what life really brings.
While I could not relate to the obsession with the soaps, I liked how the desire to project a fantastical world onto reality shaped the conflicts and the resolutions. It might be a good lesson to stop living inside the head and start appreciating what life really brings.
March 10, 2013
Starstruck is a quick read equivilant to a wooshing rollar coaster ride that is over way to soon and leaves you reeling and wishing for more. The bends in the plot, diversity of the characters, the tender challanges and the wry humor all contribute to the absolute awesomness of this book. It is a mystery-romance-comedy-that-is-applicable-to-everyone kind of book and I completly and whole heartedly reccomend it to anyone and everyone.
January 12, 2016
This review contains spoilers and you have been warned.
Thanks to identity politics, I really wanted to love this book, I really did. But I didn't, not even a little. I came to Starstruck with high expectations, maybe too high. The author, Yael Levy has become something of a name in traditional Jewish circles due to her attempts to merge the romance market with Orthodox Judaism. This is not an easy thing to do, but as the neverending slew of Christian romances out there prove (especially the oddball Amish ones), it can be done. Just not by this particular book.
Levy's other books have good reviews, Starstruck was mostly ignored by Goodreads and even by Amazon and Barnes & Noble, so I didn't have a lot to go on. Looking back on it I wish I had started on those other 2 books so I wouldn't feel so disappointed. Why do I feel that way? Well, I'm not an Orthodox Jew, but I am a Reform Jew (a very liberal sect of my religion) and I snatch up ANYTHING that has Jewish representation it. Something you wouldn't think would be so hard to find, but is.
Anyway, onto the book. This book has a duel lead and a duel romance with a side almost romance going on and that's too bad because the book simply isn't long enough for all that plot. At only 212 pages, there's just not enough time to really sink your teeth into ANYTHING that's happening and Holy Hannah is a lot happening.
First there's Abby and David Miller, a married couple with 3 children. Abby is a stay at home mom and David is finishing up his surgical residency at a local Brooklyn hospital. Abby is desperately bored with her life, totally under her mother's thumb, cannot fight for herself nor stand up for herself in any meaningful way. Her husband David is clueless to the point of me wondering if he was developmentally disabled and just a really crappy husband and father. There's a potential infidelity plotline thrown in here, in that David's residency partner Katrina wants to have an affair with him. She's nasty to Abby and flat out tells Abby she intends to take her husband. Does Abby pull it together to have an ACTUAL conversation about this to David and TELL him what this woman has said to her? Nope. Instead she cries a lot and seemingly takes a master class on how to humiliate herself and her husband publicly. Also, Abby is obsessed with soap operas and can't tell the difference between them and reality. Sadly, David is a clueless jerk who doesn't deserve a wife and family of any kind, so I read this HOPING they'd get a divorce. They don't.
Then there's Sarah Oppenheimer and Jeffery Hammond. Sarah is an assistant D.A. in Brooklyn and Jeffery is a beat cop helping her on a case. The case itself is rather interesting, their star crossed romance is not. Why star crossed? Sarah is Jewish and Jeffery is Christian, Sarah is observant and Jeffery is not, but he says over and over he'd never dream of converting to her faith. Sarah agonizes over this all and we're lead to believe that they have deep feelings for each other... but I didn't see it. Jeffery just pressures Sarah to have sex with him and she works herself around the axle telling him no. Um... that doesn't sound like love to me, just a jerk pressuring a woman to have sex that she doesn't really want to have. There's a nice guy named Boris who runs a butcher shop that's also interested in Sarah, and while they don't get together in the book, you have a feeling it's only a matter of time when the book ends.
Lastly there's Leah (last name never stated) and Micheal Smith. They too are interfaith. Leah is married with one daughter to a VERY abusive husband who beats her relentlessly. Micheal finds out and helps her get a get. A get is a Jewish writ of divorce, even after a couple gets a secular divorce, without a get in Judaism, they're still married. Only men can give gets, a woman cannot start the process, this is a HUGE social issue in Judaism with women trapped in marriages they can't get out of because they can't initiate a get. Anyway, he helps her get one, she leaves Brooklyn after being abandoned by everyone, because blaming abuse victims is cool now I guess. Her and Micheal don't get together, but the ending is nebulous and it's hinted that they will at a later date.
This book just left me cold. Abby is a total, delusional, nitwit. Sarah is written more as an archetype than a real person. Leah is left too vague and her resolution left too open. As for the guys, well... David is a jerk, Jeffery is a cad, Boris is a total sweetie, Michael is bit clueless, but ultimately very lovable and Leah's husband is never shown, just the bruises he leaves on her.
I was so eager to read this as I never get to see Jewish heroines in romance, PNR or UF, or honestly anywhere else really. I wanted to love it and instead got my hopes dashed on the rocks of reality. However, I will be giving her other book Brooklyn Love a try. Who knows? Maybe lighting will strike?
Thanks to identity politics, I really wanted to love this book, I really did. But I didn't, not even a little. I came to Starstruck with high expectations, maybe too high. The author, Yael Levy has become something of a name in traditional Jewish circles due to her attempts to merge the romance market with Orthodox Judaism. This is not an easy thing to do, but as the neverending slew of Christian romances out there prove (especially the oddball Amish ones), it can be done. Just not by this particular book.
Levy's other books have good reviews, Starstruck was mostly ignored by Goodreads and even by Amazon and Barnes & Noble, so I didn't have a lot to go on. Looking back on it I wish I had started on those other 2 books so I wouldn't feel so disappointed. Why do I feel that way? Well, I'm not an Orthodox Jew, but I am a Reform Jew (a very liberal sect of my religion) and I snatch up ANYTHING that has Jewish representation it. Something you wouldn't think would be so hard to find, but is.
Anyway, onto the book. This book has a duel lead and a duel romance with a side almost romance going on and that's too bad because the book simply isn't long enough for all that plot. At only 212 pages, there's just not enough time to really sink your teeth into ANYTHING that's happening and Holy Hannah is a lot happening.
First there's Abby and David Miller, a married couple with 3 children. Abby is a stay at home mom and David is finishing up his surgical residency at a local Brooklyn hospital. Abby is desperately bored with her life, totally under her mother's thumb, cannot fight for herself nor stand up for herself in any meaningful way. Her husband David is clueless to the point of me wondering if he was developmentally disabled and just a really crappy husband and father. There's a potential infidelity plotline thrown in here, in that David's residency partner Katrina wants to have an affair with him. She's nasty to Abby and flat out tells Abby she intends to take her husband. Does Abby pull it together to have an ACTUAL conversation about this to David and TELL him what this woman has said to her? Nope. Instead she cries a lot and seemingly takes a master class on how to humiliate herself and her husband publicly. Also, Abby is obsessed with soap operas and can't tell the difference between them and reality. Sadly, David is a clueless jerk who doesn't deserve a wife and family of any kind, so I read this HOPING they'd get a divorce. They don't.
Then there's Sarah Oppenheimer and Jeffery Hammond. Sarah is an assistant D.A. in Brooklyn and Jeffery is a beat cop helping her on a case. The case itself is rather interesting, their star crossed romance is not. Why star crossed? Sarah is Jewish and Jeffery is Christian, Sarah is observant and Jeffery is not, but he says over and over he'd never dream of converting to her faith. Sarah agonizes over this all and we're lead to believe that they have deep feelings for each other... but I didn't see it. Jeffery just pressures Sarah to have sex with him and she works herself around the axle telling him no. Um... that doesn't sound like love to me, just a jerk pressuring a woman to have sex that she doesn't really want to have. There's a nice guy named Boris who runs a butcher shop that's also interested in Sarah, and while they don't get together in the book, you have a feeling it's only a matter of time when the book ends.
Lastly there's Leah (last name never stated) and Micheal Smith. They too are interfaith. Leah is married with one daughter to a VERY abusive husband who beats her relentlessly. Micheal finds out and helps her get a get. A get is a Jewish writ of divorce, even after a couple gets a secular divorce, without a get in Judaism, they're still married. Only men can give gets, a woman cannot start the process, this is a HUGE social issue in Judaism with women trapped in marriages they can't get out of because they can't initiate a get. Anyway, he helps her get one, she leaves Brooklyn after being abandoned by everyone, because blaming abuse victims is cool now I guess. Her and Micheal don't get together, but the ending is nebulous and it's hinted that they will at a later date.
This book just left me cold. Abby is a total, delusional, nitwit. Sarah is written more as an archetype than a real person. Leah is left too vague and her resolution left too open. As for the guys, well... David is a jerk, Jeffery is a cad, Boris is a total sweetie, Michael is bit clueless, but ultimately very lovable and Leah's husband is never shown, just the bruises he leaves on her.
I was so eager to read this as I never get to see Jewish heroines in romance, PNR or UF, or honestly anywhere else really. I wanted to love it and instead got my hopes dashed on the rocks of reality. However, I will be giving her other book Brooklyn Love a try. Who knows? Maybe lighting will strike?
March 12, 2013
Starstruck by Yael Levy is a good romance with a touch of murder mystery involved.
Abby Miller is a Jewish housewife, all she wants is for her husband to acknowledge her and to have her romance novel published. Life is not as simple as she wishes, with two kids of school age, one baby and her medical-resident husband’s needs she has no time for her dreams and herself.
Things are about to get more complicated for Abby, on her run through the park to get her kids some bagels for their lunch before the bus arrives, she finds a hand, a bloody hand without the owner anywhere nearby. Read More...
Abby Miller is a Jewish housewife, all she wants is for her husband to acknowledge her and to have her romance novel published. Life is not as simple as she wishes, with two kids of school age, one baby and her medical-resident husband’s needs she has no time for her dreams and herself.
Things are about to get more complicated for Abby, on her run through the park to get her kids some bagels for their lunch before the bus arrives, she finds a hand, a bloody hand without the owner anywhere nearby. Read More...
May 14, 2013
AAAAHHHH!!! I freaking loved this book!! First of all, I think it's safe to say that there is nothing like this in the world right now. Starstuck is a crazy, crazy book that incorporates so many different elements (to clarify: crazy in a good way). To give you an idea, the main characters are a neurotic Jewish Mother, a noble Russian Butcher, a hunky cop, a disillusioned soap opera star, and the Mafia. How does that all fit together? I'll leave that to the reader to find out. Hilarious at times, but there is a deep message if you look for it. Enjoy guys!!!!
July 2, 2013
Really wanted to support this book. Thought it was poorly written, stilted dialogue, situations not at all believable etc. I finished it because I bought it...
July 4, 2013
I loved this quirky romantic comedy! What a relief from the sappy romances that I am accustomed. Great read!
July 4, 2013
Awesome book. Really liked it. Refreshing!
July 4, 2013
This book had me laughing until the end.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews