Enchanted by Starlight

Enchanted #1

by Tina L. Hook

Enchanted by Starlight is a FINALIST in the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Awards.

Be careful what you wish for... Grace, Skylar and Alina are connected by destiny when an enchanted comet crosses the night sky. As their most secret ambitions ignite, their ordinary lives take a magical detour down a powerful but dangerous path.

Grace , emerging from her dejected childhood, develops the power to make men fall in love with her. Skylar leaves her impoverished past behind and pursues the social status she has always longed for. Without dreams of her own, Alina covets the power to unravel other lives and seeks revenge. As they crash into and slip away from each other in a cycle of envy, deception and love lost, these three women are forced to look deeper into their own hearts for the true meaning of enchantment.

Genres: Romance, Chick Lit, Fiction

337 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 18, 2012

About the author

Tina L. Hook grew up in Orlando, Florida where she earned a Liberal Arts degree from Rollins College. After her early career in South Florida, she eventually settled into small town life near Nashville with her husband and two cats. When she is not daydreaming, she is blogging at GirlwithaNewLife2.com. Her debut novel, Enchanted by Starlight, has been nominated as a 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Awards Finalist. She is a featured author at Book Expo America 2014.

Reviews

[Liviania · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't normally review self-published books, but I asked to review ENCHANTED BY STARLIGHT by a PR company through which I've reviewed several fun chick lit novels. So I decided to give Tina L. Hook's debut a chance. Thankfully, ENCHANTED BY STARLIGHT doesn't suffer from bad copy editing, also known as my number-one gripe with self-publishing.

ENCHANTED BY STARLIGHT follows the lives of three women who gained a superpower through each of their encounters with a comet. Grace, my favorite, can make men fall in love with her. But she quickly realizes that she prefers relationships that don't involve her power. Skylar can make people like her. Skylar could've been a really cool character, but she had less to do than the other two. Most of her growth happens in the chapter where she decides to stop being a kept woman and get a job she likes. Aside from that, she's mostly there because the other two women know her and she's part of their stories. Alina's power is that she can influence people based on their thoughts. And Alina is a real piece of work, driven by jealousy and hate. She doesn't deserve the abusive relationship she ends up in during ENCHANTED BY STARLIGHT, certainly, but she's not a nice person. Her chapters made my skin crawl.

ENCHANTED BY STARLIGHT opens with the three women meeting in one place for the first time, on a night when another comet will pass by. Aside from their powers, they're united through one man, Liam. ENCHANTED BY STARLIGHT then goes back to their teen years to show how they ended up at that point. It's a good basic structure, but sometimes the chapters jump back or forth in time with little reason for being suddenly nonlinear. As for Liam, as we get to know him, it diffuses some of the tension of the upcoming fight between the women because he's a total jerk and loser.

Really, the main parts of ENCHANTED BY STARLIGHT that I liked were Grace's growth as a character and her friendship with Skylar. Too much of the book was about women scheming to tear each other down, often because of a man. It's certainly something that happens, but it isn't a plot that I find compelling.

The ebook of ENCHANTED BY STARLIGHT is only 99 cents, which is very reasonable. For that price, it's a reasonably entertaining story with no annoying formatting errors. But I wouldn't recommend paying for the paperback.

[Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very descriptive but I got lost sometimes between different characters or different times in their lives. I was reading it on my Kindle app on my Iphone so maybe it would be easier to spot these transitions if you were actually reading the book.

[Elle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Original review posted here: http://www.yourentertainmentcorner.co...

The cover of Enchanted by Starlight isn’t fancy, but what lies inside is a spectacular reading experience. I gravitate toward beautiful covers because they pique my interest and make me wonder what’s hidden behind that fantastic artwork. Not so here as Enchanted’s cover leaves a bit to be desired. Featuring a comet streaming across the sky, the simplistic design doesn’t incite that delirious joy in readers who come across a book cover that promises exciting untold tales and stories to dream about.

The opening is intriguing and inspires the reader to want to know more about what is going on and what’s to come. The prose is beautiful; sentences flow wonderfully into each paragraph and are well-written. The tale bounces from present to past, which may jar some readers but those who are expert readers (like me) won’t find it too daunting. I enjoyed the flashbacks more so than the present day portions of the novel. The glimpse into the past is engaging and I felt drawn to the plight of the three women as high school girls. (It must have something to do with my recent YA kick.) There is a central theme: women needing love, power, and a man to make them feel complete, if not to simply feel something in general.

Enchanted shows how the use of a gift can either help or hurt. Grace, Skylar, and Alina all abuse the mysterious power they’ve been given and suffer for it in similar ways. They end up alone, never having anyone stable in their lives for too long. How can they ever know if someone loves them—or simply likes them—for the person they are on the inside?

Grace is a great character, and to me, the main protagonist. Her voice doesn’t seem forced and I feel as if I know her. While her home life leaves much to be desired, unlike other girls in her predicament, she doesn’t let it get her down. Grace doesn’t doubt herself; she keeps the faith that she can accomplish her goals and do something with her life. Her parents are poor excuses of failed dreams and goals. They seem to take out their unhappiness on Grace when they see her studying or recognize she would rather spend time with her friend at her fabulous house instead of being at her own.

Grace’s world seems like it’s been taken from the past. The way she speaks and sees the world doesn’t feel modernized at all. It’s an interesting approach to the novel and I wasn’t sure how much I liked that detraction from the norm. The lack of contractions jarred me from the story quite a few times. The characters’ unusual way of speaking seems lilted with hesitant gaps of silence. Even with those issues, not only does Grace’s voice resonate the most, her inherited power thrilled me. With her controlling the desire men have for her, she’ll never know if their love is true. I kept wondering how she could ever find happiness or whether she truly wanted to be happy. She sometimes comes across as someone who doesn’t want to have to fall in love naturally because she thinks it can’t happen for her any other way. Eventually Grace tries to live her life without the aid of magic. She fights it at every turn and seems so strong at times. She’s braver than you realize when you see how hard it is for her to be normal.

Then, there are the other girls. I’m not sure about the powers Skylar and Alina have. I know they also affect people’s emotions, but it’s not always clear how. Grace is the only one of the three who has an unambiguous use of her power. Despite the lesser roles Skylar and Alina play in the novel, we get a sense of who they are, and how their secret gifts bring them together.

I actually like the drama served up in Enchanted. It’s complicated but delectably so. Talk about star-crossed lovers—one person loves another person who loves yet another person, who is loved by someone else. Confused? Yup, that’s the beauty of it.

There was something missing, though: the obvious. What is the history of the comets and their magical effects? It’s mysterious, yes, but leaves the reader wanting. I needed to know more about how this came about. I wanted to know more about everyone who was affected (spoiler: it wasn’t just the three girls). The books’ blurb leads readers to believe that only the three women are graced with gifts, but that isn’t so. Talk about a heck of a twist! I enjoyed reading the story but felt the ending leaves a bit to be desired. Not because of the lack of a true Happily Ever After—the women all ended up where they wanted to. We don’t get enough of their story. All three women tell their stories via past and present anecdotes, showing their growth or lack thereof, depending on the character.

I would recommend Enchanted by Starlight to anyone who enjoys paranormal aspects in a romance novel, and a good story of love lost, won, and let go. I can’t wait to add this book to my library and read it again.

I was provided a copy of Enchanted by Starlight by NetGalley for an honest review.

[Deniz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I really liked the concept of this book. Three women who's lifes cross each other on different occasions all got a power they had chosen. The story starts the day before Graces wedding, its written in the POV of all three main characters and takes us back to where it all began for each of them to the big event. It is about the powers they chose and what they used them for and where i brought them. So we follow the lifes of Alina, Grace and Skylar from their late teens to their early 30s.

While the concept was great, I feel that it feel short on a few things in the execution.
There were times when the story was very jumpy and i had to go back and read some paragraph over several times because i sort of got lost.
There were also several faults that should be corrected in the editing, like getting the wrong names and spelling faults. This being an ARC i hope the editors will do a good job before the book get published though.

While the female MC's are quite well written, I found all the male MC's rather one dimensional and sketchy. I know it might be that Hook did it porously since they all are described from the females POV, but I honestly doubt it. I found myself wondering what happened to some of them actually, and felt at the end that I still had lots of unanswered questions.

Alina was my least favorite character, because her POV did at times confuse me. Even the last POV left me unclear and with questions. It has nothing to do with the fact that she was the 'villain' in the book, more that I think she could have been more dimensional, and better explained.
like I didn't understand if she was delusional or if some of the thing she said or saw were actually real.
Grace's POV had me right from the beginning, I felt most sympathetic towards her and I think she is actually written best. She felt the most like a real character. Her choices throughout out the books were the most heartwarming. Her wish at the end was wonderful and heartwrenching, and the sad thing was that I think she lost hope in all of this.
Skylar was the most interesting character in the entire book. She seemed the most superficial in the beginning and her character was revealed bit by bit. Her last choices and the way she handled her power in the end is in my opinion most amazing. She definitely ended up being my favorite character, because as the story went on one discovered that she has in all of this still a great heart and that she was the most loyal of friends and she recognized what they all had been doing and decided to move on. And I think she was the only one of the three of them who truly did.

The story is built up slowly and its written with different layers. Which I enjoyed. At the beginning I wasn't sure what to think of it all. Everything is happens slowly piece by piece and it was only about 75% into the book that I actually felt like I liked the concept. Until basically right to the end I wasn't sure where the story was going, which I found really refreshing. I really liked the end and to my surprise I did ponder on about the book and its implications afterwards. Because while I was reading it, I was never quite sure what I to think about it. Its a very subtly written book, and it sort of sneaks up on you, which is a wonderful surprise.

I was thinking about what I would choose as my wish. And while doing that I thought about the wishes of Alina, Skylar and Grace essentially they all acted out of envie interestingly enough. And I think all their choices came from what most girls think is most important for love. Which is extremely interesting and I think Hook shows great insight into the secret wishes of young women. I think that with time and honing of her skill Hook could be a great writter and this novel could be a really great book. I am definitely looking forward to see what she will write next.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grace, Skylar, and Alina were three ordinary women until comets crossed their paths, and they all came into a magical power. Grace can make men fall in love with her, Skylar has gained success and popularity, and Alina, bitter and constantly seeking revenge, has the power to unravel lives. Their lives intersect on their journeys of love, heartbreak, success and failures, sometimes in the worst of ways. The women encounter deception, betrayal, envy and pain, often at the hands of one another.

I hate when I have to do this, but this book just didn’t work for me. Lots and lots of props to the author for being imaginative and writing a creative story, though. I always want to recognize the hard work and heart that authors pour into their books, and I give Tina Hook a lot of credit. Now, to why this book didn’t work for me… while the story was original, I felt as though it jumped around a lot. The three characters narrated alternately, which I usually like, but to me, the story jumped around a lot within the sections with no indication that it was going to jump elsewhere in the story. In addition, I didn’t feel like their voices were distinct and different enough from one another to differentiate between their personalities and stories. You knew who was narrating because the name was at the beginning of the section, but other than that, I had a hard time distinguishing between them. I was also confused a lot and had to flip back quite often to try and figure out what had happened previously. Lastly, their magic abilities weren’t explained clearly enough for me. They just had powers but I wasn’t entirely sure how they worked. I really think this storyline is creative and unique with a lot of potential, but it just didn’t click well with me. It might work for you though, so don’t necessarily discount it based on my thoughts alone!

Note: I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

[Melanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

*I received this book for free through GoodReads First Reads*

This book rotates through three main characters: Grace, Skylar, and Alina. The women lead very intertwined lives, spending time as friends one minute and enemies the next (and not with both at the same time). Their love lives are also intertwined as they all have affairs or relationships with the same men. All three women also received cosmic power from comets one night. This power manifests itself differently for each of them, but they all are able to use their power to influence people around them. Especially the men around them.

I found this book to be incredibly confusing. Not only did the chapters jump around between the three xharacter's perspectives, but within each chapters the timeline of events was never clear. There were flashbacks within flashbacks, and small moments in the present. It was impossible to tell what events in one persons's life correlated with the events in the other women's lives.

I found all three characters to be just awful. They behaved shamefully, doing things just because they could, or just beause doing these things would hurt one of the other girls. I found them shallow, selfish, and petty. Not liking any of the women made it hard to get involved in the story because I was just so repulsed by them and their behavior,

The men in the story were no better than the women. They ranged from pathetic puppy dogs to incredibly macho controlling jerks. Even the ones who seemed sweet, caring, and romantic ended up being cheaters.

All in all, it was a disappointing and depressing read.

[Joonjoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

From what I gathered from the synopsis I assumed the three girls, the book follows, would solely follow their lives in regards to each other and playfully using their powers for mostly fun than any type of gain. Only this is so much more than that. Written in an interesting way, you as a reader, follow each character individually from the moment just before they each receive their powers and further into the future as they grow up and try to figure out what it is they really wanted in their life. Each character is given a unique voice but as they slowly arrived at their destination you can start to see the growth from their internal dialogue. Written as cut scenes and at various starting point, took a little getting used to but I though it was genius as you had to sort of stay alert and if you succeed you can begin to piece the puzzle together. It reminded like a Destiny's Child music video of Emotion as each member dominated a portion of the screen but each with their very own story line and the merging in the end and little pieces from each of the characters lives crossover. And keeps you guessing about each of the characters and who their with until the end of the chapter where the author wittingly reveals it to the reader.

[Beverly Diehl · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I struggled in the beginning; the language was a little too flowery, the man the women were all fighting over seemed like a total loser (so why all the angst?), Grace, the narrator of the first chapter, seemed insipid and bland at first. And the story jumped to being about her relationship with her childhood friend Lana... confusing.

But I'm glad I stuck with it, because the language got stronger, and I got very interested in seeing what brought the women to that beach, watching the story unravel. The comet(s) that granted one magical power to each person was an interesting idea that I'd never seen.

The deeper I got into the book, it was much more enchanting, though there were still places were it jumped around confusingly with flashbacks. I was happy that none of the women were shrinking virgins; might have been a little too much revenge sex and partner poaching going on. Loved Skylar - SHE really jumped off the page vividly. I'm not sure I ever got a clear picture of who Grace became, though I loved some of the action in the end, like giving the blanket up to the waves. Alina seemed like a cold bitch, mostly, but she had her soft spots, too.

I'm glad I read this, and really liked the way the comet tied it together in the end.

[Samantha March · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of Enchanted by Starlight in exchange for an honest review.

Three women, Grace, Skylar, and Alina, get a magical detour in life when they are enchanted by a comet in the night sky. Each woman receives a power, a special gift, which feeds off their secret ambitions. Grace is able to make men fall in love with her, Skylar finally achieves peak social status, and Alina always gets her revenge. But are their gifts used for good, or is the power too much to handle?
I was really interested in Enchanted by Starlight. I am always up for a good magical twist, and I thought this one was unique and fun to read about. The POV switches every few chapters between the three women, which I enjoyed. Sometimes though I seemed to get a bit lost. There is a lot going on – a lot of women, a lot of men, a lot plot points and twists – and sometimes I got confused and had to re-read portions of what was going on. Even with that being said, I still found the novel very intriguing and had difficulty putting it down!

[Charlotte Holster · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are many delicious moments throughout the book: the singer who croons the lyrics to "La Vie en Rose," the intricate sentence structures that Tina Hook forms with ease ("Momma may have drawn my lines but Daddy colored me in, both of us dark haired and pale"), and the knowledge these women possessed that they are all perfectly imperfect and uniquely flawed. One of my favorite examples of this is when Grace muses on her own misgivings. "There was also that stupid and fleeting impulse to emotionally attach myself to every man who rumpled my bed, which I managed to squash fairly quickly, especially since most men were not burdened to reciprocate." Each chapter is told by a different character's point of view, and I think what draws me to Grace the most is her raw honesty and ability to recognize mistakes she's made in the past and how this affects her other relationships.

For a complete review of this book, check out my blog: http://mypixieblog.com/2012/12/05/boo...

[Wendy Hines · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meet Grace, Skylar and Alina! Three women with destinies that intertwine. Enchanted by Starlight follows the path of the three ladies from their teens, where they get the power from a comet one night, to their mid-thirties.

Grace gets the power of making men fall in love with her. It sounds like a good premise, but eventually she realizes that she'd rather they fell in love with her, the real her. But how can she get past the alluring power that she has? Then there is Skylar, who just wants social status. Last, but no means least is Alina - a woman who has the power of revenge and uses it to change lives. They are all friends, but they all take different paths with their lives - their jobs, social status, friends, lovers and dreams.

Although some of the character development felt weak, I really enjoyed the premise of this story. The ending was somewhat surprising, but I definitely enjoyed the whole book. I just wish that some of the characters had been a bit more fleshed out, but all in all, an entertaining read!

[Charlotte Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

When a comet goes across the sky, Grace, Skylar, and Alina become connected. This coment grants each girl special powers.

Grace can make men fall in love with her. Helping her move past her lonely childhood. Skylar becomes more socially accepted. In her childhood she was poor and awkard. Alina gets the power to get revenge and change the course of other peoples lives. Each woman goes about her own life but destiny keeps bringing them back together.

Grace is the character that I could most relate to. I loved that her “power” was making men fall in love with her, but soon figured out that having a man fall for her because of who she is was much more rewarding. Once she realized this her life became much easier and better.

I did enjoy reading Enchanted by Starlight , but sometimes my mind seemed to wonder and not get the point of the chapter. The book has a lot going for it. Friendship and love, but just did not entertain me as much as I wish it would have.

[Sharon Chance · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found "Enchanted By Starlight" to be a captivating read - as you get to know the characters of Grace, Skylar and Alina, I found that each woman had her own personality quirks and endearments that added an element of interest and charm to the story.

I enjoyed how Tina Hooks gave each character their own voice in alternating chapters and her skill at blending each person's story into the overall plot was very well done. Hooks also captures the essence of Florida living - you can almost feel the sultry temperatures, imatine the sensual atmosphere of the party lifestyle, and hear the crashing waves at the beach throughout her descriptive tale.

The ultimate message of "Enchanted By Starlight"? Be very careful what you wish for when you see a shooting star - it just might come true!
I recommend this book for adult reading - there are some mature love scenes in the story that might not be appropriate for younger readers.

[Angela Holtz · Rating 4 out of 5]

From Lilac Wolf and Stuff

This story is an intricately woven pattern. It does take some getting used to, and for the first few pages I wasn't really into. But then it does take off, and you get how the women go together.

I never did figure out what Alina's problem was. I think she was displacing her rage at her sister and the man she loved. She instead took it out on Grace and Skylar. It's the saddest part because she missed out on 2 really good friends. There really are some phenomenal twists in the story.

All in all, it's a magical story full to the brim. The plot is thick, the pacing is both deliberate and relaxed. I would label this chick-lit with just a hint of paranormal.

[Nette · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was just MEH...I really had to work to finish the book. Athough the concept/idea was clever & original, I think it could have been better with a more well planned execution.

There wasn't really an explanation or history on these "magical comets" which made it hard to grasp the idea of their powers. While the characters themselves were likeable, there was something missing...

I felt like I was bombarded with too much background info on the characters in the beginning of the book rather than getting to know them naturally as the story unfolds. I understand the author wanted to portray each character individually but it felt forced and...basically shoved down my pie-hole. I found this difficult to merge into the story that followed after and because of the overload, I had a hard time following the story.

[Lizzie Andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the concept of a grown up magic that is loosely related to wishing upon a star. However, I was a bit disappointed in this book. Don't get me wrong: it was a good book. But I think the storyline could have just been a little MORE.

I loved the characters. Even though instead of 'banding' together they sort of turned on each other and didn't care about the consequences of their actions after they got their superpowers. Even though I adored all three of the characters, Skylar was my favorite.

Easily read, this book is a great choice for a long car ride or a short time span read. Hopefully soon, it will be a great beach read... but with the weather lately, who knows

[Kenneth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite a funky read. It was best to read this book from start to finish, and then start all over again to the first couple of chapters to have it make more sense. I was wondering why the first couple of chapters were so hard to get into, and then when i read them over again at the end of the book they made much more sense. It was a good book from the perspective of the inner lives of 3 friends who receive "gifts" from a falling star they each saw. I was never quite sure how long these gifts really lasted and what the details of them all were, but they did provide for some interesting reading in what they did with their lives and the gifts. Not sure I would recommend this book to anyone.

[Kathleen Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enchanted by Starlight is a story of three women,Grace, Skylar and Alina who find themselves connected by comets..yes comets. All three have different powers that they come to find helps them in certain areas of their lives. They are connected but not necessarily friends but they do share in each others lives. Each chapter is written in each of the three women's point of view. This story is written in an almost poetic way by the author, the story flows from character to character, scene by scene. I enjoyed it a lot..very interesting concept for a story. I hope to read more by this author.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

When passing comets give three women separate superpowers you wouldn't think that would turn the three against each other, but it does. Grace receives the ability to have men fall in love with her from the first comet. The second comet give Alina the power to influence people based on their thoughts. The third and final comet gives Skylar the power to make people like her. All three long for love and will use their powers to get it, regardless of how their relationships are affected.

The superpowers are not special, just an excuse to act badly.

[Kristin (Kritters Ramblings) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings

Three friends are interconnected in many ways and weave in and out of each other's lives in this chick lit meets paranormal book. Grace, Skylar and Alina all are impacted by a comet that provide them each with special "powers" that they can use at their whim. The reader is taken through each of their girls histories through each of their own viewpoints - this I loved. I loved being able to hear the story from each of the girls.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

**I received a free copy of this book from Goodreads First Reads.

"Enchanted by Starlight" shares three intertwined stories about Grace, Skylar, and Alina. All three made a wish on a comet which impacts their futures with mixed results. This book was a fast, enjoyable read and hard to put down. Too bad it wasn't longer because I was "enchanted" by these characters.

[Melissa]

Saw this on netgalley. Wish I still was blogging cause I totally would have requested to review.

[Maja]

expired in my adobe digital editions library. :( and it's also archieved on netgalley so i won't be able to post a review.

[Lizzy Lessard]

Review to come 11/6.

[Lindab · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book idea was creative but not very well executed, with too much character background at the start, too much jumping around, and no likable characters.