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Shared Stars
Absence makes the heart grow fonder and, for Ric and Avi, can lead to disaster in SHARED STARS, a murder mystery that’s a cross between 500 Days of Summer and a sexy Nancy Drew.
The young couple falls hard and fast during Roric Finnegan’s time in America as a foreign exchange student, with the impetus of Avelina Flores’s traumatic past with pedophiles and his determination to make them pay. Now back in Ireland, Ric, 16, is living alone in an RV and stalking Tim Maebry, the man who exploited Avi and escaped justice. A despondent Avi is dealing with losing the “beautiful boy,” she credits with her escape from the sexual predators and fending off everyone who tells her she needs to get over the Irish geek. When Tim is found dead in his castle from a vicious clubbing, Ric is accused of murdering him. Avi swoops in from Ohio Township, best friends in tow, to scour the internet and countryside, looking for clues, while the young lovers tell their story of love not lost, but in limbo. It’s the only way to save Ric and find the killer. Unless, of course, Ric is the killer.
The young couple falls hard and fast during Roric Finnegan’s time in America as a foreign exchange student, with the impetus of Avelina Flores’s traumatic past with pedophiles and his determination to make them pay. Now back in Ireland, Ric, 16, is living alone in an RV and stalking Tim Maebry, the man who exploited Avi and escaped justice. A despondent Avi is dealing with losing the “beautiful boy,” she credits with her escape from the sexual predators and fending off everyone who tells her she needs to get over the Irish geek. When Tim is found dead in his castle from a vicious clubbing, Ric is accused of murdering him. Avi swoops in from Ohio Township, best friends in tow, to scour the internet and countryside, looking for clues, while the young lovers tell their story of love not lost, but in limbo. It’s the only way to save Ric and find the killer. Unless, of course, Ric is the killer.
- GenresContemporary
462 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 18, 2017
8 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 28, 2018
I guess this one wasn’t for me. I thought it would be more “500 Days of Summer meets sexy Nancy Drew,” but it felt more sexy 500 Days of Summer with a little bit of mystery.
Shared Stars follows Roric “Ric”, and Avelina “Avi” from the first time they meet up until the end, and of course every step in-between. Something horrible happens when Avi goes to theater school, and Roric and Avi’s friends take it on as a challenge to find out what happened?
I really liked Avi’s character for the most part. She was a mostly average character, but also really brave and strong. I feel like a lot of readers will be able to relate with her, and I guess that’s why I felt weirded out by some of her relations. Avi is also Latina which doesn’t get much representation, and her boyfriend is constantly describing her as “spicy” and “beautiful”.
One thing overall I wasn’t a fan of was how many times young teenagers (kids really) were having sex. The main characters were only 15 and 16 during the book and were constantly having sex it felt like. Whether their age bothers you or not, for a book that’s described as a Young Adult, and at least partially Nancy Drew-esquire, it definitely was too much and took away from the plot. Also, I felt like a lot of the things Roric and even Manuel said and did were borderline stalker-ish and creepy.
Especially Manuel.
Overall, I wasn’t in love with the book, but I think it was a good first novel. The characters still needed a little fleshing out, and the book could have gone through another round of edits to eliminate some of the more juvenile sounding phrases. And it would have been better if some of the non-essential scenes (aka the ones where they talk about how much they love each other over and over) were taken out and more plot scenes/action scenes had been added.
Shared Stars follows Roric “Ric”, and Avelina “Avi” from the first time they meet up until the end, and of course every step in-between. Something horrible happens when Avi goes to theater school, and Roric and Avi’s friends take it on as a challenge to find out what happened?
I really liked Avi’s character for the most part. She was a mostly average character, but also really brave and strong. I feel like a lot of readers will be able to relate with her, and I guess that’s why I felt weirded out by some of her relations. Avi is also Latina which doesn’t get much representation, and her boyfriend is constantly describing her as “spicy” and “beautiful”.
One thing overall I wasn’t a fan of was how many times young teenagers (kids really) were having sex. The main characters were only 15 and 16 during the book and were constantly having sex it felt like. Whether their age bothers you or not, for a book that’s described as a Young Adult, and at least partially Nancy Drew-esquire, it definitely was too much and took away from the plot. Also, I felt like a lot of the things Roric and even Manuel said and did were borderline stalker-ish and creepy.
Especially Manuel.
Overall, I wasn’t in love with the book, but I think it was a good first novel. The characters still needed a little fleshing out, and the book could have gone through another round of edits to eliminate some of the more juvenile sounding phrases. And it would have been better if some of the non-essential scenes (aka the ones where they talk about how much they love each other over and over) were taken out and more plot scenes/action scenes had been added.
November 21, 2017
In spite of the fact that there are so many characters in this novel, none are short-changed in terms of character development. I especially loved Roric who is passionate, tormented, obsessed—straight out of an Emily Bronte novel. Who can resist a band of lively attractive young people coming together to solve a mystery? And complete with a castle, no less. I was always on the edge of my seat. Thanks to the author for this entertaining story which tackles a very serious topic.
January 30, 2018
***Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of SHARED STARS in exchange for my honest review***
The poor formatting of the ARC for SHARED STARS made the book almost unreadable. My review isn’t reflective of the formatting, although perhaps I would have been able to get into the book more easily if I could have read the words effortlessly from page to page, but I couldn’t connect to the characters or plot, despite my interest in the blurb.
The poor formatting of the ARC for SHARED STARS made the book almost unreadable. My review isn’t reflective of the formatting, although perhaps I would have been able to get into the book more easily if I could have read the words effortlessly from page to page, but I couldn’t connect to the characters or plot, despite my interest in the blurb.
November 22, 2017
I loved the characters in this book. Roric is my kinda guy. *hearty eyes* It was interesting to read a romantic mystery. I'm not used to those as they are hard to find. This book brought painful memories in the sense that I know what it's like to live a long distance relationship. The topics are quite serious and make the readers think. I highly recommend this book to readers who want a well-written mystery with an important topic and a sweet love story included.
November 25, 2017
MILD SPOLERS AHEAD! I'm now in love with the name Roric, great choice. This book had quit a few moments when I was reading where I screamed, "No," in my head because I was thrown for a loop! One involving Manny, I think they were at a dance, and then when they first logged onto the computer! There were some good surprises in there, and then at the end; all I'm saying is sister, don't want to give anything away. And I think my favorite part was the last few lines of the story. The last line was really cute. A well written treat of story that pulls at all of your emotions.
March 22, 2018
Before I begin, I would like to point out that not everybody should go by my review. I understand that what I like differs from others. That said, I can now begin.
I tried for a long time to get into this book, but I found that I couldn't. I plowed my way through, but I didn't have a keen interest in it. I found that some things happened too quickly, or there wasn't enough information to help me understand things the way I like to. I also noticed that sometimes it was hard to figure out who was speaking in the book and I sometimes had to go back and re-read based on who was speaking. I don't want my comments to be inflammatory, I just want to be as honest as I could be. I really don't know what else there is to say.
I tried for a long time to get into this book, but I found that I couldn't. I plowed my way through, but I didn't have a keen interest in it. I found that some things happened too quickly, or there wasn't enough information to help me understand things the way I like to. I also noticed that sometimes it was hard to figure out who was speaking in the book and I sometimes had to go back and re-read based on who was speaking. I don't want my comments to be inflammatory, I just want to be as honest as I could be. I really don't know what else there is to say.
February 4, 2018
>>Thank you Netgalley for the arc in-exchange of an honest review<<
I had very high hopes, and I was honestly excited to start this book but my expectations fell short.
I was really disappointed in this book. The blurb really drew me in, I mean how could this book have gone so wrong?
WHY THIS BOOK DISAPPOINTED ME
1- The formatting (Grammar, etc)
the formatting of the book was hard to read and I honestly didn't understand it, and one of the double l's seemed to be missing? example if it used 'all' it would come out as 'al ' ( it might have just been me)
2- The romance
I'm an honest young adult romance addict, but the romance between Roric and Avi, it just made cringe.
I like romance, but not to the extent where they have fantasies about each other. It just didn't appeal to me .
3- The Pacing ( Writing, etc )
At the end it felt like everything was just thrown in without arrangement, and at times it felt so slow, I was considering DNFing it, or just skipping to the end, which i did for a few pages.
There where too much names honestly, I lost track and it just felt like names where thrown around. I could not relate to the character at all, which might be a part of the reason the book didn't appeal to me.
This book has so much potential, it talked about human trafficking and abuse and rape, but it didn't focus on them. It really is just a romance book trying to pull of a thriller romance. It would've been a great romance novel though, I was mostly there for more thriller than romance. Overall this book wasn't my type, which was such a disappointment. It could've been so much more.
I had very high hopes, and I was honestly excited to start this book but my expectations fell short.
I was really disappointed in this book. The blurb really drew me in, I mean how could this book have gone so wrong?
WHY THIS BOOK DISAPPOINTED ME
1- The formatting (Grammar, etc)
the formatting of the book was hard to read and I honestly didn't understand it, and one of the double l's seemed to be missing? example if it used 'all' it would come out as 'al ' ( it might have just been me)
2- The romance
I'm an honest young adult romance addict, but the romance between Roric and Avi, it just made cringe.
I like romance, but not to the extent where they have fantasies about each other. It just didn't appeal to me .
3- The Pacing ( Writing, etc )
At the end it felt like everything was just thrown in without arrangement, and at times it felt so slow, I was considering DNFing it, or just skipping to the end, which i did for a few pages.
There where too much names honestly, I lost track and it just felt like names where thrown around. I could not relate to the character at all, which might be a part of the reason the book didn't appeal to me.
This book has so much potential, it talked about human trafficking and abuse and rape, but it didn't focus on them. It really is just a romance book trying to pull of a thriller romance. It would've been a great romance novel though, I was mostly there for more thriller than romance. Overall this book wasn't my type, which was such a disappointment. It could've been so much more.
February 11, 2018
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC! These are the reviews I hate to write. I know this author worked hard on this book, but it was awful. I’m sorry, but it was. I was annoyed with the characters from the first couple chapters. They are imagining the other person in every possibly situation they are in. While I’m assuming that was to show how much they love and miss each other, it instead just made they seem crazy. The story line was all over the place. It was flashing back and then forward but was hard to follow (probably bc I couldn’t get into it), and I didn’t feel like it added anything to the story line, every time the author revealed something new, I wanted to roll my eyes. Nobody and nothing seemed realistic in any way. The dialogue and character development were shallow throughout, I try so hard to finish ARCs, but even after I tried to skim ahead, I couldn’t make myself finish it. I don’t care how it ends. I can imagine they live happily ever after because of how annoying their love is, but I can’t bring myself to wonder or care enough to finish it. Sad. Don’t judge this book by its cover bc the cover is good. The content sucks.
February 15, 2018
Anything that mentions the words “a sexy Nancy Drew” is a winner in my eyes!
This is a romance, a mystery and a thriller all in one book. Add in a death, a castle and some tormented characters and you’ve got yourself the basis for a Netflix adaptation right there!
Roric is a great character, definitely my fave.
It’s an easy to read and engaging story that would appeal to fans of Darkmere.
Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read this book.
This is a romance, a mystery and a thriller all in one book. Add in a death, a castle and some tormented characters and you’ve got yourself the basis for a Netflix adaptation right there!
Roric is a great character, definitely my fave.
It’s an easy to read and engaging story that would appeal to fans of Darkmere.
Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read this book.
April 17, 2018
I loved the way teenage love mixed with mystery and thriller on this one. At first I was a little put of by the formatting of the netgally copy, and I had to push my self for going on. And I am glad I did. Its an easy read and quite a page turner. I definitely want a physical copy of this book for my collection.
November 21, 2017
A YA mystery with heart and a little sex that's sadly timely with today's headlines about pedophilia and human traficking. Ric and Avi try to rise above all of that, with love and passion that distance and complications only intensify.
November 21, 2017
This book is MAGIC! So lovely and heart wrenching and gorgeously written. As soon as I finished one chapter I couldn't possibly put it down. It's just that good!
March 9, 2018
*** I was gifted this ARC in exchange for an honest review and all the opinions expressed within are of my volition. The thoughts have no sway or influence by/from Netgalley and/or the publishers or those affiliated therein***
When I requested this book, I did not know about the sexual predators that prey on young girls. I thought I was getting a run of the mill romance with a bit of intrigue. The fact that it was a shared plotline with the romance was unsettling. How can you think about loving someone else with the question of pedophile involved? This made the plot uncentered and like the unsuccessful merging of two separate storylines. By adding the romance to the mix with the not so impacted reactions of the girls affected, it was like the pedophilia was not important and that for me was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Aside from the pedophilia aspect, the constant flashbacks were nothing more than added fluff to a discombobulated plotline. I did not even understand how a few of them pertained to the story? These issues coupled with meaningless characters were just too much. They seemed to be walking around in la la land and completely naive.
Thanks for allowing me access to this book even though it was not for me.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews