*Review--Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini*

How do you defy destiny?

Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.

As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.

So I read a few mixed reviews of Josephine Angelini's Starcrossed, but with the sad passing of Borders, I picked a copy up one week deciding to give it a try. And now I've finally gotten to it! And my last impression is that it wasn't too bad.

I will admit that in the beginning, I really didn't care for Helen. She seemed a little too full of herself at times. Not obviously so, but just occasionally her thoughts would really nag me. Like she hates that she's so tall and perfect and beautiful...why do I have to have such a pretty face? That kind of thing. It really bugged me. Had almost considered dropping the book but decided to forge ahead.

Her attitude definitely changes over time. I wasn't constantly hating her anymore. When the new family moves in though, more trouble starts. She hates them. Without even knowing them, she hates them. Hate, hate hate. She even attacks Lucas, one of the teens one day at school for no reason.

NOW, here is the last part that totally nagged at me, which I was aware of before reading this: something BIG happens. And then suddenly Helen's feelings towards Lucas and his family change. She no longer hates them with a bloody passion, she's even growing to like Lucas. Cheesy, yes. But trust me, the insta-love isn't really insta as we think. There's still a lot she doesn't know about Lucas and his family. Heck, there's still a lot Helen has to learn about herself.

Basically after getting through the first section of the book (really can't recall how many pages or chapters) we leave behind the high school drama crap, although some still pops up from other characters, we get into the thick of the story.

So if you don't already know, this book is sort of a revamped version of the Trojan War. Kinda sorta. Not like a retelling, but the history of the Trojan War plays a MAJOR part in the story. Which definitely made things interesting, for Helen learns her role in it and Lucas as well.   :O

I don't want to retell the whole book or anything, but after getting over the whole I hate you-I love you angst, the story really wasn't that bad. It got really interesting with new characters popping up and learning what their role in the war would be. The Fates are using these families for some reason or another and there is a bit of mystery going on.

And like I said, Lucas and Helen don't fall in love and live HEA. There's actually quite a few barriers the young couple hit over and over. It seemed repetitious at times, but when looking at it, it did move the storyline along. There were reasons for the breakups and get togethers.

And there's still quite a bit of secrets and mysteries going on with the families. One of the characters that popped up towards the end, is especially suspicious. We have no idea what their real game plan is (and yes, I did just use a plural to describe one person, because I don't want to reveal the gender).

So it really wasn't a terrible read like I had feared. The reviews I read prior to were a little harsh, but were still just opinions. Helen, while annoying at times in the beginning, did begin to grow on me. She matured a bit at least so I wasn't constantly hating her and rolling my eyes. And I liked that, I like when a character develops themselves from someone I couldn't stand to being someone I could stand.

I won't tell you not to read this one or to read it asap! But I do think if you like Greek mythology, along with the Trojan War story you might like this one. It was definitely interesting and worth a read if you're looking for something different to read.

Will I read the next one in the series? Most definitely!

Overall rating 3.75/5 stars (yes, going out of my usual rating, this was a good book, better than 3.5, but not quite a 4, but still super close! Could've made it more complicated and said like 3.83 out of 5, but will leave it as I did above)  ;)

This is another book to be added to my 2011 YA Debut Authors Challenge!