Shooting Stars by H. D. Gordon

Reading Level: Ages 12 and up
File Size: 435 KB or 303 Pages
Release Date: March 15, 2013
Publisher: ShareARead
Narration: Third Person: Omniscient
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Challenge: Paranormal
Source: ShareARead

Surah Stormsong Series:
Book One: Shooting Stars

Order On Amazon: Kindle

Order On Barnes and Noble: Nook

Author's
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Goodreads Synopsis:

Once upon a time, a common boy fell in love with a princess. It was a hopeless, forbidden love, grown in a world where sorcery and magic rule over all. Now, dark times are brewing, and destiny will bring them together, while fate works to keep them apart. Extraordinary battles will be fought, and extraordinary choices made. Join the author of The Alexa Montgomery Saga for the beginning of a tale of star-crossed lovers and magic, of hope and love and loss, of desperate wishes made on stars. 

My Review:

I have to admit, when I first started reading Shooting Stars, I had absolutely no recollection of anyone named Surah Stormsong in Gordon's Alexa Montgomery series. (*Cringes* I'm a horrible person, I know.) I'm guessing that the majority of bloggers experience this as well. Not specifically for this book, but in general. Because once you've reached a certain number of books, plots blend, and characters, some more than others, blur together until there unrecognizable. However, there are some characters that leave such a strong impression behind that they become unforgettable. I was surprised that Surah wasn't one of them for me, because she made quite the dramatic entrance in Redemption. But in my defense, it wasn't completely my fault for not recognizing her from the start, because she did seem like an entirely different person compared to who she was in Redemption. 

In Redemption, we saw her as a vengeance seeking, sari wielding, blood spilling, stubborn young sorceress who had the tendency to act before thinking about the repercussions that would follow soon after. However, in Shooting Stars, she was a heck of a lot more controlled and dignified. Through the time gap between Redemption and Shooting Stars, she's learned to keep her composure, wear a steady and blank expression on her face at all times, and to smile her "princess smile" when needed, to assure her people that everything was just dandy even when the kingdom was quite literally tearing itself apart. 

I admired her restraint and control in difficult situations, but there was just some part of me that wished she would whip out her Sari Swords and kick some ass once in a while. To this very moment, I don't understand why she couldn't have taken out her enemies in combat if she could easily keep up with the legendary Blood Warrior in Redemption, who was supposedly the deadliest, and most lethal killer in their era. Maybe I'm missing something, but from my standpoint, it doesn't make sense.

Another factor that makes Shooting Stars starkly different from Blood Warrior is Samson, Surah's animal companion and loyal best friend. She saved him from certain death when he was just a young cub, and ever since, they've been inseparable. He was everything you could ever want in a best friend. Loyal, Loving, Wise, Kind, albeit furrier than most, but still, friendship knows no boundaries. Don't you agree? For some reason, I'm a complete softie when it comes to animal best friends. To be honest, I would cry, and have cried, a lot more for animals when they die, rather than the normal human response to cry for the death of a main character. 

The romance between Charlie and Surah was more based off of feelings and affection rather than the scorching, almost explosive relationship Alexa and Kaydan had. Both of these types of romances are unique in their own way, but I found the snarky comebacks constantly being thrown between Alexa and Kaydan to be much more intriguing and entertaining than the sweet, adorable moments with Charlie and Surah.  

The action took me a while to get into and even when I did finally get into the flow of things, I wasn't completely enthralled with the story. I was never bored per say, but I wasn't chomping on the bit to find out what happened next either.

Overall, Shooting Stars is completely different from the Alexa Montgomery series, something I definitely wasn't expecting. Although they take place in the same world, they both have two very contrasting atmospheres with two very different protagonists. It doesn't really matter which series you read first, because there aren't many connecting factors, but I would suggest that you read Alexa's story before Surah's so you could be privy to the entire background story. Although I did enjoy reading Shooting Stars, I prefer Blood Warrior more, because I'm drawn to darker, action driven novels. However, if your more interested in star-crossed lovers, romance driven novels, and lighter themes, Shooting Stars would be a great read for you.

*An ebook was provided by the publishing company 

in exchange for an honest and thoughtful review.

Heroine- 4.5/5
Romance- 4/5
Action- 3/5
Writing- 4/5
(Gordon has a very epic & dramatic style of writing, but some things she wrote for the purpose of effect alone grew repetitive.)
Overall- 3.5/5

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