Review: Dark Star (Dark Star, #1) by Bethany Frenette

Goodreads summary: Audrey Whitticomb has nothing to fear. Her mother is the superhero Morning Star, the most deadly crime-fighter in the Twin Cities, so it's hard for Audrey not to feel safe. That is, until she's lured into the sweet night air by something human and not human--something with talons and teeth, and a wide, scarlet smile.

Now Audrey knows the truth: her mom doesn't fight crime at night. She fights Harrowers--livid, merciless beings who were trapped Beneath eons ago. Yet some have managed to escape. And they want Audrey dead, just because of who she is: one of the Kin.

To survive, Audrey will need to sharpen the powers she has always had. When she gets close to someone, dark corners of the person's memories become her own, and she sometimes even glimpses the future. If Audrey could only get close to Patrick Tigue, a powerful Harrower masquerading as human, she could use her Knowing to discover the Harrowers' next move. But Leon, her mother's bossy, infuriatingly attractive sidekick, has other ideas. Lately, he won't let Audrey out of his sight.

When an unthinkable betrayal puts Minneapolis in terrible danger, Audrey discovers a wild, untamed power within herself. It may be the key to saving her herself, her family, and her city. Or it may be the force that destroys everything--and everyone--she loves.


What I thought: I was expecting Audrey to have her own super powers (more like her mom's), but she didn't. Her power is more of a spiritual nature and not so much physical. They call it the "Knowing" because she can feel and visualise things about people and their past and future. The story isn't really about her powers and being a super hero. It's more about this whole society and heritage that has been kept from her and how she goes about finding out the truth. Of course, this is at the same time that things are excalating with the Harrowers. I didn't really agree with Audrey's mom, called Morning Star, keeping her in the dark. I would have thought she would have wanted her to be more prepared, but I did see that she was also trying to protect Audrey.

There were some great characters in this story! Audrey is a rather angsty teenager, but she really cares about those around her and is extremely loyal. Tink is one of Audrey's best friends. I loved the explanation behind her nickname. Gideon is the other best friend. He is basically the ideal friend who's a boy and there is no love interest here. They are just best friends. Then there's Leon who is Morning Star's sidekick and is super portective of Audrey, much to her annoyance.

I liked that Audrey realistically froze up and was scared the frist time she saw what her mom was really fighting at night. I did think Audrey jumped into danger a little too easily and some things took her a while to figure out (some things felt a little stretched out to me). At the same time, I understood why she did what she did. The couple of last chapters were the most enjoyable. Overall a quick and enjoyable read.

Content: It was pretty clean if you're okay with some high school innuendo and clubbing (very conservative), and the fighting scenes with the Harrowers.
Genre: YA Paranormal
Publication date: October 23, 2012 by Disney Hyperion
Source: Library
My rating:










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8 comments

  1. I like the sound of good friendships with Tink and Gideon-I was so nervous he would turn out to be her love interest but it looks like that role is Leon's. I will need to look this book up!

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    1. It's nice to not have the cliche relationship of best friend and love interest sometimes, or even a love triangle (I get sick of those after a while). I do wish there would have been a little more romance in this, but that definitely isn't a main aspect of the story, which is fine too. Raven Boys is kind of like that, where the focal point is not romance, and it really worked for me. I'm sure the next book will have more of that.

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  2. This is on my TBR list, but I wasn't sure about it because of the whole superhero thing. Great review though! I just stopped by from the YA Romantics blog to say hi! I followed you on both GFC and Linky and I just wanted to say your blog looks great already. It doesn't look like a "beginner" blog at all :) Congrats on getting it started!

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    1. Thanks, Rachel! It really isn't so superheroy (I'm sure that's not a word, but it worked), so you might like it.

      Jen has been so great to me (as I have followed her and now as she's supported my blog). Of course I love following her blog (http://jenryland.blogspot.com) regardless. I'm glad you like the design. It's still a little bit of a work in progress. Thanks for coming by and do visit again! :)

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  3. Hmmmm... I've been thinking about reading this one. I still can't make up my mind. I'll probably grab it if I ever see it displayed at the libs.

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    1. It was an enjoyable read, but I obviously didn't love it, love it. It's hard to know too. There's a blogger I follow who really loved it, so some may like it better than others. You can see her review here: http://yearningtoread.blogspot.com/2012/10/pint-size-reivew-dark-star-by-bethany.html, if you haven't already seen it.

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  4. I also had this one on my "maybe" list -- not so excited about superheroes. But you may have convinced me to bump it up on the list!

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    1. You know I was thinking about the whole super hero thing that the book summary gives, but this isn't really a super hero book unless you count Cassandra Clare's series super hero books. Basically her mom and the group she works with have some extra powers to help fight the Harrowers, which are kind of like demons. The writing style and fighting scenes are very different from Clare's though. Hope that helps.

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