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holly1345's review against another edition
5.0
This was a first for me I'm not usually one for a Y.A Romance but when i was asked to read this book the concept behind it drew me in this book was amazing, to say the least, the characters were well written and put together perfectly.
i loved the way you got to reread the book from both points of view and that both points of view where both so well written and enjoyable as you don't always end up liking both points of view as I have often found myself preferring one to the other but that wasn’t the case for me with this book .
The world building in this book was amazingly done and so well structured, I loved that you find yourself being able to picture the places described in this book and the way the science and space factors of this book draw you in so well and really pique your interest throughout the book
The relationships in the book are equally well written the author does an amazing job of giving you the perfect amount of back story for these characters and the way you see them slowly come together and open them selfs up to one another is perfect it's not rushed and it's done in a beautiful way.
Overall I loved every part of this book and I can't wait to see what the author writes next
story🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
characters 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
word building 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
i loved the way you got to reread the book from both points of view and that both points of view where both so well written and enjoyable as you don't always end up liking both points of view as I have often found myself preferring one to the other but that wasn’t the case for me with this book .
The world building in this book was amazingly done and so well structured, I loved that you find yourself being able to picture the places described in this book and the way the science and space factors of this book draw you in so well and really pique your interest throughout the book
The relationships in the book are equally well written the author does an amazing job of giving you the perfect amount of back story for these characters and the way you see them slowly come together and open them selfs up to one another is perfect it's not rushed and it's done in a beautiful way.
Overall I loved every part of this book and I can't wait to see what the author writes next
story🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
characters 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
word building 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
ljwrites85's review against another edition
3.0
I jumped at the chance to read Stardust and Stilettos as Cinderella is one of my favourite Disney movies and just reminds me of my childhood. There’s also the added bonus of being a gender swap retelling too which I’m always a fan of.
Poor Noah, his mum, a famous scientist and astronaut, dies after a mission gone wrong. He gets an acceptance letter for the same university as his mum went to but his father refuses to pay for it, determined to go he goes about trying to win the money.
His only problem standing between him and his goal is his high school competitor and nemesis Eden. He thinks she arrogant, selfish and basically insane.
They are forced to be lab partners but as they find themselves growing closer, is there more to their relationship than they first thought?
Now I went into this thinking it was going to be a light fluffy read but there’s actually a lot more emotional depth in this story.
It’s told from both Eden and Noah’s perspectives so you really get to know the characters a lot better and get both sides of the story.
Yes it does have the trope of a dead/seriously ill parent but I think the author makes this her own, really communicating her characters pain and the different ways people grieve.
I have to be honest it wasn’t until after I’d read it and really thought about it I got a few of Cinderella references but I wouldn’t have said this was an obvious retelling.
Stilettos and Stardust is a really emotional and compelling story and a must for fans of YA romance.
Poor Noah, his mum, a famous scientist and astronaut, dies after a mission gone wrong. He gets an acceptance letter for the same university as his mum went to but his father refuses to pay for it, determined to go he goes about trying to win the money.
His only problem standing between him and his goal is his high school competitor and nemesis Eden. He thinks she arrogant, selfish and basically insane.
They are forced to be lab partners but as they find themselves growing closer, is there more to their relationship than they first thought?
Now I went into this thinking it was going to be a light fluffy read but there’s actually a lot more emotional depth in this story.
It’s told from both Eden and Noah’s perspectives so you really get to know the characters a lot better and get both sides of the story.
Yes it does have the trope of a dead/seriously ill parent but I think the author makes this her own, really communicating her characters pain and the different ways people grieve.
I have to be honest it wasn’t until after I’d read it and really thought about it I got a few of Cinderella references but I wouldn’t have said this was an obvious retelling.
Stilettos and Stardust is a really emotional and compelling story and a must for fans of YA romance.
prdgreads's review
4.0
this story is told from 2 perspectives Noah’s and Eden’s. The chapters alternate characters and they both have a unique style so even if you don’t look at the chapter heading it was easy to tell who’s chapter you were in at any time.
We start off meeting Noah who is still trying to get over the death of his mum, he visits her grave every day after school and tells her about everything that’s going on in his life and the lives of his brothers and his father, I could tell by the way he spoke about them that he feels like they don’t care, they’re just getting on with their lives whilst for Noah losing his mum is still very raw.
Then we meet Eden who wants to focus on her education but is being told by her mother she’s 18 now so it’s time to find a husband and she has the perfect one in mind.
We soon find out that Noah and Eden attend the same school, they’re in the same psychics class, but they hate each other, they both think they’re the best and everything’s a competition. – something happens in the classroom and the teacher decides to put them together as lab partners.
This brings them together and once they actually get to know each other they find out that they have more in common than they first thought.
The character development in this story was amazing. Every single one of the characters learnt something about themselves, but it was done in a realistic believable way which can sometimes be hard to do.
This book had me feeling so many emotions which was surprising considering it’s relatively short!
A thoroughly enjoyable read that I will be recommending to all fans of YA Romance
We start off meeting Noah who is still trying to get over the death of his mum, he visits her grave every day after school and tells her about everything that’s going on in his life and the lives of his brothers and his father, I could tell by the way he spoke about them that he feels like they don’t care, they’re just getting on with their lives whilst for Noah losing his mum is still very raw.
Then we meet Eden who wants to focus on her education but is being told by her mother she’s 18 now so it’s time to find a husband and she has the perfect one in mind.
We soon find out that Noah and Eden attend the same school, they’re in the same psychics class, but they hate each other, they both think they’re the best and everything’s a competition. – something happens in the classroom and the teacher decides to put them together as lab partners.
This brings them together and once they actually get to know each other they find out that they have more in common than they first thought.
The character development in this story was amazing. Every single one of the characters learnt something about themselves, but it was done in a realistic believable way which can sometimes be hard to do.
This book had me feeling so many emotions which was surprising considering it’s relatively short!
A thoroughly enjoyable read that I will be recommending to all fans of YA Romance
evegerbrandt's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
ylva_chasingbutterflies's review against another edition
1.0
I love fairytale retellings and this one had a quite unusual premise so I was interested in how this would turn out.
Why 1 star?
First, because this was not really a retelling of Cinderella at all, but rather a normal YA romance. There were very few elements taken from the actual fairytale and I found that rather disappointing.
Second, because I didn't really get along with any of the characters. The parents were very flat and I'm just very tired of those YA books where all the parents are mean spoilsports. And I wished the protagonists would have been a little more understanding and mature. Especially Eden came across as very arrogant and it was kind of ironic to see her complain about other people appearing a bit blasé... because she acted like that all the time. Even though it was sweet that Noah loved his mom so much, I felt bad for him because she had never really been there to care for her kids.
Third, the love story. It didn't convince me and it was all just very predictable. It seemed to be based mostly on sexual attraction and momentary fun (or, to be more blunt, teenagers being horny) instead of genuine love, shared values and actually wanting to make a relationship work. We also have a rather weird sexual scene and lots of "funny" sexual comments (comparable to adult jokes in not-so-good comedy movies) which I guess was supposed to be the sex-positive aspect, but for me, it made the characters appear silly, immature and it made me uncomfortable. The end was also disappointing because you could see that they were not taking this serious at all.
The last point that I didn't like was how competitive the protagonists were and that they just effortlessly sailed through whatever academic challenge and didn't have to struggle at all. Yes, this might be mainly a feel-good book, but this was sooo boring to read. Like, I get that they're supposed to be very good and ambitious, but failure is a part of life and nobody gets everything right all the time.
The writing style was okay and if you're looking for a generic YA romance with comedy elements and diversity in it, you might enjoy this one, but this was so not what I was expecting. A modern fairytale retelling I'd recommend instead is Beastly by Alex Flynn and I'm going to try Geekerella next to see if this is what I was looking for.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
Why 1 star?
First, because this was not really a retelling of Cinderella at all, but rather a normal YA romance. There were very few elements taken from the actual fairytale and I found that rather disappointing.
Second, because I didn't really get along with any of the characters. The parents were very flat and I'm just very tired of those YA books where all the parents are mean spoilsports. And I wished the protagonists would have been a little more understanding and mature. Especially Eden came across as very arrogant and it was kind of ironic to see her complain about other people appearing a bit blasé... because she acted like that all the time. Even though it was sweet that Noah loved his mom so much, I felt bad for him because she had never really been there to care for her kids.
Third, the love story. It didn't convince me and it was all just very predictable. It seemed to be based mostly on sexual attraction and momentary fun (or, to be more blunt, teenagers being horny) instead of genuine love, shared values and actually wanting to make a relationship work. We also have a rather weird sexual scene and lots of "funny" sexual comments (comparable to adult jokes in not-so-good comedy movies) which I guess was supposed to be the sex-positive aspect, but for me, it made the characters appear silly, immature and it made me uncomfortable. The end was also disappointing because you could see that they were not taking this serious at all.
The last point that I didn't like was how competitive the protagonists were and that they just effortlessly sailed through whatever academic challenge and didn't have to struggle at all. Yes, this might be mainly a feel-good book, but this was sooo boring to read. Like, I get that they're supposed to be very good and ambitious, but failure is a part of life and nobody gets everything right all the time.
The writing style was okay and if you're looking for a generic YA romance with comedy elements and diversity in it, you might enjoy this one, but this was so not what I was expecting. A modern fairytale retelling I'd recommend instead is Beastly by Alex Flynn and I'm going to try Geekerella next to see if this is what I was looking for.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
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