A Sea of Stars

1.5 stars. A retelling of "The White Bride and the Black Bride" though it felt more like "Cinderella meets Bambi" to me. In the Author's Note, it claims that the book was inspired, in part, by the movie Ever After. Which, by the way, is fantastic and because I've seen that movie more times than I can remember, I could certainly draw some comparisons, especially in the beginning of the book. Like when, barring one word, there is a small line directly from the movie. Some events and themes were straight out of Ever After. That being said: don't read this book and use your time wisely. Watch Ever After.

Rose's mother dies. Her father remarries. Her father dies of a heart attack. Her step-mother, Ombrine, and her step-sister, Desirée, make Rose into a Cinderella. I know that Rose's life was pretty miserable but it not fun to read about the main character when all sheheit does is weep, whine, or be a wuss. Rose predominantly wept. (And I swear, if I read the line, "You are loved, the roses whisperedsaidinsisted," one more time.....I am going to scream. That line was in the book numerous times. We know that the roses were a sign of Rose's mother's love for Rose. We know!) So then the King's wife and child die in childbirth and he is heartbroken. He then sees a portrait of Rose, who looks exactly like his dead wife and he requests that she come to the castle. But Desirée takes Rose's shapeplace and Rose is saved from death by Artemis, goddess of the hunt, and gets turned into a deer. Bambi!! Desirée marries the King. Rose falls in love with the King instantly as soon as she sees him in her deer form.



Insta-love again!? Really? The King pours out his life secrets to the little doe that follows him around. Freaking Bambi. Sorcery and a mysterious god of shadows, who pops into the story from no where. Artemis saves Rose by eliminating Ombrine and Desirée. Rose is turned back into a human girl. The King and Rose court for two pages and three months. They get married.
I was bored to death. None of the characters did anything for me. Nothing interesting happened ever. I found absolutely nothing interesting in this for me. Nothing is explained. Like how Rose was a carbon copy of King's dead wife?
"Oh, well, the gods may or may not have done this as a gift for the King Jean-Marc. But no one knows."
Why did Artemis care so much about Rose?
Who was the god of shadows? Why was he there? What were his motives?
Why did Ombrine and Desirée so desperately want to be in the Evil League of Sorcery?
Nothing made any sense. Not Recommended.