About the book
The year is 1876. In
the small Sierra Nevada settlement of Lost Pine, the town witch, Emily Edwards,
is being run out of business by an influx of mail-order patent magics.
Attempting to solve her problem with a love spell, Emily only makes things
worse. But before she can undo the damage, an enchanted artifact falls into her
possession—and suddenly Emily must flee for her life, pursued by evil warlocks
who want the object for themselves.
Dreadnought Stanton, a warlock from New York
City whose personality is as pompous and abrasive as his name, has been exiled
to Lost Pine for mysterious reasons. Now he finds himself involuntarily allied
with Emily in a race against time—and across the United States by horse, train,
and biomechanical flying machine—in quest of the great Professor Mirabilis, who
alone can unlock the secret of the coveted artifact. But along the way, Emily
and Stanton will be forced to contend with the most powerful and unpredictable
magic of all—the magic of the human heart.
387
pages
Published
on: August 31, 2010
Published
by: Spectra
-----
I’ve
been into “weird west” books recently. Weird west is different than what I
usually read, and the difference really appeals to me. I’ve read two western
themed books before The Native Star
and I enjoyed both. While I was aware that The
Native Star had a bit of romance in it, I decided to give it a shot and see
how I liked it. It seems like most people enjoyed this book. I think I missed that boat.
The Native Star opens with a scene which
pretty much sets the tone for the rest of the book. Our protagonist, hedge
witch Emily Edwards, in an attempt to make her adopted father’s life easier,
decides to cast a love spell on a well-to-do man who lives in her town. She
overdoes the spell, thus setting the stage for the rest of the book.
I
must admit, this opening scene caused me to roll my eyes a bit. Our dear Emily Edwards
is the very definition of cliché. She’s different than everyone else, which
makes her feel lonely and isolated. She has a mysterious past which is never
fully uncovered but hints to greatness, and somehow, through her own naiveté, stumbles into a problem
much bigger than anything she can handle, thus forcing her to embark on an
adventure grander than her wildest imaginings. Of course, Ms. Edwards wants
nothing more than to return to her small-town Nevada abode, which, after all
the mistakes she’s made, she knows she’ll never be able to do. Cue tears.
I’m
sure you can guess that, through this adventure, Ms. Edwards decides that her
real love-interest is the very man, surly and cold though he is, that she is
stuck with on her cross country journey. I usually wouldn’t put something like
that in a review, in fears of adding spoilers, but seriously, people, how much
of what I’ve said so far haven’t you already guessed?
That’s
the real problem with The Native Star.
It’s so completely predictable. Set in a cozy-yet-different western location,
with an incredibly charming magic system, some steampunk elements and a
character who, despite all my qualms, has a charming innocence about her – it
is the sheer predictability that really affects the book the most. The issue
here is that the only real differences between The Native Star and plenty of other mediocre romance books out
there are the things I listed above, the setting and magic system, and that’s
just not enough to make the book float.
The Native Star is an excellent piece of
fluff, which, despite all its issues, has a fast paced plot that makes it a
real page-turner (though aspects of the plot had a haphazard, nonsensical feel to them). This is a book that requires little to no thought and works
well for individuals looking for something to read with a side of popcorn. You
could read all the words, or skim the pages and glean just as much from them.
That sounds like a bad thing, but it’s really not. I read The Native Star on a day where I needed a break from thought and
reality and this book fit the bill. It gave my brain a much-needed vacation and I'm honestly not sorry I read it.
See, there are times that fluff can work in a book’s favor.
The Native Star is the first book in a
series and honestly, I doubt I’ll continue with it. I don’t see the point. The Native Star is a romance dressed
up in fantasy clothes, which is unfortunate. The romance smothers all the gems
this book holds so much so that they are almost completely overlooked. Hobson
has a way with words, and the plot is tight and fast paced, the setting is
unique and the magic system is interesting. If this book had focused more on
the magic and adventure and less on the romance and the lonely-backwoods-girl-fated-for-something-more
plot it would have really shined. As it is, I feel like The Native Star is a missed opportunity. Hobson had all the right
ingredients to make this book shine and stand out from the crowd, but instead
decided to go cookie-cutter and The Native Star pays for it.
2/5
stars
No comments:
Post a Comment