Starling

Excellent read. It was hard to put the book down.

Fantastic read, kept me hooked. Would highly recommend reading!!

"We're from the same universe, aren't we? And we're both made of the dust of stars that collapsed billions of years ago. We may not be the same, but here we are, talking together. Living. You deserve to live, to feel. I think you know it too, deep down."This book gave me everything I wanted from it: lush and lyrical prose, multiple POVs with complex characters, a romance I desperately wanted to happen, and a subtly magical setting.Teenage sisters Delta and Bee are trying to survive after their father's sudden disappearance when they see a shooting star that lands in the woods behind their house. After feeling the impact like an earthquake, they find a boy lying in the woods and bring him home. Only, he's not really a boy, nor is he from this planet.Some reviewers have called this ET romance but I'd liken it more to Stardust personally since the love interest is less like an alien and more like the personification of a fallen star. The writing style is whimsical in a Gaiman-like way.If you're wondering/worried about how the Edward Scissorhands comparison comes in, it's only the strange-boy-in-a-peculiar-small-town loves girl-with-a-bad-boyfriend vibe, if you're familiar with the movie you can probably guess how things might unfold. It's not Christmasy either, even though I happened to read it over Christmas, this one takes place in the summertime. So if you weren't a fan of the tone of the movie don't worry, they aren't too much alike at all.If you love SPACE and MAGIC and starry-eyed LOVE against all odds, pick this book up! I'm a huge romantic and I love stories where it's as if the universe conspired to get two unlikely people to cross paths so they can fall in love. But it's not just the romance, a large part of the focus is also on family and what it means to belong, what it means to be human, the choices we make, and the complexity of it all.

There are some writers whose stories I love, and some whose writing I love...and then there are a few who make me fall head over heels for both. Authors like Neil Gaiman, Laini Taylor, and Natalie Lloyd... and now Isabel is another!! ⁣⁣I was drawn in from page one by her cozy descriptions of the small town of Darling. It made me feel the way autumn mornings do, with a gentle chill in the air and the smell of falling leaves. ⁣⁣⁣I read it one slowly because I'd been looking forward to it since I first heard about this story of small-town sisters, a boy who fell from the stars, and a whimsical old house that's just a little magical.⁣⁣I loved how vivid the setting is. And I'm so here for the complex sister dynamic, and the mysterious, eccentric love interest. Plus the pickup trucks and flannel shirts and cozy small town setting gave me that fabulous fall feeling that I absolutely loved!!!It's definitely a new favorite for me.

This book was hauntingly gorgeous. Pretty much exactly what I was hoping for. Lush prose, a fated romance, and all the feels. Can't wait to see what this author does next.