Starcrossed is a sequel to Spellbound and in no way stands on it’s own. We dive right in to the continuing adventures of Rory and Arthur (aka Ace). As the book opens, they have left Manhattan and are spending time at Ace’s brother’s family home, where Rory and Ace can’t let anyone know they are a couple. As much as they were able to resolve in Spellbound, they live in a world hostile to gay men. Ace has too high a social profile to be even kind of out of the closet.
Starcrossed is all about the loose ends left from their Coney Island adventure. There are still bad guys at large, former friends turned enemies who might yet be saved, and figuring out if Rory can really be part of Arthur’s life in any way that gives them equal footing.
Therin continues to build an interesting and complex world. I appreciate that for the most part, her characters are nuanced and no one is evil to be evil. No one we’ve met yet anyway.
One of the things I noticed about Therin’s writing is that she does not default to white. When describing a new character, she specifically states if they are white. It was a bit jarring to read and then to realize how much I have internalized the white default – that characters are white unless specifically indicated as not. Once I noticed it and had my moment of huh? it was great.
I received Starcrossed as an arc from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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