Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: His Star
AUTHOR: Eliza Douglas
PUBLISHER: Evernight Teen
LENGTH: 97 pages
RELEASE DATE: June 2, 2023
BLURB:
Cody Freeman, a blue-eyed blond-haired economics student, drops out of college to chase his dreams of becoming a drummer. After a gig, he unwinds with a jog in Hyde Park and saves Prince Aki Chan, an awkward geeky electronics enthusiast, from a lethal mugging. Having spent the night in the safety of Cody’s flat, the two teenagers form a strong bond.
But will their forbidden friendship develop into a royal romance? Or will Cody uncover deep secrets about himself that will alter his life … forever?
REVIEW:
Cody, a struggling college student, plays the drums in a local band. He was invited to join the group after filling in for their absent drummer at an open mic night. Now he’s considering taking a year off from school to live his dream. Cody meets Prince Aki, also a teenager, in a park one night and they immediately click. From there they develop a friendship which eventually morphs into a romance.
This book just didn’t work for me in a number of ways. The plot is simplistic and not well developed, and the writing itself too basic to appeal to me. It doesn’t flow smoothly and could benefit from more dialogue. There are impractical elements like seventeen year old Aki working with NASA to make a human transporter, and the ease with which he repeatedly evades his bodyguards. And there’s a Big Misunderstanding which is something many readers don’t care for.
His Star may very well appeal to a very young audience but I don’t think this is a young adult novella that adult readers would find satisfying. That said, Douglas has a lot of room to grow in the YA genre. With more experience (this is their first published book) I expect their writing to mature into something more polished and with wider appeal.
RATING: 
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