EYES LIKE STARS review!

Tomorrow, I'll be posting an exclusive interview with EYES LIKE STARS author Lisa Mantchev.

Here's the blurb for EYES LIKE STARS:

All her world’s a stage.

Bertie Shakespeare Smith is not an actress, yet she lives in a theater.

She’s not an orphan, but she has no parents.

She knows every part, but she has no lines of her own.

That is, until now.

Enter Stage Right

NATE. Dashing pirate. Will do anything to protect Bertie.

COBWEB, MOTH, MUSTARD SEED, and PEASEBLOSSOM. Four tiny and incredibly annoying fairies. BERTIE’S sidekicks.

ARIEL. Seductive air spirit and Bertie’s weakness. The symbol of impending doom.

BERTIE. Our heroine.

Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the actors of every play ever written can be found behind the curtain. They were born to play their parts, and are bound to the Théâtre by The Book—an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of them, but they are her family—and she is about to lose them all and the only home she has ever known.

Lisa Mantchev has written a debut novel that is dramatic, romantic, and witty, with an irresistible and irreverent cast of characters who are sure to enchant the audience.

Open Curtain

I thought I'd love this book. I was a dancer, then an actress, devolving into a full-blown Shakespeare nerd in college. I audited Shakespeare classes for no credit, just because I loved to study the plays. I visited Stratford-upon-Avon, saw Shakespeare in the Park in London, made a trip to Ashland to see the festival there. I try to see at least one Shakespeare play a year, if I can manage it.

Plus, it's YA! And fantasy! And it has *pirates*! But would it be a great story?

Yes. She pulled it off. The book managed to integrate the theatre stuff in a new, original way. The characters--especially Bertie--were compelling and identifiable. There is wackiness--nutty fairies, buckets of blue hair dye, an onstage Turkish bath scene--but it was always believable. Better, even though I was on vacation, I never wanted to put it down. I kept sneaking off to read it for *just a few more minutes*.

My only complaint is that it's a series, and now I have to WAIT to find out what happens. As we all know, I'm Not So Good at waiting.

*stares at Lisa* O_0

But you'll want to join in too!

Come by tomorrow and check out the interview. Plus, I'm going to be giving away a fabulous Shakespearean-themed prize from this place. Can you guess which 3 choices I'm offering?