Eyes Like Stars (Théâtre Illuminata #1)

Reader reviewed by Iryna

All her worlds a stage.

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

Shes 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. BERTIES sidekicks.

ARIEL. Seductive air spirit and Berties 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 Bookan ancient and magical tome of
scripts. Bertie is not one of them, but they are her familyand 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.

Eyes Like Stars.
The title alone holds so much promise, so much possibility. The
beautiful cover painting of Bertie, our heroine, is absolutely
breathtaking. You open the book to the first page, and the fancy font
brings a smile to your face. The only question that remains is, "What
about the actual content of the book? Was it as enchanting as you
thought it would be?" Well . . . yes. No. Yes and no.

Let
me start with the best part of this book first: the writing. Lisa
Mantchev's writing is just astonishing. It's one of those things that
you simply can not describe because it's so amazing and wow-ifying. It
was an elegant butterfly fluttering in the breeze. It was a heart
shattering in an infinite number of pieces. Mantchev's writing is so
wonderful that I think you should read this book just to witness it's
beauty.

However, even though I loved the writing, Eyes Like Stars also has it's weak points.

For
example, the beginning is quite confusing at first so you have to
re-read a few parts to understand what is happening. This novel is also
a little slow and takes time reading (at least for me). It's one of
those books that you just can't read in one sitting. I also feel that
even though the twists in this story were clever, I'm sure they could
have been delivered a little better.

Even then, the ending of
this book left me feeling very satisfied and paved out a very promising
Book Two in this series. Lisa Mantchev is a flower that will soon
flourish - I'm sure of it. :)

Reprinted here from www.gardenofbooksa.blogspot.com with author's permission.

Reader reviewed by Mariah

I was so excited to read this book! Because I love the theater and I
love books so this was the perfect mix. Lisa did not disappoint!

The
plot was very interesting and different combined with the funny dialog
with different plot twists made this book a great anytime read.

The
characters even though most were from other plays had different and
interesting personalities and senses of humor. Bertie was a great
heroine because she really wanted to stay and she was also very
innocent.

I really enjoyed this book and I think that even
though the book seems like mostly a girl book some guys would like it
as well! I cannot wait for the rest of the books in this trilogy!

reprinted here with author's permission

Reader reviewed by Lizzy

I participated in theater throughout high school, and I absolutely
loved it. I worked backstage (I can't sing or act), and I fell in love
with the people and the absolute chaos that is the theater. That's
probably part of the reason why I loved Mantchev's Eyes Like Stars so much. It reminded me of how it felt to be in the theater, surrounded by people who become a second family.

Bertie's
life is chaotic to say the least. She's grown up with constant scene
changes, without the knowledge of how she came to live in the theater,
and with the fairies from A Midsummer Night's Dream as her best friends. Needless to say, she gets into a lot of trouble.

The
characters in the book were great. Bertie was a strong, confident,
sometimes stubborn lead. She never took no for an answer, and even
during absolute chaos was able to improvise. The supporting cast was
what was most spectacular to me. Many of the characters were from
various different plays, and none of them seemed out of character. I
imagined that's just how they would act if they were living in the real
world (especially the fairies). I think I should also mention Ariel,
from The Tempest, who ended
up being my favorite character from the book. I was intrigued by his
character, then I hated him, I pitied him, and I loved him. I ended up
understanding his motivation to bring down the theater, and also saw
him grow as a character.

Fans of the theater will enjoy seeing
their favorite characters outside of their respective plays, while
other readers might be inspired to go read those plays to find out
more. I loved this book, and can't wait to read the sequel.

Reader reviewed by Crimin

**spoiler alert** Eyes Like Stars is probably the most unique
and fascinating books I've ever had the honor of reading. It had the
gall to capture me with the first sentence and hold me, unyieldingly,
as its prisoner until CURTAIN CALL.



Simple put, I loved everything from the magical Theater to
blue-haired Bertie to her fairy friends and to Bertie's romantic
interests -- swash-bucking Nate, in all his pirate glory, and
enthralling, not to mention dangerous, Ariel. Each scene painted itself
before my very eyes. And each character found a place in my heart.


I am sad that Nate was never returned, as I had prayed and hoped for his safe return the moment Sedna whisked him away.



But there are more books to this series, two more, I believe. So, I
pray, I might get my wish and see Nate once more. For Bertie's sake,
bring him home! (Yes. Bring him home is a total Les Miserable's reference~)

Reader reviewed by Adriana

Wow, this book definitely stands out from the rest I've read so far this year.  At first, I didn't know what to make of it, but then it clicked, and I totally got it. The story is very unique - Bertie (or Beatrice Shakespeare Smith) lives in the Theatre Illuminata, a magical place where all the plays of the world are put on, there are Players, sets, Managers, costumes, etc.... and Bertie has grown up there. Bertie's closest friends are these very humorous and lively fairies, as well as her protector and friend Nate (a pirate) and Ariel (the enticing, yet dangerous air spirit). When Bertie is asked to leave the theater, she has to come up with a way that she would be indispensable, and with the help of her friends she sets off to restage a play and turn herself into a director. Along the way she also learns more about where she came from, and there is a nice love triangle between her, Ariel, and Nate. There is a lot more than this, but you have to read it to find out. The story is extremely well-written, and the characters and settings literally come to life as you read them. I kept picturing all the action in my mind, and I could also imagine how everything sounded, and even how it felt and smelled. I recommend this one, not only to teens, but also to adults, it never felt forced or predictable - a great read and I can't wait for a follow up!!

Reader reviewed by Hillary

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.

Welcome
to the Theatre 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 Theatre 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.

Eyes
Like Stars was a wonderfully written debut novel by Lisa Mantchev. I
finished this book in one sitting. It was nearly impossible for me to
put it down. I was unsure of it at first, but after hearing all the
great things about it, I had to try it.

The plot was really
great. It was exciting and eventful and flowed at the perfect speed
throughout the story. Lisa Mantchevs writing was perfect for this
story and she has officially become one of my favorite authors. I would
read anything she writes. Bertie was also a really wonderful character.
I loved her personality and determination. She was a really strong
character.

Also, the cover of this book represents the story so
well. I love the detail to it. The blue hair, the fairies, the
curtains. It definitely caught my eye. I couldnt imagine a better
cover for this book. It is really perfect and I love it.

Eyes
Like Stars was like nothing I have ever read before. I loved how
original it was. There are very few theater books (that I know of) in
the YA genre and I think that this one is going to make them
exponentially more popular. It was so unique and different. The plot
and characters are so wonderfully done that even if you dont like
theater or fantasy, youll still be sucked into the story.

Eyes
Like Stars is available now and you need to go out and buy yourself a
copy asap. It's really good and I'm sure you'll be just as excited for
the second as I am!