Starcrossed

I really enjoyed this book. Lately I have had an obsession with mythology and this fit the ticket. If you know your greek and roman mythology well then this story makes perfect sense. The main character Helen is pretty much the center of attention throughout the book. I thought it was cool how the author paralleled the abilities to a particular god or goddess. This book is kind of like Percy Jackson except it is more romance and there is a more complicated system. The characters of Helen and Lucas are what you might call the typical teenage couple. The only exception is that their lineage goes back thousands of years to Helen of Troy and the Trojan war. All of their world is controlled by the Furies or the three fates. There are 4 houses in total. House of Thebes which derives from Apollo, House of Atreus which are Aphrodite's daughters, House of Rome, and House of Athens. As we begin to get to know the relationship between the Delos family made up of Hector Jason and Ariadne the twins, Cassandra, the Oracle, Lucas, Castor, Noel, Pandora, and Pallas. The family is made up of cousins and brothers and sisters. I find it kind of humorous that all of the family has to move in order to discover Helen. Can't just send one messenger, have to send the whole clan. I thought that was funny. I think my favorite characters are Jason and Helen's best friend Claire. They are like the old married couple of the group. Non stop bickering anything that Claire does she is challenged by Jason at every cornor. We do not discover the true meaning behind this until close to the end, he has good intentions and that is to protect Claire from their kind, Demigods. So in a way it was expected, but it was adorable how they came together. I think there is that one person who gets on your nerves so bad that you kind of have to give in. I liked that part. Also, I thought it was neat that all of the characters names come from other stories in the ancestry. As the plot develops I kept asking myself, Who is Helen's mother? Where is she? What house is she from? Why does the Delos family recognize her face so well? What is the connection?? Well I found this aspect interesting and in my mind sort of hoped that is could be real. What would that be you ask? Well since the Furies control what goes on between the houses and controls history of each family, Faces of people past are portrayed in each generation. Another thing is that sometimes the children do not resemble their parents at all but rather the people they are supposed to role play as. Well I got the answers to all my question towards the end of the book. Turns out Helen's mother is Daphne Atreus. Head of the House of Atreus. She is one of the Daughters of Aphrodite. Each of the two where a necklace called a cestus which connects them. Turns out the romance I was hoping for between Lucas and Helen was doomed from the start. It only took an extremely long story of how Daphne dispised Ajax, Pandora's older brother and brother to Castor and Pallas, but after saving one another they fell in love. Turns out that was a problem for some of the family. Tantalus, the eldest of the family, did not approve of this and ultimately became and Outcast or a Kin-killer. Because of this he cannot make contact with the rest of the family without his sins being revealed to the rest of the family. Anyway Tantalus murdered Ajax and blamed Daphne for the death of his brother. So after thinking for many years that Jerry Hamilton had been her father turns out Ajax is her true father. Then things get even worse. The Delos family is split, There are the ones of whom we have met and know then there are the Hundered. They are what some might call a cult with only one desire, Immortality. They truely believed that they were the only house left and could finally achieve Atlantis and immortality. Boy, were they wrong. So there you have it back to square one. The story is extremely complicated and the ending kept you wondering what it is that Helen must do to end the Blood cycle, save the Rogues, and be able to accept herself as all one person. Cassandra, who belongs to the Furies, left this prophecy at the end,"'The Star-Crossed lovers are in warp and weft of the pattern, and my mothers are compelled to repeat it again and again. Symmetry must be maintained or the fabric of the universe will be ruined. All Four houses have been preserved this way.'" "'Four Houses and Three Heirs, the many voices continued to chant. 'The Star-Crossed lovershave preserved the bloodlines. And the Three shall raise Atlantis.'" "' The Desender must go down to those who cannot forgive and cannot forget. The Descender and her Shield will free the Three from their suffering as she will free the Houses from the cycle of blood for blood.'" Talk about erie and strange. It does keep you wondering and makes you crave more almost to the equivalent of chocolate! I cannot wait to read the next book!!!