A review by frootlupo
The Girl and the Stars by Mark Lawrence

adventurous hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The Girl and the Stars is a fun, tight little narrative with the bones to provide enough for a BIG series. 
 
Something that Mark Lawrence did very well was give little hints at a much larger world and much larger conflict, while never really taking away from the stakes right in front of us. I cared about our protagonists immediate goals just as much as I started to care about the fate of the world. This is a tough balance to achieve, and Lawrence pulls it off. 
 
What I didn’t care about was the ton of side-characters we meet and need to care for. There ended up being a few that I remembered and cared about, but for such a tight story, there was a lot of people I needed to remember - and a few that don’t have page-time for half the book before I need to meet and remember them again. This is my biggest critique, but even then it wasn’t too bad - I’ve certainly read worse. It was also mitigated by the strength of the character-development of the protagonist. I cared enough about her that I was able to forgive the forgettable-ness of the side characters.
 
Overall, my interest is piqued - and I’m excited to see what happens with the rest of this series.