This was an interesting opening to a new fantasy series. I liked the premise, and enjoyed the plot, but I'm a little on the fence about the characters. I thought the world building was pretty good, and I hope we get to explore more of it in book two. That said, I took a star because I didn't really love the characters, but I didn't completely hate them either. I think some more character growth would've helped push me one way or the other, depending on the path the character took. Furthermore, I will mention the ending leaves you wanting more - so if loose ends aren't your cup of tea, you might want to skip this one.

This was a nice Fantasy packing a lot in for the first in the series.

There were a lot of characters to follow at the start but the story gradually drew me in.

Unfortunately the ending let it down being very abrupt and leaving you waiting for the next book in the series.

This leaned too sci-fi for me and I had to DNF unfortunately. Just not the story for me, I tend to need a lot more fantasy with my sci-fi to be able to read a sci-fi type story.

Thank you, NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for a review.

At first, I had a hard time getting into this one, and then some issues following the plot. The world is fascinating and I think if I could have stayed invested in the story then I would have enjoyed this book more. The writing style just threw me for a loop.

I could not get into this book. Not sure if it was how I was feeling or just the writing was not bringing me in. Huge Thank you to NetGalley for this opportunity!

Not sure if I'm just not in the science fiction/fantasy mood but this story wasn't able to hold my interest. It is book 1 in the Divine Inheritance series and maybe it will improve in the next book. Lots of groundwork was laid in this story. Iliana was moved to England as a baby to save her life. Now some of her powers are coming forth and there is a strange man following her steps. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Thank you #NetGalley for this #ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was an interesting one for me.
I had a lot of trouble identifying with the main characters, or following the plot, due to the writing style. This happens sometimes - not every author is for everyone. I finished the book, but it did not hold my interest and I struggled to make it through. There is very impressive world building, and a lot of well done inter-woven plot lines that had a fascinating tie up at the end. I would be interested in reading the next book in this series to find out what happens. After some research I found out that this book was self edited and published, which is super cool. Not reading this critically, I would have given it an extra star, but for book review purposes, this would be a solid 3/5 for me.

Stats:
398 pages 

Published August 31, 2017, by Independent Publishing Network

Goodreads rating: 3.44 stars

Read in 3 days

My Rating: 2.5 stars
Characters: 3 stars
Storyline: 3.5 stars
Grammar: 2 stars
Emotion: 2.5 stars

Review:
"She always loved the night sky; there was something magical and wondrous about it that infused her with inspiration" (location 198)

After spending some time thinking about Catriona Murphy's book, Return of the Starchild, for a few days I realized that I have some mixed feelings. 

I read the ebook in 3 days and found that I had a hard time putting the book down which is why I gave the storyline 3.5, however, I was distracted by other things in the book which took away from my reading experience. 

The main character, Illiana drove me completely insane. She has a temper and no respect for elders. Her relationship with her adoptive parents made it hard for me to even connect with those sections of the book. She is whiney and thinks she deserves everything and throws a fit when something doesn't go her way. 

I found that the other characters needed some more work as well. I feel like some of the interactions between the characters were either forced or out of character entirely. It had me shaking my head at some points in the story simply because I couldn't see that interaction happening naturally. 

I did enjoy the storyline and it was the main driving point for the whole novel. I wanted to see how everything was connected in this world that Murphey created. 

Two elements in the book were mentioned but nothing became of them. 

1. the ring that Zelda gave Illiana
2. The "fake" names that Terrance gave to the group of main characters 

But, most of all I was disappointed with the ending of the book for one reason only: the sci-fi element. When I got to the ending of the book I almost gave up without finishing. It was so far fetched to me. There was a pretty good build-up until that point though. I do not want to give away the ending for those of you that are going to pick this book up, but I was very confused with the way that the storyline wrapped up. I know that this is the first book in a series, but there was something about the ending that made me more confused than satiated. 

Return of the Starchild is Murphy's first book and she edited and published it on her own. To me, that is an amazing feat and mustn't go unrecognized! 

However, there were too many typos, grammar issues, and formatting issues for me to ignore. I found them very distracting from the storyline and the characters. 

For a book to receive a high rating from me it needs to evoke some kind of emotion whether I laugh out loud, cry, feel happy, or shocked. I didn't feel that kind of emotion with this book. I was slightly shocked when they revealed Illiana's family, but I also had a reaction of "of course that's it" as if I couldn't have seen it being anything else. 

If you enjoy Fantasy novels with a hint of magic and a dash of sci-fi then this is the novel for you! 

While I am giving Return of the Starchild  I am looking forward to the next installation of the Divine Inheritance series because I would like to see how the Author has grown in her abilities to capture and portray a story. 

You can find Return of the Starchild by Catriona Murphy on Amazon Unlimited and here

*Disclaimer* I received a copy of Return of the Starchild for free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review**

*All opinions are my own*

*Affiliate links are included in this post. If you use my affiliate link the cost of the product for you stays the same, I receive a small portion of the sale as compensation*

Interesting read but as part of such a series I felt a bit lost and confused sometimes, entertaining but maybe a bit too big a world to start

This book is a crazy good read from start to finish, it's a great start to a new series with great characters and an unforgettable ending.

I enjoyed the start of the book but it quickly became apparent that it was part of a much bigger series and not really a stand alone book. I sometimes found the switch between the various places and people a little confusing. I wouldn’t want to read further books in the series.

Fine science fiction that stokes the imagination. I would gladly check out another title by this author.