Wattpad: Review #1: The Lores of Lyra - Rising Star [Book I] by Maja (xxmajaine)

So I've decided to start writing a few reviews too because I have so much to say after reading a story that I really, really love. Wattpad is a popular writing website with stories being posted every single second. It's heaven for anybody who loves to read or write. I urge you to make an account so that I'm not the only one skipping through magical lands while I have exams waiting for me in the real world.

* * *

I woke up at 6:00am today, 5 hours earlier than the usual on a holiday.Why? Because my brain wasn't interested enough in dreaming and doing all the other things a brain does at night, it just needed to complete "The Lores of Lyra - Rising Star [Book 1]" by the wonderful Maja (Her username is Wattpad is @xxmajaine.) Why? Because it's freakin' awesome, that's why. It's the first book in The Lores of Lyra trilogy.

The thing about Fantasy novels that aren't written by professional writers that annoys me to no end, is that they have so many information dumps. Just paragraphs after paragraphs about the number of moons their world has, the species of insects and the number of limbs on the inhabitants. You're just preparing for a boring exam two pages in.

The author has lots and lots and lots of information to convey in Rising Star. About the prophecy, about the Elders, about The War. Most amateur writers would just stuff a dry textbook into the pages of their story. But nope, not Maja. She conveyed the information slowly and through different mediums. If you've read "Self Editing For Fiction Writers" by Renni Browne and Dave King, the very first thing you learn in Chapter 1: Show and Tell is to never ever burden your readers with information dumps.

In Rising Star you learn everything you need to know through so many interesting ways that you never skim through a paragraph. Through books which we're not supposed to have our hands on, through a boy who has been preparing to help one of our protagonists all their life, through snooping around the other protagonist's mother's bedroom. I just cannot stress on how amazingly all the information is conveyed in this story. For those of you who don't like Fantasy, I imagine it's because of information dumps (I keep typing it in bold so that a scary duh-duh-dummm tune plays in your head.) which is why I don't read many Fantasy stories by amateur writers either. But you'll love Rising Star, it almost feels like it's your own world.

Now if you've read the story, you'll have a hard time believing that English isn't the author's primary language. She writes better than so many people who know only English. And her style is so well developed and advanced, you'll be swooning over it just a couple of chapters in.

This story has prophecies, wars and black holes in the disguise of humans! What more could you ask for? Go read it, NOW! Just click here:
The Lores of Lyra - Rising Star [Book 1]

SPOILERS AHEAD!

So lets start at the beginning, the prologue. It is written in third person from the perspective of someone who doesn't feel like a very strong individual. The first few paragraphs send us into a frenzy. What in the name of Holy Pancakes is happening?! And how in the name of Holy Ten-gallons-of-syrup in this man responsible for it? We follow him into a room and almost immediately our heart stretches out to the pregnant lady in labor. By now, our minds are whirring with SO MANY QUESTIONS it hurts. We now meet Errai and develop an immediate dislike for him. We don't think much of our current protagonist either, he seems like a weak individual. A few pages in, our characters seem as confused as we are. Twins?! Our aversion of the weak protagonist decreases when he seems to be helping the babies. With a number of questions dancing in our heads, we proceed to the next chapters.

The first chapter isn't any different, we have more questions thrown at us. Though, unlike the prologue, we develop an immediate liking for Miriam, her mother and even Dr. Johannson. Soon enough, we're left wide eyed at the attacks on Miriam. Kicks, punches and cuts are delivered to her without anybody so much as touching her.

We're finally relieved of our headache in the next chapter which is from Annabell's perspective. Miriam receives Annabell's blows.

Now the thing about every single altering perspective book I've read until now is, I've always leaned towards one person's perspective more than the other. Even in stories by geniuses like Jonathan Stroud. The Rising Star is one of the few books where I enjoyed both the protagonists perspectives completely and thoroughly.

Annabell and Miriam are very different. While Annabell is loud, boisterous and rude; Miriam is quiet, caring and polite. This contrast is brought out by the author brilliantly, if I may say so myself. It's not often that characters are sketched out so beautifully in non-published stories. Anyone who writes knows that it takes a  bit of skill, something that seems to come naturally to Maja, argh!

When Annabell and Miriam finally meet- It's through a telepathic connection! It happens as soon as Miriam reads the first part of the prophecy. I wonder why the telepathic connection starts suddenly. Is it because now both the sisters are aware of the prophecy. (Even though it isn't the entire prophecy. That's killing me.)

So with this new found connection and immediate trust of each other, Miriam and Annabell make a plan to sneak Miriam out of her gates and proceed on their grand adventure.

Of course, with the help of two other characters. Joshua and Blake.

Ah, Blake. The moment I was introduced to him I was swooning and giggling and blushing and g834tygurgbjhdf. Dark hair, dark eyes, working out... But here comes the author with her clever subconscious-seed-planting. Soon, we're suspicious of Blake. For me it started in Chapter 7, when Blake discouraged Miriam from telling the grown ups about her discovery. This seems like a perfectly normal thing to do, in fact, he has a point. Adults do have a way of ruining every bit of fun, don't they? But nonetheless, he seems to be corrupting someone as pure and innocent as Miriam. And that's when the seed of suspicion is planted. 

Joshua on the other hand, didn't appeal to me the way Blake did. He seemed faithful, strong, independent and not a doubt lingered in my heart for even a second that Joshua had any intentions that weren't pure. This is just justified when the Star lions help him as well. (What I didn't understand was why the lions didn't do anything about Blake towards the end of the book, when they help Miriam out after she defeats Dr. Johannson. Maybe they didn't want to interfere, because without Blake's role, Vega wouldn't have been formed.) 

By the end of the book, my loyalities changed. I was almost screaming "BLAKE YOU TWO FACED PIECE OF CABBAGE! WAIT UNTIL I GET MY HANDS AROUND THAT PRETTY LITTLE NECK OF YOURS!" And then he killed Joshua. I rather not type out the vulgar words that escaped my mouth then. As the story was drawing to and end, I had all my arms at ready to scream at the auuthor for killing Joshua. I mean HOW?! WHY?! But then Vega revives him and the author saved herself from me and possibly several other readers, so yay!

The story ends mysteriously. We meet Garnet again. This time, we like him, we like him very much. We realize that the crazy 85 pages we've been through is just the beginning of a long, long, long journey.

After completing the story I was just running around my hour screaming "WHAT AWESOMENESS! WHAT AWESOMENESS! WHAT AWESOMENESS!" And indeed, what awesomeness. I've been fangirling for the last couple of hours, it's getting a little creepy I suspect.

You can find the on going sequel over here: 

The Lores of Lyra - Shattered Star [Book II]

Now fangirl with me!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

~ _Padfoot_