What do you think?
Rate this book
326 pages, Hardcover
First published March 20, 2014
10 out of 10
"Maybe love wasn’t about barriers at all, but rather about choices people made, giving up one thing to secure another."
"They were the sort of men whose paths never should have crossed."
"As much as Cass wanted him with her, she knew he was probably flogging himself for his single moment of impropriety."
"I started to receive strange letters from the messenger. Pages in your handwriting detailing romantic trysts with a man who was ‘different from your fiancé in every way.’"
“You are—” Her voice cracked, and for a moment she feared she might cry. Inhale. Exhale. She searched for the right word. “Dazzling,” she said. Her lips slanted into a smile. “Knowing you has been magical.”
"Marry me, starling."
"She couldn’t substitute Falco for Luca. She couldn’t substitute a series of reckless romantic moments for a life with someone honest and true."
— Venom (Под маской любви) #1/3
— Belladonna (Белладонна) #2/3
— Starling (Скворушка) #3/3
Final installment's buddy read with The Grinch (Julia) and Katerina. Reading sessions with you, girls, are always a pleasure.
Warning! This review contains spoilers regarding the ending of the trilogy.
My rating is for the whole trilogy. If I am to rate Starling, I'd give it three stars, but in this case I think it is relevant to include the events of the previous parts and rate them all in one. I'll list below some of my thoughts about what I liked and did not like about the transformation of this series from the first book till the final one.
* I wasn't satisfied with the ending: it was too sugary-coated. I liked that Cass chose Luca (I'll elaborate on this topic later), but I didn't like how their wedding was displayed and some too predictable cliche scenes were involved. Maybe it's just me, because I really dislike melodramatic happy endings: sometimes laconic finale is enough.
**Cass annoyed me occasionally. I didn't hate her and I've seen worse (hello, Mare), but sometimes her indecision was childish (she is 15 (?) after all), and in spite of her growth during the trilogy, in the end it wasn't enough for me to label her as one of my favorite heroines.
***Love triangle. It was there and at the same time it wasn't. From one side Cass knew who she wanted, but from the other side she continued to juggle with boys, making them believe she wanted them both. Just one little frank talk with Luca or Falco could've saved a lot of drama time and eye rolls for us. I was always team Luca and am glad that Cass chose him, but closer to the end I was thinking, maybe, it could've been better if boys just dumped Cass (from the precipice *wink to Julia*) and went on with their lives; sometimes it felt like she didn't deserve any of them.
****The mystery was solved naively. I honestly expected more from the whole secret society concept. I did not get what I expected and at one point the whole mystery part turned into a diversion from the romance, which was the main reason for this book or even for the whole trilogy.
*****Villains turned out to be a part of a crazy circus. They were just entertaining us and turning into crazy clowns - barking but not really biting. What was done to Christian is ridiculous. He was a real maniac in Venom, now he just turned into a cliched villain with catchphrases like: Cassandra I came to kill you, mwahahahaahhaha! Pleeeease, am I suppose to be scared?
******I liked the darker side of Venice. It was preserved throughout the trilogy and helped to magnify the creepy moments. I'd say, the atmosphere is one of my favorite parts about these books.
All in all, it was a really nice historical fiction/romance young adult series with mostly likable characters and solid mystery (till the last book). I don't think I would've liked it that much if I read it alone: a very large part of my liking depended on fun reading/discussion sessions with my friends. I was sad that this journey had come to an end, and partly I will miss Cassandra's adventures as much as scolding her. Secrets of the Eternal Rose made me feel different emotions and in the end of the day it matters the most.
P.S. Oh, I totally forgot to mention Slipper (Cass' cat):
But then Slipper bounded through the doorway, and Cass’s heart threatened to burst out of her chest with joy. She forgot all about sleeping as she scooped up the squirmy gray-and-white cat and started covering him with kisses.
This is what I call true love.