Starstruck by Brenda Hiatt is a YA fantasy/sci-fi/romance and the first book in a series. I picked this book up as free Kindle read because the blurb caught my attention. Author Hiatt gives readers a slightly nerdy astronomy lover named Marsha — called M by her best friends. She’s not overly popular (actually she has a school nemesis by the name of Trina) and her home life is less than conventional. M has never known her parents, she was adopted, and then her adopted parents died so she’s being raised by an aunt and uncle in tiny Jewel, Indiana.

Things are boringly ho-hum for M until the day the new guy shows up a school. He’s good looking, the new quarterback, and M finds herself drawn to him despite the fact it seems at first that he has eyes for Trina. Surprise! New guy Rigel actually is interested in M and they discover they share a strange “spark”.

Starstruck asks the question, what if aliens from another planet were living in our town and even part of some of the most important industries in the nation — like NASA? What happens if a princess from another planet was hidden on Earth and she alone may be the difference between a peaceful immigration or a violent invasion?

There were several things I liked about Starstruck, including its basic premise and characters like M’s friends and Rigel’s parents. However, there were also a few things I didn’t like. I found myself cringing a bit every time I read the name of the planet from which the aliens came. I don’t know why, but this bugged me — purely one reader’s opinion. I was able to get past it to overall be entertained by the book. I also found some of the repetitiveness of the dialogue and text tiring. I got it: Rigel was hot and they hold hands a lot.

Overall, I liked the book enough to give it 4 stars on GoodReads, but for me, it was really about a 3.5 star read. Will I read Starcrossed, the next book in the series? Possibly. My TBR list is large, but I think I’ll add it for a future read. Go ahead, give Starstruck by Brenda Hiatt a read because it is entertaining and I did like how M evolved. I’m curious to see what she does in the next book.

You can find about more about author Brenda Hiatt and her books via her website.