Summary: Ever since last year’s homecoming, best-friends-turned-best enemies Zorie and Lennon have done everything to avoid each other. It’s a bit hard though when you live in the same small town and your families are the modern-day Montagues and Caputlets. But when a camping trip goes a bit unexpected (besides Lennon being there, much to Zorie’s dismay), the two find themselves stranded in the wilderness alone together. As the two travel through northern California’s backcountry, with plenty of jabs and insults in tow, Zorie and Lennon’s hidden past and secrets resurface. Maybe they aren’t Romeo & Juliet after all?

 My Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

My Thoughts:

My craving for summer contemporaries continued in June with Jenn Bennett’s Starry Eyes. After seeing everyone’s love for Alex Approximately, I knew that it was time to pick up Jenn Bennett’s latest book.

Zorie was such a fun main protagonist because she was such a unique YA character! I loved her interst in astrology and I really need to raid her eye glasses collection! I really enjoyed her relationship with her stepmother, especially because stepparents and teens tend to be pitied against one another in most YA cases. Also, I’ve never met a character named Zorie?? And guessing by Lennon’s moms’ interest in music triva, I think it’s safe to assume that Lennon is named after a Beatle.

The book is spilt into three parts, and I admit that I was nervous that we would get both Lennon and Zorie’s perspectives. This is not to say that I disliked Lennon because I did really like him as a character and romantic interest, but I wanted to see everything from Zorie’s point-of-view. I think we wouldn’t have gotten to fully experience Zorie’s first time in the real great outdoors and her indesiveness over her relationship with Lennon.

Can we also get more YA novels about camping trips and hiking??? While I love being outside, I never really considered hiking, but Jenn Bennett has totally inspired me to do so. Minus the camping part and having to deal with bears and mountain lions. I’ll take a day hiking with Lennon and Zorie, but let me come home to a book and a new episode of The Bold Type, please! It was fun to see Lennon, a wildnerness extraordinaire, and Zorie, a wildnerness un-extraodrinaire, jusxtaposed against one another, and I liked seeing Zorie warm up to this setting. The glamping campground was also fun, yet understandly short-lived. I especially loved when Zorie and Reagan go shopping for glamping supplies, and Zories refers to a yurt as yogurt.

Overall, I really enjoyed Starry Eyes for its unique story and setting, and yes my contemporary romance fans, there’s plenty of romance in this gem! It was more steamy than I expected, but everyone needs a fun summer romance!

Have you read Starry Eyes? Share in the comments!