Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev

Title: Eyes Like Stars
Author: Lisa Mantchev
Series: Théâtre Illuminata, Act 1 
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardback
Pages: 352 Pages
Genre: Speculative Fiction - Fantasy
Overall Rating:

Synopsis (from the book cover):

All her world's a stage. Beatrice Shakespeare Smith is not an actress, yet she lives in a theater. She is not an orphan, but she has no parents. She knows every part, but has no lines of her own. Until now. Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the characters of every place ever written can be found behind the curtain. They were born to play their parts, and are bound to the Théâtre by The Book—an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of them, but they are her family—and she is about to lose them all and the only home she has ever known. Lisa Mantchev has written a debut novel that is dramatic, romantic, and witty, with an irresistible and irreverent cast of characters who are sure to enchant the audience.

First Sentence: The fairies flew suspended on wires despite their tendency to get tangled together.

My Review: I felt like I was enchanted the moment I start reading Eyes Like Stars. It was unputdownable, extremely fun and full with stuffs that could make you roll on the floor, laughing out loud. It is very unique to see that most of the characters in this book are actually taken from several plays by Shakespeare, for example Ariel from The Tempest, the four fairies from A Midsummer’s Night Dream and Ophelia from Hamlet. I’ve to admit though that my knowledge on Shakespeare’s plays is rather shallow but it definitely exciting to see a new spin of these characters being put nicely in this excellent book.

In Eyes Like Stars, readers were introduced to Beatrice “Bertie” Shakespeare Smith, an orphan girl who lived in a theatre called Théâtre Illuminata. She befriended Nate, the pirate, and four mischievous fairies, who were super hilarious; to the point that I wish that I could get a few pair for my personal use *lol*. Bertie was a prankster herself and after few rows of shenanigans, she faced an expulsion from the theatre – the one place she could call home. The only way she could stay at the place was by proving to the Theatre Manager that she was able to make an invaluable contribution to the theatre. As she struggled to execute this “invaluable contribution” of hers, she learnt more about herself than she had ever known and everything was never the same again. What was really her planning to keep herself from being expelled from the theatre? And what exactly the thing about herself that she found out in the end?

I love, love, love every single bit of this book. It was magical and truly captivating. The storyline was excellent and the characters were very interesting. Beatrice and her four fairy friends seemed to be up to something at every single time. This made me wonder what could possibly be happening next and what kind of funny things that would be mumbled by those cute fairies mouth. How crazy was that? Despite its fast pace, I found myself trying to read as slow as I possibly can in order to allow me to chew and absorb every emotions and essences written in this book. This was indeed an excellent read which I highly recommended to people who love anything fantasy and to those who’s looking for a very fun read. Huge applause goes to the author, Lisa Mantchev, for this excellently written book. I can see myself re-reading this in near future!

Final Verdict: Hilarious and one of the most imaginative book that I've ever read. I think you'd missed a lot if you don't pick this one up! That surely tells a lot ;)

Funny Quote:
(Scene when Ariel threaten to free everyone from the theatre)
Bertie snatched Moth from midair. “How do you feel? Any more free than usual?”. He paused to reflect. “Yeah, but only because I’m not wear-ing underwear today.” Cobweb and Mustardseed backed away from him. “You’re going commando?”Moth nodded. “I forgot to give Mrs. Edith my hamper this week”. “Aw, man! I want to go commando, too!” Cobweb said as he reached for his trouser buttons.