Lisa Matchev’s debut novel, Eyes Like Stars: Theatre Illuminata, Act I, is just lovely.  I  finished it before Worldcon, and meant to blog it on my way to Montreal. And after Montreal, I’ve been working on a new website and thoroughly distracted. So sorry for the delayed reaction.

Eyes Like Stars  is a clever fantasy with a fantastical and charming protagonist who has sidekicks that fly.  From the very beginning, Lisa drew me into the story and caught me up in Bertie’s plight, and the world she has created in the Theatre is totally fresh.   I’m quite ready for the next one.

The cover, by the way, is beautiful.  I bought this in hardback instead of on Kindle just because the book design was worth having.  Old fashioned?  Sure.  But sometimes I do that.

The only regret I had was my own lack of knowledge about famous plays –  if I’d known the nuances of Shakespeare in more detail it would have been even richer.  But that’s one of the strengths of this tale:  even though it’s YA, it doesn’t talk down to the reader.