A Song for the Stars

Have you heard of the Proper Romance series? The series is a collection of clean romance novels from Shadow Mountain Publishing. So far, I've only read two books from the series (this being the second), but I definitely plan on reading more in the future! You can read a romance without the embarrassment of naughty, uncomfortable scenes. I'm not the biggest fan of romance novels, but these have really impressed me. 

Ilima Todd's A Song for the Stars is inspired by a true story from 1779. Maile, the second daughter to a Hawaiian chief, is engaged to the best Wayfinder in Hawaii. He teaches everything he knows about wayfinding. Together, they are happy and looking forward to their marriage. But. English sailors interrupt their bliss, and a horrible misunderstanding between Maile's people and these sailors leads to a horrible battle in which Maile finds herself without a fiancee. As she escapes the battle, she takes the sailor who killed her fiancee, John Harbottle, as a prisoner to let him die once she's safely away. Instead, Maile finds an ally in John. Their relationship isn't where this story ends. Another impending battle with another foe on the horizon, how will their relationship bring peace, not only to Maile but to her people as well?

This book was like reading a mash-up of Moana and Pocahontas with some historical fiction thrown in. I don't mind that one bit though there was a scene when John Harbottle was being held as a prisoner that was word-for-word a scene from Pocahontas! Even so, I totally stayed up until midnight one night to finish "just one more page." 

Maile was the perfect female protagonist for me. She's stubborn but not to a fault, extremely opinionated, whimsical at times, impulsive, strong, and smart. She was a well-rounded character who makes mistakes, and that's part of what makes her so realistic to me. And John Harbottle was amazing as well. I enjoyed how open-minded he was in approaching Maile's life and culture. We get snippets of John's insights through his journal entries which I thought were great to read. His perspective always lent a little something to the story and never detracted from what was happening. In fact, there were a few times I was rushing to get to his part just so I could see what he was thinking. I loved the range of emotions in both of these characters. 

I liked how slowly Maile and John's romantic relationship developed. It allowed for some character development, and the relationship felt more authentic to me because of its slow development. Plus, they were allowed to make mistakes and resolve those missteps because of this. I love when relationships aren't just there and accepted without some kind of growth taking place. Insta-love is not for me.

Overall, I was a definite fan of this book! It was well-written, had great characters, and was a fun read that I could hardly put down.