Faith filled fantasy. This novel follows Ash and Cascadia, two young adults trying to live normal lives, while keeping their unique gifts hidden. (Ash has control over fire, Cascadia over water.) When Cascadia turns up missing, Ash is determined to find her. Someone has discovered Cascadia's gift, and wants to use her for their own means. Uh oh. Soon Ash discovers that there are others with similar gifts, and luckily, some of them are on his side. Can Ash and the others save Cascadia before it's too late?

This is a clean fantasy novel, and could be enjoyed by all ages. There is a huge focus on religion, as the characters are devoutly Catholic, which of course impacts their thoughts and actions. An interesting pov for fantasy, and not something I've seen much of. It's a classic good vs evil rescue story. I enjoyed getting to meet all the characters and watching them use their gifts. Loved all the friendships and the obvious soul mate bond between Ash and Cascadia. The novel is definitely a bit wordy, and could be pared down though. I was also a bit unsure as to when this was set timewise, which threw me off a little near the beginning. A fun read overall. ( )

Thomas's novel is an ambitious work that is reminiscent of the elemental superheroes from Marvel's 'X-men' comics, the characters are introduced gradually and eventually come together to save one of their own. What makes Octave of Stars different from your usual superhero fantasy romp is the large focus placed on Christian ideology and themes woven throughout the book. This is a Christian lit novel; prayer and references to god are common themes and in some places, important plot points in this book. This novel is wordy, with an excessive amount of dialogue, yet character development, backstory and world building is lacking. Octave of Stars has a unique premise and likable characters but needs refinement. There is a larger cast of peripheral characters that do not get a satisfying ending; the author certainly have room for more novels in this universe if he so chooses. ( )

The story is cute. I enjoyed the take on mystical powers, and I appreciate the clean, faithful fiction. The book could use some professional editing. One major thing I noticed was there were a lot of unnecessary details. In a story, it's important that every detail has a purpose or else it gets bogged down. Much of the book dragged on, even the parts that were meant to be thrilling. I also felt the characters didn't feel quite real in many places. They said things real people wouldn't say and acted in ways real people wouldn't act, which hurt the believability of the story. In order for readers to believe the fantasy part, they need to be able to believe the characters and the world. (One note about the world: it wasn't clear at first how far in the past it occurred. It referenced both cell phones and VCRs and it took me awhile to realize it was the early 2000s or perhaps 2010s.)