Double Star - Cindy Saunders

I will admit, I almost gave up on this one in the beginning because I couldn't get into it.  I read the reviews for it on Amazon and Goodreads and so many people liked it that I gave it another shot.  The first few chapters were slow and I didn't fully understand the story and where it was going, but once I got through the first three chapters, things picked up and I couldn't put the book down!

Allie is on her way to an interview for music school when her GPS goes haywire and takes her to an overlook.  For whatever reason, she gets out of the car and is shoved off the overlook by Cepheus, a lunatic dark god.  To Allie's surprise, she doesn't die, but rather ends up in an alternate dimension in the forest of Gilgamesh.

She is discovered by some forest frequenters and then her life gets really weird.  She meets some shapeshifting teenage boys and learns all about the legends of the stars and gods.  She can't grasp the concept that these people in this weird place have never heard of a phone or the internet or a car.  They travel on horseback or by foot.  There is no plumbing, no electricity, no iPods, nothing that Allie is used to in her modern life.

Allie and the guys eventually embark on a journey to help Allie find her way home.  On the way they meet some strange and fascinating people.  They have no idea they are being followed by someone who can shift into a spider.  Being a spider is pretty convenient when you need to spy on a group.  All you have to do is hope nobody steps on you.

As bad as Allie wants to get home to her mother, she is also beginning to have feelings for one of the guys and so her internal struggle begins.  With as much magic that is present in this alternate dimension, I have no worries that Allie and her beau will never see each other again.

Once I got into this story, I liked it.  I liked how descriptive the author is of the alternate dimension.  Gilgamesh sounds like a pretty neat forest, though everyone seems to be living like the Amish.  I would probably miss my modern gadgets and amenities too much to move there, but I'll admit, the magic seems pretty cool.  I'm glad I stuck it out and made it past the beginning of the story.  Now I'm sucked in to this new world and I cannot wait for the next book to come out.