These Broken Stars
by Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner
Series: Starbound #1
Pages: 384
Published on December 10th 2013
by Disney Hyperion
Genres: Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Format: ARC
Source: Netgalley
Amazon | B&N | Goodreads
Also by this author: These Broken Stars, Illuminae, Hunted, Hunted
It's a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.
Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.
Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever?
Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.
The first in a sweeping science fiction trilogy, These Broken Stars is a timeless love story about hope and survival in the face of unthinkable odds.
I received this book for free from the publisher or author in exchange for an honest review.
This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
This book just took my breath away. It has one of the most incredible and breathtaking romances I’ve ever seen (read) and it made me love Science Fiction. Just… phenomenal! Can’t find another word for it.
This book is about Lilac Laroux, daughter of the richest man in the galaxy, and Tarver Merendsen, a soldier who came from nothing, a war hero. They’re traveling through space on the huge luxurious spaceliner Icarus when the inimaginable happens. The Icarus is yanked out of hyperspace and crashes on the nearest planet. Lilac and Tarver are the only survivers and they seem to be alone on this foreign and strange planet. They have to work together and make a journey across the deserted terrain to seek help. But when they start uncovering the truth about the whispers that haunt them, they might find a way off this planet, but will they still be the same as they were when they landed?
The writing in this book is just brilliant. The beginning sort of feels like the titanic in space and I loved that. But while the middle is just the two of them hiking across open fields and forests, it never gets boring. Plus there’s the fact that after each chapter there is some kind of interrogation going on. So it keeps me interested and I need to read more to know what’s happening on that weird planet. The last part of the book is just more awesome. More mysteries, answers to questions we had and the best part of the whole book: the romance.
Lilac and Tarver are attracted to one another pretty quick but they both know it can’t happen because they’re so different. Lilac is in at the top of the social ladder, if you can call it that, and Tarver is at the bottom. So they fight and argue because they know that’s how it should be, but that doesn’t mean it’s how they feel. And when they finally cave in… That’s when the book started taking my breath away. Seriously. Never had a book that could do that. So, yeah. Amazing.
Lilac seems like one of those stuck up rich girls, but she isn’t. There’s more to her. Sometimes she acts that way and that’s why she isn’t perfect. And she’s incredibly stubborn. Which I love so much about her. She’s tough. Tarver is too. There are so many layers to both of them and I loved getting to know them all. So great. Tarver is so protective and takes his duty as a soldier very seriously. He knows where he stands in the world (well, galaxy) and he isn’t interested in being at the top. Love him so much.
Since those are the only characters we see in the book (well, most of the time), I can’t really tell you much about the other characters. I guess (and hope) we see more of some of them in the next book. Really want to get to know them! But I did get the fact that Lilac’s dad is not a nice guy.
So once again… Phenomenal, breathtaking, amazing, awesome. Just read it.
Have you read this book yet or are you looking forward to it?
About Amie Kaufman
mie Kaufman is the co-author of the award-winning Starbound trilogy (These Broken Stars, This Shattered World) and The Illuminae Files trilogy (Illuminae). She writes science fiction and fantasy for teens. Amie had the good fortune to be raised just one block from her local library, and took full advantage of that fact growing up. She and her sister spent their childhood summers re-creating their favourite books by camping in the back yard, mapping their neighbourhood, climbing trees, stepping through magical doors and sailing the local seas. Raised in Australia and Ireland, she has kissed the Blarney stone six times, thoroughly cementing her gift of the gab.
As she grew older (but not up), she continued her education, and graduated with honors degrees in history, literature and law, and a master’s degree in conflict resolution. These days she combines writing with work as a mediator, as well as regular travel throughout the US, Europe and Asia. A few of her top travel moments include camping in the Sahara overnight, climbing a mountain in Vietnam, standing on the Great Wall of China and cycling the Loire Valley, but she has a huge list left to cover.
Amie lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband and their very quirky rescue dog, Jack. She’s a huge fan of chocolate and naps, has an enormous music collection, and an entire room of her house is devoted to her library. She still sails, and though she climbs fewer trees, she remains partial to investigating the occasional magical door.
About Meagan Spooner
Meagan Spooner grew up reading and writing every spare moment of the day, while dreaming about life as an archaeologist, a marine biologist, an astronaut. She graduated from Hamilton College in New York with a degree in playwriting, and has spent several years since then living in Australia. She’s traveled with her family all over the world to places like Egypt, South Africa, the Arctic, Greece, Antarctica, and the Galapagos, and there’s a bit of every trip in every story she writes.
She currently lives and writes in Asheville, North Carolina, but the siren call of travel is hard to resist, and there’s no telling how long she’ll stay there.
In her spare time she plays guitar, plays video games, plays with her cat, and reads.
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I’m so excited for this I can’t even tell you! It just sounds so COOL and unlike anything I’ve read before 🙂
So glad you enjoyed it!
So awesome, I’m glad you liked it. I’ve had my eye on it all year and I can’t wait till it comes out, it’s so far from now though. I’m such a sucker for beautiful covers 🙂
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
You can still request it on Netgalley if you really can’t wait.=)
I felt the same way about this book! It was so breathtakingly amazing I still don’t have the words to say how much I loved it. And it kind of was like Titanic in space in the beginning. I hadn’t thought of it like that, but that’s actually a perfect analogy. Glad you liked this book, too 🙂
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
Yeah, I saw that in Ashley’s review (Nose Graze) and as soon as I started reading it, I understood. It did feel like the Titanic. 🙂
Glad to hear you feel the same way about this book!
Oh man this book sounds brilliant! I gotta read it.
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
Yes you do.
I have been waiting to read this book for a while, I will definitely be reading it soon! My TBR pile is sort of crazy! 🙂 Awesome Review!
Twitter: Bieke Paesen
Mine too, but I had to read it, so. 😛
Thanks!