Thursday, December 12, 2013

Review Time #52

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner


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.


After hearing lots of good things from this book, I decided to look past the fact that it sci-fi, which is a genre that I normally don't read too much because it doesn't appeal to me like other genres. However, I am glad I made the leap to read this book because it exceeded my expectations. 

Major Tarver Merendsen doesn't know what he expected from going to a party where he and his medals are only for show, for the media, however, a girl with red hair he can't take his eyes off intrigues him. Lilac LaRoux, daughter of the galaxy's most powerful man, Roderick LaRoux. She is always recognised and everybody always wants something from her, until Tarver who doesn't recognise her at first since he stopped paying any attention to the media.

When Icarus gets pulled out of hyperspace, Tarver and Lilac end up together in an escape pod trying to eject themselves from the spaceliner. Lilac has a past which isn't explored much at the start of the novel, all you see of Lilac in Tarver's POV is that she is a spoiled princess, daddys girl etc. expect that she knows her way when it comes to circuits & mechanical engineering.

Crash landing on a plant that neither of them has seen or heard of before, with no apparent lifeforms (i.e. people) around to tell them. Trying to stay alive they learn to trust each other and for Lilac, how to survive with only basic supplies from the emergency pod. As they head for where Icarus crash-landed to see if anyone survived or if they could get more supplies, we learn more about Tarver & Lilac as they bicker, argue and fight there way to the site.

Both characters change a lot through out their journey, while 100 pages is them walking/making it to the site it still provides a lot of information that about each of them. We learn about Tarver & his family and why it is important for him to return home. We also get to see more of Lilac's past about why she was so cool and distant towards Tarver when they first met. I loved how in between each chapter was a part of Tarver's debriefing from when he gets found, it never tells you anything about Lilac which makes you wonder what has happened on that plant. The twist at the end was surprising and it interesting to see something like that put into this world. The romance was great because it wasn't sudden or forced but natural which was refreshing from some previous books I've read recently. 

Overall, These Broken Stars was a great read and apart of a world that I will enjoy reading the companion novels that are apart of The Starbound Trilogy and to see the twist explored more throughout these novels! Highly recommend this to readers who are a fan of YA Sci-Fi and those who aren't because you might end up enjoying it like me!

Thanks to Allen and Unwin Australia for sending me a review copy!

Rating: 4/5

Keely xx

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