These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

These Broken Stars

by

Amie Kaufam & Meagan Spooner

Title: These Broken Stars

Author: Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Publisher: Disney Hyperion

Release Date: 10th Dec 2013(US) 14th Jan 2014 (UK)

Buy This Book: Amazon

Lilac LaRoux is the daughter of Roderick LaRoux, richest man in the universe and the man behind LaRoux industries. Lilac is aboard the Icarus, the largest, newest spaceship, built by her fathers company, as it carries 50,000 passengers across the galaxy. It's aboard the Icarus that she has her first encounter with Tarver Merendsen, a young war hero who comes from almost nothing. The son of a teacher, he is as far removed from Lilac's high class social circles as she is from his modest upbringing. When Lilac humiliates Tarver in front of her friends she knows it's a good thing that they are unlikely to ever run into each other again. That is until the Icarus is pulled out of hyperspace and starts to go down, Lilac must run for an escape pod and it is Tarver who gets her there. Together they manage to escape the Icarus and crash land on the nearby planet. 

They have no idea where they have landed, except that it is terraformed which means they should run in to a colony soon. They know if the government spent time, money and resources making the planet habitable then they would leave behind colonies to look after it. But the more they explore, the more they realise they might be wrong. But what would have made them abandon the planet after putting so much into it. The whispers in the night and strange visions they begin to see only make them more wary of their surroundings. In this unknown and dangerous world they have found themselves in, they can only rely on each other. And as they begin to grow closer, they realise that being rescued might not be what they really want if it means they lose each other.

Wow.

One word, wow. This book was not what I was expecting and that was actually a good thing. This book exceeded all my expectations and really took me by surprise. I requested this and was approved through NetGalley and was really happy about it. Like most people, I was drawn to this book because of the rather stunning cover. It's been a while since I've seen a cover that good and even though they say to never judge a book by it's cover, most people do. Thankfully, the contents in the book is just as incredible!

The beginning of the book was really enjoyable for me, I actually wish they could have stayed on the ship for longer. You got to see a bit more of the characters personalities when they are in their everyday life, compared to when they are panicked and hate each other after they crash land. I have to admit that the start of this book, which takes place aboard the Icarus, really made me think of Titanic. Lilac, a red-haired, high class, rich girl aboard the Icarus, the newest, biggest ship in the galaxy, meets Tarver, a poor, low society boy from a completely different world. Titanic, the biggest, newest ship at the time holds Rose, red-haired, high society rich girl who meets Jack, the poor, low class guy. I seriously imagined Lilac and Tarver as Jack and Rose the whole time after that! Not to mention both ships go down!

Each chapter of the book starts off with a tiny bit of dialogue from an interrogation of Tarver. It is clear that this is from after the crash landing and so you are safe in the knowledge that whatever happens, they will be alright. I found this really great as it kept me so intrigued. Why was he being interrogated? What are they so eager to find out? And where is Lilac in all of this? 

This book was completely different to how I thought it would be but I really loved it. It started off really strong and ends that way too. It was only in the middle, when the pace slowed down and they were mostly walking and talking, that I switched off a little bit. If it had stayed that way throughout, I would have had to mark this whole book down. But it actually works to make the final part of this book even better. The pace picks up quite suddenly and so much is happening, I had to keep turning the page. I literally could not put it down, I had to finish! 

When they crash land on the planet, they aren't on the best of terms. Tarver was left rather humiliated by Lilac, who acted like a spoilt brat. This continues for some time while they explore the planet; as they both try to push one another away. This actually leads to some funny back and forth between the two and I rather enjoyed the moment Tarver suggests they rest in the forest, to which Lilac looks around, rather alarmed and asks where will she sit. Tarver's rather brilliant response had me giggling:

"Sit? Why, on this comfortable chaise lounge I've carried here for you in my pocket, Your Highness, so glad you asked."

How could I not love him after that? I enjoyed how the relationship between them develops over time, how they get to know and trust one another. It makes it seem that much more real, compared to the stories where the characters meet and instantly swear their undying love for one another.

I really enjoyed the ending of this book. It kept me turning the page and really kept me invested and interested in the story. It seems to be the start of a new series and I am really intrigued to see where the next one goes. The book feels like it could actually be a stand alone novel but I do want to see what happens to these characters. Really great read and I highly recommend, I will definitely be picking up the sequel as soon as it is out! I need a physical copy of this book so bad!

4/5 Stars

Let me know if you have read it and what you thought! Plus let me know if you got the whole Titanic vibe as it seemed really obvious to me, which I enjoyed as I rather loved Titanic!

*I received a copy of this novel from the author/publisher/publicist via Netgalley in exchange for a free and honest review and received no monetary compensation for this review.