TITLE: These Broken Stars
AUTHOR: Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner
SERIES: Starbound #1
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
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RATING:
Luxury spaceliner Icarus suddenly plummets from hyperspace into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive -- alone. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a cynical war hero. Both journey across the eerie deserted terrain for help. Everything changes when they uncover the truth.
The Starbound Trilogy: Three worlds. Three love stories. One enemy.
Review:
These Broken Stars is now one of my all-time favorite science fiction books dealing with space and aliens. I really liked how it was done as well as all the twists that came along which really surprised me since in the beginning it seemed like a cliche fantasy novel, but over time, it proved me wrong.
These Broken Stars is definitely a more character driven novel. Besides the first and last quarter of the book, the plot is a bit… lacking (aka nothing much happens that I can remember). Instead, the book really focuses on the two main characters of the book, Tarver, the soldier, and Lilac, the heiress. It’s a good thing that they both have a lot of depth. Overwise this book wouldn’t have been nearly as fun or interesting to read.
I really liked Tarver and connected with him pretty easily. Maybe because I’ve had to deal with a lot of annoying and bitchy girls. Because that what Lilac was in the beginning. An annoying little bitch. That being said, she gradually won me over and by the end of the novel, I really loved her. To be honest, she’s kind of easy to hate in the beginning, but once you learn more about her, the ice queen image starts to melt away.
Whatever These Broken Stars lacks in plot, it makes up for it with plot twists. I lost count on how many times I was shocked by some of the events that took place. For a novel that kind of starts of like a cliche, it definitely makes itself unique and worth a read through its plot twists.View Spoiler »
Originally, I thought the romance was pretty cliche. It felt like your typical poor boy meets rich girl and they fall in love. But they did grow on me so….
In Conclusion…
These Broken Stars starts off as a typical YA romantic fantasy novel but proves to be more than that with its unique plot and plot twists and strong character development.
| Final Rating | |
|---|---|
| Characters |  |
| Pacing |  |
| Plot | |
| Romance | |
| Writing | |
| World Building | |
| Overall: | 3.9 |
I traded for an eBook copy of this book and haven’t gotten around to it yet. Though, your review has me excited about it. I love and appreciate a great plot twist.
I love science fiction and space, but I fear that this aspect will get lost in the romance. That would be my only concern going in.
Thanks for the great review!
You don’t have to worry about that. The science fiction and space elements are VERY evident in the story.
Thank you for stopping by Elizabeth! 🙂