These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman, Meagan SpoonerSeries: Starbound #1
Published by: Disney Hyperion on December 10, 2013
Genre: Romance, Science Fiction, Space
Pages: 384
Source: BookExpo America
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Rating: ★★★★½
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.
These Broken Stars was… phenomenal! I dove right into it because I heard some say it felt like Titanic in space, and I love Titanic! While the beginning does feel a bit like that, the rest of the book is something entirely different.
I feel like These Broken Stars is a recipe catered specifically for me. We have a star-crossed lovers thing going on, with two people from two different worlds. Combine that with space travel, other planets, alien lifeforms, and a heart-pounding romance, and you have one hell of a book!
This is a wilderness waiting to swallow me; I’d barely make a dent trying to fight it. There are no rules for me to learn, no points to be scored, no bluffs to be called. This is a hell I’ve never imagined. And I think I’m going to die here.
Page 108
These Broken Stars has the best kind of romance: a slow-brewing, heart-stopping one. Although Lilac and Tarver are drawn to each other fairly early on, they know they’re from different worlds and that they can’t be together, so they push each other away. Then, over time, they slowly break down that barrier and let a relationship develop. It’s really slow moving (but in a good way, for romance!) and then when it finally kicked in… OH MY GOD!!! Incredible! So insanely swoony. My heart actually may have melted. Tarver and Lilac are so adorable together! I love their sweet kissing scenes and the soft moments they share together. And in general, Tarver is just a hot sexy soldier.. delicious!
I’m not even close to the type of girl he’d want, just as I’ve been signaling at every opportunity that he’s the last man in the galaxy I’d want to touch. The only difference is that I was wrong.
Page 136
Honestly, not a whole lot goes on plot-wise for the middle part of the book. It does get a tad slow, but it was still enjoyable. Most of this part is Lilac and Tarver trekking through this other planet to get to the space ship’s crash site. It’s like a week-long trek so there’s a lot of hiking, talking, bantering, etc. So in terms of action, not a lot happens, but I really enjoyed just listening to Lilac and Tarver interact. They’re both such great characters and I love putting them together!
“Fifty thousand people on that ship, give or take. Three thousand of them soldiers. At least a dozen decorated war heroes. I looked at you.”
Page 262
I don’t normally comment on the writing in books, but in These Broken Stars it was too brilliant to not mention! The words flowed off the page effortlessly and there were so many passages that I couldn’t help but share! It may sound cheesy, but this book just felt beautiful as I was reading it.
I think the one thing I wasn’t totally sold on was something that happens near the end: View Spoiler »
Other than that minor complaint near the end, I absolutely adored this book! The romance was heartbreakingly good and I can’t wait to spend more time with it in book 2!
The Verdict
Eeep! It sounds like These Broken Stars has everything that I love! And I so enjoyed Titanic; I’m a sucker for love stories that sweep you off your feet. I’m not very picky about the writing style, but when its excellent, the books gets a place in a special corner of my heart 😀 So I’m glad you feel These Broken Stars has great writing! Yay!
I keep putting this one off, don’t know why. But if you loved it this much, I will have to dive in soon. Love to hear it was written so well.
Oh gosh… I 100% agree here! EVERYTHING. (Tarver was. freaking. awesome.) I adored how sweet their romance was. Snarkiness to love…eeek. I had NO idea it was a survival story, though. The blurb doesn’t really let that on. Weirdly enough. I felt it did get a tad monotonous in the middle, but the writing was so good I just kept gulping it up.
This book gets a big fat gold sticker from me. 😉
I can’t wait to get my hands on this! Everyone seems to love it. Wish I didn’t have to wait until next week:)
I LOVED this book. The romance…omg major swoon fest. Tarver was amazing and his relationship with Lilac was so perfect. The slow-burn was amazing. I was screaming at them to kiss already the whole book, but I’m so glad the authors made us wait because it was that much better when it happened. The descriptions were phenomenal and you’re totally right, the writing was amazing. I agree with you about that part of the ending. It was confusing and I kinda did what you did (pretend it never happened). I also don’t think we are going to learn more because from my understanding the subsequent books are companion novels and are going to focus on different characters. At least that’s what I’ve heard. Great review!
I NEED to get my hands on this book. I’ve heard so many great things about it! That cover is to die for, too. Hopefully my library has it as soon as it’s out (and it isn’t held by 200+ people).
Loved this one too 🙂
About that spoiler.
It took me another chapter before it really sunk in. I couldn’t believe that the author WENT THERE! And then with the ending? YOU CAN’T JUST UNDO SOMETHING LIKE THAT! It totally pissed me off.
Uggg. I liked the book, but that part took it from 5 stars to 4 for me. The rest of it was completely awesome. Loved the world-building and the relationship between Lilac and Tarver was so impeccably well-done. Possibly my new favorite YA couple.
Wow, it seems like everyone really enjoyed this one! I may have to give it a try 🙂 The cover is beautiful!
Hurray! I’m so glad you enjoyed this as much as I did Ashley! I agree 100% with everything you’ve said – I agree that the romance was PHENOMENAL, and that the writing was out of this world, but – like you – I felt the ending was a little confusing, but other than that, everything was practically flawless – like you said. As always, brilliant review! 🙂
Yay, rating twinsies!! I loved this one too, but whereas your favorite part was the romance, mine was the world! I looooved the world in this book, I wanted to crawl into it and live in the pages!
I thought the part at the end was awesome and fascinating, but the part that bugged me was that even though all the other objects disappeared, they solved her issue. (trying not to include spoilers) I think if it had gone the same way as the other occurrences, it would have made more of an impression (and made more sense) because I would have cried. But I like books that rip your heart out and end without a HEA, haha.