Thursday, October 10, 2013

Book Review: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Pages: 384
Genre: YA Sci-fi
Pub. Date: December 10, 2013
Source: Publisher for review
My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Goodreads says, "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."
Tarver Merendsen, a well known war hero, is aboard the Icarus which is a huge luxury spaceship.  Lilac LaRoux is also aboard this ship and at first glance seems to be a normal girl, except she is the daughter of the richest man in the world.  Tarver, who doesn't come from much, approaches Lilac one night and although Lilac is actually interested in him, she must feign disinterest as she knows that a relationship with him wouldn't be a disaster. They are from two different worlds.  But just as she is entertaining the idea, the ship is being catapulted across space and the people on board find out that they must prepare to disembark on escape pods as the ship is pulled out of hyperspace.  Tarver helps Lilac during this chaos and in turn, she shows him where other escape pods are kept.  Surprisingly, Lilac knows a lot about electricity and is able to fix the wiring in the escape pod just in time. Lilac and Tarver find themselves crash landing on an unknown planet that holds many, many secrets.  Will these two survive? Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner's debut, These Broken Stars, is a wholly captivating tale that captures everything that I love about science fiction. 

Lilac and Tarver couldn't be more different, but that's where the whole opposites attract piece comes in. Since fate has thrusted them together, they find that they must work together in order to survive on the planet.  Readers know that there was an initial spark between the two during their first meeting, so we can only assume that a romance will blossom as they spend more time together and boy, did I LOVE their relationship in These Broken Stars. There were many swoon-worthy moments and I thoroughly enjoyed both characters, especially Tarver.    

The setting is incredible. I thought Kaufman and Spooner did an outstanding job developing this unique world as well as the mysterious planet Tarver and Lilac landed on.  I was completely mesmerized by the setting and it was definitely one of the things that I loved the most in These Broken Stars.

There's a ton of action in These Broken Stars. It's not just about the romance. Lilac and Tarver must learn to adapt and survive, so there's a lot of moments where my jaw dropped in shock as well as twists to the story.  As Lilac and Tarver explore the new planet, readers can't help but be completely hooked as they uncover more and more secrets, which includes many action-packed and suspenseful moments.

One thing that I loved about These Broken Stars was the storytelling and the technique that Kaufman and Spooner used. I don't want to say too much, but each chapter focused on an alternating point of view between Lilac and Tarver. It was done very well.  In addition to that, at the end of each chapter readers get snippets of Tarver being questioned about his time on the unknown planet. It was the perfect little nugget of information that made me desperate to find out what exactly happened.  It was awesome foreshadowing and I thought it was a brilliant technique employed by Kaufman and Spooner.

So, needless to say, I adored These Broken Stars. I highly recommend it, especially if you are looking for a new science fiction novel to read with some romance, edge of your seat action, and a memorable setting.  It's going down as one of my favorite books of 2013. 

4 comments:

  1. Wow, that is very high praise! I am really looking forward to reading this. It sounds like something that would appeal to me.

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    1. I think you would love it, Christina! I can't wait to hear your thoughts. Thanks for visiting!

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  2. Ahhhhh! So excited for this one Christina! All the early reviews I've seen for it have been glowing, and I just can't wait to get my hands on it. As much as I love romance, I'm glad there's so much more to the story too, and I'm really excited about the setting. Awesome review!!!!

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  3. I think you'll love it, Jenny! It was such an awesome read! Thanks for visiting!

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