These Broken Stars, by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

These Broken Stars (Starbound #1), by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Dystopia, Science-Fiction, Romance

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Publication: December 10, 2013, by Disney-Hyperion

Format: Hardcover Edition





Goodreads Summary: 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.

Review: 

"Tarver is so certain I'm me, I'm his girl--but how can he know? I want to believe him. Sometimes I almost do. I want to believe I'm more than imaginary smoke drifting from an imaginary chimney. But for the scrape of fabric against my bare, raw skin as I dress, I would think myself no more than a memory."

  

  There are rare times when you can possibly classify a book as "beautiful." But, this book was, inside and out. This was an addicting, gorgeous book that went through a whole different stage than most sci-fi dystopia books do. This was literature brilliance.

   I'm so glad that I requested an ARC of the sequel from the publisher. I NEED IT ASAP.

Lilac LaRoux is the daughter of the richest man alive. Tarver is just an ordinary soldier, a guy who knows better than what it seems. When the humungous spaceliner that they live on, the Icarus, crashes into the nearest planet after its yanked out of hyperspace, Lilac and Tarver realize that they're the only two around. They must work together to find help and rescue and survival, and at the same time, they fall in love into each other's arms, but never knew it until the end. Lilac hears whispers calling their names, and mysterious sightings of people and supplies have been shown around. They must figure out the secrets behind the reason why they were thrown onto the planet, before it's too late.

    We've all read those sci-fi dystopias where people live in ships heading towards a new safe planet after the Earth was demolished. But then of course, something comes in the way of the happiness, and action and a trilogy of romance with a love triangle begins. NO. This book is something completely different, thrilling and more beautiful. This is These Broken Stars, an unique YA novel that has never been done before. This is about a powerful, thrilling romance and survival story that will cause you to bite your fingernails until their tips. You will laugh, cry, and scream with Tarver and Lilac as they find out the truth behind everything and still struggle to survive, because hey, crashing into an unknown terraforming planet is difficult, right?

     This idea was unstoppable. The two fantastic authors have just created a masterpiece right here, and I recommend it truly to everyone out there. It has a mix of everything for everyone and isn't your typical YA novel. It's something more and bolder. The concept and idea was just amazing.

     Before beginning the novel, I was very afraid to see the outcome of this book. I knew that I've never read anything like it. The first time for everything can either end up good or bad, aren't I right? But from the start, I had an insta-love moment with this book. From the moment Tarver and Lilac set eyes on each other, I knew that this book was going to end up being one of my favourites; and look where we are now!

      As I went on with the book it got better and better. I needed some clarification with things, though. Why are they on this ship in the first place? How did Tarver get onto the ship? Why an army if they live on a spaceliner? More information on how the spaceliner looks please, and the purpose of this whole spaceliner/hyperspace thing? An answer to those questions, and I would've been good.

       There wasn't a moment in this book when I wasn't bored. It was thrilling and amazing the whole time and I couldn't set the book down. It was like a drug that you get this addiction effect from. You like awesome and thrilling plots? Go for this, and for the other reasons as well.

       Tarver and Lilac were perfection. They were such amazing characters, you can't even imagine. In my eyes, their connection was just unbeatable. You can't possibly take another set of characters and compare them to Tilac. (OTP) I'm sorry, Fourtris, but you've just got beaten by the newest couple in town.

        Their situation was like, if you're here, I'm there for you. The love and beautifying thing they had going on since the moment they met (but they just couldn't admit it until they couldn't stop kissing each other, hehe) was one of the most enjoying parts of the book, not that everything else wasn't.

         "But just now, as we wait for the engines to kick in, all of that is far away. For a moment the image before us is frozen: our world, our lives, reduced to a handful of broken stars half lost in unchartered space. Then it's gone, the view swallowed by the hyperspace winds streaming past, blue-green auroras wiping the afterimages away. Until that's all left of us."

        So.. Can I be part of that world?

   

     Hey, that looks like Lilac!

     Yes, so the world-building in this book was also perfect. I really felt like I was part of the world that Tarver and Lilac were living in, and we actually feel like we absolutely ASAP need to be in that world or else we'll suffocate ourselves. Yeah. It's that mind-crazing. 

      This book was unbelievably amazing. It's one of the best of the year, and certainly one of my all-time favourites. Sadly, the sequel isn't from the POV of Tarver and Lilac. :( Hopefully the next pair will be just as KICK-ASS.