Review: These Broken Stars

              

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Pages: 374
Rating: 4.5 stars
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.

Let’s just take a moment to appreciate the wonderful cover. Okay, now that that's done...

These Broken Stars is the first novel in the Starbound trilogy. This story is told from dual point of view from the two characters- Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen. 

Lilic is a girl who comes from a very rich and powerful family while Tarver is a famous, but poor war hero and they meet on board the Icarus. When the Icarus suddenly crashes into the nearest planet, with the possibilities of no survivors except for Lilac and Tarver, they need to find a way to send a help signal in order to be rescued. Sending a help signal is not as easy as it sounds, though. Lilac and Tarver need to find a way to get along and survive through an unknown and mysterious planet .

I was easily fascinated by this universe and weird planet and found myself wanting to know more and more about it. The "whispers" got me a little spooked out, the twists made me tear up a bit and made me go on a rant through my house, and the ending just left me feeling happy. 

I think Lilac is such a strong female character and I enjoyed seeing her go through some major character development as the story progressed. I liked how she made it a priority for her to at least get Tarver back home to his family, it really shows how selfless she is. I also liked discovering the beautiful nature on this new planet through Lilac's eyes, since she's used to living in a controlled environment where everything is fake. 

On another note, the romance between these two is just perfect. They're both attracted to each other, but their love for each other occurs when they both open up who they truly are. It did get a teeny bit cheesy for me after they had sex, but it was bearable. And who can forget Tarver's way with words like: 

“There are purple half circles underneath her eyes, and she’s sweaty, beat up, and utterly exhausted.

      She’s never looked so beautiful.” 

AND

“She’s not looking at me and seeing a guy brought up on the wrong type of planet. She’s not seeing a soldier, or a war hero, or an uncultured lout who doesn’t understand how hard this is for her, or an idiot who knows nothing about the right kind of anything.

      She just sees me.” 

and who can forget this one

“Her smile is like the sun coming out.” 

Other things I liked were the scenes in between each chapter where Tarver was being interrogated. It added a little humor and mystery to the story. 

{This isn't much of a big deal, but I was bothered by the font of the book. Just thought I would throw that out there, haha.}

I can't wait for the next book, This Shattered World, which is set to release December 23, 2014. So go put it on your Christmas list, people! 

It was brought to my attention that the next book brings us the story of new characters, which makes me a little sad just because I want more of Lilac and Tarver, but I have also heard they still make an appearance. There is also a short story that connects these two novels and if you're interested in that it's called, This Night So Dark. 

Happy Reading! :)