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

Review: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
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Release date: December 10th, 2013
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Series: #1 in the Starbound trilogy
Source: ARC from BEA
Rating: First I was like whoaaa, and then I was like SWOOOOON, and then I was like Noooooooo!



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.

A timeless love story, THESE BROKEN STARS sets into motion a sweeping science fiction series of companion novels. The Starbound Trilogy: Three worlds. Three love stories. One enemy.


If you follow me on Twitter, you might have noticed that I completely lost my mind while reading this book. To be honest, I was a little nervous going into These Broken Stars, thinking I might not like it. Not because it didn't seem like my type of book (it absolutely does), but because of all the hype. Every blogger and their grandmothers seemed to be raving about this one, especially the bloggers I trust. Which, conversely, made me more worried I wouldn't like it.

The beginning two or three chapters are quite nice, but they didn't wow me. Great, I thought. I will be the sole person in the blogosphere to dislike this. They'll revoke my blogger card and exile me to a distant planet. I'm not the first person to note this, but it's pretty much Titanic in space. The wealthiest girl in the galaxy, Lilac LaRoux, encounters lower class army major Tarver Merendson aboard the galaxy-traversing luxury spaceship, the Icarus. There is romantical tension! There is a love flirtation that cannot be! There is... a crash.



To me, the book came alive with the crash.There's tremendous action, and Lilac does some awesome things, and before you know it, Lilac and Tarver have crash-landed on an alien planet and are fighting for their lives. Very little of this book takes place aboard the ship; you should be aware of this before you go in. It's not a space tale as much as a survival tale. For nearly 90% of the book, the only two characters on the page are Lilac and Tarver themselves. Others may find this limiting, but if you connect to the characters as deeply as I did, you'll love it. Tarver and Lilac both have so much depth to them, and layers, and backstory, and you get to know them quite well.

These Broken Stars is told in alternating first person viewpoints. We switch between Tarver's narration and Lilac's, getting both sides of their struggle for survival and their struggle to get along. Because boy, do they clash. Lilac is everything Tarver doesn't trust or like: spoiled, wealthy, priveleged, used to getting what she wants, accustomed to being the center of attention, and with almost no practical skills whatsoever (almost). She has facades that, after so long, seem to have become a part of her. She's also smothered by her astronomically wealthy and powerful and protective father.

Tarver comes from humble but loving beginnings. He's a Major and a war hero from a backwater planet, and he's about as different from society girl Lilac as you can get. To Lilac, Tarver is... well, he's:


Gif credit goes to Molli and her fabulous gif review.

There is sass. There is bantering. There is all the things I like in a good hate-to-maybe-love story (my favorite trope of all time). I shipped it, you guys. I SPACE SHIPPED IT.

 

But Lilac and Tarver have to depend on each other if they're going to survive on this alien planet, and especially if they want to be rescued. Multiple misunderstandings and personality flaws stand between them, but slowly, as they traverse the harsh wilderness, encounter mysterious...mysteries... (you don't want it spoiled for you!), they begin to change. The possibility of friendship arises. And the possibility of the possibility of more.

AND THEN KAUFMAN AND SPOONER RIP INTO YOUR SOUL LIKE EVIL AUTHORLY WITCHES AND STEAL ALL THE JOY INSIDE YOU AND FEAST UPON IT GLEEFULLY.

This is what my Twitter feed looked like at a certain point:

Oh. My. God. No. That didn't just--no. NO. WHAAAAT NO WHYYYY NOOOOO!!! #TheseBrokenStars #TheseBrokenFeels #NOOOOOOOOO
— Gillian Berry (@mizgillianberry) November 25, 2013

I JUST BURST INTO HUGE BABY TEARS. Thanks, @AmieKaufman and @MeaganSpooner. Your book just destroyed me. *sobs into the pages*
— Gillian Berry (@mizgillianberry) November 25, 2013

I AM NOT OKAY. THIS BOOK WHYYYY
— Gillian Berry (@mizgillianberry) November 25, 2013

My feels were 'sploding all over the place. #TheseBrokenFeels became a real legitimate thing for a second there. I could not handle it. Like... I STILL CANNOT. This book filleted me open and gutted me and at the end of it I just kind of sat there on my bed, empty and staring at nothing and trying to pull the fragments of my brain together. So many ups and downs (and one gigantic DOWN DOWN DOWN) and then a mystery is solved and shenanigans and ouch and... oh, look, I'm coherent just thinking about this. Honestly, there's not much else I can say. I thought this book was exemplary. Sci-fi is definitely currently the genre du jour, and These Broken Stars will no doubt be one of the best science fiction books of the year. It will also hurt your feelings, like, on a deep and personal level, so be warned. *eats some healing chocolate*

Because I loved this book so much and want to inflict it on...er, give it to others, I'm hosting an international giveaway! That's right! So long as you live somewhere that the Book Depository ships to, you were eligible to win a finished copy of These Broken Stars!

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