These Broken Stars (Starbound, #1)

by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

[lizarodz]

4.5 Stars
Even though I got These Broken Stars at BEA last year and I saw many promising reviews, it took me all this while to actually read it. Finally, I got it in audiobook and I just LOVE it! I’m kicking myself in the behind for not reading it before now.

I haven’t read anything by Amie Kaufman before, but I read Meagan Spooner’s Skylar (see my review here ), which I really enjoyed. In a nutshell, These Broken Stars is a combination of ‘Titanic’ in space and it also reminded me of Veronica Rossi’s Under the Never Sky (because of the main characters.) If you read the synopsis, you know that I’m not giving anything away. Lilac LaRoux is the daughter of the richest man in the galaxy, she’s the picture of the perfectly spoiled brat and in a sense, she is; but there is more to her that meets the eye.

Tarver Mederdsen is a ‘war hero’ and has gained the rank of major. He has made a name for himself and is being ‘rewarded’ by being invited to the Icarus to intermingle with the rich people. It is here that he meets the untouchable Ms. LaRoux and ends up saving her life. They end up in the same escape pod and crash land together. It is in this unknown planet that they learn to tolerate each other, and later fall in love. At the beginning, they don’t even like each other, but they slowly realize that there is more to each other and to the stereotypes they want to fit each other in. Lilac and Tarver complement each other really well and I love them as a couple. In case that you can’t tell, the characterization is outstanding, and it really had to be since we spend much of our time with only these two characters. The story is told from both Lilac and Tarver’s point of views, in the first person. Between each chapter, there is an interview with, presumably, an investigator (?) and Tarver, after they‘re rescued. Thus, we know from the beginning that they will eventually rescued.

There aren’t many other characters, but we do get to meet Lilac’s father briefly and he is a piece of work! I’m happy, albeit a bit freaked out with the ending :)

You would imagine that the plot is really simple, but it you would be wrong. Thrown in for good measure is a sci-fi / paranormal twist that makes the story different to anything I’ve read before. The world building is really good and easy to understand, even when it gets a little technical. The pace was a bit slow at the beginning, and even though I wasn’t bored, I kept wishing it could go faster. I think that besides the characters, the crowning glory of this book is the writing. The writing is easy to read, beautiful and lyrical.

Overall, These Broken Stars is a great space romance-sci-fi story. It has great characters, an unforgettable romance, and incredible writing. I’m looking forward to the rest of the books in the series and I hope we can see how Lilic and Traver are doing then.

About the narration – I enjoyed this one. Chapters are narrated by either Jonathan McClain (I’m assuming this is Tarver), and Cynthhia Holloway as Lilac. Also, as stated above, the person interviewing Tarver after the rescue is another narrator too. Overall, the pace is good, it was easy to understand them and I particular loved Tarver’s interpretation.

About the cover – The cover is, without a doubt, one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen. The circle of stars in the background has a lot of meaning for the story. The gorgeous, vibrant, flowing dress and the couple reaching for each other. Breathtaking.

Some quotes from you:

“You don’t mention death when it’s hovering near someone you love.”

“You don’t mention death when it’s hovering near someone you love. You don’t want t attract the reaper’s attention.”

“For a moment the image before us is frozen: our world, our lives, reduced to a handful broken stars half lost in uncharted space. Then it’s gone, the view swallowed by the hyperspace winds streaming past, blue-green auroras wiping the after-images away."