KitsuneBae's Review of These Broken Stars (Starbound, #1)

by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

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 to 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 in this place 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.

The first in a sweeping science fiction trilogy, These Broken Stars is a timeless love story about hope and survival in the face of unthinkable odds.

Actual rating: 4.5 stars- One of the best books evah!

This review also appeared on Thoughts and Pens

While others were quite annoyed with the slow pacing of the plot, I wasn’t because 1. The beautiful prose is highly entertaining and 2. I am a very patient person (as long as the book deserves it). I quite enjoyed accompanying Lilac and Tarver conquering the obstacles laid out by the strange planet. It even got more exciting when the characters were spooked by strange voices and mirages. Clearly, the plot of These Broken Stars is driven by the survival, mystery and relationship aspects of this book. As for sci-fi, I am sorry to say that there’s not so much in this book apart from the fact that the story took place on the galaxy and that there are ethereal alien beings on the new planet whose existence were not fully explained.

Lastly, that additional twist near the ending was heart stopping yet annoying. I just hated the authors for scaring the living daylights out of me. I was like, “No! No! Please anyone but…” Good lord, I just want to drink a memory serum so as not to be reminded of that nightmare.

To conclude, These Broken Stars is an outstanding storytelling of a timeless romance in the outerspace. It’s more than what I expected for a sci-fi book despite that its sci-fi aspect is its strongest flaw. Giving your heart to this book is definitely worth it. I am just sad that the sequel wouldn’t focus on Tarver and Lilac anymore. I just hope that the authors will still give us glimpses of them though because I want them to be really okay. That ending didn’t quite give an assurance that Lilac and Tarver will get their happy ever after.

These Broken Stars (Starbound, #1)

by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Reviewed by KitsuneBae on Dec 10, 2013

Reading updates