These Broken Stars (Starbound, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Aug 30, 2013 D.G. rated it really liked it

Shelves: science-fiction, young-adult, audiobook, reviewed

This is YA how I like it: great characters, an interesting premise and a real relationship with all that implies. I would have rated it higher if the at some point the plot hasn’t gotten really weird and convoluted.

Lilac and Tarver meet aboard the Icarus, the most advanced spaceship ever created. She’s the richest heiress in the Galaxy and he’s a decorated soldier. When he first approaches her, Tarver doesn’t know who she is but given her father’s protectiveness, she knows she must discourage hi This is YA how I like it: great characters, an interesting premise and a real relationship with all that implies. I would have rated it higher if the at some point the plot hasn’t gotten really weird and convoluted.

Lilac and Tarver meet aboard the Icarus, the most advanced spaceship ever created. She’s the richest heiress in the Galaxy and he’s a decorated soldier. When he first approaches her, Tarver doesn’t know who she is but given her father’s protectiveness, she knows she must discourage him. So she acts like a jerk, which complicates their relationship in the future.

With a name like Icarus, it wouldn’t surprise you to know that the ship goes bust. By a twist of fate, Tarver and Lilac finds themselves the only survivors in a strange planet. When they realize that no help is coming, they decide to find a way out themselves.

I simply LOVED Tarver. First of all, he was a soldier and you could see that in the way he acted and behaved; he had a good understanding of the world and had seen a lot of suffering but given his youth, he wasn’t hardened or a cynic. He had a great sense of duty but he was kind and sensitive at the same time. Just my kind of man.

I liked Lilac well enough but she didn’t stand out as much as Tarver. The conflict with her father seemed just too much, at some point, I thought there was something more sinister going on that just an overprotective father. At the end, I really liked how Lilac handled her father, because it showed her strength and the lengths she was willing to go to protect Tarver and their relationship.

The plot point regarding the whispers was the weirdest part of the story, and I confess I didn’t get exactly what was going on there.

The audiobook production was EXCELLENT. I particularly liked Johnathan McClain’s portrayal of Tarver. The sections were he was being debriefed were among my favorite, and it showed an impatient, indolent Tarver with no patience for the interrogator’s nonsense. It really said a lot about Tarver’s public persona and showed why he gained all those medals – he was tough, ruthless, focused even in horrible circumstances.

A thoroughly enjoyable book...I'm really looking forward to the sequel! ...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Lauren⁷ 💜 rated it really liked it

Shelves: library-has-a-copy, romance, young-adult-teen-new-adult, cover-i-love, fantasy-science-fiction

This was what I have mentally dubbed a "creeper book." What does that mean? It means that this was a book that crept up on me with how much I ended up enjoying it. I go into most of the books I read with the reasonable expectation that I'll enjoy the book and if it's part of a series, want to read the rest of the series, but, with few exceptions, I don't go into most books expecting that I'll end up absolutely glued to the pages and enjoying the heck out of said book! This was a really freaking This was what I have mentally dubbed a "creeper book." What does that mean? It means that this was a book that crept up on me with how much I ended up enjoying it. I go into most of the books I read with the reasonable expectation that I'll enjoy the book and if it's part of a series, want to read the rest of the series, but, with few exceptions, I don't go into most books expecting that I'll end up absolutely glued to the pages and enjoying the heck out of said book! This was a really freaking good book! I could tell right off that Amie and Meagan were influenced by Titanic. The name of the spaceliner alone, Icarus, gives it that feel. In the movie, one of the characters states that "not even God Himself could sink this ship." Icarus of the Greek myth demonstrated similar hubris, because in spite of being warned against it, he flies too close to the sun and his wings melt and he drowns in the ocean. And as I recall, the Icarus of the book is said to be an extremely safe ship. Well, hubris always does come back to bite one in the backside. And bite it does with the Icarus plunging out of hyperspace and crashing onto a deserted planet with only Jack and Rose, erm, Tarver and Lilac as the lone survivors. Unlike Jack and Rose, Tarver and Lilac do not fall for one another quickly or easily. Theirs is a relationship that starts out as mutually antagonistic and then they move to grudging respect to even more grudging like to friendship and then, at long last, a very sweet romance. It was a very slow burning romance though. It took a long time for Tarver and Lilac to even kiss, even though there was obvious attraction from the start and I appreciated that. They actually got to know one another first before they got together. It was fun seeing them spark and clash! I always love a good opposites attract romance and that was this in droves! Tarver is a solid and steady war hero who does not think much of flighty, society girl Lilac and Lilac in turn does not think much of baiting and infuriating Tarver. They both quickly reveal themselves to be much more than what their surface shows. And they were a fantastic match! They balanced each other well and I was definitely rooting for them. Tarver was so sexy and everything a girl could want. He definitely lived up to his heroic image. He saved Lilac's life on several occasions. Lilac is the one who does the initial life saving though when she saves both their hides by hotwiring the escape pod so that it releases from the Icarus. (view spoiler) Lilac quickly shows herself to be far more than her society girl image, she's very tough and resilient and there's a great deal going on beneath the surface with her. And the same goes for Tarver, he quickly reveals himself to be much more than a rigid military man. (view spoiler) They were both very well drawn and very well fleshed out characters. We're given a very deep look into who they both are and what makes them tick and why they do what they do. And they open up to one another and show their hurts and sadness. The alternating chapters were a great idea. And the writing flows very smoothly, you can't tell that it was two separate authors writing this book. I don't know how they divided up the writing responsibilities, one wrote all of Tarver's chapters and one wrote all of Lilac's chapters or what, but it works brilliantly. The setting was as great as the characters. The planet they crashed on seems like a normal terraformed planet at first. But, as they go on, it becomes clear that not all is as it seems and that they may not be entirely alone. (view spoiler) The idea of terraforming is a fascinating one and it's pretty well explained. I thoroughly enjoyed the sci-fi elements of this book. Now, you may be wondering why, after I heaped all that praise on this book, did I give this book only four stars? Well, that's a huge spoiler and under the spoiler tag it goes. (view spoiler) Going back to my Titanic comparison, will it all work out for Lilac and Tarver or will it end as tragically as things did with Rose and Jack? I won't reveal that. You'll have to read it and find out. I will say though, that I liked the ending a lot and that it was sweet and fitting. I really wish the next book would focus on Lilac and Tarver, I'm kind of bummed that it won't. But I am excited to meet the new characters and I'm very excited to learn more about the Starbound universe. And hopefully Lilac and Tarver will play a part in the book or at least make a few appearances. And one last thing, the cover is so gorgeous! And it's perfect for the book! Because Lilac is described as looking just like she does on the cover and she's wearing a green dress when they crash. And I would say Tarver on the cover is pretty close to his description in the book. ...more

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Jul 01, 2013 Christal rated it really liked it

Shelves: arcs, mind-bullets, ya-and-na, shady-government-agency, military, multiple-leads, sci-fi-aka-lasers, death-as-a-character, aliens, other-worlds

Check out the group review AH and I did of this book on BadassBookReviews.com!

I found the beginning of These Broken Stars to be a bit slow and actually skimmed a little bit until the problems with the ship started. Once the story was limited to Tarver and Lilac, it picked up immensely. Both the characters were very smart and always acted in a believable way. I can't really think of anything I would compare this story to, but I did really really enjoy it.

After the inital introductions, the plot w Check out the group review AH and I did of this book on BadassBookReviews.com!

I found the beginning of These Broken Stars to be a bit slow and actually skimmed a little bit until the problems with the ship started. Once the story was limited to Tarver and Lilac, it picked up immensely. Both the characters were very smart and always acted in a believable way. I can't really think of anything I would compare this story to, but I did really really enjoy it.

After the inital introductions, the plot was paced nicely once Tarver and Lilac landed from the crash. The development between them wasn't rushed and they found information at a believable rate. The only thing that I felt was a little convoluted was the plot point concerning the aliens at the end. I can't put my finger on exactly why, but something about them was confusing for me.

I actually liked both Tarver and Lilac right from the beginning. They both had authentic voices and felt like they stayed true to themselves. I think if we hadn't gotten Lilac's POV, it would have been easy to hate her. Being in her head and learning just how hard she was trying to hold it together helped humanize her and made her infinitely more relatable. Tarver was almost too perfect at times, but then he would mess something simple up, albeit in an endearing way. I think that they are good for one another and I'm rooting for them.

I like that These Broken Stars didn't focus solely on the romance developing between Tarver and Lilac. It is definitely there and grows slowly over time, but the story is one of survival at its heart. It makes more sense for the romance to be in the backgroud developing slowly than them just having lust at first sight. They experienced high levels of stress and trauma and it would either drive them together or drive them to kill each other. I'm very glad that it brought them together and I think they both bring unique skills and abilities to their relationship.

The main "villian" was Lilac's father and he totally creeped me out from the very beginning. I mean, what kind of father would keep their seventeen year old girl from speaking and being friends with any male? His was a very unhealthy attachment. I wasn't surprised to see that his involvement in the story was much deeper than we first expected. I don't think we've seen the last of him and his shady company though.

I thought the writing was quite nice and it blended so smoothly you couldn't tell there were two authors. There were some very poetic parts mixed in with the more straightforward prose. I thought the interactions between the characters were smoothly handled and the internal POV sections never felt choppy compared to the narrative. The only thing that rubbed me the wrong way was a certain unexpected event was very unexpected that didn't hit me as hard as I would have thought. Maybe because it was pretty much remedied within the next ten pages? Overall though, this was a very solid read and I look forward to seeing what the next books in the series have to bring.

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for a review copy of this book. ...more

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Aug 04, 2017 Susan rated it it was amazing

Loved this book. So different from what I am used to reading. I am not huge into Sci-Fi or so I thought but it seems I love it more then I I knew. I thought Lilac was the perfect rich princess type and loved to see how she transformed on the planet she and Tarver were stuck on. Tarver was the best. I loved everything about his character.

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Mar 02, 2013 Cheer Papworth rated it really liked it

Shelves: romance, supernatural, sci-fi, ya

4 1/2 Stars! These Broken Stars takes place on the Icarus, a Goliath spaceship owned by the powerful LeRoux. Lilac LeRoux is the treasured, pampered daughter of LeRoux who is traveling on the Icarus. As fate would have it, the Icarus goes down like the Titanic and Lilac herself in an escape pod with military hero Tarver Maresden, a man she publicly shunned. They find themselves stranded on an uninhabited planet, the sole survivors of the crash. Struggling to survive, the barriers of social class ...more

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Sep 15, 2024 Marla rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, challenged, science-fiction, series, romance, with-reservations, dystopia, aliens, 2024

3.5 stars. Star-crossed lovers with a sci fi spin. I liked the story and our couple, but I just didn't love them. The forced hike through the forest, across the plain and over the mountain were mostly just filler. Survival did foster dependence and strong feelings, but the creepy visions and voices were disconcerting and detrimental to the romance. ...more

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