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

Oct 01, 2013 Mandapanda rated it liked it

Shelves: scifi-romance

I picked up this book because I love Scifi Romance, not because I'm a fan of YA. There has been a lot of buzz about this story, no doubt helped along by the beautiful cover. But although I enjoyed it, it didn't quite live up to the hype.

The vast bulk of the narrative is made up of Tarver, an 18 year old, highly decorated soldier, and Lilac, the spoiled and protected 16 year old daughter of the universe's wealthiest man, walking around looking for safety after crashing on a strange planet. Apart ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

May 16, 2013 Stacey rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2013-releases, read-2013, on-kindle, signed, i-want-it-now, 2013-reviews

This book should seriously come prepackaged with smelling salts because you’re gonna swoon so hardcore you just might need them. If I had to describe this book in only one word, that would be it: swoon. You will swoon for the cover, you will swoon for the writing, you will swoon for the characters, and you will most definitely swoon for their relationship.

This book is told from the dual points of view of Lilac (the spoiled and overprotected daughter of one of the richest and most powerful men i This book should seriously come prepackaged with smelling salts because you’re gonna swoon so hardcore you just might need them. If I had to describe this book in only one word, that would be it: swoon. You will swoon for the cover, you will swoon for the writing, you will swoon for the characters, and you will most definitely swoon for their relationship.

This book is told from the dual points of view of Lilac (the spoiled and overprotected daughter of one of the richest and most powerful men in the universe) and Tarver (a young, decorated war hero who comes from an everyday working Joe type of family). They are both traveling onboard the Icarus, which is a monstrous spaceship owned by Lilac’s father. Something happens to pull the ship out of hyperspace and the ship begins to crash. People, of course, panic and even trample each other in their haste to reach the escape pods. Unfortunately, due to an electrical surge the escape pods do not function properly and will not launch. Thanks to Tarver’s quick thinking and protective nature and Lilac’s own intelligence they manage to launch their own escape pod and land on a nearby partially terraformed planet. They expect to be rescued quickly but when no rescue team shows up they are forced to figure out how to survive on this desolate planet by themselves.

While this book does contain some nice sci-fi elements it should be noted that this is really much more of a survivalist story. That being said the entire crash scene was awesome! It was intense and the wreckage afterwards was horrifying enough to make me feel queasy. There are also some well played creepy moments along their journey that gave me anxiety.
The real strength of this novel is the characters. I don’t know if I have ever read two characters who felt more real to me. I felt so connected to both of them. Their struggles and triumphs resonated so deeply with me. It makes me so sad the next book won’t be following them.

Lilac in the beginning had some brat moments when they first arrived on the new planet that made me not instantly love her but given her background it’s understandable. She was completely out of her element and is used to being protected and shielded by her father’s name. She does grow as a character as they travel and it wasn’t long before I absolutely adored her.
Tarver – book boyfriend alert! He was strong, solid, courageous, kind, and took no shit from anybody. As a soldier, he is much more prepared for the situation they find themselves in and doesn’t have as much issues adjusting. I liked him in the beginning but he just kept growing on me more and more as the story went on. It was refreshing to see a strong, confident male lead that didn’t cross into arrogant territory.

Their relationship is a bit prickly in the beginning and neither of them trusts one another for obvious reasons. Watching them slowly start to become friends and open up to each other was a thing of beauty. Their dialogue and interactions felt so true and not at all forced. I roll my eyes at a lot of romances but this one had me hooked.

This is one of the best books I have read all year. I will most definitely be buying the hardcover for my keeper shelf. They say never to judge a book by its cover but in this case go ahead. This book is as stunningly beautiful as its cover, maybe even more.
...more

1 like · Like · see review

Oct 11, 2013 cc rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite-heroines, ebook, feels, netgalley, favorite-heroes, no-love-triangle, favorite-books, dystopia, aliens, books-to-movies

This book was such a surprise in so many ways: the great writing, the literally out of this world scenario, the strong characters with fabulous chemistry and their tough journey, the distinctive and beautifully woven POVs, and lastly, that plot twist towards the end that got me screaming!

The story starts off in a spaceship, where the protagonists, Lilac and Tarver, first meet, but Lilac can’t get involved with boys and drives Tarver away for his own good, until they end up stuck together in a p This book was such a surprise in so many ways: the great writing, the literally out of this world scenario, the strong characters with fabulous chemistry and their tough journey, the distinctive and beautifully woven POVs, and lastly, that plot twist towards the end that got me screaming!

The story starts off in a spaceship, where the protagonists, Lilac and Tarver, first meet, but Lilac can’t get involved with boys and drives Tarver away for his own good, until they end up stuck together in a planet with no one else in sight, and where extremely strange things happen.

What a joy to read a book basically about two characters doing their best to survive in an unknown place, under the worst conditions, and not exactly getting along for like half of the time, and yet they know that they need each other and I loved every minute of it. This just proves how remarkable these characters are, because seriously, they own this book. I can’t even pick a favorite---Lilac, Tarver, Lilac, Tarver, I really can’t.

Lilac can seem a little bit annoying in the beginning but she’s not really being herself then, she only acts that way with Tarver to protect herself---and him---and I was totally able to put myself in her ridiculous shoes and understand the situation. The thing is, she needs Tarver to survive, and yet she thinks he hates her, thinks that he hates everything she is and represents, hates being stuck in that planet with her, hates having to take care of her, because she’s the rich girl and he’s the poor soldier who will get into a lot of trouble if something happens to her under his watch, so for a while she acts the part of the cold heiress who couldn't care less and oh my goodness kids! Just kiss, already!

I enjoyed the whole mystery surrounding the planet and the visions, although I’m still not sure what to think about the plot twist I mentioned before, that shocking, heartbreaking event and its outcome. Honestly, I wish it hadn't happened, but in a way I get why the authors did it. My problem is that it took me a while to get used to the idea and to love the character again---I guess I was feeling exactly the same way as Tarver.

In the end These Broken Stars wrapped up nicely and I'm so glad I decided to read it.

(Electronic ARC provided by NetGalley)

Also on my Tumblr: The Enchanted Forest
*PT* Cuidado com o Dálmata ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Oct 16, 2017 Andrea (mrsaubergine) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Swoony awesomeness again from Amie Kaufman. Having read Illuminae earlier this year, I recognised some of the elements of this story - space ships, peril, swoony boy, plucky girl, UST in spades - and loved it. That cover is just gorgeous as well.

My only beef, if you could call it that, is that when I listened to the audiobook, I couldn't help but laugh at the way the American narrator pronounced Lilac's name. Kaufman is Australian so, like me, probably pronounces it LIE-lick, as opposed to the ...more

Like · see review