3/5 Stars
Published by Disney Hyperion
Published December 10th, 2013
Synopsis: Luxury spaceliner Icarus suddenly plummets from hyperspace into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive --- alone. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a cynical war hero. Both journey across the eerie deserted terrain for help. Everything changes when they uncover the truth.
The Starbound Trilogy: Three worlds. Three love stories. One enemy.
With a synopsis like that and a beautiful cover, I thought this was going to be a very promising read. Two great authors, Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner, take on the challenge of writing about two completely different characters who must endure the challenge of landing stranded on an unknown planet. While the writing was impeccable and full of lush details, I found the story to be lacking that last nudge that it really needed. I was overall impressed by the world that evolved into something compelling and intriguing, but the characters were not enough for me to be fully engaged with the story.
I find the premise of this trilogy to be extremely promising. Three couples come together through terrible circumstances to defeat a common enemy and practically save the universe. Plus, it's a scifi romance! I cannot quite pinpoint what made me feel so meh about it, but I have a feeling it was the lack of connection for the characters. Lilac LaRoux (who has the same nickname as me - Lil) was a tad bit too overbearing for me to handle. Whenever her POVs came up I would barely read her sections and just mull over the words. I was, however, extremely invested in Tarver. He was kind and well put together, yet understandably sassy and quick witted when it came to Lilac. Despite some redeeming qualities, it was terribly difficult for me to feel connected to these characters.
There is not a lot for me to say about These Broken Stars simply because I could barely will myself to read it. In light of all of this, I will be most likely reading This Shattered World, the sequel, when my current TBR pile shortens up. Besides that though, isn't the cover stunning!? The physical book itself is extremely beautiful - I love having it on my shelf! So summed up quickly: great writing, two amazing authors, pretty flat characters, extremely fascinating world. I do recommend you read These Broken Stars if you love a great spacey, adventure vibe.
What are you reading now? Happy reading!
I find the premise of this trilogy to be extremely promising. Three couples come together through terrible circumstances to defeat a common enemy and practically save the universe. Plus, it's a scifi romance! I cannot quite pinpoint what made me feel so meh about it, but I have a feeling it was the lack of connection for the characters. Lilac LaRoux (who has the same nickname as me - Lil) was a tad bit too overbearing for me to handle. Whenever her POVs came up I would barely read her sections and just mull over the words. I was, however, extremely invested in Tarver. He was kind and well put together, yet understandably sassy and quick witted when it came to Lilac. Despite some redeeming qualities, it was terribly difficult for me to feel connected to these characters.
There is not a lot for me to say about These Broken Stars simply because I could barely will myself to read it. In light of all of this, I will be most likely reading This Shattered World, the sequel, when my current TBR pile shortens up. Besides that though, isn't the cover stunning!? The physical book itself is extremely beautiful - I love having it on my shelf! So summed up quickly: great writing, two amazing authors, pretty flat characters, extremely fascinating world. I do recommend you read These Broken Stars if you love a great spacey, adventure vibe.
What are you reading now? Happy reading!
Thank you for this. I feel like I have seen so much positive hype over the series and I always feel like I won't like the book then, so it is nice to see the things you didn't like! I will still be picking this one up but at least I know what to expect from all sides of things!
ReplyDeleteJamie @ Books and Ladders
I've been wanting to read this book for quite a while, and I definitely still will at some point. I feel like different POVs can either be super amazing/well-done or they can fall flat to a point where you want to skim over a certain characters part. I'm glad that you at least liked the world (since it's a huge part of the book :)
ReplyDeleteGreat Review Lillie!!! <3
This is the first review I've read for this one that seems a bit more fair and balanced. That hype was going to be impossible to live up to when I finally get around to this one. I'm still planning on reading it soon though, but at least my expectations are normal now LOL Lovely review Lillie
ReplyDeleteI had trouble getting into this one too. I read about 25 pages and my mind just kept wandering so maybe I'll pick it up again at some point. I think if a book has loveable characters and a meh world, its redeemable-but when the characters are meh? I can't deal. Lol
ReplyDeleteThe cover IS pretty darn gorgeous though!
Great review!