These Broken Stars: Cover love and thoughts

                Welcome back book lovers for another fun review.  I hope you all are doing well.  First, I wanted to discuss my plans to try and be more punctual/regular with my posts.  I'm working on a redesign to make things cleaner and easier.  This would include a posting schedule and various items.  Feedback is always welcome, really I want to hear from you.  Let me know in the comments what you'd like, dislike or want to see more of. 

                Announcement over.  Today I want to share with you my thoughts on These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner.  I read this book a couple months back and have been wanting to do a review and now is the time.  First, I have to point out why I was first pulled to it, the beautiful cover.  Look at it.  Night sky with stars and this fetching image and a billowy dress.  I wanted to know more about such a pretty cover.  Then I heard Sasha (abookutopia) rave about it on Booktube and knew I had to have it on my shelf and in my life.  Book two in the series is already out (review coming soon) with another amazing cover and best news I recently saw the cover for book three which I assume is coming out soon, and it keeps to the theme meaning all my covers will match!  I just love it when I can finish a series and have the same cover design.  Moving on.

                These Broken Stars, book one in The Starbound Trilogy , focuses on two characters; one is Lilac LaRoux, the daughter of the richest man in the universe.  Yes, universe because this book takes place in space and other planets.  Our other character is Tarver Merendsen, a war hero who is pretty cynical about the way the system is set up.  They seem like complete opposites but they meet on the luxury spaceliner Icarus and are bound together when the spaceliner falls from hyperspace and begins to break apart.  They are the lone survivors, landing on an unknown planet without much in their favor.  They are stuck together as they search for help or a way off the planet, but things are not what they seem as the planet holds secrets that will push both Lilac and Tarver. 

                The bulk of the story takes place with only our two characters around but the planet itself is like it's own character.  Lilac isn't what you expect, she's different than the media portrays her, the perfect princess who does nothing but enjoy daddy's money.  She has a brain and thoughts of her own.  Best of all, she has a legit reason behind her actions, something the reader can understand.  Tarver has his own issues and struggles to deal with.  A war hero who is being paraded around like a performing monkey able to look at the fancy life but not good enough to really be more than a pet in it.  Watching as these two very different and yet similar characters struggle with their surroundings kept me turning the page as did the changing POV that let me see how one reacted to something the other did and seeing how each perceived the other and how perceptions morphed as the story progressed.

                 The tagline for the trilogy is: Three worlds.  Three love stories.  One enemy.  If you didn't figure it out yet there is a romantic element playing into this.  There wasn't any insta-love though.  Maybe some good old fashioned insta-attraction but insta-love, no way.  Far from it.  The story focuses less on the romance, letting anything happen naturally, and more on the plot.  A goal to survive and solve the mystery.  Because I'll tell you one thing this book has some serious mystery and creep factor to it.  I was not expecting it but wow was I surprised.  In a good way.  I won't spoil you or anything but yes the planet is interesting to say the least. 

                The last quarter of the book completely caught me off guard and was a tad bit confusing at first, and I wasn't sure how I felt about it,  but after reflecting on it I was okay with it.  There was also so things that occur that went against the past character development that I had a small issue with.  There were some 'conveniences' here and there that seemed a bit on the nose but otherwise I really enjoyed the book.  It was more about the journey and character growth and development, and you know how I love my characters.  It left me satisfied but still wanting more and made me with up book two, This Shattered World.  Overall I gave this book 4 stars. 

Rating: 4 Stars

                Have you already read this title?  Planning to?  Comments are love, share some below.  Until next time.