Review: Undying - Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Earth's fate rests in their hands. Trapped aboard the Undying's ancient spaceship and reeling from the truth they've uncovered, Mia and Jules are desperate to warn their home about what's coming.

After a perilous escape in an alien craft, they crash-land on Earth's surface only to realise the awful truth: No one believes in the Undying threat in orbit.

With no choice but to take matters into their own hands, they must escape custody of the powerful International Alliance in order to discover the true mission of the Undying, and how to stop them. On the run, fugitives among their own people, they must journey across Europe to stop an alien invasion, prevent a horrific plague, and save the people they love.

From the mountains of Spain to the streets of Prague, the epic conclusion to the Unearthed series is a white-knuckle ride that will keep readers guessing until the final page.

Unearthed Duology:
Unearthed
Undying

Visit Amie Kaufman's website or Meagan Spooner's website for more information

Review:
Undying is the final book in the Unearthed duology and gives us a chance to find out what happened to Mia and Jules when they were onboard the alien spaceship headed back to earth. They're the only humans alive who know that the ship is a Trojan horse bringing an army of alien invaders with it but they've got no way of letting anyone know what is going on unless they can get off the ship and back on earth soil.

After escaping on a landing shuttle and picked up by the International Alliance you'd think it would be easy for them to explain what was happening and get some help with the situation. Unfortunately for them nobody is willing to listen to their explanation and the IA doesn't believe that the world is about to be invaded. If the IA won't listen Mia and Jules have no other option but to try and stop the Undying on their own but to do that they're going to need answers that only Jules' father has access to.

I really loved the Indiana Jones feel to the first book which was all about exploring an alien temple on a far distant planet solving puzzles along the way so I have to admit I was a little bit disappointed to be back on earth for the sequel! It made perfect sense though and it was fun to see Jules and Mia thrown into a completely different situation and have to figure out how to evade the authorities long enough to get the answers they needed. Their journey across Europe was fun to follow and we also get to meet some fun new characters in this one so I enjoyed having a larger cast for this story.

There were some shock revelations about the Undying at the end of the previous book that had left me with loads of questions about where they came from and what their plans were. Everything is slowly revealed in this book and there were definitely some twists that I didn't see coming. The story was very cleverly plotted and it was fun trying to unravel all the clues before the big reveal. This really was a great follow up to the first book and a satisfying conclusion to the series.

Source: Received from Turnaround in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Hardback:

Review: Unearthed - Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

When Earth intercepts a message from a long-extinct alien race, it seems like the solution the planet has been waiting for. The Undying's advanced technology has the potential to undo environmental damage and turn lives around, and Gaia, their former home planet, is a treasure trove waiting to be uncovered.

For Jules Addison and his fellow scholars, the discovery of an alien culture offers unprecedented opportunity for study...as long as scavengers like Amelia Radcliffe don't loot everything first. Mia and Jules' different reasons for smuggling themselves onto Gaia put them immediately at odds, but after escaping a dangerous confrontation with other scavvers, they form a fragile alliance.

In order to penetrate the Undying temple and reach the tech and information hidden within, the two must decode the ancient race's secrets and survive their traps. But the more they learn about the Undying, the more their presence in the temple seems to be part of a grand design that could spell the end of the human race...

Unearthed Duology:
Unearthed
Undying

Visit Amie Kaufman's website or Meagan Spooner's website for more information

Review:
As soon as I saw that Unearthed was being pitched as "Indiana Jones meets Lara Croft set in Space" I knew I had to read it, especially since I loved the Starbound trilogy that was also co-authored by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. I have to say I think they were spot on with the Indiana Jones comparison and this was such a fun adventure story.

Set in a not too distant future where humans have wrung pretty much every last resource out of the Earth things aren't looking too great for our survival. Then scientists manage to intercept a message from an extinct alien race, the Undying, which gives us access to technology far beyond our own capabilities, including a way to travel to their distant planet. For scientists and scholars this opens up a unique opportunity to study an alien culture and bring home potentially world changing technology but only if they can get there before scavengers pick the planet clean for profit.

Jules is a scholar with something to prove, his father worked on translating the original alien message and Jules has studied his father's documents tirelessly. He's determined to reach Gaia and search for a missing temple his father told him about. Mia on the other hand is one of the scavengers and she desperately needs to recover enough alien tech to buy her passage on a ship home. The unlikely allies are thrown together after they're set upon by another group of scavvers, they both have very different goals for their time on planet but unless they find a way to work together they might both find they're stuck there permanently.

Unearthed is an action packed story full of booby traps and puzzles just waiting to be solved. Jules and Mia are pretty much opposites in every way but that works in their favour as they both bring different but equally important skills to the table. Jules is a geek who has studied everything about the Undying and who has memorised maps of the planet but it is Mia who has the street smarts and survival skills to get them where they need to be. I enjoyed seeing both of their points of view, they're great characters in their own ways and it was easy to understand their motivations even when you didn't always agree with the choices they had made. I'm not quite sold on the romance yet but it's been pretty slow build so far so there is definitely potential for the next book.

It was a lot of fun seeing them explore the temples and it was so easy to picture what was happening, I actually think this could be turned into a fabulous movie! There were some really unexpected revelations at the end and I'll warn you now that the ending is quite the cliffhanger but I'm totally on board for the sequel and can't wait to see how the story ends.

Source: Received from Turnaround in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Hardback:

Review: Their Fractured Light - Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

A year ago Flynn Cormac and Jubilee Chase made the now-infamous Avon Broadcast, calling on the galaxy to witness LaRoux Industries' corruption. A year before that, Tarver Merendsen and Lilac LaRoux were the only survivors of the Icarus shipwreck, forced to live a double live after their rescue.

Now, at the centre of the galaxy on Corinth, all four are about to collide with two new players in the fight against LRI.

Gideon Marchant is an underworld hacker known as the Knave of Hearts, ready to climb and abseil his way past the best security measures on the planet to expose LRI's atrocities. Sofia Quinn, charming con artist, can work her way onto any stronghold without missing a beat. When a foiled attempt to infiltrate LRI Headquarters forces them into a fragile alliance, it's impossible to know who's playing whom - and whether they can ever learn to trust each other.

With their lives, loves, and loyalties at stake, only by joining forces with the Icarus survivors and Avon's protectors do they stand a chance of taking down the most powerful corporation in the galaxy - before LRI's secrets destroy them all.

The New York Times best-selling Starbound trilogy comes to a close with this dazzling final installment about the power of courage and hope in humanity's darkest hour.

Starbound Trilogy:
These Broken Stars
This Night So Dark (Novella)
This Shattered World
Their Fractured Light

Visit Amie Kaufman's website, Meagan Spooner's website or the These Broken Stars website for more information

Review:
I fell in love with this series when I read These Broken Stars last year so This Fractured Light was a book I couldn't wait to start reading. I've just had so much fun reading this trilogy, I love the epic scope of it, the way events unfold across such vast distances and how one man has managed to cause so much complete and utter mayhem throughout the universe.

The first half of this novel focuses on our new couple Gideon and Sofia. We've actually met both of these characters before (Gideon is the earth based hacker who helped Flynn and Jubilee make the Avon broadcast and Sofia is the friend who helped Flynn when he needed a place to hide) but it was really great to get to know them better. Sofia escaped Avon during the previous book and she's now on earth working hard to find a way to bring down LaRoux Industries who she blames for the atrocities carried out on Avon that caused the death of her father. Gideon has is own reasons for bringing down LRI and is equally determined to achieve his goal. The two cross paths when they're both making separate attempts to infiltrate the LRI headquarters and circumstances force them to work together to make their escape.

They've never met before and have no reason to trust each other now so their reluctant alliance doesn't last long but when Sofia's cover is blown and she is in desperate need of help she has nobody else to turn to. I really enjoyed the push and pull between these two, they're united because they have a common enemy but they don't know enough about each other to have full trust and it takes a long time for them to open up and start sharing their secrets. I don't think I loved them quite as much as the previous characters but I did think they made a really cute couple and they're both extremely brave and focused on their goals which was admirable.

In the second half of the book they meet up with the couples from the previous books and this is where things really kick off on the action front. Don't get me wrong, there was plenty going on in the first half too, but when all 3 couples get together they finally start putting enough of the pieces together to have a chance at bringing down LRI once and for all. I don't want to say too much about what happens but Lilac's father isn't going to give up on his goals without a fight and our group of friends aren't going to have an easy time of it. We also get to see snippets from the Whisper's POV and I found it really interesting looking at humanity through the lens of beings so completely other.

Overall this has been a fantastic trilogy and it's certainly one I'll reread in the future. Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner did a brilliant job of tying all the loose threads together and creating an incredibly satisfying ending. I'm going to miss these characters but I'm glad they went out on such a high note and I'll be keeping an eye out for more books from both of these authors in the future.

Source: Purchased

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Hardback:

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten 2015 Releases I Meant To Get To But Didn't

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week has a different theme & you can find all the details about how to join in HERE.

Today's topic is Top Ten 2015 Releases I meant to get to but didn't. There were actually a lot of 2015 books that I was really excited about but never got around to reading but here are the ones I REALLY want to try and get to soon!

My top ten releases I meant to get to in 2015 but didn't:

1. Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner - I absolutely loved the first two books in this trilogy so this book was at the top of my Christmas wish list. Thankfully Santa (in the form of my Dad!) left this wrapped up under the tree for me so I really need to get to it soon.
2. The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May - It has been a long 2 year wait for this book to be published so I'm really excited about this one, I did manage to reread The Falconer in December so I'm ready to dive into The Vanishing Throne.
3. Mind Games by Jana Oliver - I'm a huge fan of Jana Oliver and her Demon Trappers series is one of my favourites so I ordered a copy of Mind Games the minute I found out about it and I have absolutely no excuse for why I STILL haven't read it!
4. Manners & Mutiny by Gail Carriger - I finally managed to finish Gail's Parasol Protectorate series last year but I have this one last book in the Finishing School series.
5. A Whole New World by Liz Braswell - I was intrigued by the idea of this book from the moment I first heard about it, it's a retelling of Aladdin with one major difference. What would have happened if Jafar was the first one to find the lamp? Doesn't that sound brilliant? Yup, no excuses for why I've not read it yet!
6. Ink & Bone by Rachel Caine - I love Rachel Caine so this is another preorder that I've failed to get around to reading.
7. November 9 by Colleen Hoover - Colleen is another autobuy author for me, her stories never seem to go in the direction you expect them to but I always fall in love with her characters.
8. The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski - After loving The Winner's Curse this was high on my wish list for 2015 but now I've left it so long I think I'm going to wait for the release of The Winner's Kiss and read the whole trilogy in one go.
9. Soundless by Richelle Mead - I saw some amazing reviews of Soundless which made me really want to read it but since then I've seen some not so great reactions that have made me nervous. I will be brave and to try it soon though!
10. Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard - I'm not sure why but the hype for this book pretty much passed by me unnoticed but I was recently sent a copy of Glass Sword for review and the blurb sounds great so I ordered a copy of Red Queen to read first.

So what books are on your list? Have you read any of the ones on mine? Which ones do you think I should read first?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I'd Like Santa to Leave Under My Tree

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week has a different theme & you can find all the details about how to join in HERE.

Today's topic is Top Ten Books I'd Like Santa to Leave Under My Tree. I don't tend to get many books for Christmas, most people know I have a LOT of books already and are too afraid to get me more in case they buy ones I already have. My Dad shares my love of reading though and always likes to get books as a present so I have to send him a list of some different choices that he can pick from, that way I still get a sort of surprise but he knows he's buying something I want. So this is the list I've sent him & hopefully some of them will be waiting for me to open them on Christmas Day, otherwise I guess I'll just have to use some of my Christmas money to go shopping and hopefully find some of them in the January sales LOL.

1. Their Fractured Light by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner: I love the first two books in this series so can't wait to see how everything ties up in this final instalment!
2. The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh: I keep hearing fantastic things about this book
3. Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill: I read this author's second book, Asking For It, recently and it blew me away. Her debut got fantastic reviews too so I definitely need to read this one.
4. Evernight & Soulbound by Kristen Callihan: I have the rest of the series already but it's a series I've been wanting to finish for a long time now. I need the US paperbacks to match the rest of my set though because I started buying them before a UK publisher had picked up the series.
5. Bronze Gods by A.A. Aguirre: I love steampunk and I've enjoyed everything else I've read by Ann Aguirre so I'm very curious to try this series that she writes with her husband.
6. Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs: I already own these books on kindle but it's one of my favourite series (I'm currently rereading it for the third time!) so I'd love to have print copies for my shelves.

So those are my choices! Which books are you hoping to find under your tree this Christmas?

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten New To Me Authors I Read for the First Time in 2015 (& yes I do know I'm 2 days late LOL)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week has a different theme & you can find all the details about how to join in HERE.

Today's topic is Top Ten New To Me Authors I Read for the First Time in 2015 and I've discovered some wonderful new authors this year so I have lots to talk about. This will include a mixture of debut authors and authors who have been around for a while but who I only discovered this year. I'm also including a selection of adult and YA author's so there hopefully should be something here that appeals to everyone.

I've been looking forward to this topic for ages but life got in the way & I'm only just getting around to actually writing it so I apologise for being 2 days late. Better late than never though so here we go :o)

I love discovering new authors (I've actually read books by over 50 new to me authors this year!) and you can see a list of all the author's I've discovered in 2015 HERE if you're interested. It's been very hard to narrow it down to just my top 10 but I've finally done it so here are my favourites:

Pippa Dacosta

Pippa Dacosta has quickly become one of my favourite authors, I fell in love with her writing when I picked up the first in her science fiction series Girl From Above: Betrayal but have since also devoured her urban fantasy series that starts with Beyond the Veil. In fact I've worked my way through her entire back list (11 books and novellas) since August so that should give you a hint about how much I LOVE her stories. You can read all of my reviews of her work HERE.

K.F. Breene

K.F. Breene is another author whose books I've been absolutely devouring, I've not managed to make my way through her entire back list but I did devour all of the books currently available in her Warrior Chronicles series and I'm now desperately waiting for the next book to be written! Read my reviews HERE.

Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

I can't believe it took me so long to discover these author's wonderful series, I absolutely devoured These Broken Stars and This Shattered World earlier this year and the final book in the trilogy, This Fractured Light, is right at the top of my Christmas wish list this year. Both Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner have been added to my list of auto-buy authors and I can also highly recommend Illuminae that Amie wrote with another fabulous (but not new to me) author Jay Kristoff. Read my reviews HERE.

V.E. Schwab

Another new autobuy author has to be V.E. Schwab, I absolutely adored both A Darker Shade of Magic and Vicious. Both books are very different but utterly brilliant and I'm glad we're going to get more stories set in each world. You can find my reviews HERE.

E.K. Johnston

A Thousand Nights was one of my favourite books of the year so of course I had to include debut author E.K. Johnston in my list. This story is incredibly atmospheric and was so, so beautiful to read, I completely devoured it and I can't wait to see more from this author in the future. Read my review HERE.

Becky Chambers

I've been really enjoying my science fiction this year and Becky Chamber's debut, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, was brilliant. It has such a varied cast of characters and I really hope that this is going to be the start of a new series. I'll definitely be watching out for whatever this author writes next though. Read my review HERE.

Pamela Clare

I don't tend to read a lot of romantic suspense but I've been hearing amazing things about Pamela Clare's writing from American bloggers for such a long time now so when I found out her books had been picked up by a UK publisher I couldn't resist giving them a try. I can definitely understand why everyone raves about her now because these books are amazing! You can find my reviews HERE.

Naomi Novik

I loved Uprooted so much that I've already read it twice this year, it's an absolutely wonderful fairytale type fantasy story that I don't really have the words to describe, hence the reason I STILL haven't written up my review for it! I will be getting caught up with my final reviews by the end of the year though so watch out for this one - it's put Naomi Novik on my list of must read authors and I'm really looking forward to working my way through her back list.

Juliet Marillier

Another fantastic fantasy story that I'm yet to write a review for. Dreamer's Pool was brilliant and I already have the next book in the series that I'm hoping to read very soon so Juliet Marillier is another recommended author.

Louise O'Neill

Louise O'Neill's Asking For It isn't an easy read, in fact there were times when it was incredibly painful and it made me so mad that I could have probably committed murder if I'd been able to climb into the story and confront some of the main characters! This is such an important book though and I really do feel like EVERYONE should read it, Louise shines a light on rape culture in today's society and I think it paves the way for some very important questions that we all need to ask ourselves. I really think this should be required reading in schools to get people openly talking about what constitutes rape and whether anyone is ever Asking For It (of course they're absolutely NOT but you'd be surprised at how many people don't agree with that!). I've heard great things about Louise O'Neill's debut novel Only Ever Yours too so I'm planning on reading that one as soon as I get a chance.

So those are my favourite newly discovered authors for 2015. Have you read any of the books or series I mentioned? Which ones are your favourites? Who are your top new authors? I'm always looking for recommendations :o)

Review: This Shattered World - Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac should never have met. Lee is captain of the forces sent to Avon to crush the terraformed planet's rebellious colonists, but she has her own reasons for hating the insurgents.

Rebellion is in Flynn's blood. His sister died in the original uprising against the powerful corporate conglomerate that rules Avon with an iron fist. These corporations make their fortune by terraforming uninhabitable planets across the universe and recruiting colonists to make the planets liveable, with the promise of a better life for their children. But they never fulfilled their promise on Avon, and decades later, Flynn is leading the rebellion.

Desperate for any advantage against the military occupying his home, Flynn does the only thing that makes sense when he and Lee cross paths: he returns to base with her as prisoner. But as his fellow rebels prepare to execute this tough-talking girl with nerves of steel, Flynn makes another choice that will change him forever. He and Lee escape base together, caught between two sides in a senseless war.

The stunning second novel in the Starbound trilogy is an unforgettable story of love and forgiveness in a world torn apart by war.

Starbound Trilogy:
These Broken Stars
This Night So Dark (Novella)
This Shattered World
Their Fractured Light

Visit Amie Kaufman's website, Meagan Spooner's website or the These Broken Stars website for more information

Review:
Having absolutely loved These Broken Stars I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy of This Shattered World so I could dive back into the world that Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner created. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed when I first realised that Tarver and Lilac weren't going to be the main characters for the entire series but the more I thought about it the more I realised changing characters was the best way for us to be able to explore more of this universe. It was also a great opportunity to see another side of what Lilac's father has been getting up to and just how deep the conspiracy goes.

Jubilee, known as Lee to her friends, is an army captain and one of the best soldiers on Avon. It is her job to keep the rebel forces from causing all out war on the planet and she is very, very good at her job. Flynn is the leader of the rebels and he is determined to find a peaceful solution to the ongoing conflict. All the rebels want is to find out why the terraforming of Avon is so far behind schedule and why they are being denied the supplies they so desperately need and they are sick of being ignored and pushed to one side. Some of Flynn's people are getting restless and threatening to revert to violence so Flynn knows he doesn't have long to come up with an alternative option to all out war. When Flynn manages to capture Lee he is hoping to use her safe release as a bargaining tool but when he realises her life is in danger from his people he is forced to change his plans.

I think one of the things I love most about this series is the sheer scale of the world building and it was really interesting to visit Avon and see the struggles the people there are facing. It was easy to understand why Flynn and the rebels were so desperate but that doesn't justify the lengths that some of them were willing to go to to get what they want. At the same time, although Lee and the other soldiers are only doing their jobs, it was harder to sympathise for them because you knew they weren't in the right. The trouble here is that the big corporations who pay for the terraforming are also the ones funding the army and their agenda is purely profit driven and doesn't focus on the lives of the people actually living on the planet.

Although I liked both Lee and Flynn I did have a bit of trouble with their relationship, things happen a little too quickly between them and considering the circumstances I struggled to believe their reactions. One time in particular Flynn has every reason to think that Lee has betrayed him and caused the death of some of his closest friends and family members yet he still takes her side without a second thought and walks away from everyone and everything he has ever known. I just couldn't understand why he would do that and it made me question his character. By the end of the book they had both grown on me and I was able to start rooting for them but I was never quite as invested in either of their characters as I was in Tarver and Lilac which is probably why their appearance was such a highlight for me.

While This Shattered World didn't quite manage to knock These Broken Stars off the series top spot it was still a fantastic read and I'm thoroughly enjoying this series. We've already met one of the main characters of the final book, Their Fractured Light, and I can tell you right now she's going to be fabulous. I have a feeling this trilogy is going to go out with a bang and I absolutely can't wait to see the downfall of LaRoux Industries!

Source: Received from Turnaround in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Hardback:

Review: This Night So Dark - Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Don’t miss the breathtaking short story that connects the first two novels in the Starbound trilogy, These Broken Stars and This Shattered World.

Tarver still has nightmares about the night, six months before the Icarus crash, when he rescued a group of civilian researchers being held hostage by brutal mercenaries. Now Tarver and Lilac must reconcile his memories of that fateful night with the truth that they uncovered on a mysterious planet after the Icarus crashed.

Includes three bonus preview chapters from This Shattered World! Download for free today for your e-reader or computer!

Starbound Trilogy:
These Broken Stars
This Night So Dark (Novella)
This Shattered World
Their Fractured Light

Visit Amie Kaufman's website, Meagan Spooner's website or the These Broken Stars website for more information

Review:
This Night So Dark is a free novella that can be downloaded from the These Broken Stars website here. I have to warn you that the story is shorter than it looks because nearly half of the ebook is taken up with sample chapters from both These Broken Stars and This Shattered World but although I would have liked it if the story was longer I can't really complain when the author's have offered this for free.

Although the main events in this story actually happened before events in These Broken Stars I wouldn't recommend reading this until after you've read the first book. People familiar with the first book will already know that Tarver is a war hero but we never really got much information about the mission that earned him that title. In This Night So Dark we find out what really happened in the form of flash backs as Tarver describes the event to Lilac after waking up from a nightmare.

I don't want to say too much about the plot but I will say it gives us some more insight into the kind of man Lilac's father is, it hints at the conspiracy that Tarver and Lilac have already started to uncover and I think it shows that there is even more going on under the surface that we don't know about yet. It was nice to see Tarver and Lilac together after their rescue but if I'm honest I really wanted a bit more information about what they're up to now. I was kind of disappointed when I found out that This Shattered World is about two different main characters because although I'm sure Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner will make me fall in love with them too I'm still going to miss Tarver and Lilac. Hopefully we'll still get a little information about them as the series continues, I have a feeling that Lilac is going to have a key role to play in stopping her father's plans so I'm confident we'll have to see more of her.

If you enjoyed These Broken Stars then you can't go wrong reading This Night So Dark, especially since it's free! It's always nice to be able to revisit characters and get more background information and this little novella achieves both of those goals and has left me eager to pick up the story in This Shattered World.

Source: Downloaded for free via the author's website HERE

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Review: These Broken Stars - Amie Kaufman & 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.

Starbound Trilogy:
These Broken Stars
This Night So Dark (Novella)
This Shattered World
Their Fractured Light

Visit Amie Kaufman's website, Meagan Spooner's website or the These Broken Stars website for more information

Review:
I'd heard great things about These Broken Stars but even though I had high hopes for the story I had no idea how much I would actually love it. As it turns out I was completely hooked from pretty much the first page and nothing could have got in the way and made me stop reading it! I was captured by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner's writing style, I wanted to dive into the world they have created and I fell head over heels for the main characters. This is the kind of book you want to live in, one you'd happily wipe from your memory banks just so you could experience reading it for the first time all over again and I can't wait to carry on reading the series.

Lilac is the daughter of the wealthiest man in the galaxy, she has lived a pampered life and been handed everything she could ever wish for. She is surrounded by people who adore her but she knows that most of them are only there because of her wealth and status so although she looks like she's living the dream she's actually rather lonely. As much as she loves her father she feels suffocated by him and she knows all too well what he will do in the name of protecting her and keeping her safe. Tarver is pretty much her opposite, born to a lower class family he is a soldier who has worked hard for everything he's ever had. As a war hero he now finds himself surrounded by the galaxy's elite travelling on the Icarus but he knows he is there more as an oddity to entertain them than because anyone really has any respect for him and he'd much rather be on the lower decks with his fellow soldiers. Lilac and Tarver aren't from the same social circles and there is no real reason for their paths to cross but fate throws them together when their ship crash lands on an unknown planet. Alone and in hostile conditions they are forced to work together to survive while they wait for rescue.

I don't want to say too much about what happens when they are on the planet but I loved every minute of it, they are fighting for survival while trying to figure out how the Icarus could crash the way it did but for every answer they find they end up with even more questions. Nothing makes sense and there is an even deeper mystery concerning the planet that they now find themselves stranded on. I think what I loved most about this book was the character development and the utterly delightful romance between Lilac and Tarver. I loved seeing their feelings slowly start to grow as they went from disdain for each other through reluctant respect and eventually into friendship and love.

Lilac can come across as quite cold and standoffish towards Tarver in the beginning which makes it really hard for him to get to know her but because we get to see things from both of their points of view readers can understand that she's doing it to protect him from her father. I liked the fact that even though she has been spoiled her whole life she isn't completely useless, she has some skills and even manages to save Tarver's life on more than one occasion. She never complains but instead grits her teeth and gets on with things. Tarver is much more experienced in survival matters but he doesn't pamper Lilac, he expects her to pull her weight but at the same time is happy to teach her what she needs to know. The two of them work really well together and I enjoyed spending time with them both.

These Broken Stars kept me on the edge of my seat, there was one particularly shocking twist that left me trying to pick my jaw off the floor and I'm still shocked by the way things played out but I love it when author's manage to pull on my heartstrings and that's exactly what happened here. I know it's only February but would be very surprised if this book isn't in my top 10 reads of 2015 and I absolutely can't wait to make a start on This Shattered World! If you love stories with rich world building and fantastic characters then you need to pick up this series today.

Source: Received from Turnaround in exchange for an honest review

Other Reviews:
If you have reviewed this book on your blog please leave a link to your review in the comments & I'll add the link here.

Hardback / Paperback: