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 into 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 here 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.

A timeless love story, THESE BROKEN STARS sets into motion a sweeping science fiction series of companion novels. The Starbound Trilogy: Three worlds. Three love stories. One enemy.
-----------------Goodreads summary

Notable quote

"If it's true, then we know we're not mad," I say, keeping my eyes on the sky.

"And if it's true, we know we're not alone." He, however, sounds more troubled than relieved.

If Titanic and Across the Universe decided to have an interdimensional Under the Never Sky baby, These Broken Stars would be it. And trust me: it. Is. AWESOME. I went into this book expecting to be blown away. I’ve heard about this book since last year, the cover has long been coveted, we all know about it. So safe to say: expectation. To the max.

I’ve been trying to write what I thought was the best part, and I keep deleting to put in something else. Which leads me to: everything is the best part. I loved the set-up of the disaster, the exploration and adventure Tarver and Lilac are forced to go through as they explore this planet, the tension and action so perfectly weaved together into a brilliant tale of hopelessness, even the scary parts made me love it!

There is definitely a creep factor here guys, and I have to admit how surprised I was by it! Just reading the summary, you know there are voices. But how they’re presented, how they slowly build into something – it is so fantastically terrifying and oh my god I would go batshit nuts if I were hearing and seeing the things Lilac was.

Perhaps the best part is that even though this book focuses almost entirely on a romance and relationship, it barely feels like it at all. Not that I’m opposed to relationships, we all know I’m a huge romance/contemporary relationship kinda gal. Give me that any day. But how the relationship built up, how they slowly started to mean something to each other, how it all comes together and gets fiercely tested and ripped apart time after time…it’s interesting and crazy and heartstopping, and it really makes the relationship feel secondary. And somehow, it still manages to maintain sweetness and sentimentality! Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner are phenomenal masters.

We all know how much I love a dual narrative. And this one is amongst the best – you get first person narratives from both Tarver and Lilac. You get to really feel who they are, understand what they’re becoming, sense what they’ve been. You get to see some situations from both points of view, which gives a great roundness to scenes and settings. Both are perfectly crafted, and I love both for very distinct reasons.

Of course I love Tarver though. Military man? Check. Real? Check. Strong? Check. Considerate, can-do, get’s-his-shit-done? Check check, more check. Poet? OH. YOU. KNOW. IT. It sounds crazy, but it all wraps up into one character so perfectly and trust me when I say you will swoon like it’s nobody’s business when he worms his way into your heart.

These Broken Stars yanks at every string I ever had in my heart, and made me discover more. It’s crazy how it made me feel so attached and in love and hopeless and lost with them, and I haven’t even begun to describe it all. Read this, guys. It’s your new favorite.

5 stars