These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Megan Spooner

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Series: Starbound #1
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Publication Date: December 10th 2013
Source: Netgalley [Publisher]

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.

I have no words to describe how much I loved this book. I have to say, I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did. I knew I was going to enjoy it, but I didn't expect to fall head over heels for this book! There were just so many surprises and shocking twists that kept me hooked and I honestly couldn't put this book down. It's definitely one of my favourite books of the year.

These Broken Stars follows our characters Lila and Tarver who are on board the Icarus - which is a massive boat in space - when it's suddenly pulled out of hyperspace. Lilac and Tarver make it out alive (thanks to Lilac being awesome) and they crash land on a strange planet. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe and is determined that her father will come to save them. Tarver is a young war hero and is determined to get himself and Lilac to the Icarus wreckage site where he believes they'll have a higher chance of being rescued. But as they're making their journey across the planet, they're followed by chilling whispers, whispers that terrify them.

So lets start of with the characters. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. She acts spoiled and stuck up, but as the story progresses, you start to get glimpses of the real Lilac. Lilac has put up this front because of something awful that happened to someone she cared about and she blames herself for it. Lilac is actually a pretty awesome character. She knows her way around the mechanics of the spaceship and she saved her and Tarver's lives. She's tough and strong, she never complains and she managed to hike through a jungle in heels and a dress - she's pretty freaking amazing. 
And then we have Tarver. What's not to love about Tarver? He's a lovely, sweet and caring character. He pushes Lilac to help her survive, but he's always helping her even when she doesn't want help. Tarver was in the army, so he knows how to deal with survival situations. He can hunt, find food, make shelter and he's just amazing. Tarver has had a hard life as well and I really enjoyed learning about his past. He's so determined to get back to his family because they've been through a lot already. I just adored Tarver and his determination.

Of course there was some romance in this book. But, I have to say, Lilac and Tarver's relationship never felt rushed to me at all. Since things sort of started on the Icarus and they were stuck together on a deserted planet, it was obvious there was going to be some chemistry. But it never felt forced, it just felt so natural and I adored Tarver and Lilac's relationship.

The storyline of this book really wasn't what I was expecting. The crash landing of Lilac and Tarver's escape pod was thrilling, and after that the story just got so damn amazing. I loved discovering this new planet along with Tarver and Lilac and finding out more about it. As the story went on, things started to get creepy. There were voices whispering in the wind and creepy visions, which totally wasn't what I was expecting from this book. The whole reason behind this planet was pretty creepy and amazing, I loved seeing the discovery of it. I also really enjoyed that were got snippets of Tarver being questioned in the future, so I knew that they were going to get off the planet eventually, but it was just a question of how and when, and seeing all the events that led up to them getting off of the planet.

Then something happened about 75% in that I just wasn't prepared for and didn't see coming at all. I kind of went into shock and just sat and stared at my kindle. It was so unexpected and I just couldn't grasp what had happened. It ripped me in half. It was such a shocking twist, but it led to a pretty amazing and mind-blowing twist later on.

The ending was brilliant and I loved it. I was so proud of Lilac at the end. Her character had changed so much from the spoiled rich kid at the start of the book and she was finally fighting for what she wanted. Tarver and Lilac protected each other and I just love them so much.

Overall, this is one of the best books I've read this year. It was thrilling, exciting, full of mystery, suspense and a lot of amazing twists that kept me wanting more. These Broken Stars is a book I definitely recommend keeping an eye out for and I'll definitely be buying myself a copy when it's released.