These Broken Stars

Set in the future in space. The main girl (Lilac) is 16-17 and the main guy (Tarver) is 18. They begin their time together as grudging companions, but through many near death experiences and close calls, their relashionship forms a bond that keeps them together!
These was the 1 bed trope, that starts only out of neccesity to not die of cold, but then they discover they like eachother more.

As time goes on, Lilac starts to hear strange voices and see things that Tarver cant. They first thought she was hallucinating, then they thought she was haunted, but now they know it's actually a life force on the planet that is trying to get their attention and help them.

SPOILER!!! Lilac does die when she is hit with shrapnel. Tarver buries her, but the next morning he finds her next to him. Neither fully know what happens, but they think the life force brought her back as a copy. I was a bit disturbed when I was reading at night.

Definetly a good read for those who think this description sounds cool! It was just not quite right for me.

More like a 3.7. It was going so good, but went downhill a little past halfway into it.

Haha, 2015 Emi is such a liar. Ignore everything she said above. She was fresh out of reading Harry Potter and so obviously her views of literature were scewed.

Luckily, we have 2018 Emi here and she is happy to tell you that These Broken Stars is amazing and cheesy and everything she loves in a book. And that ending is weird AF but A+++.

She just really loves this series, okay?

update:
2020 Emi here just dropping by to say that this book is even better than I remembered it being. 10/10. would recommend.

This was mind-numbing 😪 no conclusive plot and a lot of left and right. At least, I didn't end up hating the characters.

I think Amie Kaufman is slowly becoming one of my favorite writers. From Illuminae and Gemina to These Broken Stars, she (and Meagan Spooner) do a stellar job of creating characters and a story that follows teenagers in futuristic space settings. I loved the world building in this as well as the creepy element. I typically binge read books at night and while I don't think the goal was to scare readers, this definitely made me feel a sense of fear and anxiety with the whispers that our characters in this book experienced. I really hope this isn't the last readers will see of Tarver and Lilac and I'm definitely excited to read about two new main characters in book 2&3!

erről elfelejtettem írni, bár igazából csak annyit akartam, hogy retrospektíve kicsit csalódás, hogy az illuminae-ben pont ugyanezt a formátumot vették elő, de most már biztos vagyok benne, hogy az a regény tényleg kaufmantől lett jó és nem kristofftól. olyan hímsoviniszta vagyok, hogy egyből azt feltételeztem, a hapsinak ilyen jó a humora...

sok romantika, nagyon kevés tudományos-fantasztikum, de jól megírt történet. csak a folytatások ne lennének.

I read this book less than a week after finishing Kaufman and Jay Kristoff's amazing Illuminae, so it couldn't help but pale in comparison. These Broken Stars is a perfectly good YA sci-fi/romance that only hits its stride in the last hundred pages or so, when the bratty teenaged princess and the bossy teenage soldier encounter something outside of their realm of experience. I will probably read books #2 and #3 in this trilogy eventually but I'm in no hurry. But then, I'm not a 17 year old girl anymore either.

Romance-SF is not a sub-genre I gravitate toward (in fact, I find only five others in my GR book list), but I decided to read this one due to recommendations by folks I trust. Glad I did as I rather enjoyed [b:These Broken Stars 13138635 These Broken Stars (Starbound, #1) Amie Kaufman https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1383578978s/13138635.jpg 18315607].The basic story is one that most of us have read/watched versions of before – a rich girl gets stranded with an ordinary boy. In this case, she is richest girl in the galaxy and a starliner wreck strands her on a strange planet with a military boy. So ho-hum, right? But, in this case it was pretty well done with considerable originality.After the excitement of the starliner wreck the two have to survive a trip across country. This is where the story perhaps drags a bit. However, it does allow the characters to slowly get to know each other as they struggle to survive the dangers of the journey. They also gradually become aware that there is something strange about the planet. When they reach their destination, the story kicks into high gear and things get very curious indeed. Their very survival hangs on their decisions and actions. Also, there is a twist near the end that I totally didn't expect.Pretty good story in general.

This book was so cute and thrilling and wonderful and heartbreaking, all at the same time.

It started off a bit slow, not gonna lie, and the vast majority of the story takes place during a hike, but it didn't feel stagnant. The romance and the sci-fi aspects blended together very well and the last hundred pages, oh god... My heart could barely take it at 2am when I was reading. Can't wait to read the companion novel, which should is out very soon! This world feels like it's regressed back to the 40s but at the same time it's miles ahead of our current society. It's very interesting.

I really enjoyed this book. Tarver and Lilac are adorable together. I loved watching them grow as individuals and as a couple throughout the book. And that ending was crazy, I'm still not 100% sure I understand what exactly happened and how everything worked out. I'm also not sure the next book is going to explain everything since it is a companion novel, but I guess I'll have to wait and see.

Titanic on a Remote Unknown Planet. That could be a good subtitle. And please don't think I'm belittling it with this subtitle. I liked it every bit as much as I liked Titanic. Yes, I pretty much knew what was going to happen. (And, it turns out, I was right every time.) But it is a lovely little read.

I remember the first time I read These Broken Stars fondly. After reading, I had so many varying emotions pent up inside of me that I couldn't focus enough to write a review. The words just wouldn't come. What could I say to convey the way that this book made feel? So I let it sit, and then I forgot about it, and now I'm back to remedy that lapse. I chose the audio book this time around and I'm sincerely glad I did. By the time I reached the ending, I could imagine Lilac and Tarver no other way than how their narrators portrayed them. It was perfection.

As a reader who generally has no love for spoiled rich girls, I never expected to love Lilac as much as I did. I wasn't expecting her to be so damn easy to like. I loved her fire. Loved the way she held herself, even when there was no one around to look. Was so impressed by her overwhelming desire to make something better for herself. This girl isn't a spoiled princess. She's a warrior. Then there's Tarver. The handsome soldier, with a past filled with regret. He's as swoon-worthy as they get ladies and gentlemen. His whole persona screams charm, and you'd be hard pressed to ignore that. These two together were like fire and ice, and it was a beautiful thing to watch as they slowly came to understand one another.

That is, in fact, what made These Broken Stars such a stellar read for me. The vast majority of this book focuses on just one thing: Lilac and Tarver. While they navigate an unknown planet, and try to survive, the whole time it's just the two of them adapting to life as a team. I couldn't help but fall for their chemistry. There's no insta-love here. No simpering girls. Just a man, and a woman, who only have one another left. Lilac and Tarver aren't perfect, and their relationship takes work. That's my kind of romance.

Throw these characters into a gorgeous story, with twists and turns around every corner, and you have my heart. Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner have managed to take a romance story, blend it perfectly with science fiction, and then wrap it all up with a beautifully written bow. There was nothing I didn't love about this book. This was my second time experiencing These Broken Stars, and it still managed to surprise me. That, my friends, makes this a five star read for me.

So if you haven't already taken the time to give These Broken Stars a place on your reading list, I'd highly suggest that you do. I'm so looking forward to the next book in this series. I want all the Lilac and Tarver there is!

3 1/2 stars, easily.