S: is for Stars! Review and Giveaway: These Broken Stars #AtoZChallenge

These Broken Stars is the first in the Starbound trilogy, written by author duo Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. I loved it so much I wanted to give away a copy.

Here’s how you can win your free ereader copy:

Post a comment below. Just like that. The giveaway begins today, Tuesday, April 22nd and closes 12pm EST on Sunday, April 27th. I will use a random number generator–the corresponding blog commenter will be the winner of the ereader copy. (If the email you use to comment is not how you want me to contact you, make sure you leave another way!)

Congrats to Dave Brunetti, our winner!

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.

 This book belongs on the NYT bestseller list. I shall picket until it gets there.

Where oh where to begin? You can really tell the authors did their research. There’s just enough science to keep you interested, but not enough to bore you. I loved reading about parts of the ship, how it and other parts of their world work.

The story alternates between Tarver and Lilic’s POV. Each voice is distinct and fits them perfectly. Liliac is the socialite with no survival skills who refuses to take off her high heels to march through the jungle. Tarver is the military guy with plans A, B, and C for everything.

I love their relationship. You can taste their beginning-of-the-book disdain, which slowly gives way to appreciate, to something more as they spend more and more time together in an emotionally-high place.

One reviewer summed this book up nicely: think Titanic meets Lost. The story would be engaging enough if it were a survival plot alone. As if wild cats, freezing then pouring weather, near-death experiences weren’t enough.

But it’s not.

Lilac begins to hear whispers. And then sees ghosts, who tell her things she has no business knowing. It’s enough to make anybody think she’s gone a little nutty with stress. But then they stumble across clues that point to the planet being part of something much darker.

Check out the website for These Broken Stars here.
Check out Amie Kaufman’s website here.
Like Amie Kaufman on Facebook here.
Follow @AmieKaufman on Twitter here.
Check out Meagan Spooner’s website here.
Like Meagan Spooner on Facebook here.
Follow @MeaganSpooner on Twitter here.