Book Review: This Shattered World

Title: This Shattered World (Starbound Trilogy #1)

Author: Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

My Rating: 4.5 stars

The Starbound trilogy continues with this book and it does not disappoint! Bringing in new and old characters, the story of Flynn and Jubilee is engaging, interesting and complicated. What you discovered in These Broken Stars is built upon and it takes the series to a new level with warring cultures, a different planet and new rules. Read on for a review – slight spoilers ahead!

These Broken Stars review.

Goodreads. Book Depository.

Synopsis:

The second installment in the epic Starbound trilogy introduces a new pair of star-crossed lovers on two sides of a bloody war.

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. Terraforming corporations make their fortune by recruiting colonists to make the inhospitable planets livable, 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 in a bloody and unrelentingly war, 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 the rebel base together, caught between two sides of a senseless war.

My Thoughts:

This book is a really great follow up to These Broken Stars and I loved every moment of it! We follow the story of Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac, two people on a planet called Avon who are on opposite sides. Jubilee is an army captain sent to fight against the rebels and Flynn is the head of the rebellion, a role he doesn’t want to have. The two of them meet and it’s a wild ride from the beginning, with the politics of the army, the rebellion and whatever the otherworldly forces are that appear to be impacting their lives without them knowing it.

I love that the events of the Icarus crash and what was learned in TBS plays a big part of this story. I like that you’re looking at it from a new perspective, out of the eyes of Lee and Flynn and that it’s not all widely known. It adds intrigue into the story, especially as the reader learns about the background of the rebellion and everything that has lead to it. The issues of the rebels and the military as well as what is happening with La Roux industries are all new to the story and gives this great depth to the series. There are moments that are particularly heartbreaking and stressful which adds to the plot and keeps you on the edge of your seat while reading.

The two main characters are great and while I missed Tarver and Lilac (because let’s be honest they’re amazing!) Jubilee and Flynn really grabbed me from page one. I wanted to know why Lee was so harsh and learn more about the military captain with a past and I wanted to read more about Flynn, the rebel leader who wants peace in a world that demands war. The two completely opposite characters on page have so much great chemistry and while you know it is a love story, it’s not overwhelming and enjoyable to read. They bounce off each other a lot and snap with witty retorts and the tension is so palpable in their joint chapters. Their voices on page are so clear and obvious and I love that they are so unique and individual.

Seeing Tarver and Lilac again on page is fantastic and I was so excited. I would have liked to have seen them a bit more on page but they stole the show when they were. I particularly loved when Tarver is speaking to Lilac online and she doesn’t realise that Lee and Flynn are there – very funny! I think it was great to have that connection between Lee and Tarver and I loved seeing him get involved with the story.

The writing is great and so smooth considering there are two authors. I love that between each chapter you have a look into one of the characters backstory which as the book goes on makes more and more sense. Some parts are just so heartbreaking and makes it easy to forget that you are reading a fictional book because it feels so real. The writers have a great gift at making the book hard to put down as you just want to continue the story!

The final third of the book is fantastic and so full of intrigue, confusion and intensity. I love seeing the Whispers and learning more about what they are, their lives and the depth of what La Roux industries is up to. The book ends really well, with questions but also with some answers. It sets up what would be the final exploration without leaving too much in the air.

I really love this sci-fi adventure and think it is a great second book. Just writing about it now makes me want to read the book all over again and I think that is a sign of a great book!

Recommended for: YA lovers, science fiction readers, romantic adventurers. If you loved the first book I would recommend it!

Quotes (Spoiler Free):

“Letting yourself get hurt isn’t brave, love. Brave is protecting others from hurt.”

“It’s not that he’s choosing me, a girl he met less than a month ago–he’s choosing a world in which no one has to die.”

“I don’t have the luxury of dealing with his hormones- or mine, for that matter. What, did he think I was just going to melt into his arms? Start a tragic and dramatic tale of star-crossed lovers on a war-torn planet?”

---

Buy it here.

This was such a great continuation of this series and I loved every moment of it! If you haven’t read this story, go for it. It doesn’t disappoint.

If you’ve read it, let me know what you think in the comments!

xxMaddyxx