January Book Club Wrap-Up

This is our monthly wrap up for the previous month's book! We'll let you know what we thought about the story, characters and everything in between!

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 to 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 in this place 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.
The first in a sweeping science fiction trilogy, These Broken Stars is a timeless love story about hope and survival in the face of unthinkable odds.

 Our Thoughts on These Broken Stars

To be honest, when I first saw this book making its way across the blogging/booktube community I wasn't too enthusiastic about it. The cover was beautiful, yes, but the story wasn't one that captured my attention. Come the end of 2014 and my mind was completely changed. When I saw everyone getting ready for the sequel I couldn't get my hands on a copy fast enough. Also, people kept saying it was like the titanic in space...yes please.That's when I knew I had to make it the January book club pick.

The book is told from alternating points of view and also has little snippets of an interrogation that's happening in the future. I thought this was a fantastic way to tell this story. As readers, we really get the full story. The main characters were both very likable, but my favorite has to be the main guy, Tarver. He's so snarky in the interrogation chapters and that's when I really started to fall for him. He's no nonsense, all about protection when things get rough (he is in the army after all), but he also has this sweet side that shows through when you least expect it. There was a scene in this book that managed to shatter my heart, and that's when I realized how attached I had actually become to these characters. It was definitely a surprise to me.

These Broken Stars takes place on this planet where something is obviously wrong. I kept throwing out guesses about what I thought was going on and I kept being so wrong. The storyline was not what I was expecting at all. The story took some surprising turns, but they made the story unique and I really liked that.

My one problem with this book was that I couldn't seem to read this in one sitting. It took me more than half the month to finally get through this whole story. Not because I wasn't enjoying it, but I couldn't read more than a few pages in a sitting. I had to keep picking up other books in between. I don't know what this was about at all. It's a great novel and I've heard the second one is even better so I can't wait to read the short story and get my hands on a copy of This Shattered World.

                                                          

Rating:

★ ★ ★ ★/5

Jacquelyn's Thoughts:

Similar to Audris, when I first heard about this book I wasn't all that interested in it. Yes, I thought the cover was beautiful but I didn't think anything more of it. When Audris asked me if I wanted to read this for our book club I was a bit hesitant at first but I thought, sure. Let me get out of my comfort zone and start to read some science fiction. So I did. 

I enjoyed this book quite a bit but I had various problems with it. I loved the concept of the plot and found it to be very interesting. I liked the characters, especially Tarver! I thought he was really sweet but he also has this nice tough side. I thought the alternating point of views were interesting and very easy to decipher but I don't really think they were necessary. I am picky with my multiple point of view books and I think this book maybe could have been better if there were no more than one point of view.

Again, like Audris, I couldn't read much of this at a time. I am not really sure why but I thought it was a super slow read even though there was quite a bit of action. It took me longer than most books usually do. I just couldn't read much of it at once which made it difficult. Another issue I had with this book was my inability to picture things going on and the setting. I like to have a picture of the events going on in the story or the setting but I found it very difficult to do that with this book. It may have just been me but I had a very hard time picturing the planet. I don't know if I will be reading the sequel.. I have heard great things but I am not sure if it would be for me. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book but I had quite a few problems with it. I am very glad I read it though because I am now more interested in the science fiction genre! 

If you read These Broken Stars in January (or any other month) we would love to hear your thoughts on the story and characters. Let's have a discussion in the comments!