ARC Review: These Broken Stars (Starbound #1) by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

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.

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.

From Goodreads

Star-crossed doesn't even begin to encompass the magnitude of difference between Lilac & Tarver. These two are from whole different universes! Well, not really, but as far as their personalities and backgrounds go it's essentially true. The only child of multi-billionaire & industrial tycoon, Lilac has lived a life of privilege, that has come with a dear cost. Unable to actually become close with any guy, she has built up a wall of self-sufficiency and snobbery. But Tarver, the boy war hero, is rather impervious to her rebuffs.

When something goes horribly wrong mid-hyperspace, these two find themselves in an escape pod that crash lands on a mysterious planet. Soon enough these two find that while they were the sole survivors of the crash, they didn't take into account what already inhabited the planet. Only & hoping for rescue, these two must work together to ensure that they can be found when help finally arrives. If it ever does...

What an incredible story! I definitely came to this story with a pre-conceived idea of what I thought would happen and how the characters would behave. It pleases me to report that I was wrong on both accounts. I certainly did not see most of that coming at all. We don't really get a lot of back story on either of our protagonists & that suits me just fine. We get enough of the basics with out all the nagging, unnecessary details. I found it fitting that we knew as much about the characters as they knew about one another because it allowed for more freedom in the discovery of those details.

While it seems like an obvious straightforward tale of ship crash & survival until (presumed) rescue, the twist in this tale lies within the secrets of this planet. They crash on a terraformed planet that should be extremely colonized & well-established. All they are confronted with are monstrous creatures & an uneasy feeling that seems to get more severe the closer they get to the downed ship. The writing allows the reader to come to terms with what's happening and builds suspense as we move forward into the unknown with the characters.

My favorite part of this book is the fact that it could be a stand alone novel. I went in believing that it was a stand alone and was not disappointed. There were a few unanswered questions, but nothing that I couldn't accept if it were truly the end. Since it isn't the end, I am greatly looking forward to the next installment were we will presumably learn more about the protagonists' new lives & just what exactly happened on that planet.

Anyone else excited about these prospects?

Old Magic by Marianne Curley review

Jarrod Thornton is mesmerizing, but Kate Warren doesn't know why.

The moment the new guy walks into the room, Kate senses something strange and intense about him. Something supernatural. Her instincts are proven correct a few minutes later when, bullied by his classmates, Jarrod unknowingly conjures up a freak thunderstorm "inside" their classroom.

Jarrod doesn't believe in the paranormal. When Kate tries to convince him that he has extraordinary powers that need to be harnessed, he only puts up with her "hocus pocus" notions because he finds her captivating. However, the dangerous, uncontrolled strengthening of his gift finally convinces Jarrod that he must take Kate's theories seriously. Together, they embark on a remarkable journey -- one which will unravel the mystery that has haunted Jarrod's family for generations and pit the teens against immense forces in a battle to undo the past and reshape the future.

From Goodreads

I'm not going to bother with my own breakdown of the story because the summary does a fine enough job. That being said, this was not at all what I thought it was going to be when I first picked it up. I thought that Jarrod might be reluctant to believe his powers at first and eventually cave to Kate's help, although I wasn't really certain about an conflict to be resolved. 

Well only part of that thought process turned out to be true. Jarrod was extremely reluctant to deal with anything supernatural at all. He went so far as to hang out with the cool kids, while visiting Kate on the down-low. It was ridiculous. Not to mention the fact that he vehemently denies what is obvious and right in his face. The author doesn't let the reader get away with that either. Throughout the whole novel you can practically hear people saying "look at this, isn't this important?!"

Jarrod is completely unsympathetic and unrealistic. As previously stated, he denies what is obvious, until it's almost too late to do anything about it. He is spineless & two-faced. He claims he just wants to be accepted, but what he really wants to be is normal & popular. Not necessarily a bad thing, but when someone is offering to accept you for who you are, it's best not to ignore them and allow others to belittle them in front of you.

Kate is less infuriating, but still a bit on the predictable side. Having grown up with magic her whole life, she has absolutely no patience with Jarrod at all. Kate seems to possess almost no empathy for Jarrod at all when she is one of the best people to help him relate to being "different."

I think the worst part about this whole book are the dropped storylines. Kate's best friend disappears completely from the story, we never get any resolve or explanation about Kate's parentage, & the story ends so neatly that it's far from believable.

I understand that this is a fantasy book, but since it is based in the real world, some rules should still apply. I can't say too much without giving away the only amazing part of the book (hint, that journey that they mention is awesome!) but the reality of how that journey is resolved just didn't sit right with me.

Maybe I'm just being to picky and I think others really enjoyed it, but for me it was a dud. Have you read it? What did you think?

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

Gwyneth Sheperd's life has been quite ordinary & she's very thankful for that fact. In a family that passes a time-traveling gene through the women, Gwyneth has counted herself very fortunate to have been skipped & only have the misfortune of seeing ghosts & spirits. Her cousin Charlotte, the one whose birthday Sir Issac Newton himself predicted, has been the one preparing for her first time travel experience. She has taken fencing lessons, riding lessons, learned several languages & spent a great deal of time studying history so as to be prepared for any situation in which she might find herself. But it appears that even the great Sir Newton can be faulted.

It turns out that Gwyneth actually does have the gene & she is therefore extremely ill-prepared when she sudden finds herself in another time period. Now Gwyneth must accept her position in a very secretive society, known as the Guardians, where no one can be trusted & secrets lie around every corner. With a stead-fast side kick doing research on the side & a stunning male companion to help her through her elapses (when she actually does go back in time), Gwyneth is sure to sort things out. At least... she hopes.

Ruby Red was a different kind of time-travel tale. I really enjoyed the historical tidbits spread throughout the book including times, places & people that we rarely think about. Gwyneth is the perfect person for a narrator in this story because as she learns more, we learn more. You can actually put the puzzle together as the story moves forward. There are so many details that one can easily become lost in them, but the beauty is that not every single little thing is important. We experience the thrill of determining if a factoid is important or not with Gwyneth.

Even more fun than exploring these details with Gwyneth, is the descriptive language. I was enamored with the lavish descriptions Gier used for the different time periods, outfits & mannerisms. There are some historical actions/attitudes that cannot be adequately described with modern language. Gier does a wonderful job of choosing just the right verbs or phrases to convey whatever point she wants to get across to the reader.

I must admit that the book took a little while to get going for me & it seems to stop just as the action is picking up, but I think that may be due in part to the translation. There is a lot of backstory to be filled in & characters to be introduced, so the beginning felt a little sluggish, but it was worth it in the end. This book seems to suffer from "stick shift learner," there's some coughing & sputtering when you first start off, but by the end it's smooth sailing.

If you're in the mood for a newer take on a classic storyline, be sure to check out Ruby Red. Anyone else feel this was an awesome time-travel/adventure story?

ARC supplied by Henry Holt & Co. via Shelf Awareness