Lately I've been in the mood for some soft & hard sci-fi space opera and since I absolutely loved Amie Kaufman's (& Jay Kristoff) Illuminae, I knew I had to read Kaufman's (& Megan Spooner) Starbound Trilogy too. These Broken Stars is the first book in the trilogy and although it was immensely enjoyable, so far Illuminae still holds the number one spot for me. 

The story starts out on board the Icarus, a luxury spaceliner built by LaRoux Industries. When it starts hurtling out of hyperspace, Lilac LaRoux, the rich and spoiled daughter of the LaRoux founder is thrown together with Major Tarver Merendsen, a decorated war hero from the wrong side of the universe. They are forced to survive together on a terraformed but deserted and strange planet that has something in store for them around every corner.

At the beginning Lilac is snobby and very irritating but as the story progressed she really developed some character and started growing on me. I enjoyed their harrowing trek across the planet as much as I did their time on the Icarus. I thought the love story was done well too. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I thought the whole thing with the whispers and the rift and Lilac's return went too far off the rails for my tastes. 

**SPOILER FREE**

This is the second book in the Starbound trilogy so I cant say much without spoilers. 

We follow two new star crossed lovers, Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac. Jubilee is captain of the forces sent to crush a rebellion on the plant Avon. Flynn is a rebel. 

Three different stories. One enemy. 

The one thing I really enjoyed was the relationship between Jubilee and Flynn. They didnt fall in love and become stupid and obsessed. They both knew that they would never be able to love each other on different sides of a war. I really enjoyed the lack of insta-love. 

I loved the writing and the mood the authors depicted. I though the world building was done well and there was enough background information from the first novel. I loved seeing the characters from the first book make an appearance here it was nice to see how they ended up. 

Overall, I did enjoy the first novel more than this one but I am interested enough to finish the trilogy. 

This story whose events take place before the plot of These Broken Stars, shines some light on why and how Tarver was considered a hero.
It was okay. The authors definitely know how to write, and I had some bits of Tarver and Lilac to keep me more invested in it. Thing is, besides that, I wasn't that interested in what was happening.

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This Shattered World is everything I wanted These Broken Stars to be – and more. In the places that These Broken Stars didn’t deliver enough for me, This Shattered World far exceeded any expectations. One of those super big positives was that This Shattered World is not about Lilac and Tarver, though I was curious to know what had happened to them, I couldn’t deal with Lilac’s voice again. In This Shattered World we are on the planet Avon where we meet Captain Jubilee Chase, an absolute badass soldier leading her men to maintain the peace on Avon, which is far behind the other planets in terraforming and is also home to The Fury, which sends people crazy. When she crosses paths with Flynn Cormac, the leader of the peaceful rebellion known as the Fianna, he kidnaps her to find out about a secret facility that seems to have appeared overnight. Neither of them could have known what this would lead to, but it is just the beginning of a sequence of events that’s about to change the world they live on.

This Shattered World is a fast paced adventure that never drags with an awesome heroine and a sweet male lead who are both fighting for what they believe is right, Flynn with peaceful rebellion, Lee trying to protect her soldiers from The Fury and defend their planet. They both believe in peace and equality on Avon but it takes a kidnapping and some strange bonding and quick banter to work that out. I really enjoyed Lee and Flynn’s back and forth and though they have very different personalities neither of them annoyed me (big plus!) but I was surprised that Lee allowed herself to be kidnapped in the first place. Other than that minor detail, I enjoyed the flow, the twists and turns, the character development. I also love that this book is not all about the romance but the rebellion and the weird stuff happening on Avon, which ties into the weird stuff that happened in These Broken Stars.

So, yes, that does mean we get cameos from Tarver and Lilac. It’s good to see how it all fits together and it makes me look forward to seeing how the mystery resolves in the third book of the trilogy, but it means we get Tarver and Lilac. At first we have Tarver and not Lilac, but then we make contact with Lilac as well. It wasn’t quite as bad as I thought and they did add to the story, I begrudgingly admit. But what really stands out is how old and mature they seem, all of them – they’re still just teenagers and yet Tarver is a decorated war hero, now retired, and Lee’s a captain? How quickly did they advance through the ranks, and why are they considered adults at sixteen? It doesn’t at all make sense to me especially as there was no explanation. Speaking of explanations, while the world building itself was good, why did people live in space? Did they always live in space? I wanna know!

Despite those slight little annoyances, I loved this instalment to The Starbound Trilogy. Even if you weren’t impressed by the first book, I think this one is far more enjoyable, with better characters and a stronger storyline while still building on the set up from the previous book. The mystery thickens and I am looking forward to book 3, only I think I’ll be upset when it’s all over!

This Night So Dark - Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner
Series: Starbound #1.5
Published by: Disney Hyperion, on 7 October 2014
Genres: Dystopian, Science Fiction
Pages: 109, Format: eBook
Source: Kindle Purchase

Don’t miss the breathtaking short story that connects the first two novels in the Starbound trilogy, These Broken Stars and This Shattered World.

Tarver still has nightmares about the night, six months before the Icarus crash, when he rescued a group of civilian researchers being held hostage by brutal mercenaries. Now Tarver and Lilac must reconcile his memories of that fateful night with the truth that they uncovered on a mysterious planet after the Icarus crashed.

This Night so Dark is the perfect novella to help fans stay patient while waiting for This Shattered World. There is more Tarver, a little Lilac, and a lot of intrigue and mystery.

My This Night so Dark review:

Showing both a little of what happened with Tarver and Lilac after the ending ofThese Broken Stars, and also some of the events that lead up to their meeting was good. Seeing the way Tarver had moved up in the military, and the way he treated the soldiers under him, as well as his quick wit and fast assessment of difficult and potentially dangerous situations made me love him even more. And the way his nightmares woke Lilac, and the questions she asked him because of them made her more endearing as well.

Most of the action in This Night so Dark happens six months before Icarus, and seeing who Tarver was before he was the decorated hero made me feel like I got to know him a lot better. Learning what was important to him, how strong he was, and how far he was willing to go for what he believed was right. Yeah, Tarver sure is a great protagonist, and I want much more stories about him.

Very well written, and even with such as short story, it was still character-driven and made me a very happy reader. First person POV present tense doesn’t always work for me, but it did here! If you can’t wait for This Shattered World, I promise This Night so Dark will help tide you over.

Some of my favorite This Night so Dark quotes:

Her hesitation spaks volumes. It’s one thing to think about violence or see it on the HV, and another entirely to commit it.

I’m praying my dark uniform and dark hair will hide us in the shadows, praying she falls silent before the speakers do, fighting the was my pulse wants to leap up ma throat, the pounding in my temples. There’s no what’s next, there’s only now, and this moment lasts forever.

He refuses to budge even when I shout at him to follow us. I can’t leave him behind. I have to leave him behind, or everyone else will die, too.