August Wrap Up 2015!

Hey everyone, I'm back to blogging again! Wooo! I said earlier in one of my posts that my A Court of Thorns and Roses review was coming well that is still true but I really am struggling to write a review (I really loved it!), also my Queen of Shadows review will be coming out soon. This will probably happen when I am stressing out over my assignment that is due this Friday, my prac exam next Tuesday and also my online test next week. Woo uni...

So this month I got to meet Cassandra Clare and Holly Black which you can read about right here. I talked about my top Aussie TBR which you can find here and I even wrote a review about Trouble from the Start which is found here! This month I have a lot of uni work to do and I am going to uni games but I think I might manage to do a couple of reviews and posts because there are some good books sitting on my TBR!

Also I made an instagram account for my blog... basically so I can do book tags and not piss off all my friends it is @myspinonbooks 

Review books:

• Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas
• Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer
• In The Skin of a Monster by Kathryn Barker

Thank you very much Bloomsbury AU, Penguin Teen Au and Allen & Unwin!

Event books:

• Lying Out Loud by Kody Keplinger
• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
• All I Know Now by Carrie Hope Fletcher
• Running Like China by Sophie Hardcastle
• This Raging Light by Estelle Laure
• Pompidou Posse by Sarah Lotz

Thank you very much Hachette AU for the Date A Book YA night!

Swapped books:

• Searching for Somebody by Jennifer Probst 
• Wallbanger by Alice Clayton
• Screwdrivered by Alice Clayton

Thank you very much to Jaz (@pixelski) and Jeann (@happyindulgence) for these books!

Bought books:

• The Queen of the Tearling and The Invasion of the Tearling by Erkia Johansen
• Mai Tai'd Up by Alice Clayton
• Wildlife by Fiona Wood
• Ophelia by Jackie French 
• The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black

So that is it for my wrap up! Make sure you comment below with what you got this month/week so I can check it out!

Keelyxx

Review Time #78

Mr Kiss and Tell by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham

The Neptune Grand has always been the seaside town’s ritziest hotel, despite the shady dealings and high-profile scandals that seem to follow its elite guests. When a woman claims that she was brutally assaulted in one of its rooms and left for dead by a staff member, the owners know that they have a potential powder keg on their hands. They turn to Veronica to disprove—or prove—the woman's story.

The case is a complicated mix of hard facts, mysterious occurrences, and uncooperative witnesses. The hotel refuses to turn over its reservation list and the victim won’t divulge who she was meeting that night. Add in the facts that the attack happened months ago, the victim’s memory is fuzzy, and there are holes in the hotel’s surveillance system, and Veronica has a convoluted mess on her hands. As she works to fill in the missing pieces, it becomes clear that someone is lying—but who? And why?

I'm back with another Veronica Mars review! Last time I hadn't watched the TV show and movie, but now that I have I am so addicted to the VMars world! 

Mr Kiss and Tell starts 6 months after the previous book ended. For those who have watched the Veronica Mars movie know why Eli is back in trouble wit the law, well we are finally get the outcome of that court case. There are two distinct story lines in this novel, the same why that Thomas did in the TV show. Eli and Kieth are working on discrediting the sheriff's department while Veronica is trying to find out who attacked Meg Manning's little sister Grace.

Grace Manning is a blast from the past for Veronica after everything that happened in high school with Meg and Duncan. Grace was attacked and left for dead, with no witness and only DNA evidence to figure out who did this to Grace, the sheriff's department aren't really interested in who did this to Grace. With Veronica on the case, she uncovers a secret which Grace doesn't want anyone to know. Veronica being Veronica keeps on digging until she finds more victims of the same attacker in different states.

Kieth, Cliff and Eli are working on Eli's civil case against the sheriff's department, trying to discredit them after what happened to both Kieth and Eli. This isn't the greatest time for the sheriff's department as it is an election year with another runner whom Kieth knew 35 years ago.

With both these cases going on Veronica has little time to spend with Logan, who has been back for 2 months now. After watching the TV show I was super glad for more Logan! Both having grown up since college, their relationship right now is a lot stronger. Mac! So glad that we got a lot of Mac, who had some family things come up again but none the less still awesome. Wallace I want you more than a chapter please!

Mr Kiss and Tell is a fantastic edition to the Veronica Mars franchise. Seeing how much Veronica has really grown since the TV show and how she still handles her cases in the same sort of way is great. The way that Thomas has taken Veronica Mars from the TV show to the movies and now the book series shows everyone how brilliant this franchise is. The mystery and characters who you love just draw you in for a ride that is Veronica Mars.

Thanks so much for Allen & Unwin for the review copy & the Veronica Mars addiction!

Rating: 4.5/5

Keely xx

Review Time #74

The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham
Ten years after graduating from high school in Neptune, California, Veronica Mars is back in the land of sun, sand, crime, and corruption. She's traded in her law degree for her old private investigating license, struggling to keep Mars Investigations afloat on the scant cash earned by catching cheating spouses until she can score her first big case.
Now it's spring break, and college students descend on Neptune, transforming the beaches and boardwalks into a frenzied, week-long rave. When a girl disappears from a party, Veronica is called in to investigate. But this is not a simple missing person's case. The house the girl vanished from belongs to a man with serious criminal ties, and soon Veronica is plunged into a dangerous underworld of drugs and organized crime. And when a major break in the investigation has a shocking connection to Veronica's past, the case hits closer to home than she ever imagined. 

To be honest I don't think I've ever watched more than half an episode of Veronica Mars, but then again the series ran when I was 9-11 so it wasn't really for me then. However, after reading this book I am going out to buy the series this weekend.

It is no secret that I love my mystery/thriller books, hence my love for The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting and The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, so Veronica Mars was defiantly for me. So this book is set 10 years after the TV show ended & the movie which was set a year or so before this book, so if your like me & have never seen these before it is okay! You just will slowly pick up on things about her dad, mum, Logan, Mac and Wallace.

It is spring break in Neptune and a college girl goes missing one night after a house party is the rich area of town, the Sheriff doesn't think that it is important, so Veronica is called up to try and find out what exactly happened to Hayley. With the help of her friends Mac and Wallace, Veronica is on the case. 

I found whilst reading that I loved the fact that all the focus was on the mystery and nothing really else expect for some family drama which occurs when a second girl, Aurora, goes missing at the same house. I enjoyed reading and following what Veronica was doing and how she went about finding who took Hayley and Aurora. Through out the book we had four suspects who could of been behind the kidnapping, which made it harder to figure out who done it. While Veronica does have a love interest, he is just in the air force and isn't around, so not much on that front.

The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line is a fantastic novel to kick off the new part of the Veronica Mars franchise. It is perfect for those who love mystery or are fans of Veronica Mars. Book two in the series Mr. Kiss and Tell is out February in Australia!

Thanks Allen and Unwin for the review copy!

Rating: 4/5

Keely xx

Review Time #71

This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

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.

The stunning second novel in the Starbound trilogy is an unforgettable story of love and forgiveness in a world torn apart by war. 

Stop right here if you haven't read These Broken Stars because there will be spoilers! 

Jubilee Chase and Flynn Cormac, a captain and a rebel, looking for a reason why Avon isn't terraforming. The military wants peace for everyone on Avon, while the rebels want access to the medical supplies, food and education. When Flynn kidnaps Lee, he doesn't realise the series of events that he sets off.

Trying to stay alive and getting away from the rebels shouldn't be a big deal for Lee since after all she is a captain in the military but when her and Flynn find something it changes the course of how they see Avon and those who run it. In These Broken Stars we find out what Lilac's father has been doing to these slow moving terraforming planets and what happened to Tarver, well it seems that these things are happening on Avon too.

The only choice that they have is to work together to stop Avon from a civil war and from being destroyed like the planet that Lilac and Tarver were on. Lee enlists the help of Tarver and Lilac to try and figure how to expose LaRoux to the world and what the whispers actually are. 

What I loved about This Shattered World was how Kaufman & Spooner manage to create such a different world and make it seem as though it is a real place. The way the Lee and Flynn were characterised makes you understand them and what they are really feeling about everything that has happened to them. 

The ending of This Shattered World makes you wish that you had the next and what I think is the final book in this trilogy! The These Broken Stars story and plot line follow through into This Shattered World allowing you to glimpse into the bigger picture of what is happening in this world that has been created.

Thanks to Allen & Unwin for this ARC!

Rating: 4.5/5

Keely xx 

September and October Wrap Up!

Hi everyone, I am here with my wrap up for the last two months which were extremely busy for me! I have finished another year of university and have moved back home for summer break. I am finally able to some what relax after these last two months which means more reading and blogging time. Today is also the day I get my uni marks back so *fingers crossed* I do well!

Bought:

• Head of the River by Pip Harry- Aussie YA *whoop whoop*
• Temptation by K.M Golland- Aussie Romance *whoop whoop
• Corruption by Jessica Shirvington- Aussie YA *whoop whoop*

Looks like I was really supporting Aussie books this month!

Borrowed from library:

• How they met by David Levithan
• The Sky is so Heavy by Claire Zorn- More Aussie YA 
• Cooper Bartholomew is Dead by Rebecca James- Also Aussie YA 

Review copies:

• Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
• All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
• The Year it all Ended by Kristy Murray
• Conjured by Sarah Durst 
• This is Your Afterlife by Vanessa Barneveld

Huge thanks to Penguin Teen Australia, Bloomsbury Australia and US, Allen and Unwin!

E-books:

• All Broke Down by Cora Cormack
• Until The End by Abbi Glines
• Fallen Fourth Down by Tijan
• Seaside Hearts by Melissa Foster
• Be My December by Rachel Brookes
• Satisfaction and Fulfilment by K.M Golland
• Make it Right by Megan Erickson
• Three and Out by Meghan Quinn
• Reluctantly Royal by Nichole Chase
• Missy's Moment and Breaking Travis by Jill Sanders
• Chasing Abby by Cassia Leo
• Hope Burns by Jaci Burton
• Tied by Emma Chase
• Saving Tatum by Michlea Smeltzer
• Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
• One More Chance by Abbi Glines 
• Scoring Wilder by R.S Grey

So what did you get this month?

Keely xx

Review Time #70

Sacrifice by Brigid Kemmerer

Earth. Fire. Air. Water.

One misstep and they lose it all. For the last time.

Michael Merrick understands pressure. He's the only parent his three brothers have had for years. His power to control Earth could kill someone if he miscalculates. Now an Elemental Guide has it in for his family, and he's all that stands in the way.

His girlfriend, Hannah, understands pressure too. She's got a child of her own, and a job as a firefighter that could put her life in danger at any moment.

But there are people who have had enough of Michael's defiance, his family's 'bad luck'. Before he knows it, Michael's enemies have turned into the Merricks' enemies, and they're armed for war.

They're not interested in surrender. But Michael isn't the white flag type anyway. Everything is set for the final showdown.

Four elements, one family. Will they hold together, or be torn apart?

What can I say, the elementals series is over and what an ending it has. I have loved the Merrick boys since Storm & Elemental came out and have continued to love the series. I remember when I stopped studying for my HSC to run out, buy and read Spark because I was so excited.

Sacrifice is Michael's full length novel after his novella which told the story of how this war all started out. After everything that happened at the end of Secret, Michael, the Merricks & Hunter are all prepared for war. Michael is full of pressure to protect his family, to keep his family together & to keep the women he loves away from everything that could hurt her.

Hannah, we finally get to learn more about her. We see how and why she became a firefighter, learn more about Jamie & how much of a bad relationship that she has with her father. I loved how Hannah really grew as a character in Sacrifice & became stronger & more independent. While yes, she isn't as kickass as some of the other female leads, her vulnerability made her character.

We meet a new firefighter Irish who I absolutely loved! He was a fantastic edition to the novel & helped out Hannah a lot when Michael was in some trouble. The Merrick boys, while we did get less of them this time around it was still great to read about them. Adam was fantastic he gave some good advice to Michael when he needed it. Tyler was actually good & helpful which was a great change after his previous actions. Hunter was well Hunter, he really became selfless throughout the book.

The ending. I did not see some of it coming. It was intense, crazy and worrying. I want to write more but  I just cannot say anything with spoiling it.

Sacrifice was a brilliant conclusion to the Elementals series. Kemmerer wrapped almost everything up to have a satisfying ending (and a chance for more books). Secret was still my favorite book of the series because Nick is mine (sorry Adam). 

Thanks Allen and Unwin for the review copy!

Rating: 4.5/5

Keely xx

Review Time #63

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

A beautiful and distinguished family. A private island.

A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.

A group of four friends - the Liars - whose friendship turns destructive.

A revolution. An accident. A secret.

Lies upon lies.

True love.

The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense that will leave you reeling.

Read it.

And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

I just finished We Were Liars and I don't even, can't even, understand what just happened, what to think. When you go into We Were Liars, go in knowing nothing about the book, it makes it so much better!

Part One: Welcome

"Welcome to the beautiful Sinclair family.
No one is a criminal.
No one is an addict
No one is a failure."

Summer 15 is when everything happened for Cady, Johnny, Gat and Mirren. Gran Tipper has past away before summer 15, grandad Harris is pitting his children against each other for part of his estate. Cady realised that her feelings for Gat is love but he has a girlfriend back in New York. The summer that Cady barely remembers and the summer of the accident.

Summer 16 Cady spends the summer in Europe with her dad. She emails Johnny and Mirren about her summer, but when they don't reply she wonders if her aunts tell them not to because of the migraines from the accident.

Part Two: Vermont

During the year Cady starts writing stories about her family and what happened in summer 15. She also starts giving away her possessions to others and talks her mum and dad out of taking her to Australia and New Zealand for the summer to go to Beachwood Island again.

Part Three: Summer Seventeen 

"I will see Gat soon.
Gat, my Gat, who is not my Gat."

Summer 17 Cady goes back to Beachwood Island, but things are different when she returns. Clairmont house has been completely rebuilt, Bess has moved with Taft, Liberty & Bonnie to Clairmont house with grandad and Mirren, Gat and Johnny are living in Cuddletown house by themselves. Everyone refuses to talk about what happened that summer two years ago to Cady, Grandad is suffering dementia, the aunts are drinking themselves drunk every night, night time walks and nightmares are taking control of the island and Cady has no idea what is going on.

Part Four: Look, a Fire

"I understand our story now."

The relationship between the four liars is strained this summer with Gat pushing Cady away but at times also pulling her towards him. Mirren is tired all the time and refuses to leave the house & Johnny is forgetting things. But then Cady's memories start to return and everything that she knows about the accident is all just a lie, because Cady wasn't ready for the truth then but now she is. 

Part Five: Truth

"My full name is Cadence Sinclair Eastman.
I suffer migraines. I do not suffer fools.
I like a twist of meaning.
I endure."

We Were Liars will leave you wondering what just happened, writing mottos on your hands and take you on a summer journey on what happened that summer 15. The story, writing and need to know what happened will drag you in the story and leaving you refusing that the last word is in fact the last word.

Thankyou Allen and Unwin Australia for the review copy!

Rating: 4.5/5

Keely xx

Ignite Me Review #55 + Giveaway!

Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi

With Omega Point destroyed, Juliette doesn’t know if the rebels are alive. But that won’t keep her from trying to take down The Reestablishment once and for all. Now she must rely on Warner, the handsome commander of Sector 45. The one person she never thought she could trust. He promises to help Juliette master her powers and save their dying world … but that’s not all he wants with her.

My reaction when I received this book: "Mum! Why didn't you tell me this arrived yesterday!?!" Yep Mum hid this from me for a full day...

Now the first chapter almost killed me, yepp... when you read it you will know why. Thanks a lot Warner. However in the start of Ignite Me was fantastic we get to see more of Warner and what he went through as a child, what he is going through and how he isn't what he appears. We finally, FINALLY get to see Juliette grow as a character and FINALLY stands up for herself which was great. 

Now the plan is the same as before: Kill Anderson and this time it is even more personal than before. We get our favourites back Warner, Kenji and Adam which is great and we get to see who these characters really are and have a lot things from the previous books are finally addressed. Now Kenji has always been my favourite I am forever Team Kenji even though I know that isn't going to happen! The chapters and conversations between Juliette and Kenji are some of my favourite in this book and every time Juliette was to Kenji "You need a girlfriend!" I was like this:

Now apart from Kenji, I've always been Team Warner. While I loved the scenes between Juliette & Kenji, I craved the scenes between Juliette and Warner. I absolutely loved them! Chapter 55 is now my favourite chapter of the whole series, it was perfect! Now Adam I wanted to murder you, you were such an arse! When you finally came to your senses you were alight but apart from that I didn't like you in the book.

Ignite Me was an explosive ending to the Juliette Chronicles while the ending seemed rushed & very quick I still loved the book as a whole answering all the questions that I wanted answered! If you haven't read this series I strongly suggest that you do!

Thanks to Allen & Unwin for the review copy!

Rating: 5/5

Now A&U have been super awesome and allowed me to run a giveaway so that one of you lucky Aussie readers can win a copy of Ignite Me!

Rules:
- Must be an Australian resident 
- Must be over 13 with Adult consent
- Must reply to the winner email in 48 Hours

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Keely x

Blog Tour: Secret by Brigid Kemmerer

EARTH. FIRE. AIR. WATER.

Nick Merrick is stretched to breaking point. He's trying to keep his grades sky-high or he won't get in to college. He's trying to keep his brother's business afloat or the Merricks will be out on the street. He's trying to keep the secret of where he's going in the evenings from his twin brother Gabriel - or he fears he'll lose his family. And he's trying to keep his mind off the hot, self-assured dancer who is his 'girlfriend's' partner.

And then Quinn takes to hanging around his sworn enemy, and an Elemental Guide is counting the hours until he can try again to kill the Merrick brothers. Storms are brewing. On all sides.

SECRETS IN THE WIND. DANGER IN THE AIR.

Brigid Kemmerer you have done it again, pulled me into a fantastic story, worry my heart out for Nick and made me want to hug him and not let him go. If you've read Breathless and I'm pretty sure you already have & it not Aussie's it is in the start the Australian version, you Nick is dealing with a lot.

Secret was a fantastic new addition to the elementals series, since Nick is my favourite of the Merrick Brothers and after reading Nicks novella Breathless I couldn’t wait to get my hands on his own book. We get the perspectives of Nick and Quinn and we follow them in two different journeys in Secret Quinn’s home life has gotten worse and without having Becca so much anymore she has nowhere to go and no one to talk to.  Nick is dealing with a lot his family, the guides, Quinn and now his sexuality this is bringing him to breaking point. Through Secret  we see that they are both dealing with a lot of things that don’t fully focus on the guides that are trying to kill them.

Nick doesn’t know what to, who to talk to, how his twin will react to the news, how Michael will react about him wanting to go to college and Nick failed a test, Nick who has never failed before failed a physics test. Nick is spending a lot of time helping out Michael way more than the other brothers on jobs & finances, he is worries about Quinn and now with Adam he doesn’t know who he is anymore. I really liked the character of Adam and how well he contemplated Nick together the characters lose control which makes Nick worried even more because he likes control. Adam just wants what is best for Nick and is supportive and helpful for him, which made me like Adam a whole lot more.

Quinn in the first three books has been my least favourite of characters but after Secret we get to see more of what Quinn is facing and why she has such a tough exterior because on the inside she is broken and scared. Since her and Becca had a falling out she has no one to turn to and with Nick spending time with Adam and helping his family, she has no one to turn to until she meets Tyler. Yes this is the Tyler who has had a vendetta on the Merrick Brothers who still blames Michael for the death of his sister when really if they hadn’t chased after she would more than likely still be alive. But Tyler is hiding a secret which is revealed at the end of Secret which makes you question a lot of things that seem to already have answers to.

Apart from Nick and Quinn and there love interests, Michael was the best supporting character by far. Once he learns about Nick being gay & how he is feeling about all the pressure that he has been facing which is great. This also got me 100x more excited to read Michael’s book Sacrifice especially with the ending. The ending is where we get the continuing plot of the guides that have been following the Merricks from day one and this time it is much worse than before.

Secret is for those of you who have loved following the journey of the Merrick boys and with the final book coming if you haven’t read this series start!

Thanks to Allen & Unwin for the review copy of Secret!

Rating: 5/5

Keely xx

Review Time #53

Almost Dead by Kaz Delaney

A glitzy whodunit set amongst the Gold Coast elite and a hilarious romance between Macey Pentecost, the privileged teenager with a social conscience who just happens to see ghosts, and the good-looking surf champion Finn.


Macey's life has been turned upside down. Her mother has left, her father is absent and her two best friends (her brother Seth and his girlfriend Willow) are MIA. On top of that Macey is being visited by ghosts who need her help to 'move on'. But as wild as all that sounds, it's all under Macey's control until a rakish, good-looking spirit called Nick turns up ... in her bedroom!

Nick's a spirit with spirit who insists he's not dead, he's astral travelling and has a message for Macey: someone is out to get her. Macey's biting wit has got her in trouble before, so she's not surprised but when the threatening notes start turning up, she's seriously shaken. Does someone want her dead?

It's all rather disturbing but she's finding it hard to focus on who could mean her harm with the annoyingly handsome surf god Finn turning up at the most inopportune times and a father with a rather large surprise of his own.

Is it a case of bad timing? Or are these things somehow connected? And if they are, what on earth should she wear when she's solving the mystery?

Almost Dead is the new YA book from Kaz Delaney it is also some what of a companion to her other YA book Dead, Actually with some of the characters re-appearing. We follow Macey who for the last month has been seeing spirits and this time this spirit is insisting that they are still alive.

Nick is the lead singer of the band Pashton that Macey slammed on her blog about the lyrics not being original etc. and now Nick is in a coma after a car accident and people are starting to blame Macey. Nick knows Macey is in trouble but doesn't know who is doing it and wants her to have help from Finn his cousin.

Macey really has a bad week this in this book, her mother leaves her father, she finds out that her dad has another family so she has a half-sister and someone is stalking her. With her best friend Willow and her brother together out of the country she has no one to turn to now that she knows about her father's other family.

Finn is a champion surfer laid back, portrayed as a beach bum but knows how to look after a girl. He helps Macey through everything that she is going through and also knowing that Nick is around makes him feel slightly better.

The girls at Macey's private school are your typical snobby rich kids and Macey doesn't trust any of them. Even when they start hanging around because of the stalker. The relationship in this book progress a lot between the girls and Macey, Macey and her sister and the destruction of the relationship between Macey and her father which eventually is back to normal mainly because Macey is quite stubborn. They all play an important part in the story as the book goes on.

The revelation of the stalker was quite a shock even when I already had guessed who one of them was. It is a great story keeps you guessing and it being set in Australia was another great perk! Almost Dead is a different YA paranormal romance set on the Gold Coast which sucks you in until you have finished the book completely!

Thanks to Allen and Unwin Australia for the review copy!
Rating: 4/5

Keely xx

Review Time #52

These Broken Stars 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.

After hearing lots of good things from this book, I decided to look past the fact that it sci-fi, which is a genre that I normally don't read too much because it doesn't appeal to me like other genres. However, I am glad I made the leap to read this book because it exceeded my expectations. 

Major Tarver Merendsen doesn't know what he expected from going to a party where he and his medals are only for show, for the media, however, a girl with red hair he can't take his eyes off intrigues him. Lilac LaRoux, daughter of the galaxy's most powerful man, Roderick LaRoux. She is always recognised and everybody always wants something from her, until Tarver who doesn't recognise her at first since he stopped paying any attention to the media.

When Icarus gets pulled out of hyperspace, Tarver and Lilac end up together in an escape pod trying to eject themselves from the spaceliner. Lilac has a past which isn't explored much at the start of the novel, all you see of Lilac in Tarver's POV is that she is a spoiled princess, daddys girl etc. expect that she knows her way when it comes to circuits & mechanical engineering.

Crash landing on a plant that neither of them has seen or heard of before, with no apparent lifeforms (i.e. people) around to tell them. Trying to stay alive they learn to trust each other and for Lilac, how to survive with only basic supplies from the emergency pod. As they head for where Icarus crash-landed to see if anyone survived or if they could get more supplies, we learn more about Tarver & Lilac as they bicker, argue and fight there way to the site.

Both characters change a lot through out their journey, while 100 pages is them walking/making it to the site it still provides a lot of information that about each of them. We learn about Tarver & his family and why it is important for him to return home. We also get to see more of Lilac's past about why she was so cool and distant towards Tarver when they first met. I loved how in between each chapter was a part of Tarver's debriefing from when he gets found, it never tells you anything about Lilac which makes you wonder what has happened on that plant. The twist at the end was surprising and it interesting to see something like that put into this world. The romance was great because it wasn't sudden or forced but natural which was refreshing from some previous books I've read recently. 

Overall, These Broken Stars was a great read and apart of a world that I will enjoy reading the companion novels that are apart of The Starbound Trilogy and to see the twist explored more throughout these novels! Highly recommend this to readers who are a fan of YA Sci-Fi and those who aren't because you might end up enjoying it like me!

Thanks to Allen and Unwin Australia for sending me a review copy!

Rating: 4/5

Keely xx