Book Review: This Shattered World

This Shattered World (Starbound #2)

By: Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Published By: Disney-Hyperion

Publication Date: December 23, 2014

Page Count: 390

Buy it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or IndieBound

Source: ARC Kindly Provided by Publisher via NetGalley

Audience: Young Adult - Science Fiction

Review of Book #1: These Broken Stars

I loved the first novel in this series and I have been anxiously awaiting this one. I was slightly bummed when I realized this was not a direct continuation of Tarver and Lilac's story. While both of these beloved characters will make an appearance in this one, the story belongs to Lee and Flynn. While I did enjoy these characters and their story, I have to admit that I didn't love this one as much as the first one.

Jubilee Chase aka Lee is a fierce and intensely driven soldier. She follows orders and doesn't ask questions. A childhood tragedy has forced her to wear a thick shield around her emotions. Lee believes that she has no soul and that she is nothing more than a brutal warrior. There were moments when it felt like her humanity had been sheared away, but then she would have a vulnerable moment where her tough girl routine wore thin. I connected most with Lee in those moments when she allowed herself to feel something aside from the constant pain. She is one of those characters that is broken, but still manages to be strong in spite of her hardships. In many ways, Lee is inspirational. She does not accept defeat and tenacious isn't a strong enough descriptor for her.

The main male character in this one, Flynn Cormac, is the leader of a rebel group that lives in the swamp outside of the military base. He wants equality for his people, but when he starts to notice strange happenings, he decides its time to intervene more directly. Flynn sets out looking for answers and finds Lee. The relationship between these two begins on the tip of a bullet, but eventually finds common ground. I loved that Flynn was driven, but also sensitive. He cares deeply for his people and his home.

The action in this one was more like a slow burn. I felt like I was plodding through the beginning; I just couldn't seem to immerse myself in this world and these characters. Around the 50% mark, things picked up. I was expecting to be enamored with this tale from the opening chapters, but found this one required more persistence on my part. The pay off is worth it, but I did find that overall I think Lee and Chase's story is weaker than Lilac and Tarver's. Ultimately, the plot twists and the characters won me over. I'm looking forward to seeing how this trilogy will wrap up in the final novel.

One Last Gripe: The prose did not feel as vivid in this one as it did in the first novel.

My Favorite Thing About This Book: I liked that this followed the format of the first novel and included multiple narrators.

First Sentence: There's a guy staring at me from the other end of the bar.

Favorite Character: Flynn

Least Favorite Character: Lilac's Father

Summary:

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.