This Shattered World (Starbound #2) by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner 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.
Source: I received a digital copy from NetGalley
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Review:
I absolutely loved This Shattered World. I loved it. It was a completely new setting and set of characters, but set in the same universe and timeline as These Broken Stars. I love when a series does that instead of ending things with cliffhangers and drama, so I was very satisfied when I finished These Broken Stars, yet filled with anticipation to start This Shattered World.
This Shattered World was almost a completely different kind of story. It lacked the elements that reminded me of classic romance that the first novel had and instead reminded me of military science fiction movies with strong female leaders. Because that’s what Jubilee Chase was. She was stone cold and calculated, determined to crush all signs of rebellion on the planet Avon. Flynn, a relatively peaceful member of the rebellion, did the only thing he could think of when Jubilee spotted him at the bar and kidnapped her. It went against everything he was typically about, but he was determined to figure out what was halting progress of terraforming Avon.
This Shattered World was different, but it still dealt with forbidden love, finding out secrets on a planet, survival, and dreams. It held many similar elements, yet unfolded in a different way than the first book. I enjoyed watching Jubilee and Flynn figure out they weren’t necessarily on different sides and come to a mutual understanding, while also trying to ignore whatever connection they felt they had to one another. Something terrible was happening on Avon that had nothing to do with soldiers or rebels, but the secrets disappeared into the swamp without a trace. Tarver and Lilac made a small appearance in the novel, as well as LeRoux Industries, which was nice.
The Starbound trilogy is brilliant. For once, I’m actually disappointed that the series will only be a trilogy. The second book was just different enough to make you wonder why it’s the same series, but the connections and parallels were there to bring it all together. I was honestly amazed at how well executed both books were and how they compare to one another. I can’t wait to read the next book! I can’t tell you how many times I just opened the book to “read for just a minute” only to realize I was sitting in a terrible uncomfortable position completely glued the book an hour later. I crave these kinds of stories, filled with intrigue, mystery, set in an otherworldly future in space or on new planets with just enough romance to give us hope in a disastrous situation. I highly recommend the book.
