Book Review: These Broken Stars - Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Title: These Broken Stars

Author: Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Synopsis from Goodreads:   

Luxury spaceliner Icarus suddenly plummets from hyperspace into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive -- alone. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a cynical war hero. Both journey across the eerie deserted terrain for help. Everything changes when they uncover the truth. 

The Starbound Trilogy: Three worlds. Three love stories. One enemy.

My Review:

These Broken Stars was a good adventure of twist and turns, a new planet, and budding love, and I look forward to reading the remainder of The Starbound Triliogy.  At the start of the book I almost felt like I was back on a cruise ship with all the different decks, entertainment options; but I felt the book really took off once Lilac and Tarver landed on the unknown planet.  As for the characters, I really enjoyed Lilac and Tarver’s relationship, it was fun at the beginning with each of them trying to display disinterest and indifference, and then growing into fondness with obvious attraction into something more.  In the end, I think the best aspects of this book was the world building and the story line/emotional roller coaster that the authors takes you on.

Rated:  PG 

Genre: Young Adult

Rating:  3.5 Stars - While I did love the world building, the travel time/time between action seemed kind of lengthy

Book Review: The Law of Moses - Amy Harmon

Title: The Law of Moses

Author: Amy Harmon

Synopsis from Goodreads:   

If I tell you right up front, right in the beginning that I lost him, it will be easier for you to bear. You will know it’s coming, and it will hurt. But you’ll be able to prepare.

Someone found him in a laundry basket at the Quick Wash, wrapped in a towel, a few hours old and close to death. They called him Baby Moses when they shared his story on the ten o’clock news – the little baby left in a basket at a dingy Laundromat, born to a crack addict and expected to have all sorts of problems. I imagined the crack baby, Moses, having a giant crack that ran down his body, like he’d been broken at birth. I knew that wasn’t what the term meant, but the image stuck in my mind. Maybe the fact that he was broken drew me to him from the start.

It all happened before I was born, and by the time I met Moses and my mom told me all about him, the story was old news and nobody wanted anything to do with him. People love babies, even sick babies. Even crack babies. But babies grow up to be kids, and kids grow up to be teenagers. Nobody wants a messed up teenager.

And Moses was messed up. Moses was a law unto himself. But he was also strange and exotic and beautiful. To be with him would change my life in ways I could never have imagined. Maybe I should have stayed away. Maybe I should have listened. My mother warned me. Even Moses warned me. But I didn’t stay away.

And so begins a story of pain and promise, of heartache and healing, of life and death. A story of before and after, of new beginnings and never-endings. But most of all...a love story. 

My Review:

I’m a fan of paranormal books, although I usually like to know when I’m reading one, The Law of Moses took me by surprise in that area, however the way that it is lightly paranormal mixed with real life written so well makes this book exceptionally awesome. Additionally Moses and Georgia's relationship unfolding scene by scene made this book very difficult to put down.  At first I thought the book was going to take the well worn story line of bad boy, trouble maker chasing after and ultimately winning over the nice, ‘perfect,’ innocent town girl; so I was happy when the story started down a different road all together and was filled with love, heartache,  mystery and suspense.  In this story it was Georgia doing all the initiating, making all the first moves and practically throwing herself at Moses, to which he eventually relents.  The “bad boy” persona of Moses is all drummed up gossip while he’s truly a stand-up guy who just wants to protect those people he actually cares for, and this makes him all the more appealing. Though, what I absolutely loved were the words forming the sentences making the book; this book was like reading one of the paintings Moses was plastering to the wall – very lyrical and colorful, one of those books that is very easy to picture in your imagination.

Rated:  Pg-13; some sensuality a bit of cussing I think…the rest of the book was so entrancing I can’t remember much cussing.  Any and all scenes of intimacy are spoken of emotionally rather than descriptions of the act.

Genre: New Adult 

Rating: 5 Stars - Beautifully Written