Review : This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : This Shattered World (Starbound #2)
Author : Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
Publication Date :  December 23rd 2014
Publisher : Disney Hyperion
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble

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.

Personal Thoughts 

While I enjoyed the highly popular, These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner, I lamented the lack of world building in it. This Shattered World, however, blew every expectation I had and was exactly what I was hoping the first book in the series would be. It is one of my favorite books of 2014 for sure.

In This Shattered World, we are introduced to two new main characters, Jubilee and Flynn. Both were completely outstanding and I connected with them immediately. Jubilee, especially, was a shining star. She was the perfect heroine for a book as plot-driven as This Shattered World. Kick-ass, brave and smart are words I would use to describe her. These were great characteristics, considering she was a soldier in the book. For me, however, her levelheadedness in every situation along with her loyalty was what I really enjoyed about her character. I loved how fierce she remained throughout every rough circumstance she faced. That doesn't mean she was cold though. While that might be the impression she gave everyone else around her, over the course of the book, Lee slowly opened up to readers and we began to see shades of her more emotional side. All around, I thought Jubilee was fantastic and she was undoubtedly a very memorable character for me. We also get Flynn's POV and he was also a delight. I loved how his personality contrasted with Jubilee's from the outside, but when you really dug deep into their characters, they both had many similarities, including their loyalty and their internal strength. Flynn was definitely a swoony boy who managed to steal my heart with just how genuine and heartwarming he was.

The plot in This Shattered World was insane ... insanely good! From the very start, the reader is propelled into the midst of action, beginning with Jubilee's kidnapping and this action-packed plot continued to only get more and more intense as the story progressed. I actually had to read the book in small doses because I was constantly on the edge and the authors were giving me so many "heart-attacks" with all their revelations that had my heart palpitating at a faster than normal rate! The world building too was top-notch. This time around we are on Avon, a planet filled with swamplands and in the process of still being terraformed. It's also a planet rife with war. Which brings me to my favorite part of This Shattered World. Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner did such a fantastic job at really portraying it. War is always grim and dark, and these authors really go deep into that in the book. This book wasn't all bleak though. The romance was there to balance out the darkness in the book. Flynn and Jubilee's romance was also all kinds of perfect. It was one that slowly grew from animosity to affection and the slow pace made it realistic and beautiful. Fans of the first book will also be pleased with the cameo from Tarver and Lilac.

This Shattered World was a hit for me, definitely a sequel superior to These Broken Stars. Let's hope that the last book in this trilogy will be just as amazing.

Rating

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 5/5
Writing : 5/5

**Overall Rating : 4.5/5**

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