Tag Archives: Megan Spooner

Book Review: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman And Meagan Spooner

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Book: These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman And Meagan Spooner

Published December 2013 by Disney Hyperion|384 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the e-book from the library

Series: Starbound #1

Genre: YA Sci-Fi

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.

I feel like I’ve seen this cover a lot, and I randomly decided to read this book one day.  Because of the cover, which is really cool.  Also, I finished Hunted by Meagan Spooner recently, and I really liked it, so I wanted to check out some of her other books.  This seemed like a good choice, and it really was!

I liked it, and the planet they land on is really creepy and deserted.  I thought Lilac and Tarver were an interesting pairing, and while she was lucky to have crashed on a random planet with Tarver, he probably wished he was with someone else.  At least for a while, but Lilac does prove herself.  I found Lilac to be much more interesting than Tarver, and there were times where I wanted more of Lilac and less of Tarver.  He was a lot more bland than I would have liked.

Something I thought was interesting was how everything was wrapped up pretty well.  I mean, this is the first book in a trilogy, so it’s not the last we’ve heard of this world.  But it makes me wonder what’s going to happen in the next two books.  Part of me feels like their story is over, which makes me especially curious as to how their story will play out in the next book.  I was not expecting their story to be so resolved at the end of the book, I really wasn’t.  Maybe Tarver will be less bland in the books to come.

The planet they crash on is super-weird, and the fact that it was essentially abandoned was also weird.  I wanted to know more about why people were sent there, and what their life was like on that planet before things went bad.  Why would Lilac’s dad be involved with setting up on life on this planet?  So he could have more power and control? That seems likely, considering Lilac’s monologue at the end of the book, but I’m still curious about what’s really going on with him.  I have the feeling he’s up to something, and that something is not good.

4 stars.  I really liked These Broken Stars, and I think it’s a good read-alike for Across The Universe by Beth Revis.

Book Review: Hunted by Megan Spooner

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Book: Hunted by Megan Spooner

Published May 2017 by HarperTeen|374 pages

Where I Got It: I borrowed the hardcover from the library

Series: None

Genre: YA Fantasy/Fairy Tale Re-Telling

Beauty knows the Beast’s forest in her bones—and in her blood. Though she grew up with the city’s highest aristocrats, far from her father’s old lodge, she knows that the forest holds secrets and that her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering them. 

So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there’s no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas…or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman. But Yeva’s father’s misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance. 

Deaf to her sisters’ protests, Yeva hunts this strange Beast back into his own territory—a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of creatures that Yeva’s only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin or salvation. Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast?

I really liked Hunted!  I really do like reading re-tellings, especially when fairy tales are involved.  Hunted is a re-telling of Beauty And The Beast, and I could definitely see the connections to the Disney movie that we all know and love.  But a little darker, and with some Russian folklore thrown in.  I really liked the addition of the Firebird, and it actually fit really well with the story.  I also thought that having Beauty be blindfolded was interesting as well.  I’m not sure why, but it made the story more interesting.

I also liked seeing the interludes that are narrated by Beast.  Interludes are the best way to describe them because they’re not really chapters.  But I really liked it because you get a lot of insight into who Beast is, and what he’s thinking.  You also get an idea of what happened, though not completely.

There’s something about this book that is cold and icy.  Which really fits the Russian feel of the book.  The snow and cold, and it’s rural and medieval Russia, and it just fits with everything going on.  It definitely feels more Russian than European, which was actually really nice, because it’s different than most re-tellings.  If you want a Russian twist on Beauty And The Beast, this is the book to read.  Actually, if you like Beauty And The Beast, this is a book I would recommend.

There is something about this book that is very haunting and restless, and Yeva definitely has a sense of wanderlust.  She definitely seemed happier when she was able to go between the cabin, her sister’s home, and the castle.  She and Beast seemed to fit well together, because they both seem restless and yearn for something more than what they have.  There’s definitely an…understanding…between them, and I actually really like that they aren’t in a rush to get married.  It would have been easier to have them get married in the end, but they don’t, and that was really refreshing to see.  Especially given it’s rural, medieval Russia.  I may be making assumptions here, but it seems like it would be the thing to do for that period and time period.

4 stars.  I didn’t completely love it, but I did really like it.  If you like fairy tales, Beauty And The Beast, and medieval Russia, this is the book for you!