This is kind of one of those books that I saw a while ago, was somewhat interested in, and marked as to-read. Despite the gorgeous cover, though, I mostly forgot about it because of all the other awesome books releasing this winter. However, as time passed, I saw about fifty billion reviews for it go up. I was almost annoyed by how every other blog post I read was a review for These Broken Stars. Most people adored it, though I did occasionally see some negative thoughts. The thing that really made me pick it up as soon as I did after its release was hearing how it was pitched: Titanic in space. Titanic is probably my favorite movie of all time, so even mentioning it in a book summary pretty much guarantees that I'll give it a shot eventually. Thankfully, this paid off because overall I enjoyed this quite a bit. I appreciate the fact that the two models on the cover look like how I pictured Tarver and Lilac. What I like even more is the green dress she's wearing - it comes back time after time, so seeing it is pretty cool. 
 I'm always a little wary of reading novels with dual perspectives, because I've come across way too many instances when the two people narrating sound exactly the same. It's annoying to constantly go back to see who's talking. I fully expected to have this problem with These Broken Stars, but surprisingly I did not. Each seemed to have a very distinctive voice and it was very refreshing to read. Though I loved the romantic aspect of this book, I also really liked Tarver and Lilac as individuals. They both had interesting back stories and were charming in their own ways. Of course, I didn't feel that way about Lilac right off the bat. In the beginning, she comes off as a spoiled brat. She's really mean to Tarver after he expresses interest in her (unaware of her social status), and even her internal explanation for doing it did not make me excuse her actions. So for at least the first three or four chapters, I strongly disliked her. 
 After a while, though, I had to admit that I enjoyed her sense of humor. Her inner monologue made me smile several times. Once she opens up a little more towards the end of the novel, she's a little easier to understand and I now love her as a heroine. She shows a lot of character growth and despite her luxurious upbringing, she wasn't too naive and thankfully not empty-headed. I especially enjoyed how she stood up to her father in the end. She also acts quite selflessly a few times, and I loved it. Although Lilac took a lot of time for me to warm up to, I got attached to Tarver in no time. His narration of the story was just super smooth. I expected him to be a little more stoic since he was this big war hero, but he was actually a lot more compassionate and human than I thought he would be. I preferred him this way. He was extremely loyal and very kind, but at the same time he knew how to take charge of a situation and get stuff done. Basically, the authors of These Broken Stars have created an extremely swoon-worthy male lead that will not be easily forgotten. 
 The actual crashing of the ship takes place pretty early on in the story. I figured it might take a little longer to build up to the action, but that was not the case. The reader already knows that Lilac and Tarver will be rescued because of the interrogation scenes that take place between each chapter. This bothered me at first because I felt like it would take away from the suspense, but honestly I kind of liked them after a while. Even though I was banking on a happy ending, I was still very interested in seeing how Lilac and Tarver would handle their situation. Reading about their interactions was great, because despite their strong dislike of each other Lilac knows that she won't live for very long on this strange planet without Tarver, and Tarver knows that he can't just abandon her. They were civil in the beginning, but working together was hard. At its core, These Broken Stars is really a survival story and the two main characters had more than their fair share of hardships to deal with, from figuring out what to eat to staying warm and dry in harsh weather conditions. 
 Of course, they later find that there's even more stuff to deal with when the "whispers" begin. Tarver simply believes that Lilac is going insane after she stars hearing voices and seeing things. I thought it was a strange addition to the story, and wondered if it was taking a paranormal turn rather than just staying a sci-fi book. I was a bit disgruntled by this sudden change in genre, but honestly I was very satisfied with how that situation worked out. Once it was explained, it felt true to the story and no longer weirdly out of place. Twists and turns came out of nowhere in These Broken Stars, making it unpredictable and so very enjoyable. The characters are definitely the best part, but there's also the gorgeous writing to consider. Descriptions and feelings were done beautifully, and I could really see the quiet, abandoned planet they found themselves on. There's no insta-love to be found here; rather, the romance develops at a gradual and believable pace. I was really rooting for Tarver and Lilac to kiss; they were really cute together. Overall, this was a fabulous book that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend and I'm very excited for the sequel, This Shattered World. 
 4.5 stars