Let me start off by saying that These Broken Stars has one of the prettiest covers I've ever seen. That alone attracted me to this book at first. Then I read the synopsis and was intrigued even more. After reading it, I have to say I'm very pleased with this book as a whole. I really liked it. Sure, the pacing was a bit slow, but not in a boring way. I'd describe it as more of a steady read in fact. Kaufman and Spooner wrote a truly captivating and brilliant story with wonderful characters. I think they had just enough detail about this world without it being overkill, although it was a bit touch-and-go for a minute there in the beginning. Once you get through the first third or so of the book, and the characters make the way across this desolate planet, things get really interesting. Even though nothing much happens in the first part, the characters were enough to keep me going, and I'm glad I did. 
 I really loved Tarver. He's such a good guy and I loved being in his head. I really liked the Lilac and Tarver dynamic, they had some pretty funny scenes. Some trying scenes, that's for sure, but also some good ones. Lilac is definitely a hard character to like. She's a rich girl who lives under her father's rule, and it takes quite awhile before we get true glimpses of her character, in the end, I like where the authors went with her. I liked the build up to their romance, the steady attraction, turned dislike/hate, turned appreciation, turned love thing isn't something I see often, done well at least, and I think they did a great job with it. One scene in particular gutted me a little bit, I can't say anything more! 
 The world itself was pretty cool. It did, yet again, take quite awhile for things to unfold and I didn't get all of the scifi stuff that the authors were trying to convey, but I think it was a great start to an interesting series. I'd say this kind of book would appeal to readers of all types. Yes, it's more of a scifi read, but it's got a bit of the paranormal fantasy, a bit of dystopian and action, and a good chunk of romance. At times while reading this I didn't know what genre it fit into and I think that was part of its charm. I loved that about it.