Wednesday 27 May 2015

Mini-Review & Giveaway: This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

This Shattered World (Starbound #2) by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication date: December 23rd 2014
My rating:  DNF

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20957871-return-to-me
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.
 


My Very Brief Thoughts:
I enjoyed These Broken Stars, so I thought for sure I'd feel the same about This Shattered World. Not so.  Here’s a classic case of “It’s me, not you” mostly because a ton of readers have loved This Shattered World.  There are a couple of reasons why I had trouble with this story.  First, I’m not in the mood this typical antagonistic relationship where the main characters have a narrow and stubborn view of the other’s dilemma, and it takes a lot of the book for this to change.

Second, I didn’t like or connect with Jubilee.  I think her views were more extreme without trying to put herself into Flynn’s shoes.  If I kept reading would my opinion change?  Probably.  Maybe.  I'm just not sure I care enough to find out.  



 


These Broken Stars (Starbound, #1)  This Shattered World (Starbound, #2)

So my loss is your gain, because I'm giving away my ARC copies of These Broken Stars (book one) &  This Shattered World (book 2) by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner to one lucky winner.  The giveaway is open to US/CA residents only.  Simply fill out the rafflecopter for a chance to win. Good luck!

 
a Rafflecopter giveaway

32 comments:

Maja (The Nocturnal Library) said...

I just started this on audio so I can't really say if it will work for me or not, but now I'm very curious to see. I'm very picky with my romances too, and the enemies to lovers trope has been (ab)used so many times that I'm growing tired of it. But we'll see.

Emma said...

I can understand where you are coming from Rachel this was one series that I just couldn't seem to grasp or even finish. I didn't really bother with This Shattered World, I couldn't connect with the characters or the belief in the world building.

Samantha@WLABB said...

No. I rarely DNF, but it is hard. One of my last DNFs was a book by an author I really liked, but I just could not get into the story. Maybe it was bad timing, but after 25% read and still no interest, I DNFed

Anonymous said...

Aww, sorry this didn't work for you, Rachel. It happens and yes, Jubilee is a tough heroine for some people.

Ellie said...

Aw, sorry you couldn't finish! It always hurts when I have to DNF a book, usually they're ones that I was really looking forward to, and the hype just didn't match :<
Thank you for the giveaway!

Anonymous said...

Normally I don't like to not finish books, but I try to think of all the other books I could be reading and actually enjoying. If I read reviews and they say that the book gets better by the end, I'll usually stick it out.

Aimee (Aimee, Always) said...

I *think* the antagonistic relationship with the two main characters will work out better for me, but I'm not too sure right now. So sorry you didn't end up liking this at all, Rachel. :(

Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings said...

I am sorry you didn't like this one, Rachel. It took me awhile to connect with Jubliee as well, I think it was over half way through, but then it clicked in and I liked this one. Better like next time.

Piecraft Bucharest said...

I'm sorry this happened to you. There's definitely a right time in a reader's life for any book. I guess this just wasn't it for you now.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to hear the 2nd book didn't live up to your expectations. Hope your next read is a winner! xx

Carina Olsen said...

Such a stunning post Rachel. <3 But awww. I'm so sorry that you had to DNF this one :( I loved it oh so much. But I do understand you :\ So sad. But anyway. You are awesome :D Thank you for sharing your thoughts about it. <3

Beena said...

Aww, a DNF for this one? That's disappointing because I really liked the first book. The main characters do sound annoying though, I still have this book in my TBR. The covers are all so gorgeous though, hope your next book is a hit for you :) Thank you for the honest review <3 Benish | Feminist Reflections

Anonymous said...

Looks like this wasn't a good read for you! I haven't DNF'd many books—I can't. I find it really hard to stop in the middle of a story, so I keep on going until I finish the book. Hopefully I like it :)

Anonymous said...

- Parneet

Joy said...

Aw. So sorry you didn't quite enjoy this one, Rachel. I stumbled at first as well, but I ended up liking the books in the end.

aLilLacey said...

I can easily if the language ends up being foul in a book or serious inappropriate scenes.

Ksenia said...

Sorry to hear this book didn’t work for you, because I really liked it and looking forward to the next installment. But I can understand your points. I hope you will find amazing YA book for you soon.

Jules said...

Its sad to see that you didn't like the second book! :( I hate books that have crappy 2nd installments (2nd book syndrome) ugh. I hope the next book in the series would be good. Will you still read it if it is? :D

Jules said...

Back then its hard to DNF a book, but now I'm okay with it hahahaha (I feel so mean, I'm sorry)

brandileigh2003 said...

Ah, so hard when you can't connect with the characters

thegirlonfire75 said...

oh u didnt like the second book :s i heard that people like these series.. i think i always finish the book.. i read matched a long time ago and it was super boring and all but i still finished bc i thought maybe it will get better and bc if i didnt finish it i would feel kinda bad.. btw i thought this giveaway was international xD i live in canada,quebec can i still enter? i have these books on my tbr list

Rachel said...

I'm not sure if I'll pick up the 3rd book, Jules. I think I'd enjoy This Shattered World if I was in the mood for it, but I don't think I will be in the foreseeable future, and the same applies to the 3rd book.

I don't think it's mean to recognize when a book is not working for you and DNF it. We all have limited time available so why waste it on something you're not enjoying? :)

Rachel said...

I used to feel like I needed to trudge through to the end too, but I don't feel guilty for setting a book aside if it doesn't work for me anymore. There are more people who've enjoyed this book out there than didn't. The rating for it is pretty high on Goodreads, so there's a good chance you'll love this book, Adriana.

Yep, you can enter. The giveaway is open to US or Canadian residents. Good luck! :)

Elizabeth Chang said...

I never DNF a book, except for this one time, a long long time ago

Sayomay said...

Now a days yes! I used to not be able to but after reading some pretty crappy books i have no problem dnfing to start good one!
Mary Loki

Unknown said...

I'm sorry you had to DNF, Rachel! I totally understand what you mean though - I hate it when characters are unwilling to put themselves in other characters' shoes (this happened to me with The Witch Hunter, and it was one of the reasons I didn't like it).

Unknown said...

It used to be that I couldn't DNF a book even if it was really awful, so I ended up finishing terrible books (like the Petal Crimson and White, which was awful!)...now I learnt to stop reading if I don't like the book, but it's still very difficult!!
Carolina M on rafflecopter

Ari (Reading After Midnight) said...

I definitely don't like to leave some books unfinished, but my free time is so limited I just need to enjoy every bit I get. It's better to try a different book and enjoy it, rather than spending a lot of time not liking the story I read.

Anonymous said...

Ugh. Don't you just hate it when you like a first in series then don't end up finishing it because it takes a nose dive? Some how I start regretting the time spent with even the first book since I figure that my time would have been better spent on any other series in my massive TBR pile.

Sydney said...

It depends... If I bought the book, I'll DNF it, only if I really dislike it. Otherwise, I'll force myself to finish it. If I borrowed a book from the library, I'll DNF it in a heartbeat. I find it easy to DNF these books especially if the due date is looming closer, and I still have a giant pile of books to go through. However, if I get a book from someone else, I find it extremely difficult to DNF it, especially if I promised someone that I would read it. I feel too guilty if I don't finish a book that someone was thoughtful enough to give to me, so 99.99% of the time, I will finish the book. Overall, I find it really hard to DNF a book, especially when I think about all the hard work the author put in to write the book (unless it is obvious that they didn't put their heart into their work). I will, however, DNF a book if I really, really dislike it.

Geek Jello said...

It depends on how tough of a read it is. Sometimes a DNF from me is related to it just being boring and tedious, not because I'm particularly against the book. In those cases I will DNF it easily.

skyblue527 said...

I never find it easy not to finish a book, especially if it's by an author who I previously enjoyed.

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