Book Review: This Shattered World + Giveaway

Hey all! I was lucky enough to be apart of this blog tour hosted by The Midnight Garden. Today I'm going to tell you how much I loved This Shattered World as well as give you the opportunity to win some pretty awesome prizes!

Title: This Shattered World (Starbound #2)
Authors: Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Expected Publication Date: December 23, 2014
Genres: Young Adult // Sci Fi // Romance
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher (Netgalley) // Blog Tour Host

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 (goodreads).

I don't think you're ready for this epicness. Nope. Nor are you ready for the badassness that is Jubilee.

Plot: This Shattered World is a beautiful tale of trust and going against orders to do what's right. It took me a while to become fully engaged in this one because there was a lot going on that I just couldn't get a handle on. Not to mention, there are these in-between chapter segments that made absolutely no sense until the last third of the novel and everything just clicked.

Characters: Lee and Flynn play for opposite sides but their compassion keeps bringing them back together. Seeing as they are apart of two groups that have sworn to kill the other, there are strong parallels to Romeo and Juliet...if Juliet weren't afraid to kick some ass, and Romeo was both sarcastic, sweet, and cunning. This Shattered World is told from alternative perspectives just like in These Broken Stars so we are really able to fully understand their attitude toward the other group and how their past influences their present choices.

Also. Tarver and Lilac make an appearance.

World Building: These Broken Stars only gave us a glimpse of the vastness of this galaxy (and the third installment promises even more new worlds). For the most part, This Shattered World takes place on the cloudy planet of Avon with glimpses of Lee's home planet. Both worlds are vividly portrayed with various eco-systems that help shape the personalities of the inhabitants. For example, Avon is covered in swamp lands and the inhabitants are viewed as backwater uncultured people by the rigid military personnel. My biggest criticism in most sci-fi novels is the world-building; sometimes there is not enough detail and other times there is too much detail regarding the advancements and my eyes glaze over; luckily Meagan and Amie got it just right.

Short N Sweet: This Shattered World was an excellent follow-up to These Broken Stars with more insight to the overall conflict. While its a strong novel on its own, it's difficult to not to compare it to its predecessor and let's face it, nothing can equal that amazingness of These Broken Stars.