These Broken Stars was one of my favorite books from last year. I was really looking forward to reading the next book in the series. While being different from the first book, the sequel does not disappoint. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

Description: 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. His sister died in the original uprising against the powerful corporate conglomerate that rules Avon with an iron fist. These corporations make their fortune by terraforming uninhabitable planets across the universe and recruiting colonists to make the 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 against the military occupying his home, 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 base together, caught between two sides in a senseless war.

Review: This Shattered World is the second book in the Starbound trilogy, however, it can be read even if you haven't read the first book in the series. This book focus on new characters and a new world. Unlike the space-opera romance in the first book, This Shattered World as the title implies is much darker, gritter, where the mystery takes center stage with hints of romance.
 Captain Jubilee Chase is the longest serving soldier on the partially terraformed planet of Avon, the only person who has proved immune to "The Fury," the mindless rage that strikes off-worlders who come to serve on Avon. Flynn Cormac is a member of the native Fianna rebels, who hopes that by kidnapping Chase, he can discover more about a mysterious facility hidden in the swamp to the east of the military's main outpost.
 Jubilee and Flynn are opposites of the war and see each other as the enemy, however, neither of them wants the shaky ceasefire between their sides to be over. At first Jubilee and Flynn can only see and focus on their differences, but as the two characters spend more time throughout the story they come to understand that they share many similarities particularly their tragic losses of their loved ones. As the characters spend more time with one another they develop a mutual respect that grows to something more-even as their alliance comes to be seen as a betrayal by both sides. They both uncover mysterious and conspiracies that have been plaguing Avon and quite possibly other planets in their galaxy. It was nice seeing Tarver Merendsen and Lilac LaRoux, the main leads in the first book make appearances and have a real purpose besides fanfare, tying the many unexplained events in this title to those in the first volume of the "Starbound" trilogy.
  There is plenty of action in This Shattered World and the mysteries that Jubilee and Flynn uncovered kept me turning the pages. I did, however, find the romance and the chemistry between these two characters are a bit underdeveloped and lacking. I find it a bit hard to believe that can find romance especially when their world is quite literally falling apart. Nonetheless This Shattered World is a very strong second book that can be enjoyed by young and adult readers. I look forward to seeing how every thing gets resolved in the next book of this series.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is strong war violence but most of it takes place off the page. There are some disturbing images and minor language. Recommended for strong Grade 7 readers and up.

If you like this book try: Across the Universe series by Beth Revis, Sky Chaser series by Amy Kathleen Ryan