This is not the type of book I would normally pick up, but I got it when I went to Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff’s Gemina book signing. 

I was a in a big mood for something sci-fi and this was one of the few things left on my bookshelf that was unread…a Titanic story in space, told from a dual point of view.

From the start I felt that the main characters, Tarver and Lilac, were kinda meh but a little interesting…interesting enough to keep me reading. I knew this book was roughly Titanic in space, but it turns out that the Titanic in space part is just the first four chapters. The rest of the novel is about these two kids trying to survive on a planet that they have never heard of.

A soldier and an heiress. 

The book was mostly Tarver making sure they both didn’t die (if we are being honest) because Lilac did not know much about the outdoors. 

Throughout the story we see their bond grow, it was a bit of a slow burn which was nice…even though at the start they both had a small crush on each other, that eventually turned to disgust.

The story’s plot focuses on Tarver and Lilac’s need to survive and get rescued, rather than them falling in love. You see Tarver put up with Lilac’s “I need to be stronger than you even though I am way out of my element” attitude. I would have personally left Lilac behind at some point but Tarver is a good person so there is that.

Alongside the main plot, there are the intriguing mysteries of the whispers and the lack of people on the planet. I think my favorite part of the plot was the mystery behind the whispers that Lilac kept hearing. 

Halfway through the book I saw myself growing attached to these two, and actually worrying for their wellbeing even though you know Tarver survives the planet (not a spoiler, it’s given away literally at the start of the book).

I enjoyed the book, but I do not think it pulled me in enough to justify reading the two sequels that come with it.

“And there it is, against all hope, like the sun peeking out from behind the clouds. The smallest hint of a smile.”