Another one I’m going to keep short so it doesn’t seem like I’m ripping the book.

I didn’t like it. The writing didn’t grab me at all, if anything I was kind of bored with it, it was just kind of basic. However my biggest issue is the characters. Flat, awful, boring.

Our main character never has to be likeable in the sense that they have to be the perfect person. And in the beginning of the book, even though I didn’t like the writing much, the main character was kind of interesting. A barmaid working to support her family, making barely enough money living in what was supposed to be temporary housing. It’s small, it’s cramped and she shares a bed with her sister.

Cut to news that the richest man in the galaxy has died and in his will, she’s supposed to marry his son if his son wants to get his inheritance. There were a lot of options for where this could have gone and it didn’t.

When she meets the man delivering the news we get told from her point of view how handsome he is and considering he’s clean and put together and she lives on a smoggy, broke, planet, yeah, that I get.

What I don’t get is why when she leaves and finally has some luxury to her life, her family isn’t even a distant memory, it’s like they never existed. And it’s like she forgot that the only reason she’s not struggling any longer is because an old man is trying to use her like an item for his son. Remember, she’s supposed to marry his son if he wants his inheritance. So her autonomy no longer exists in that arrangement.

Think she cared? I didn’t. She just wanted to fit in, prove she belonged and find some rich guy to marry so she could have that life of luxury without essentially being sold.

A different character entirely had to offer up “hey, why don’t you send money back to your family to help them?” And her response was like “oh yea, they’re broke, I could probably help.” It was atrocious.

The romance was just as bad as everything else, insta-love. Dickensian it is not and I can’t recommend this book to anyone because I’m not sure anyone would enjoy it. I’ve heard the author’s works before this are good so I might give those a chance at a later date.

I feel like it’s a one (1) star for me.

I received this eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

***Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.***

3 1/2 stars

The Stars Between Us had great potential. I loved the idea of multiple planets where some were wealthier and more desirable than others. It basically takes current world situations and amplifies them a bit to a larger scale. It was an intriguing idea for a storyline. Throw in the arranged marriage plot and I was totally all in for the ride then the story took a screeching halt sideways twist and completely changed the storyline in a way that I'm not sure improved it. That said, I stuck with it.

I do believe this was an inventive and original book that was different from anything I've read recently. Unfortunately, I like to connect with characters when I read and I did not find the main character Vika to be someone relatable. She didn't prove to be someone I could like. For the most part, she seemed to be a bit selfish early into the story. She does evolve some as it progresses, thankfully. But it takes a while and the author almost loses me in the process. In addition, she takes some other characters down the less than likable path as well. Overall, I just felt a little icky through a good deal of the book.

Everything kind of works itself in the end in a way. Yet, it still felt a bit stilted to me. The flow of things just never really clicked. It could have been me, I'm not quite sure. I just know that I wanted more from this book than I got and I really think the potential was there for it. That said, it was still a good read and I'm sure many will love it. I just found it to be okay.

AUDIOBOOK: I found the audiobook to be very well done. The narration was spot on and helped me to connect to the storyline. Truly, the fact that I split time between the ebook and audiobook probably helped my overall rating for the book itself because I liked the narration so much. 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read, listen and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

Cristin Terrill's The Stars Between Us is a Dickensian inspired world where secrets are currency and love is the most dangerous risk of all. This story is set on an impoverished planet where people must work hard to pay for the smallest things like food. There’s always been a mystery to Viktoria Hale’s life. Ever since she was a child, she’s had an unknown benefactor providing for her and her family, making sure that Vika and her sister Lavinia received the best education they could. Now, Vika longs for a bigger life than one as a poor barmaid on a struggling planet, but those dreams feel out of reach.

Until one day Vika learns that her benefactor was a billionaire magnate named Rigel Chapin who made a fortune off his hydro fission reactor invention. Chapin recently died and shockingly, Vika has been included in his will. As always, there's a huge catch. Vika must marry Leo Chapin or Leo gets nothing and the next person in line would inherit Chapin's money. Tragically, it appears as though Leo was the target of an assassination attempt by a group called Philomeni Liberation Front and thus Vika's world has been twisted in ways she never realized.

Because of Leo's death, Rigel's new hairs, Hal and Mira, offer Vika a chance to stay with them on Ploutus where she quickly forgets she has parents and a sister and decides to become someone above her station. Even though Leo's dying rings alarm bells and it soon appears as though someone is trying to kill off Rigel's would be heirs, Vika’s only focus is adapting to her new lifestyle as a member of high society. She's going to do everything to keep her wealth and powerful position even if it means marrying someone who doesn't actually love her.

Here is where we need to sneak Sky Foster into the story. Sky decides that he wants to investigate who Vika really is and why she's been chosen to marry Leo Chapin. The more we learn about Vika, the more you will realize that she was pretty much an experiment by a man who had too much money and wanted to find a way to control his own son. Sky, meanwhile, has some serious secrets of his own which leads to his own adventure, and a meeting with Ariel who may be his only friend in a world so dangerous, nobody is safe from being targeted for killing.

Sky figures the best way to get close to finding out what happened to Rigel and better understand Vika, is to work for Hal and Mira. It is fair to say I liked Sky more than I liked Vika. Vika burns every single bridge to her home, while Sky is trying to find a new life without all the bondage and expectations. Vika is no more of a leading character than a canary bird buzzing around not realizing what's right in front of her fact. While Vika ends up being a likable character, it takes a very long time.

This book is apparently a retelling of Dickinson's Our Mutual Friend which I have never read. Thanks to a few "connections," I've been told that this is a simplified version of the Dickens work, dropping most of the secondary plots. The story borrows much from the original work, including some direct quotes, character names, etc.

I received this arc from NetGalley. While I thought that a rags to riches set in space was an interesting premise, I did not connect with the main character, Victoria. Nor did I connect with the love interest, Sky. Sky was shy and intimidated by Victoria, and Victoria was extremely rude to him.

Victoria is described as coming from a poor upbringing, in this rags to riches story. Instead of her being humble and remembering where she came from.. she completely loses touch.. bosses ‘servants’ around and becomes shallow.

The way she treated others threw me off of this book. I also didn’t feel any chemistry between the main love interests.

I appreciate this author’s work. This particular book wasn’t for me.

An exciting premise filled with adventure and romance. I saw someone describe this as Bridgerton taking place in a utopia and that made me laugh. I though Vika was pretty unlikable to start out but I grew to care for her by the end. Because of this I struggled at the beginning a bit but I am very glad I stuck it out. I think the world-building was well done and I would definitely recommend this to sci-fi/romance fans.

This YA Sci-Fi title reminded me both of Bridgerton and The Inheritence Games. Talk about a random mish-mash! I loved it though and I know teens will also!

The Stars Between Us was an uneven read for me and fell just a little bit flat. For the vast majority of the book, I did not like the main character Vika who appeared completely shallow and two-dimensional. She is a poor worker who has the potential for great wealth when a billionaire states in his will that if she marries his son Leo, the two of them stand to inherit a vast fortune. Leo, however, supposedly dies in a space explosion before they meet. and new benefactors come into play. Cue the twists and turns. Not until at least 60% into the book did I feel any sort of connection or empathy for Vika. On the other hand, I did like Sky, he's such a sweetheart and a real counterpoint to Vika.

The mystery element of the book had potential, but could have been better executed. It seemed to take forever to get to a part where the plot moved forward. So much of the beginning was devoted to Vika acting like a shallow heiress, spending money like water, putting money over love and family, I nearly stopped reading. It wasn't until the mystery came to the forefront that I became engaged in the book.

I give the first half of the book 2 stars and the last half 4 stars. I'm glad I kept reading, but I nearly didn't.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Man, this was painful to get through. It took me almost two weeks to read and if it wasn't a Netgalley book I likely would have DNF'd it.

Anytime you write in a fantasy type world, world building, in my humble opinion, is important. There was very little world building here so I didn't care why one planet was so poor and another was so rich because by the time the weak explanation of it came I had already checked out.

An arranged marriage to fulfill an inheritance sounds like a great plot, but that plot was quickly kiboshed with the death of the heir. What I got instead was a strange couple showering a seemingly ungrateful girl with money and high society life. It was boring, there was very little dialogue, the love interests were one dimensional and flat and the heroine was just not likable. Sky had his tail so far between his legs and was just spineless. It was a sad neutering of a male character. It could have been redeemed with an adventure to catch a "killer/bomber" but the story couldn't stay on track with Vika's quest for money and Sky's sad pining always in the way.

Really enjoyable and compulsively readable! Vika can be a selfish brat at times, but it's easy to see how her circumstances pushed her to be that way. And to combine the Bridgerton-like hunt for a husband with a sci-fi setting is really clever. Definitely going to purchase this book for myself as soon as I can find a hardcover at my local bookstore.

I always fall for gorgeous covers. The Stars Between Us was no exception. The story itself is a pretty basic YA Science Fiction story. It reminded me of the Starbound trilogy by Amie Kaufman.

In my opinion, the biggest selling point for this book is that it fills what, I think, is a niche that has been only loosely trod up till this point. While the space-fantasy-different planet setting was not an enormous draw for me personally, you should definitely hand this book to any young reader interested in world building series. From the beginning of the story though, the plot and the characters really grabbed me. I also think there's a notable correlation to be observed between Vika's societies, and certain parts/flaws of our own current society. Interesting discussions could follow on allegories between the two worlds.

Thank you Netgalley for sending me an eARC of this book!

3.5/5 Stars

I have been reading a lot of heavy fantasy and this book came at the perfect time! It is such a quick and easy read, in which I devoured. It was fast paced and very easy to get a grip around on the setting and characters. I did find the main character Vika annoying, and I did not really enjoy her as a character. The side characters however I liked a lot more. I found the plot of the book a bit generic and I guessed the plot twists early on. Although it is still a quick and enjoyable read. I had fun jumping into this book. I suggest reading this book if you would like to read something like the Selection but if it was sci fi.

The Stars Between Us has amazing world building, characters you want to root for and root against, and a storyline less like every other book on the market. This is my first book by this author and I enjoyed it immensely. I look forward to reading more books by Cristin Terrill. I got this book as a NetGalley arc. I would have purchased it regardless as this is right in my wheelhouse. It was a nice break from the dark romances I've been reading.

I wanted to love this book. It had all the right elements. As promised the characters very much reminded me of Serpent and Dove, but unfortunately something fell a little short for me. I'm thinking it had nothing to do with the characters but I was just so confused about the world they lived in. I found for me I was so stuck on not understanding the world that it took away from the story. However I would say don't let discourage you. Check out if you'll like it especially if you liked Serpent and Dove!

Let me start by sharing Cristin Terrill's All Our Yesterdays is one of my absolute favorite books. So admittedly, I went into The Stars Between Us with some expectations. I thought what we saw of the world was really interesting as well as tackling power and money as a resource. Vika was a hard character to like for a lot of the book, even knowing her background, because she is incredibly selfish and shallow. The twists were enjoyable thought predictable for me personally.

While completely entertaining, and quick read there was just not the same magic that embedded a story into my heart and mind.

Thank you Netgally and the publisher for a chance to read this one early. Thoughts are all my own.

I really wanted to love this one because the premise was so interesting but the tempo and the characters just fell flat for me.

Vika is a young woman living on an economically disadvantaged planet when she learns that a billionaire has made marriage to her a condition of his will/his son's inheritance. Once she arrives on this new planet to see whats up she really turns into the absolute worst. Just a total rude bitch. Can't see how any man would be intrigued or impressed by her behavior. Instead of a headstrong, independent and ambitious young woman she just instantly becomes so self-absorbed and spoiled its hard to want to root for her later in the novel when pieces start coming together. If the theme of this is "money corrupts people" they really went for hitting you over the head with it.

There was a little bit of romance, a little bit of mystery, little bit of sci-fi in here --- but it ultimately felt like it was trying to do too much at once.

Vika Hale is a barmaid on a struggling planet with a mysterious benefactor that bankrolled her education. When Vika is named in his will, she’s whisked away to a new world as his heir's ward. It's a dream come true until the will’s heirs are targeted in a series of bombings. As much as Vika doesn't trust Sky, he can help her discover the bomber’s identity. But Sky is keeping a secret that could unravel everything.

Vika, like any teenager, wishes for more than what she has, especially since her regular life is full of struggle and hardship. Anyone would want to revel in parties and new friends, and turning her new social cachet into a marriage would mean giving her family money or sponsoring them to move to the richer planet. We learn Sky's secret long before she does, and we can see that there are larger issues at play because of the fortune at stake. The opportunity for them to get to know each other better reveals more depth to Vika, as well as letting her see more than a creepy guy staring at her a lot. We also see hints of other things going wrong, and not as expected along the way. Savvy readers can likely guess who the actual culprit is long before the final reveal, but not the why of it. That is revealed at the end of the book when it all comes down with a satisfying crash.

Both Vika and Sky are stubborn teens set on maintaining some power in lives where they feel ultimately powerless. Vika was bound by poverty and struggle, and Sky was bound by expectations he was unable to sidestep in any way other than becoming nearly invisible. It's difficult for him to make choices when under pressure, so he's caught up in the web that the billions had wrought for everyone. I do feel sorry for them and was glad to see that in their own ways, both were able to carve out a space to live where they felt comfortable with themselves and the futures they wanted to create.

While it was a very well-written book I had a hard time connecting with the main character. With that being said, I do think this book showed great examples of how having a multitude of money can impact the way people act. The ending was really fantastic in the way it was written as well as how it actually ended.

First off thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for giving me a digital arc of The Stars Between Us by Cristin Terrill

This book was such a ride for me. I constantly went back and forth on my feelings towards it, but never stopped reading haha I read this book so quickly. Because of the cover, I thought it was gonna be more sci-fi than it is and I'm here to tell you, do not get your hopes up as I did!! This is a romance that is set on another planet and that's pretty much it.

I loved Sky's character, I thought he was extremely sweet and charming.... and I thought Vika was extremely annoying. She is the poorest of poor and yet so so stuck up. I don't want to spoil anything, but I was not her biggest fan.

BUT I didn't hate this book. I was hooked from the start in the way one is hooked by a reality tv show. Was it great? no. Was I entertained? yes. If you are bored and need some romance with a little bit of a twist, then yes, I'd recommend this one, it just wasn't revolutionary.