Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, Macmillan Young Listeners, Wednesday Books, Christin Terrill, and Stephanie Willing (audio narrator) for the opportunity to read and listen to The Stars Between Us in exchange for an honest review.

This book was like a blend of These Broken Stars and Stat Wars. Vika works at a bar on a backwash planet. Despite her job, she and her sister have actually always been provided for by a mysterious benefactor.

Upon the explosion of a ship, holding among its passengers the rich Leo, a whodunit pursues with the explosion being a targeted act of murder. After the explosion, she learns her benefactor was among the victims and that she is listed among the will.

Following the bombing, a young man named Sky, who works for the rich family, seeks out Vika makes a place at her side. She neither likes nor trusts him, but she knows he might be the only one who can help find and stop the bomber before they get to her, as it appears anyone on the will is being targeted for assassination.

Through the ploys of an already ruthless girl and an unexpected ally, the duo will do whatever it takes to find and stop the culprit before more lives are destroyed. 

The audiobook is brilliantly put together. There is an excellent cast of characters, political intrigue, and an air of mystery when it comes to solving the crime. The space odyssey aspect adds to the world, and the romance and the secrets therein ultimately make for a gorgeous tale.

The Stars Between Us is a perfect stand-alone novel with just the right ending. The twists, turns, and secrets make for excellent plot twists, keeping the reader on their toes. Vika is a strong female protagonist who finds determination within her task and the various space settings make for an exciting adventure. An excellent science-fiction romance for a young adult audience.

This book was, to me, a perfect example of what I want to read. Author, if you're reading this, KEEP WRITING. This book is a mystery and a romance wrapped in a sci/fi Fantasy candy coated shell. This book made me want to find the author, shake them vigorously by the hand and beg them to write more books. Vika is a versatile and smart character with TONS of character development and the supporting characters were all believable and interesting. The settings were all well fleshed out and varied, the overall plot pulled me along at breakneck speed, I did not want to stop reading this book. I did not want this book to end at all, to be honest.

That being said I do have one complaint. Although I will give it 5 stars because overall the book was amazing and this is through no fault of the authors just my particular preference, I did not feel like the book wrapped up as much as I would have liked at the end. Now this may be because the author is priming for a sequel and if they are, I will absolutely read it. But it didn't seem like it was expressedly ending on a "there will be more later" note either. So. I don't know. But I do not regret reading it at all or being swept away by the characters and plot.

I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrator captured Vika perfectly, and was able to narrate the other characters well too, I was swept away and completely immersed in the story with them leading the way. I will absolutely choose books with this narrator in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an advanced review copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Note to the publisher: On chapter 9 the header is repeated twice.

The Stars Between Us by Cristin Terrill
4/5 Stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

•••Spoiler free review below•••

Cristin's debut novel, All Our Yesterdays (2013), remains one of my favorite standalones and favorite Dystopia books to this day so I was so excited to read something else by her!

The Stars Between Us is fast paced and enjoyable - a perfect blend of futuristic adventure and romance. It’s basically a cross between The Lunar Chronicles and The Inheritance Games, all wrapped up in an exciting stand alone. I did predict a few of the twists early on but that didn’t deter from any of my enjoyment while reading.

I didn’t really connect with Vika all that well but I did really enjoy the other main characters and how the whole story wrapped up in the end. I listened to the audio version and the narrator perfectly captured the characters’ tone, keeping me hooked from start to finish!

The Stars Between Us will be released August 2nd, and if it's not already on your tbr, it should be!
.
.
.
Special thanks to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for sharing an arc with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

**Thank you to the publisher and Netgallery for a free audio-arc for a honest review. All opinions are my own.**

With the spaceships, the world building, and the synopsis I honestly thought I would have loved this book, but the MC I wanted to throw off a fucking bridge. What a selfish, self-centered little child who once becomes "rich" because its owed to her, and she just disregards her family who is starving and suffering but she is trying to separate herself.

I was only able to listen to a couple hours of this audiobook without getting increasingly annoyed by this series.. I got 26% and based on other reviews I've read, it did not get better.

This book would be for you if you liked unlikable main characters, but not for me. So fucking annoying.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

I chose this to listen to while unable to sleep in the painful hours after getting lasik done, and I'm very glad I did! I enjoyed it quite a bit. The writing style was well done and the narrator was fantastic for it. The world building was pretty interesting, and for the most part I enjoyed the characters (although be prepared to be annoyed by the main character at times). I would definitely recommend!

3.5/5 stars

I am very begrudgingly boosting my review up to 4 stars for this rating, but its still very much 3.5 stars to me.

THE STARS BETWEEN US was a book of mixed emotions for me. On the one hand, I thought that the plot was really interesting, kind of like THE INHERITANCE GAMES mixed with Bridgerton (but very loosely). There's glamour, jaw-dropping twists, romance, betrayal and revolution all mixed up to bring you this book here. I think that Terrill's writing is pretty good, and she does a great job with characterization. I really loved Sky the most of all the characters. He was so sweet to Vika and so charming and I just was sold on him. We also have some wonderfully interesting side characters with Mira, Ariel, and Archer, in particular. I appreciated Terill highlighting the hypocrisy of the economic inequalities of Vika's world and how Vika's perspective on these things changes by the end of the book.

Here's the issue: I really struggled with the main character, Vika, for the majority of the novel. She starts out well enough, but once she gets a taste of the wealth that lifts her out of the impoverished life she came from she gets so freaking snobby and elitist, like she thinks she's better than everyone else once she makes it out of her tenements. I hated the way Vika treated her father and Sky and it really made me angry. I know that is part of the point of Vika and she does get more tolerable and has a little attitude adjustment once she realizes that being wealthy isn't all it is cracked up to be, but I had issues feeling anything but annoyance from her because of how she acted during most of the book. I felt that Sky deserved better from her, and eventually she does come around, but my view of this main character remained sour.

I almost rated this 3 stars but I liked the ending of the book and the plot twists in the last quarter of the book so I boosted it up to 4.

The Stars Between Us by Cristin Terill
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Stephanie Willing
Publication Date: August 2, 2022

Vika has been singled out her entire life by an unknown benefactor. It isn’t until the benefactor dies in mysterious circumstances that it is revealed he is a billionaire and Vika has been mentioned in the will. This could be life changing for Vika, but there is one catch, she has to marry the benefactor’s son.

The premise poses an interesting question albeit one people have been doing throughout human existence, would you marry for a better life? I’m not really sure why this needed to be set in space? If you swapped out the word “planet” for “country” and “transport” for ship it would have no effect on the actual plot of the novel. If I see a book that has the word star in the title, looks like that cover art, and mentions a “glittering new world” in the beginning of the synopsis then I come with a certain expectation that this will have elements of science fiction and it certainly does not.

It is mostly a teen melodrama prominently featuring a love triangle, which is fine except I really didn’t enjoy the main character. She was shallow and materialistic and was all too willing to leave her family behind and never give them a second thought. She spends a large portion of the middle of this book just living a lavish lifestyle and being well, a brat. The mystery doesn’t really start to pick-up speed until 80% in. So well I started out really engaged, I started to become bored for a prominent portion of the book, until it started to regain its purpose and momentum towards the ending.

As for the audiobook narrator, I found I had no issue when she spoke in the main character’s voice but when she took on other characters, I was listening to it on 2.5 speed and on my phone’s speaker and I had difficulty making out what the narrator said. I’m not sure if it was the attempt at the accent or the changing of tone that did it.

Thank you to MacMillian Audio for an advanced audio copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Vika Hale has lived a tough life on a planet destroyed by mining and limited resources, but as a child she did catch the eye of a wealthy benefactor who paid for her education. Now, she's 18 and that benefactor has died and put her in his will. The only catch, she has to marry his son.

This story took awhile to get going, but once it started progressing, I was invested in what would happen to Vika. She experiences a lot of growth, which felt realistic, even when she becomes spoiled and bratty for part of the book. In addition to a drawn out set-up, I also felt this novel closed a little too "happily ever after" for me. My biggest enjoyment out of science fiction is world-building, but this novel lacked a strong vision and I was sometimes confused about the way things worked.

The narrator did a good job of capturing Vika's voice. The planet where she grows up has an accent that was a little hard to get used to, but the performance worked in the span of the book. Overall, this was a fine listen, but I wasn't blown away.

I've been having a hard time with audiobooks lately and this one cured me of that! The narrator was wonderful and did such a great job bringing the book to audio.
It was a bit slow in the beginning, but picked up halfway through and the audio definitely helped me get through those slower bits. But I really enjoyed seeing Vika and Sky (and Amber, who is the best) grow and change through the book. This was my first book by Cristin Terrill but I will be reading others.

OK, so before I start... I went into this book pretty blind and I'm not sure if that helped or hurt my enjoyment lol What I thought was going to be more of a SciFi/romance (which it kinda is), turned out to be more of a mystery/suspense in space haha

What I enjoyed:
- the mystery and intrigue - I truly had no idea where the plot was going for a good chunk of this book (this would probs not have been the case had I really read the book description)!
- Sky(our hero!)

What I didn't like:
- really did not like our heroin (Vika) for most of this book - she just was such a brat at times, I couldn't take it.
- needed more world building to hook me into some of the sub plots that were going on
- Vika's mom/sister - it was not really described well why there was so much animosity between them all.

Vika works in a bar on a struggling planet and does her best to help her family make ends meet. She’s always felt that she’s destined for more, and one day finds out that she was included in a millionaire’s will with one caveat – she must marry his son. Vika struggles to find a balance between the desire for comfort and the desire for happiness, thinking that being rich may just be the key to happiness after all.

I never thought I would read a take on one of Charles Dickens’ works set in space – this was an interesting choice, and I think the author successfully executed it. However, the book blurb says this is Dickensian-inspired, but it should say that this is a retelling of Our Mutual Friend. If you’ve read this Dickens book, there aren’t many surprises for you with this work. This is definitely a simplified version of the Dickens work, dropping most of the secondary plots, but it borrows much from the original work, including some direct quotes, character names, etc. That being said, Our Mutual Friend is one of my favorite Dickens’ books, and I believe that Terrill did an excellent job at reimagining this story and making its plot accessible to Young Adult readers.

I’ve seen some comments where people disliked Vika because she was spoiled even into the second half of the work, but that’s the point of this character. Her character growth is slow but it’s there, and I think that it was handled well in this work. Her character isn’t likeable, but she is relatable, and I do love a flawed protagonist. The characters overall were well written while not being the most memorable, but it was still easy to become immersed in this story. The plot was fantastic because most of Dickens’ plots are.

The worldbuilding is what gave this work its uniqueness and made it distinct from the original work. I really enjoyed the vocabulary that the author used for the uneducated/poorer people’s vernacular – this breathed life into the characters and the setting. There wasn’t a lot of exploration of the greater planets and society, but that’s acceptable since this story focused on one girl’s life and she didn’t travel all that much. The inclusion of a rebellion was different from Dickens’ work, and I think that added new and interesting tension to the plot.

I enjoyed this audiobook (the narrator did an excellent job) and recommend it to fans of Our Mutual Friend, fans of Young Adult works, and people who like soft science fiction. Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with a review copy of this work, which will be published on August 2, 2022. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Vika Hale used to live a privileged life, until it all came crashing down. Since then, she's felt she deserved more from life. And a mysterious benefactor helping her family over the years did nothing to sway her sense of self-worth. But then the benefactor dies, and he leaves an unusual will- for his son to marry, he must marry Vika. Becoming accustomed to the glittering life of opulence and privilege, Vika is regularly annoyed by the presence of a man from her past who reminds of her daily of where she came from. Then it becomes apparent someone is after the heirs listed on the will, and Vika is the only one who sees the connection.

I won't lie, this was a very difficult book to get through. The world building was fabulous, the mystery engaging, and every side character was well constructed. But Vika was the literal worst. Even at 50% she was still a spoiled, self-entitled, rude menace that had such an over-inflated sense of self that she was insufferable. When other characters proclaimed themselves in love with her I could only ever pause reading out of confusion as I sat in my disbelief. She had done nothing to deserve her wealth, but constantly felt entitled to it, to the point that when another character implied she was sending money home to her still poor family (she wasn't) she berates him and acts even more high and mighty, thinking to herself that she deserves her riches, while they don't. It's maddening. I kept waiting for SOMETHING to trigger her change in character, but it never comes. All we have instead is forced proximity for two weeks that we aren't even shown. We see a small handful of scenes and then its magically two weeks later and I'm supposed to believe she's a vastly different person? A single lunch chat and she sees the worth of a character she's been berating and insulting the entire book? For no reason, I might add?

So many things, especially toward the end, were told to the reader that it made the last 15% or so really difficult. Once Vika, as a character, became bearable, it was like the story lost all value and needed to just end. I found the entire book tedious and frustrating, let alone disappointing. The mystery had me guessing until the reveal itself, but that was the only thing that kept me going.

Vika and her family have no money, and they've barely managed to make ends meet, but good news: Vika gets to marry a rich man. Oh no wait, bad news, he's dead. Bummer for her, but she still gets to go to this wealthy planet and live a lavish life somehow. But wait, Leo (her betrothed) is actually alive! And he returns home in a disguise because he needs to check this chick out for some reason.

The premise for The Stars Between Us isn't bad. It actually had the potential to be an interesting read. However, it lost me very early on. Vika swears she's not going to be greedy, selfish, and vapid, but that's exactly what she becomes. The author tries to tell us many times that it's all a ruse, but Vika continues to act like a deplorable human being. She even seems to conveniently forget that her family back on her home planet is barely scraping by. I mean, she IS too busy attending eight million parties. Leo isn't really a great character either as his entire motivation makes no sense, and all the other characters are unfortunately flat.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ALC. Stephanie Willing was a fine narrator, but I didn't find this book enjoyable at all.

Struggling to make ends meet and starving from hunger Vika suddenly discovers that she was names in her benefactors Will. But there’s a catch…

The Stars Between Us is a Sci-fi, murder mystery, enemies to lovers read.
I enjoyed the world building the author created and I was fascinated with PFL rebellion. I wanted to learn more about them! Money changes people and the author did a good job portraying this in several of the characters. I enjoyed many of the characters, mainly Sky and his trusted ally, Ariel. Ariel, is like the super cool little sister that you didn’t know you wanted. I love her!!

While Vika’s character may be off putting to some, I felt like her character has some redeeming qualities and you definitely see character growth.

The story wraps up nicely and no questions are left unanswered.
I definitely recommend this series. Just dive right on in and give it a try. Perfect for fans of YA books.

The narrator, Stephanie Willing did a wonderful job portraying all of the moving and main characters. She truly breathed life into the characters. I absolutely loved listening to every second of the book.

Special thanks to Macmillan Audio and Netgalley for the ALC.

I was conflicted about this book. There were parts of it that were really well done and felt like they were going somewhere, but then many of those same parts seemed to stall.

I understand where a lot of other readers were coming from when they complained about the main characters attitude. However I can also see that the way she came off is how the author intended her to come off.

While not my fave, I think it was a solid middle ground read for younger audiences.

Thank you to NetGalley and Cristin Terrill for the advanced copy for an honest review.

I've slowly started getting into the YA Fantasy side of reads. I do enjoy a good magical, whimsical book about magic powers and the like. But, unfortunately, this was a bit too paranormal/sci-fi for me. I couldn't get into it at all. I did like the narrator though!

This book is a good introduction to sci-fi. There were predictable plot twists, limited world building, and basic characters.

The premise of this book is really interesting, however, it could’ve done more and expanded the sci-fi aspects

ARC kindly provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Stars Between Us

I liked this! My problem with it though is that I found it very forgettable. Now I usually struggle with books and writing reviews as I get that complete blank on anything about it - but this time, I’m really just not sure. I had to go read the synopsis and even then I was confused.

The narrator did a good job portraying the feelings of the characters and brought about connection - but that’s all I have. The feelings I’m left with. This isn’t exactly a bad thing since they’re good feelings, I have a smile on my face and I definitely wanted to be listening to it.

I’m gonna give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️ for the feels - maybe I’ll try it again in the future!

Thanks NetGalley for the audio copy of this one!

It was a DNF for me, just not into it. I own the book so I may revisit it and read the ARC I won on goodreads, I wasn’t a fan of the narrator at all.