This Shattered World is the follow up to These Broken Stars which saw Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen become stranded on an island and dealing with some strage sentient beings they called the Whispers. In its sequel, Jubilee 'Lee' Chase and Flynn Cormac live on the planet of Avon but come from different worlds. Jubilee is a ruthless soldier and Flynn a native 'rebel' but when Flynn ends up accidentally kidnapping Jubilee, they stumble across something bigger than them that could change Avon forever.

I loved, loved, loved this. I really enjoyed These Broken Stars and still remember my reaction to that crazy twist ending so I couldn't wait to see what this book brought. This book follows two new characters on a completely different planet but there are subtle links to its prequel. Immediately, I couldn't help but love this book because of its Irish connections. All the natives of the colonised planets and therefore the 'rebels' or the 'Finian' are of Irish descent which meant a whole load of beautiful Irish names, Irish language and shared Irish myths and legends (Niamh, Oisin and Tir Na nOg) that I would have grown up reading and hearing about. But what is great about the Irishness of the book is how Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner managed to weave a connection between the natives of Avon and how they were taken over by the army and denied freedom, schooling, healthcare and deemed terrorists and Ireland's own battle for freedom against the British for...oh just 800 years or so. It was done so well that I'm not sure if anyone non-Irish would pick up on it, but I loved seeing those similarities.

The story itself is great and was really fast-paced. I really warmed to both Jubilee and Flynn straightaway and if there's anything Kaufman and Spooner are great at doing, it's some amazing couples. Just like Lilac and Tarver, Jubilee and Flynn had the air cracking with chemistry all the time. There were some really beautiful quotes in this book too, which I will leave down here:

"He can't take his eyes off the stars, but I can't take mine off his face. I can see the stars reflected in his eyes, can see the wonder of it in the way his mouth open but no sound comes out. His eyes, his face - they're beautiful."

"He could tell me he loved me, but he doesn't know me the way a lover would; he knows the shape of me, though, the curve of my heart, as I know his. He could tell me he doesn't want to lose me, but we're both already lost, and only the tether between us keeps us from drifting out into the black."

"'There are other things this universe had to offer,' says the creature. 'Light. Life. Touch. Sensation. The way you are all made of the same pieces, the same fragments of stardust, and yet you are all so different, all so alone.'"

The ending of the book was really satisfactory and I came out on a high. Absolutely loved every moment of this book and can't wait to read the final book in the trilogy.