Title: Their Fractured Light
Series: Book #3 in the Starbound trilogy
Authors: Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Publication Date: December 1, 2015
Genre: Young Adult – Sci-Fi, Romance
Pages: 425
Format: Purchased Hardcover

A year ago, Flynn Cormac and Jubilee Chase made the now infamous Avon Broadcast, calling on the galaxy to witness for their planet, and protect them from destruction. Some say Flynn’s a madman, others whisper about conspiracies. Nobody knows the truth. A year before that, Tarver Merendsen and Lilac LaRoux were rescued from a terrible shipwreck—now, they live a public life in front of the cameras, and a secret life away from the world’s gaze.

Now, in the center of the universe on the planet of Corinth, all four are about to collide with two new players, who will bring the fight against LaRoux Industries to a head. Gideon Marchant is an eighteen-year-old computer hacker—a whiz kid and an urban warrior. He’ll climb, abseil and worm his way past the best security measures to pull off onsite hacks that others don’t dare touch.

Sofia Quinn has a killer smile, and by the time you’re done noticing it, she’s got you offering up your wallet, your car, and anything else she desires. She holds LaRoux Industries responsible for the mysterious death of her father and is out for revenge at any cost.

When a LaRoux Industries security breach interrupts Gideon and Sofia’s separate attempts to infiltrate their headquarters, they’re forced to work together to escape. Each of them has their own reason for wanting to take down LaRoux Industries, and neither trusts the other. But working together might be the best chance they have to expose the secrets LRI is so desperate to hide.

As this is the third book, there will probably be spoilers.

This book made me feel all the feels, and I couldn’t have loved it more.

Now I knew that the plot was going to be building up to stopping LaRoux and whatever his plans were for the “whispers,” but what happened I wasn’t actually expecting, which I think was even better.

A lot of what happened in the previous books flashed back to me when I read this installment, particularly in the small sections between the chapters. Those parts are actually what hit me the hardest and the parts that were from the perspective of the whispers from before the first book until now. I think adding that aspect to the book really helped to shed a light on the whispers and how they think and what really happened to them. It’s hard not to feel something for them when reading those bits; I almost cried during a few just because it hit me right in the feels.

But the plot itself was engaging and I needed to know what was going to happen next. Every page and every chapter had me wanting more, and I personally think that’s a sign of an excellent story.

So let me talk about the characters now, because OMG the feels.

When we’re first introduced to Sophia, we know that she’s the con artist. She’s smart and thinks on her feet, able to read peoples’ body language to use to her advantage. I actually thought that was a great character trait and one that she constantly used to her advantage. She was always trying to weave her way through situations, using tactics and techniques she’d gathered over the year she had been on the run, working to manipulate others into what she wanted them to do.

But then she meets Gideon (who I’ll talk about in a minute) and though she tries her best to keep everything she can a secret, trying to hide who she really is from him, I think she realizes just how smart and aware Gideon is of those around him – even if he isn’t the best at reading people. I think her major character flaw is being so untrusting of not only others, but of herself, especially after the traumatic incidents that happened when she was on her home planet. She knows what it takes to survive, though, which is a great quality to have, and though she’s rough around the edges, she really came into her own around the end and listened to herself, first, before doing what others may have expected of her.

Now, Gideon is a sassy pants and I love him. I thought that his easy going attitude was charming and funny at the beginning, but he’s definitely a lot smarter than he initially lets on. Given he’s a hacker, I don’t doubt that intelligence. But he’s definitely a kind soul that cares deeply for others. He knows he can’t really trust everyone around him, but he lets Sophia in and does get burned a few times. Even though this happens, and he wars with himself on whether or not he can trust her, unlike Sophia, Gideon knows how to listen to himself and his heart, and his heart tells him he can trust her.

I love that about these two: they’re very opposite each other in certain aspects, but I think that’s really what makes them fit and mold together so nicely.

Gideon was also very quick with his actions, too, but in a different way to Sophia. Where she was quick on her feet with people, he was quick when it came to scenarios and being equipped with anything and everything he could need in any given situation. Most situations, anyway. He was always prepared in case of threat or emergency, and I think that worked really well given the situations in the story.

We also got to see Tarver, Lilac, Jubilee, and Flynn again, and my heart nearly exploded when everything was going down when they were introduced. It was so amazing to have them all together in one book, and I think that their stories and what happened to mesh them all together really made sense and worked well. There is more explanation that is possible as to why they were all there, but I don’t want to delve into too many spoilers here!

Just know that I love each and every single one of these characters and I wish there were more stories with them out there.

As for the romance, like the previous books, this romance was slow burning, building up gradually and naturally, and I think that’s what I love most about Kaufman’s and Spooner’s writing. Though there was initial attraction on the part of Gideon mostly, it wasn’t insta-love by any means. I think that also having those troubled flaws of back and forth unable to trust, but still trusting really showed just how raw these characters and the emotions could get.

This book didn’t disappoint. It was definitely more action packed than I think even the second book was, or right up that alley, and it was definitely full of twists and turns and surprises. It will make you feel pity, love, hope, frustration, shock, and more. It did for me, anyway.

Overall, I enjoyed this book immensely and I highly recommend it if you’ve read the first two novels.

If you couldn’t guess, I rated this book 5/5 stars.

As for the overall trilogy rating: 5/5 stars.

Accompanying video: Their Fractured Light Book Review