Pitched as “Bridgerton meets Illuminae”, The Stars Between Us follows Viktoria Hale, a poor barmaid on an impoverished planet. After learning she’s been included in the will of a mysterious benefactor, Vika is ushered into a glittering world of wealth and lavish parties. But not everything is as it seems, and Vika soon learns someone may be targeting the heirs to the fortune. With the help of Sky Foster, a young man who works for her new benefactors, Vika must discover who is behind the plot before it’s too late.

While I wouldn’t quite say this fits the Bridgerton or Illuminae comps, I do think this is a decent YA sci-fi novel. The plot is engaging and there are plenty of twists to keep the reader intrigued. The writing is very accessible, and since the plot and setting are pretty basic, this would likely appeal to readers who may be younger or new to the genre. Vika is a decent main character and undergoes a significant amount of growth, although the side characters felt a bit one-dimensional. I also wanted a bit more from the mystery: there was one great twist in particular I didn’t see coming, but the actual mystery felt pushed aside until the second half or so.

Overall, while I didn’t like this as much as I hoped, I do think it’s a solid YA offering and will definitely appeal to some readers.

Thank you to Netgalley and Wednesday Books for providing a digital ARC in exchange for a review.

The Stars Between Us tells the story of Vika Hale, an 18 year old barmaid on a desolate planet full of despaired people, including the family she lives with, her parents and younger sister. The main livelihood of the planet, mining, fell to the wayside when newer technology made the product obsolete. The nearby planet, on the other hand, is thriving, full of glittering cities, sunshine, wealth and opportunities. That planet only allows her planet's people to arrive for menial work. Her fortunes change when mysteries from her childhood are revealed and she is invited to explore and experience everything the wealthy Pluotos has to offer. As she enters their extravagant parties and lifestyles very much reminiscent of a futuristic Bridgerton, she neglects the family she left behind and wonders who can she trust in her new life? Can she even trust herself to make the best decisions? I loved the futuristic world-building and the mysteries surrounding Vika's life. As she endeavors to find a husband to support the kind of life she wants to live, readers will cheer her on to make the right decision and choose the one who truly loves her. As a futuristic story set on different planets, I was a bit confused at times why so much was similar to present day Earth (lightbulbs that need changing, horses/carousels, cars driven by people, etc) and wished there had a been a bit more of some of the descriptive "other planet" creations and customs that were sprinkled in there (like the animal encountered at a country house or the starships). Although Vika becomes unlikeable as she is immersed into the wealthy lifestyle of her benefactors, she leaves us to wonder how would any of us react in a similar situation, especially when young? How can we currently be aware of our current planet's needs and the needs of those who have less than we do? Some of the twists were easily deduced, but there were many more that kept this story hard to put down until the very end. Hoping this one will be a movie!

Before I get started I'd like to say the cover on this book is absolutely beautiful and fantastic and definetely one of my favourites I've seen recently.
The Stars Between us is about Vika Hale, a teenage whos always had a unknown beenfactor providing for her family since she was a child. She lives on the planet Philomenus a planet thats struggling immensely and seems to be were ' lower class ' is. Suddenly the benefactor dies and shes thrown onto Ploutous the more wealthy planet were ' higher class ' is. On this planet, she meets someone from her past Sky Foster.
I'm just gonna say it, but I hated Vikas character with a burning passion. She felt so bland, and spoiled and straight stuck up and it affected my reading expierence a bit because all I could think about was if she just stopped acting like this, things might just be a bit better in her life! She seems to think shes better than anyone else especially once she gets on Plotous and it just killed some of the story for me. For Sky, it was obvious from the start and thats all I have to say for that one.
The story wasn't bad, just super predictable and I wish I didn't see most of the plot coming but sadly I did. The ending felt super rushed and vauge and I wish there was more to it to solve the millions of questions I have.
Overall the book was okay and I did have a pretty decent time reading it even while hating Vikas existence.
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-arc!


READING PROGRESS

Unfortunately I don't have much to say about this one. I didn't really enjoy anything about this book - the characters were all boring. I didn't find the plot anything new either and just couldn't connect it. Disappointed as I liked Terrill's previous YA book.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

Super mixed feelings about this; the world building was decent, the premise intriguing, but the MC was annoying as hell. The story was good enough for me to keep on reading, but the Max grated on my beverage the entire time and I almost gave up on more than one occasion.

I was 100% drawn to this YA fantasy mystery/romance for the gorgeous cover but was pleasantly surprised by just how much I really enjoyed the story too! Set in space, this was a rags to riches type story featuring Vika, a poor barmaid who was betrothed to a rich heir. When its assumed he dies in a spacecraft crash his family reaches out and offers Vika a place among their household, introducing her to a life of wealth and riches she's only ever dreamt of before.

I loved what a relatable character Vika is! She owns how selfish and avaricious she is and isn't afraid to marry for money if it means helping change her family's circumstances. What she doesn't realize is Sky, the servant boy who turned up mysteriously out of nowhere is hiding a secret identity. While the storyline was a bit predictable I still really enjoyed both the romance and the mystery! Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!!

The Stars Between Us by Cristin Terrill, is one of those rare books that inspire me to search for all books written by this author because I have enjoyed this one so much. In the beginning, I was a little confused at what was going on and didn't particularly like any of the characters I read about.. But as the story moved along, I became quite invested in most of the main characters and was always anxious to get back to the book after I had to take breaks for work and chores. I always love it when an author inspires me to read more of their work and Cristin Terrill does just that.

The Stars Between Us is an intriguing scifi novel with some romance thrown in. Vika's life is completely upended when she discovers that one of the richest men in the universe has passed away and left a majority of his fortune to her, if she marries his son Leo. Before she can even meet her fiance, his spaceship is blown up, and her hopes of getting out of poverty go right down the drain. Luckily for Vika, the new benefactors of Mr. Chapin's will, his previous servants, take her in, giving her a chance to experience life in the world of wealth. Of course, she secretly plans to never go back to her old way of life. Along the way, she meets Sky, who is clearly keeping some big secrets of his own. Can they work together to discover who is trying to get their hands on the Chapin fortune, before someone else gets hurt? Vika was a bit of an unlikable protagonist, but it felt realistic in light of the circumstances she finds herself in. I enjoyed her character development, and the slow-burn romance with Sky. The futuristic scifi world they live in was detailed and pulled me right in. Enjoyable read overall.

The Stars Between Us
was A novel by Cristin Terrill and
narrated by Stephanie Willing. I listened and read this one. I thought the audiobook was better because Stephanie Willing was really good and perfect for this story.
Sooooo, I thought this was to long for what it was. It all could of been done with less stuff. I felt like it took forever for the romance and I struggled to care about most of the book. I also didn’t like the protagonist. She wasn’t very likable and these are my honest thoughts. I’m only going to give it 3 ⭐️.
Thanks Macmillan Audio St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.

Interesting take on future. Very character driven. This follows characters as they struggle to make pierce with who and where they belong. Nothing heavy handed about their struggles. Easy to follow as events change them.

When I initially read the description for the book, my first thought was of The Inheritance Games, but set in space. I love The Inheritance Games, but I also really liked that while there is some similarity in the premise, this story felt very different and very much its own. I will say, I'm rarely a fan of sci-fi stories set in space or made up planets, but every now and then there is an exception, and this book happened to be one. It definitely felt very "space-y" with its terminology and technology, but it also did a good job of investing me in the characters and in their relationships. It's not a very fast-paced story and there were a few times I wish things had moved along a bit quicker, but between the romantic tension, the mystery, and watching these characters try to juggle and navigate different secrets, it was a really interesting read. In large part it's also a commentary on the role and impact of money in our lives, though not in an annoyingly preachy way. Vika is an especially interesting character to follow, because she really has to decide how much of herself she is willing to give up in order for safety and security, and I liked seeing how challenging it was for her to navigate that.

My favorite part of the story was the romance. Vika is constantly being pushed to decide whether she will marry for money or for love, but even when it comes to those moments full of wonderful romantic tension, there's so many secrets that affect how everything plays out. But I liked that within all of that, there were very cute and sweet romantic scenes that did make me root for Vika and her main love interest. It added a really fun element to the story for me.

I wasn't sure how I'd feel when I first started the story, but I did really enjoy it in the end. It definitely could have been more fast-paced and a little more thriller, but it did have some nice twists and interest characters that I enjoyed following. Any book that can make me like a story set in space is doing a great job. I'm definitely interested in reading more from this author.

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.