Could THP be entering our dystopian/sci-fi era? Maybe… 👀 With the release of E.L. Starling’s new book, Bound by Stars, sci-fi fantasy and dystopian books are quickly climbing our ranks!
This year has brought us quite a few new dystopian romances, and we’re not mad about it! Bound by Stars reimagines the movie Titanic if the setting were in 2212 and on a spaceship to Mars.
Are you hooked yet? That reason alone convinced us to pick up the book review. Here are three things we love most about E.L. Starling’s Bound by Stars!
Book Overview: Bound By Stars
Content warnings: death by fire, suffocation, and impalement, attempted murder, bodies, classism, parental betrayal, acts of terror, violence, serious injury, blood and gore, attempted drowning, guns and weapons, medical procedures (Please read at your discretion!)
Summary: When Weslie Fleet wins a golden ticket aboard the Boundless, humanity’s most opulent starliner, it’s a dream—and a danger. Raised in the dust-ridden ruins of Earth, she is thrust into the gleaming luxury of Mars’s elite, where every whispered word carries weight and every glance is a silent judgment. And none watch her closer than Jupiter, the golden boy of Mars’s high society, bound by duty, legacy, and a future he never chose.
Their reluctant partnership was supposed to be a one-off assignment. Instead, it becomes a battle of wills, a spark that ignites, and a love neither of them anticipated. But fate is as cruel as it is unpredictable, and when the Boundless veers off course, love won’t be enough to save them.
The ship is failing. The odds are impossible. And in the darkness of space, survival is the only thing that matters.
But some loves are worth defying the stars for.
Star-Crossed Lovers
Much like Jack and Rose in the Titanic, Weslie and Jupiter in Bound by Stars come from polar opposite backgrounds. Weslie is an Earther, who earned her spot on the Boundless by winning a robot building competition. Jupiter is an Elysian, born of the highest-ranking class and Big Six family from Mars traveling home from a retreat on Earth. They don’t belong in each other’s worlds, a fact only made clear the more they fall in love. It also doesn’t help that Jupiter’s parents have arranged his engagement to the daughter of another family. Oh, the angst of these star-crossed lovers.
Sinister Dealings
As if the interplanetary trip to Mars wasn’t dangerous enough, there is something more sinister happening underneath in Bound by Stars. A rebel group called E.F.E., Earth for Earthers, targets the elite class in increasingly unsettling ways. Their mission is justified as taking back what belongs to Earthers, who have been treated like second-class citizens to the Elysians for far too long. But things quickly get out of hand when more passengers die in the panic and chaos of evacuating a failing spaceship. The main perpetrator isn’t who anyone would’ve suspected.
Major Plot Twist
Aside from the plot twist of E.F.E.’s main player, there’s an even bigger plot twist in Bound by Stars: the truth of Weslie’s identity. It all started with her dad leaving for Mars when she was still a child. Then her mom forbade her from ever going to Mars, even hiding Weslie’s award and winning ticket to board the Boundless. The betrayals from her parents and eventually from her classmates and so-called friends hit her all at once. We have a feeling Weslie and Jupiter’s story isn’t quite finished yet, but we’ll wait on any official announcements for now. After all, that ending…
Bound by Stars by E.L. Starling tells a compelling, futuristic story of two star-crossed lovers bound for Mars. What awaits them is bitter betrayal and underlying hostility that threaten to keep them apart.
Bound by Stars by E.L. Starling comes out July 1st, and you can order a copy of it here!
What do you think of the concept for E.L. Starling’s Bound by Stars? Are you adding it to your summer reading list? Let us know your thoughts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!
Want to hear some of our audiobook recommendations? Here’s the latest!
TO LEARN MORE ABOUT E.L. STARLING:
INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | WEBSITE
