Review: Under a Million Stars

Title: Under a Million Stars
Author: Rita Branches
Genres: YA Contemporary Romance
Publication Date: August 8, 2016
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Can a beating heart bleed from the shattered pieces? 

Her heart cracked when her best friend walked away; it completely shattered when she lost her family in a tragic accident.

Now orphaned at seventeen, Charlotte Peterson is forced to live with her former best friend, Jacob Parker. Charlie, a talented pianist, desperately wants their loving friendship back, but something is holding Jake back. The more she spirals into the darkness of depression, the more she needs him.

Jacob vowed to stay away from her—no matter how much he still loved her. Armed with secrets that would have destroyed both of their families, he chose to end their friendship and walk away, which nearly killed him. As he watches the girl he once knew begin to fade away, however, he realizes that their relationship is more important than the truth he's hiding. 

Now it's up to Jacob to put the pieces of Charlie's broken heart back together—even if it means revealing the secrets he so desperately wants to protect her from. 

Will Jacob find a way to bring back the carefree, talented girl he once knew, or is it too late for both of them?

While it was the gorgeous book cover that first caught my eye,  I really had the impression that I’m in for a roller coaster ride based from the synopsis of Under a Million Stars, and I was not disappointed. It was really a roller coaster ride for me, and I couldn’t help but keep on reading because I wanted to unravel all the secrets and about the events that happened in the past.

For throughout the story, there were just too much feels. I found myself crying a lot, and later on smiling, and then crying again. I think that I looked so weird to others while I was reading it, but at that moment, it really didn’t matter at all. I was greedy to keep on reading and reading and reading, and I was entirely immersed into the story. The way Under a Million Stars is written just made it so much easier to connect with the characters, because it felt like I was looking at a glimpse of their soul. There may be not much concrete character development, since it focused more on how both Charlie and Jacob would overcome the difficulties they are facing, but everything was just so vivid and realistic, and it felt like I wasn’t a by-watcher, but somebody who was with the characters throughout their entire journey.

There was just so much heartbreak and sadness, but it was such a beautiful read. I love how the both of them started of as best friends first before their relationship blooming into something more. And it’s just amazing how they are able to find their the one at such a young age. I also love how there were two POVs, which provided more insights on what each character really felt. In addition to this, I love how their flashbacks of their memories during their childhood gave even more depth to their relationship, and made me understand more of the choices they make, or the way they think or act.

However, while I really enjoyed reading Under a Million Stars, I felt like the suspense of what went wrong between Charlie and Jacob was prolonged. And sometimes, I found myself starting to get annoyed on how Jacob became a character that I could quickly switch between someone I love and someone I hate. He was confusing, and despite being able to read his POV, I found him to be secretive and mysterious (which I think was the point of it since he was keeping a secret). Even though it took me a longer time to come to adore him, in the end, it was great to see myself really rooting for him.

In the end, I love how Under a Million Stars is a story about second chances, while each discovering slowly on how to simply live life. Seeing both Charlie and Jacob slowly overcome their hurdles in life was such a wonderful rollercoaster ride. With beautiful writing, complicated romance and so much emotions/feels, everything felt so real. I truly recommend this one (but prepared for a good rollercoaster ride!)

      

Rita lives in Portugal and has a degree in Landscape Architecture, although from a very young age, her love has been in books. She has a healthy obsession with books, you can always find her with her eReader. She’s been writing for years, but just ventured into the publishing world in 2016.