Cristin TerrillRezensionen

Trigger warnings: Gun violence, hospitalisation, blood depiction, emesis, surgery, imprisonment, physical injury, murder, death of a friend, suicide, grief and loss depiction, kidnapping, death of parents
Score: Seven points out of ten.
Note that I bought this book and now I own it. This review can also be found on The StoryGraph.

Last year I purchased this book since one of the two libraries I go to gave this book away since it was too old or only a few people read it before I did and to be honest after reading some ok fantasy books, to say the least I switched to sci-fi and I'm glad I read this because this was a step up from the last novels however... I still think it could've received improvements here and there but it was otherwise an enjoyable read. Where do I begin? It starts with the main character Em whose full and last name I don't even know and not long after that it was already action-packed as she used a spoon out of all things to escape prison but I'm not sure why she got in there in the first place and now she meets this other major character called Finn. Only a few pages later they discover a time machine and so they travel four years back to alter the past to change the future and all they have to do is to kill another guy called James. Sounds simple right? No. This is where the book turns into a slow burn with much more steady pacing and it got more intriguing when it introduced another POV from Marina, everything looked normal for her until Em came along to start her mission, Nate got shot on live TV and it all fell apart from there. Nate is necessary to the plot since there were some clues involving him that led Em to the antagonist James who will ruin the world in the future and she tries to kill him. Multiple times. But it didn't work, he just got away somehow and only towards the end of the book there was another James somehow, one character killed himself and it was all an unclear mess at the end and oh did I mention the characters weren't the most fleshed out people ever? Wow. That's a low note. Also, there's a sequel but I have no idea what it was about and the library that used to have this probably won't get it, considering they got their last batch this year.

Update: I have received word from the author, and she won't write a sequel since she thinks it won't be as good as the first book.

Viki, short for Viktoria with a K, serves drinks in a dive bar in a mining town on a barely habitable moon. Her life of quiet desperation changes when she discovers she is an heir to a fortune on the halcyon planet below. She quickly adapts to a new lavish style of life, but there is the nagging problem that a killer is stalking everyone named in the will. Can she trust any of her new beaus? In The Stars Between Us, Cristen Terrill has written a Hallmark Channel romantic mystery in science fiction clothing. I, of course, would like it better if the sci-fi elements were more front and center.

A fun, different, and unique space romance in a dystopian world/setting. This was not my usual read, but it was pretty good. If you like enemies to lovers, dystopian societies, conspiracies, independent and strong-willed women, cinnamon roll boys, mystery, thrills, drama, and twists, then you'll love this book.
Vika is a girl that's grown up making ends meet by chipping in her earnings from being a barmaid. It wasn't always that way, though. She and her family used to be in the more elite class before things went badly for them and they fell down the totem pole in society. Sky is another interesting character and Ariel is too. How all of them meet and what happens with them and their dynamics are another interesting part of everything. It was a quick read that kept my interest and I enjoyed it a lot and would recommend it.
Thanks so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for letting me read and review this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This one was juicy right up until the very last sentence! I didn't read the blurb, so ten percent in was a plot twist, but then halfway through came another one that I suspected that brought so much more mystery to the book. Lovely.

This book was intense! I feel like I just disembarked from a roller coaster as I've been holding my breath for so long. Intense on the emotions, intense on the action, and even at points intense on the thoughts it provoked...this was a good one.

This book is written with alternating chapters from Em's perspective and from Marina's perspective. It took a couple of chapters to figure out who Em was. I initially found myself enjoying Marina's chapters more just because I understood what was going on completely while I felt lost in Em's chapters for a while.

One of the most intriguing points was seeing how Em saw the past, specifically her past self. At the same time, the reasoning behind her cynicism was really sad.

James--oh my goodness James. What a well crafted character. I am impressed. It took me a while to realise I was impressed, but looking back at his backstory and his emotions--well, he's a lot more believable than I thought he was going to be.

And Finn was my favourite character. Finn is perfect. Hearing about his postcards was heartbreaking but just made me love him more.

I honestly didn't really care much for Em or for Marina, the former being too cynical and the latter too naive and obsessive, but I'll survive. Marina's relationship with Sophie and Tamsin was cool to read about.

I have one qualm with the ending that didn't make sense, but I'll suspend my disbelief.

I'm very glad there's supposedly no sequel. A sequel would ruin how pure and fantastic this book is. Though I'll totally read another book by Terrill.

Though I haven't enjoyed action-packed books like this in a while, this is a really stellar read and I wish I'd read it when I was younger.

Teenage time travellers trying to save the world, but in an interesting, character-driven, and exciting way. I've not read quite this book before and once I got the swing of it - switching between the same few characters in the present and the future - it was a good story and plot.

Viktoria Hale, known as Vika, lives on the planet Philomenus, which is controlled by its nearby sister planet Ploutos. The Philomenis barely get by, mostly by working as menials for the wealthy people of Ploutos who pay for their daily travel by ferry between the two planets. The trip each way is less than an hour thanks to the invention of the hydrino fission reactor by Rigel Chapin, now the richest man on Ploutos.

As the story begins, Rigel Chapin has just been found dead, and his will shockingly specified that his son Leo would get all of his billions only if he married Vika. Vika had never met Leo, and only had encountered Rigel once when she was a child. Something about her appealed to Rigel back then, and he studied her over the years, deciding that she was the one he wanted for Leo’s wife.

Vika’s life thus suddenly turns upside down, not once, but twice. Before she could even adjust mentally to what all this meant, it turned out that Leo Chapin, on his way back to Ploutos from abroad, was on an airship that exploded mid-journey, killing all aboard.

Vika thought her inheritance was lost before it was even realized. As outraged as she had been over the manipulation by Chapin, she couldn’t deny the idea of money had been overwhelmingly appealing.

Then Vika had a third upheaval in her life. She was summoned to Ploutos to meet the next inheritors in line to Chapin, a married couple who acted as Chapin’s former housekeeper and handyman. They invited Vika to come live with them in the Chapin penthouse and share in their good fortune. She accepted, and began to live the life of luxury she always dreamed about. Moreover, there were several men from Ploutos who found her attractive for various reasons, and wanted to marry her.

But being rich, which had great advantages in terms of comfort, was not as wonderful as she thought it would be. She saw lots of shallow and greedy behavior, and didn’t know whom around her she could trust. Moreover, whoever wanted Leo Chapin dead was not done trying to get rid of the benefactors of his fortune.

Evaluation: This sci-fi/romance/thriller is directed at the young adult market, but I think it has broader appeal. It’s not too complex (a plus); somewhat predictable (not necessarily a minus); and has an outcome that will please most readers.½

This feels less like space opera and more like something with a 'Prince and the Pauper' flavor, but reversed. There are plenty of twists and intriguing moments to hold a reader's attention and keep their fingers turning pages. I read it in one afternoon and found it quite satisfying.

Vika Hale has grown up on the struggling planet of Philomenus. Dirty air from pollution fills the air, there is no reliable energy resource, and most of the residents live paycheck to paycheck and are uneducated, serving as the working class for the nearby planet, Ploutos. Vika, however, was given an exceptional education by an unknown benefactor. Now, the unknown benefactor has passed and he has named Vika as the wife for his son in his will. In order for Leo Cashin to inherit his father's legacy, he must marry the girl his father wants. Vika's life is turned upside down as she imagines a life of luxury on Plutonius, but she must decide if she wants to give up her life for a stranger. Although, just before Vika and Leo meet a tragedy strikes that will change Vika's path once again.
The Stars Between Us is a sci-fi romance that hits on economic disparity. I was really interested in Philomenus and Ploutus, how they were colonized and how they became so disparate. The information about the planets is dispersed throughout the story, but I could have used a little more background. Vika's character is very interesting, she is not exactly the most likable person, but her strong-willed, stubborn nature and tendency to go after what she wanted were the traits that her benefactor admired. Vika's feelings about potentially being rich and having the life she has always dreamed of were understandable; however, it seemed that she was ungrateful when the opportunity was handed to her. Vika's relationship with Sky also seemed unbalanced, I was rooting for them, but wasn't sure why Sky was so entranced. Overall, an interesting science fiction romance with a lot of drama and some twists that shows the impact of money, greed and choosing your own destiny.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.

YA novel about a runaway who lies. The runaway is in a shelter, and is being turned in by them, so he takes on the ID of Daniel Tate, a boy kidnapped 6 years earlier who never returned. However, something doesn't seem quite right. Why doesn't Daniel's mother realize this young man isn't her son? Why are the family members so careful about protecting Daniel? What secrets are they hiding?
This book had several surprises and twists. There were clues throughout the book, but still the end held a good twist.½

This book f*cked me up in a way that I can’t even begin to describe. My heart broke constantly for both the real Daniel Tate and the narrator who’s name that will never be known. Every page was haunted by the mystery of what really happened to ten year old Daniel those six long years ago. This book shows just how far people will go for those they love and how far they will go to be loved. The ending just completely decimated me and left me stunned. I literally had to sit here for a good ten minutes to process what had happened. The entire book was gripping from start to finish and I was constantly second guessing myself, after all, how can you know what is true when even the narrator is a self proclaimed liar?

Inspired by the famous real-life case of Frédéric Bourdin who impersonated missing teenager Nicholas Barclay, the story in this novel takes different turns and takes the form of a YA thriller.

The core of the story is just as captivating as the real case: what does it take for a family to accept a stranger into their home and shower him with love, attention, and luxury? What lengths will humans go to, when pushed, to protect themselves and those they love the most?

This is a real page-turner, equally captivating if you are and if you aren’t familiar with the real case. It is a well-adapted story that has a life of its own, full of twists and turns that will keep you guessing (I solved it quickly, but still had fun until the very last page). The characters are interesting and well fleshed out, and moving from one suspect to the next on the list gives it the air of a classic whodunit. Of course, it doesn’t always manage to steer clear of cliches, and I would have liked to see the protagonist act a little less like a teenager at times, but the way it’s all written makes it so engrossing that I didn’t even mind that much. And there are many clever bits to make up for that that I don’t want to go into because of spoilers.

All in all, it’s an exciting and successful transposition of a true crime story into a YA thriller.

In order to get acquainted with the actual case and meet the real Daniel Tate and the guy who pretended to be and infiltrated his family, I recommend the chilling documentary The Imposter (2012) as a companion to this book.

A little confusing but very exciting. Mysterious. This will be a surefire hit. Girl and boy appeal.

This is a fun, rags-to-riches tale with adventure and space and romance and...well, it's quite the ride.

Vika works as a barmaid, bringing in what income she can along with the rest of her family members, since her father's job went under. The last thing she expects is to suddenly be declared the chosen wife for one of the richest sons in the galaxy. She definitely doesn't expect it to be taken away again...and then, back? Her life has turned into a rollercoaster, but then, there's so much more as she faces a plot to kill off the rich family, strangers trying to gain her trust, and a world she doesn't really fit in with.

This was a fun read. The world building is very well done, keeping everything familiar and yet gliding off into space. It's not hard to sink into Vika's life as she does her best to support her family. She's a bit snarky, but she lives a tough life. Her family is supportive...for the most part. Her younger sister is a bit of a mystery to me, but all in all, it's a lovely mix. Especially when the other characters join in and stir up the plot quite a bit.

It does carry the usual Cinderella appeal, but then, twists in murder and intrigue as well as an enemy to friends love. The story flows very smoothly and draws in with it's easy-to-read style. With the space setting, the uniqueness is complete. Even this doesn't overwhelm, but rather adds a nice touch, which won't even scare away those who don't normally dive into the science fiction world.

This is a read to enjoy with a bit of several genres flowing together seamlessly. So, I can recommend this one to YA romance fans, who love more than just than usual, sweet read. I received an ARC and enjoyed the launch into space!

This is a really good book. And I will NEVER read it again. Let me explain.
The beginning was a little too convenient for me. The protagonist's version of events that led him to Hidden Hills was way too far fetched. But once he got there I just kept reading. And the more I read, the more interested I was. Drawing conclusions based on suspicions was fun. Even when they were dashed later on.
What made me hate this? The end. That m*****f*****' end. How dare you?! The audacity!!

Well done, innovative debut novel. Em and Finn are imprisoned in adjacent cells while their captors seek information in a dystopic future. They manage a daring escape, aided by a guard, and go back in time to thwart their captors plans. Meanwhile, their earlier selves Marina (Em) is crazy about her neighbor James, who is a brilliant scientist with some emotional issues because his parents died and he is being cared for by his older brother, an aspiring politician. Interesting situations where the future incarnations come across their earlier versions.

The characters in this book were very well developed, and the way they changed was amazing. And of course, my favorite, time travel!

2.5 stars, rounded up because it was a quick, entertaining read.

One of the best thrillers I've read in a while.

Daniel Tate, who comes from an elite and rich family in California, went missing when he was ten years old. Six years later, he has been found on a snowy street of Vancouver, Canada.
The Tates are excited and overjoyed, and shower him with abundance of love and care, while trying to understand what has actually happened to Daniel all those years.
But one truth is for sure – that he is not their Daniel Tate!
Then, who is this young man? What does he want?
Cristin Terrill has expertly spun such an enthralling and evocating thriller with myriad of dark secrets and lies, HERE LIES DANIEL TATE! I enjoy it tremendously and highly recommend it to not only YA, but any thriller-lover!

This book was... something. I had really hard time figuring out how to rate this one, because I absolutely loved it... right up to the last few pages. But the ending. The ending. This had one of the most UNSATISFYING endings I have EVER read. I am SO disappointed! Because I was absolutely loving this!

Things I Loved:

- This book was so INTENSE! I never knew what was coming next, and I was on the edge of my seat.

- And the PLOT TWISTS. This book left me absolutely SHOOK so many times!

- It was super well written too. Cristin Terrill is clearly a very talented writer.

- THE CHARACTERS!! I loved our main character (whose name we never learn). He was sort of a terrible person, but you sort of can't help yourself, and end up loving him anyways. And he's SUCH a well developed character! And just such a PERFECT narrator for the book. PERFECT I TELL YOU! PERFECT!

- What's his face. I can't remember his name, but Daniel's brother, who's his age. Whatever his name was, I loved him! He was my favourite, and I should REALLY be able to remember his name, but despite the fact that his name clearly wasn't memorable, I ADORED HIM! Seriously, I would like a whole book about him. Please? Please?!

- All the side characters! Particularly the love interest and the little girl! (Look I'm bad with names, okay?) They were great, as was everyone else!

- The messy family dynamic! I mean, it was VERY messy, and not exactly in a good way, but... I just ADORED reading about it!

Things I Disliked:

- The romance. I loved the love interest (WHAT IS HER NAME?!?!??), but I just... didn't feel their relationship was that great. They didn't really have much chemistry. Oh well, the romance barely even existed, so it wasn't too bad.

- Okay but the ending. THE ENDING! WHAT WAS THAT ENDING?!?!?! I sort of think the ending was supposed to be emotional and heartbreaking, but honestly all I felt was disappointment. Did it make me sad? Yes. Was that sadness completely overwhelmed by the feeling that it was one of the worst endings I'd ever read in my life? Also yes.
Look, I have a lot of feelings about this ending, and NONE of them are positive. It just felt... cheap. Like it wasn't really the right ending, but the author just didn't know how else to end it.
And I was really, really disappointed.
Also I saw the ending coming from a mile away, just saying.

Overall? I don't know how I felt about this book. Because truly, I adored this book, up until maybe the last five or six pages. And then it just... went REALLY downhill REALLY fast. And I'm bitter.

Would I recommend this book? I don't know. Nobody else seems to hate the ending, so maybe it's just me. But I really, really was not satisfied with it. BUT the rest of the book was amazing. So you're really going to have to make up your own mind about this one.

***Initial Reaction, September 11, 2018***

What the heck?! That was quite possibly the most unsatisfying ending I have ever read. What. The. Actual. Hell. And it was so good until then too. RTC.

I had no clue what to expect going into this book. I didn't know it was a time travel novel or exactly what was going to happen. I did figure a couple of things out pretty fast but I was pleasantly surprised at this story. I came to care about the characters and wanted Em to succeed in her task. I thought the book was very well crafted. It was fast paced and well plotted (is that the same as well crafted?) I especially liked the audiobook version and thought the narrator did an excellent job. I thought it ended well and am quite surprised that there will be a sequel coming up.

4.5

Ever since I saw the Netflix documentary, "The Imposter", I was engrossed in the case of grifter Frederic Bourdin and the case of the missing boy Nicholas Barclay. Here Terrill takes inspiration from that case and grafts together a fantastic novel of suspense, loneliness, heartbreak, and broken lives. Aside from a couple of convenient plot devices that were a bit unbelievable, and its slight suffering in pace, I can find little to criticize about this novel. A fabulous read.

Well, I'm floored. If it was up to my current range of emotions, I'd just be babbling to you incoherently about how amazing All Our Yesterdays really is and how much you absolutely need to read this stunning debut. Luckily I still have a minor amount of brain power left to attempt a review. It's become a rarity for a book to really blow me away, but this one made it look easy. Yes friends, it's that good.

I don't care whether you classify this book as dystopian or science fiction, because in all honesty it's a bit of both. What you can classify it as is an expertly written story. Terrill takes a concept that is difficult to wrap our minds around, and manages to make it entirely plausible. Imagine a world where time travel is real. Where anything that was done was able to be undone. Where one decision ripples across the entire rest of time. What would we do with such a power? That's the question that haunts the reader as they traverse this story, and it creates a lightning fast plot.

Add to this vivid, three dimensional characters, and I was in love. Told from the alternating view points of Em and Marina, All Our Yesterdays becomes almost hypnotic in nature after a time. Events unfold from the viewpoint of each of these characters, before merging them into something that I wasn't expecting at all. The amount of raw emotion here, the perfectly flawed characters, the bold romance, it all pulls you in. I was under a spell as I watched the characters barrel towards the inevitable climax. You might manage to figure out what's coming, but you'll be powerless to stop flipping the pages.

I had no idea this was a series, and truthfully I have no idea where it's going. I say this because the ending is so perfect, so bittersweet, that I can't see where the next logical starting point is. Still, you can bet I'll be there to read whatever comes next. Cristin Terrill has written a gem of a book in All Our Yesterdays. One that will tear your heart out, make you question your choices, and create a hole that can only be filled with more story. Trust me, this book is absolutely worth your time! I wish I could travel back and experience it for the first time all over again.

Plot: 5/5
this book was so action-packed and fast-paced and cool and there's time travel and conspiracy and torture and assassination and GAH all the things!

Characters: 5/5
Em: she was this perfect combination of tough yet vulnerable that I absolutely love.
Finn: This is an awesome person. I can't see how Marina ever thought he was annoying or an idiot or anything bad, because he just so funny and cool and smart and just an awesome person.
Marina: Okay, what was really cool about this book and this character is that throughout the story I could feel, I could SEE Marina turning into Em and THAT was really cool.
James: I just--no--the feels. I sorta loved him but I was confused about how I felt about him, because I also thought I hated him at times. It's just--seeing this one guy from two vastly different perspectives sorta jerked me around.

Sorry for being confusing.

Romance: 5/5
Once upon a time, there was one book (which I can't for the life of me remember the title of) in which I opened the first page and the main character was already professing her love for some boy and the author thought I would go along with it, but I hated him. Since then, whenever I open a book and a main character is ALREADY in love with somebody, I EXPECT to hate him. But I never ever do. Because, in these other various books (among them this one and Clarity) I was SHOWN why the character loves him, and I was given a chance to fall in love with him myself. And I mean, hello, Finn is an awesome person. Also, James. Loved him and was confused about him at the same time.

Overall grade: 15/15
SO GOOD.