Publication Date: July 1, 2025
With sweet romance and sharp wit, Bound by Stars is a stunning voyage through class, courage, and what it means to belong—ideal for readers 13 and up.
A Love That Defies Gravity…and Fate
She never belonged in his world. He never thought he’d leave it.
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.
Seventeen-year-old Weslie Fleet wins a golden ticket to Mars that will mean traveling on the space version of the Titanic—including the luxuries and threat of danger.
Bound by Stars delivers a moving tale featuring two teens from vastly different backgrounds (think Jack and Rose) who form an unexpected connection.
Author E.L. Starling illustrates the relationship between Weslie and Jupiter as one full of contrasts. Jupiter, a member of an elite Mars family, might seem to have little in common with the scrappy teen from Earth whose skills in creating a bot named ISLA earned her a spot on the trip.
However, Jupiter’s dutiful exterior hides an artistic side, begging to escape his mother’s tightly controlled future plans. Being drawn to someone like Weslie may not fit those plans, but they share an unbreakable bond tested by tragedy.
Underneath all the glitz and glamour is a threat just waiting for the right moment. Just like with the Titanic, love itself may not be enough to rescue them.
Bound by Stars offers a sweet romance set against a space adventure perfect for teen readers.
Emily “E.L.” Starling is a YA speculative fiction writer from the center of California, midway between all the cities anyone has ever heard of. Now living in Portland, Oregon, she spends her time papercutting, hiking, befriending neighborhood cats, running a small business with her husband/high school sweetheart, and weaving stories full of longing and twisty secrets.
