In an aged brick cottage in London, the magic of the past comes alive each night for the family of a humble watchmaker. In her father’s fireside stories, Lucy Claremont’s fascination with the high seas begins, leading her to devote her life’s work to discovering the whereabouts of a legendary lost ship. But when tragedy strikes, it’s childhood friend Dashel and his knowledge of the stars that may help her solve the puzzle.
Two hundred years earlier, three young lives are altered forever when a shepherd rescues the privileged son of a powerful admiral. As the children grow, war leads to unthinkable heartbreak, deep love, and a story of betrayal, sacrifice, and redemption that fades into obscurity as centuries pass.
As Lucy and Dash explore mysterious ruins on the East Sussex coast, their search leads them to a community of souls and a long-hidden tale that may hold the answers–and the healing–they so desperately seek. [back cover]
In SET THE STARS ALIGHT Amanda Dykes has penned a story that captivates completely from page one. I couldn’t have been more absorbed if I watched the tale unfurl while flying over it with Peter Pan.
Settings come alive with Amanda’s use of specific, sensory details. Whether an ancient, sooty match factory or a wireless, fairy-tale-like farm ~ the reader is there, hearing the song of the bells and feeling the breeze, tasting the flavors it carries. Amanda’s poetic, lyrical writing evokes memories of fables and fairy tales, enticing readers to ignore the thrum of our frenetic planet, and fall into life with Lucy and Dash.
Characters are so well developed, that it takes no time at all to bond with them. To feel the excitement when Papa begins a riddle or a story. Or the breath-stealing, carved-out realization that a loved one is … gone.
And though this book is only the second of Amanda’s published novels, she’s already a master not only at spinning stories, but balancing the mechanics of producing a dual-time book. Like the storytellers in this yarn, Amanda sprinkles clues to links between the two timelines. And the story flows unimpeded even when she switches between the nineteenth and twenty-first centuries. I dare say, no reader will have to flip back to an earlier chapter to reconnect with a storyline in order to move ahead.
Amanda displays great skill in story craft, but SET THE STARS ALIGHT is so much more than the sum of these skills. This story is art. Magic. Delightful. Full of imagery, symbolism, and surprises! The intriguing characters—on quests for belonging, truth, love, forgiveness, lost things, or answers to mysteries—deliver us to wonder and light. And to the reward of learning that everyone’s actions reverberate through time. That every single life matters. The journey introduces us to The Maker of Wonder, Light Himself.
I could fill pages with favorite quotes. (I nearly wore out the yellow marker!) But lest I rob you of the joy of discovering your own, I include below just a few. An appetizer if you will. This gem of a story will satisfy on every level.
“When things seem dark, Lucy, that’s when you fight for the light.” p 21
For who were they to one another now? A shadow. An outline. A question mark. p 67
The woman … gave the impression that she’d been born and raised in a confectioner’s shop and trailed a dusting of sweetness wherever she went. p 73
“Looks as if he ate anger for breakfast.” p 79
“I wonder if it’s even possible to overestimate the significance of a single life … Words spoken, hearts changed, a meal provided to a hungry sojourner, who knows? Who knows how far everyday actions reach?” p 196
As if every moment between then and now had been leading up to this, the homecoming of their hands. p 178
[image credit: Peter Pan, disney; couple by Vecteezy]
SET THE STARS ALIGHT releases June 30, 2020. I’m blessed to have read an early copy from NetGalley for review. Usually I don’t find the e-versions of a book nearly as engaging as paper. But STARS knocked that problem to the curb! This is a 5-star recommendation. I feel my words don’t to this fabulous story justice!
You can meet Amanda on social media, where she likes to hang out and talk about wondrous things. So visit her on Instagram or Facebook if you want to learn more about this amazing author.
Links to some places you can purchase SET THE STARS ALIGHT if you’re so inclined. And a word from Amanda: Available in Paperback, Audiobook, and Hardcover. May we encourage you to support an independent and/or local bookstore with this purchase? Even one book can help these cherished stores regain their footing amid the COVID-19 circumstances. Thank you, fellow bookstore lovers!
Indiebound (Find a bookstore local to you.)
Walmart (paperback link)
Keenly aware of possible consequences meted out by the clash of cultures of settlers and Indians, she just sets to work daily whether on their farm or at the family’s ferry across the Buckhannon River. She doesn’t waste time dwelling on possibilities or losses, but uses wisdom gained through experience to make cautious choices.
When Colonel Tygart from the nearby fort meets the Swan family, we watch as interest and attraction spark and grow between him and Tessa. Readers will enjoy walking with them as the tension grows and we wonder ~ Will these two souls, fractured by loss, be able to see each other as anything other than a threat? Will their environment and culture give them opportunity to develop any sort of relationship? Life is hard out there. Crops, animals, gardens, friendships, dreams—so many things die early on the frontier.
Ansel is a place where God’s presence and provision hovers over the residents like the fog hovers over the coast, and gossip is shunned but residents are not. Each one’s well-being is valued by the townsfolk who see beyond behavior and into a person’s heart, needs, and broken spots—which are handled respectfully and tenderly. Ansel residents help each other find ways to stitch together the rent pieces. In short, it’s a place anyone would like to live in.
“If everything around you is broken, it’s time to unbreak something.” [p 75]
[conversation Robert observes about a man missing after World War II]“Your husband,” Eva says gently. “He hasn’t returned … yet?” Her wording is hopeful but gentle and Robert wants to kiss her for it. He would have blundered that question a thousand ways. [p240]
Kate Breslin’s new novel, Far Side of the Sea, is a jam-packed tale set in WW I. It’s a great adventure of spies and espionage that introduces new places and unexplored aspects of a war that was fought in locations besides muddy trenches of France and Belgium. It’s the intriguing puzzle that all good spy movies must be with interesting characters, most of whom we’re only certain if they’re trustworthy at the final, gripping end. The exception, of course, is Lieutenant Colin Mabry who’s been injured already in this war but perseveres in spite of that, proving himself a worthy and admirable hero.
I enjoyed reading this, as I have all Breslin’s books. But I had an issue with pacing. At times the story seemed to amble forward rather than charge ahead with the intensity of the life-and-death issues at play. This was only an occasional issue and occurred less often in later chapters.
The teaser on the back cover reveals some plot turns and challenges Lark and Magnus face, but in truth it barely hints at the perils the two endure. Or the stunning grace offered. As these two straddle competing wants, responsibilities, and expectations of others, their integrity and faithfulness is tested.
~ the precarious cliffside trail between croft and 
castle
Frantz’s skill continues to impress me. Settings that come alive, plot twists that ambush a reader, a worthy hero and heroine ~ she has it all. And more ~ the ability to portray characters with flaws as well as strengths, and always with respect. You’ll not find stock characters or stereotypical minorities in her stories. And she has an uncanny ability to convey a universal truth while giving us a peek into the private recesses of a heart, as when Lark thinks 
As World War I breaks out, Claire Meacham struggles to carve out a place in the male-dominated world of journalism. She struggles to hang on to hope while war tears her world apart. When she meets Oswald and Biddy Chambers, she adds another challenge—how to live out the teaching of Scripture. As the war grinds on, her new-found faith is tested and stretched.
Ule has done an amazing job of braiding together stories that could each be a book unto itself: history, biography, romance, and an interesting coming-of-age tale. She weaves the various elements with sparks of beauty, wit, and wisdom.
Laura Frantz’s THE LACEMAKER is set in 1775, pot-boiling days leading up to The Revolutionary War, when allegiances were strained and loyalties shifting. And Williamsburg, Virginia seems at the center of it all.
This is one of Frantz’s most overt romances and it works very well. The object of Elisabeth’s affections, the master of Ty Mawr estate and Independence Man Noble Rynallt, is a hero beyond expectation! The barriers to any relationship for these two are huge. When they seem insurmountable, I expected to leave the story with only bittersweet memories and the echo of Anwylyd. But noble sacrifices, exactly what one expects from a larger-than-life hero, emerge out of nowhere and bring sighs and hope and, as Frantz always promises ~ hints of HEA (happily-ever-after).
Oh, Elisabeth, I want to hug you and walk you to a place of respite. Dear reader, don’t you?