ProseWorthy
  • Home
  • Adventure Journal
  • Rachel's Reads
  • Fiction
  • About
  • Contact

"we read
to know
we're not
alone."
C. S. Lewis

Set The Stars Alight By Amanda Dykes

3/11/2022

0 Comments

 
Picture

Summary

Lucy Claremont's family treasured the magic of the past, and her childhood fascination with stories of the high seas led her to become a marine archaeologist. But when tragedy strikes, it's Dashel, an American forensic astronomer, and his knowledge of the stars that may help her unearth the truth behind the puzzle she's discovered in her family home.

Two hundred years earlier, the seeds of love are sown between a boy and a girl who spend their days playing in a secret sea cave, while the privileged young son of the estate looks on, wishing to join. As the children grow and war leads to unthinkable heartbreak, a story of love, betrayal, sacrifice, and redemption unfolds, held secret by the passage of time.

As Lucy and Dash journey to a mysterious old estate 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.

Positives

This book explores themes of hope so sweetly and poetically. It’s one of my favorite themes to see popping up in books. The romantic interests really prove their love for each other—they don’t just say it a couple times and kiss several more times and call it good. It also portrays verbal abuse realistically through one of its dual storylines—something sorely lacking in fiction as a whole.

Dash is literally the best. That’s all I have to say.

I’ve decided to include the point of view in the positives, even though it made it hard for me personally to get into the story. I adore first/third person deep point of view so I feel like I’m in a character’s head seeing the world the way they do.

Set the Stars Alight has more of a narrator-feel, like someone from the outside is watching Lucy and Dash and Frederick and Juliette, and telling us very poetically what’s going on. This is a neat addition. It makes us feel like we’re listening to one of Simon’s stories or Killian’s ballads.

But for me, this made it a little tricky for me to get into the character’s head. I didn’t feel like I understood what was driving them to make certain decisions. This isn’t because their motivations weren’t portrayed, I just had a hard time picking up on it because of the format. As a result, it was a little hard for me to get through the book. I also felt like some events were quickly glossed over or I was on the outside looking in for some important events. THIS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE AUTHOR. It was simply my reading style.

It was not as fast-paced as I was expecting. I was expecting more of a treasure hunt type feel. Which it does have. But it's really more about the characters discovering themselves and each other. And you know what, I don't even mind, because the emotional tension in this book is on point.

The climax, however, was what sold me. I would buy this book for the climax alone. (And I had lots of other things I loved about it!) Those scenes where Lucy and Dash are trapped in the cave together—perfection.

Also, look at that cover!!! It's gorgeous.

Negatives

None.

Conclusion

Set the Stars Alight is a unique book that might not be for everyone. But I think it would be a loss to not give it a read.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Rachel's Reads

    Hi there! Rachel again. Check out this section for book reviews and cover reveals of some of my favorites!

    Archives

    March 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    October 2017

    Categories

    All
    Action/Adventure
    Adult
    Best Of
    Blog Tags
    Blog Tours
    Book Reviews
    Christmas
    Contemporary
    Cover Reveals
    Dystopian
    Fairy Tale Retellings
    Fantasy
    Historical
    Middle Grade
    Science Fiction
    Supernatural
    Suspense
    Young Adult

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Adventure Journal
  • Rachel's Reads
  • Fiction
  • About
  • Contact