SET THE STARS ALIGHT by AMANDA DYKES is a poignant story of hope, friendship, courage and sacrifice, where lost souls find their "home" and are drawn, by their search for the truth, to the One who set the stars alight, and brought light into the darkness. Of course the study of the stars plays a bit part in the story.
The story takes place in two time frames - the present and the the early 1800's, both periods with their interesting characters whose history is mysteriously linked. There is a certain sadness running through the book and a sense of lostness in some of the characters. The author describes their feelings very sensitively and we are drawn into their joys and sorrows.
Lucy Claremont's father tells Lucy and her friend, Dashel Greene, a brilliant but lonely young boy who Lucy's parents treat as their own son, wonderful riddles, and also stories of the past which serve to inspire them in a special way and serve as breadcrumbs leading them to find what they are looking for. The story of the lost HMS Jubilee has made such an impression on Lucy that she studies Maritime Archeology and is determined to find the ill-fated ship. Dashel, who is a forensic astrologer, comes back into her life just when she needs him to help her with her search.
I am not going to tell you any more excepting to say that it is a worthwhile read..
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Bethany House Publishers. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

This is the first time I’ve read a book by this author.
The novel has a slow beginning and reads more literary in the first several chapters than the rest of the novel. It isn’t until near the end of the story the reader is enlightened as to why there was so much foundation laid in the beginning chapters. If you can handle the literary narrative style and the slow pacing, this is a story you’ll likely enjoy.
Due to the length and pacing of the contemporary opening, I almost gave up. My attention wasn’t captured until the author brings the reader into the historical story line, which wasn’t until chapter seven. Once I was thrown into the late 1800’s, the author presented a different vibe with the story of Frederick Hanford, future traitor of England (though there are literary style passages throughout the entire novel).
I wasn’t sure what to make of any of the characters. Frederick is a noble, though a self-depriving character who sacrifices his life for another because of guilt. He blames himself for the death of someone and spends the rest of the story trying to make it up to people who are undeserving – though I think that is the point of the novel in drawing a parallel with the Ultimate Sacrifice made for mankind. He carries a weight on his shoulders that isn’t his to bear and he reacts to a childish misunderstanding that sets him on a collision course to becoming a labelled traitor.
There are two characters from the historical storyline I liked, one due to his humour and ability to see past appearances and the other due to his kindness and love for others. The other characters, the ones which Frederick makes it his business to care for are hard to like and left me questioning Frederick’s reasons for continuing to protect them.
Frederick is a legend and in the contemporary story line, Lucy is a grad student looking for funding to unearth the location where the SS Jubilee disappeared piloted by Frederick Hanford. No one has uncovered the truth of why he betrayed England, nor where his ship was run aground. He disappeared into the night on the eve before he was to be executed.
Dashel Greene is a childhood friend of Lucy’s and a forensic astrologer. Combining their efforts they are able to uncover the truth of the Jubilee, its location and the story of its captain.
All the characters in the contemporary story are interesting however their quirks and differences tend to be a bit much at times.
Characters are well developed and descriptions are quite vivid, allowing the reader to envision the places mentioned in the story. The author has a unique narrative style and weaves the historical and contemporary stories well.
I received an ecopy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

I was really looking forward to this book. I loved the author's previous book, Whose Waves These Are. Unfortunately, this one really missed the mark for me. I just could not get into the either one of the plot lines. I can't really put my finger on why. I just felt disconnected from the characters and the story the whole time. I will definitely give this author another try, though.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley for the purpose of review.

You shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but it was the cover that really led me to choose this novel. It looks so full of adventure, mystery, and intrigue! The book does have some of that, but I had a hard time feeling like I was invested in it because I was never really able to connect or latch on to any of the characters. It switches back and forth between modern day and a few hundred years ago, following two sets of protagonists and they venture through everything life throws at them. In the modern day, our male protagonist studies the stars...and it is the stars that eventually help to guide everyone back where they belong.

I'm not usually one for historical fiction but the cover and blurb for this kept calling my name. Plus, I am trying to branch out from my normal genres. I did have a pretty good experience with this one and only had a couple issues overall.

The book has multiple point-of-views and parts have different time stamps. I always like multiple point-of-views because it gives an extra bit to the characters. I didn't mind it in this one either but I just never felt a connection towards the characters. The timeline was also a bit confusing at times as well.


I think my favorite part of this book (besides the cover, ha) was the plot. It was very unique and I loved all the references to different books like Shakespeare and Peter Pan. It's always fun to see references to books I know and have enjoyed. There is definitely quite a bit of action but there is also some slower parts as well. I think they balanced each other out though so it wasn't a big deal. There are also references to certain events that happened in the bible, obviously because this is labeled as Christian. I didn't have a problem with this and have read many that have but some just seemed to be kind of thrown in there. I don't know, some just felt like they didn't fit, if that makes sense.

Overall, I thought this was a fine read. I think I would have liked it more if I were able to connect with the characters but they just didn't leave any impression on me. I at least liked the plot so it wasn't all bad.