Dani Atkins' books always turn me into an emotional wreck and this one was no different! Her writing is powerful and so intense and never shies away from difficult subjects, in this case organ donation.
I started  crying from the very first chapter, as you could tell what was coming when the day to day routine was playing out in Alex & Lisa's kitchen. Reading on you could feel the raw emotion that Alex was going through as he searched for Lisa & I personally found the transplant scenes very hard to read having received a transplant myself from a deceased donor. I had to at times put the book down for a few minutes to compose myself.
The story does get lighter and is a wonderful read, restoring faith in human kindness and relationships.
All the time I was reading the book I had the Coldplay song with the same title in my head and I think this book would definitely make an amazing TV drama or film.

The most brilliant author of these times. The queen of heartbreaking yet life affirming emotions, author Dani Atkins again managed to break my heart into slivers filled with tears and laughter and patch it back again with love.

Lisa and Alex with Connor – a perfect family where they loved each other deeply. Alex was just 6 when one day on the way to the astronomy fair, the train had a crash, and Lisa was brain dead. Then Alex met 4 strangers, and their life story helped him to understand a fate that was full of stars of hope.

Every word in this book was precious. Every word spoke to the cells of my heart. Every word carried forth its emotions, evoking tears and smiles in me. From the blurb, it was easy to understand what the story was all about.

But the journey into the prose was an experience. Nothing could have stopped me from reading this. Told in dual POV, the story told me the tough lives all the characters have had in this book. It was heartening to see them find their hope, and through them for Alex and little Connor to start living.

I cried big, fat tears. I read the prose choked up. My heart was crushed and slowly, like the other characters, I began living again, looking up at stars as they are our past and our future.

I love Dani Atkins books. The first one she wrote has stayed with me for years so I eagerly look forward to the next one. This one was beautiful. 4 people gain a new life when someone dies and her husband donates some of her organs. He and they become friends tied by a bond. However is it healthy? Is he looking for his wife within these recipients? It was a warm story which I enjoyed it just didn't have the magic that usually occurs in her books,

A heart-wrenching, edge-of-your-seat story as you read along and follow the lives of Alex, his wife Lisa and their son Connor. After the terrible train tragedy that took the life of Lisa, Alex struggles to move on with his son Connor without Lisa in their lives. A heart-warming story as Lisa’s loss of life changes the lives of 4 complete strangers, and brings them close to Connor and Alex.

These 4 strangers come in Alex’s life and changes his life as much as Lisa’s death changed theirs. After heartache and unbearable loss they find comfort in one another and quickly become friends and confidantes. Be sure to have tissues handy, as anyone who has read Dani’s novels before know too well that you will definitely need them!

A enjoyable read that had me flipping the pages until the very end, I highly recommend this novel which is available now!

Another new author for me, and Dani Atkins is one I will most definitely be returning to. A Sky Full of Stars was everything I wanted it to be and more. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style which I found to be wonderfully engaging and inviting.

Packing an emotional punch from the off, we know from the blurb that Lisa will die suddenly, and this makes that first family scene all the more poignant. The normality of that first chapter really resonated, and as a Mum myself it stirred up all kinds of emotions within me. Recognition, fear, joy, love.

It is after her death that the story really begins, as Alex, struggling to cope with the death of his wife, forms a bond with four strangers whose lives were also completely altered by Lisa’s death.

The events of the novel are told through the eyes of Alex and Molly (one of the strangers) and the author writes both points of view with great sensitivity and care, and their collective view of Connor’s struggles as he grieves the loss of his mother is heartbreaking to observe. But whilst it’s a story about death and grief, it’s also a story about hope. Although gone, Lisa feels to be present throughout and in a world where death is so final, A Sky Full of Stars offers subtle comfort.

I’ll not say much more about the plot, so as not to give anything away – but this was a book I fully invested in. The characters are all so likeable, and the plot – if in certain areas a little predictable, I really didn’t care because I adored the book. It’s an easy read despite the emotional weight, and the ending was pitched perfectly. At a time in life where we feel to have little to no control over our lives, at a time when there feels to be an excess of grief and suffering in many guises, this was a breath of fresh air. To find hope in and amongst the most traumatic of experiences is a beautiful thing.

What an amazing and emotional experience it was to read this book. My heart went out to each and every one of the characters for different reasons.
The story is based on organ donation and the story of the people who received the organs along with the family who lost the donor. How their stories come together is amazing. I love Dani Atkins books as they always reach parts that other books don't. This is not a traditional love story and that makes it all the more appealing. Touching on difficult situations and subjects but in a very delicate and gentle way. Highly recommended this book along with all by this author. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers and the author for the privilege to read this book for my honest opinion

Wow, it took me a good couple of days to get over this highly emotional read. Dani Atkins never fails to break my heart and mend it all in one story. 
A Sky full of Stars is full of tragedy and heartbreak, with times of absolute utter grief pouring out of the page. With each word another part of your heart will melt, and you will be reaching for the tissues. 
Organ donation is a massive issue, and this book raises the issue of how the donors family continue afterwards. Here Alex finds it a struggle to move on since his wife Lisa died, leaving him to grieve yet stay as strong as possible for their young son. He feels that to start the healing process it may help to meet the recipients of Lisas organs, he does and they all develop this unique friendship. Alex is quite intense and desperate to see signs of Lisa, hoping that having them in his life he will also have her. 
It is a gorgeous tale of coming to terms with loss, sad but written in a very kind, sensitive way. Highly recommended.

Beautiful written and very emotional read. After Alex is left to bring up Connor alone when his wife Lisa dies in an accident, he seeks out the people who received her organs after her death. I felt this was a lovely heart warming plot and the ending just finished it off nicely. .

I just don't know how Dani Atkins can bear to put her characters through so much in every single novel. It must be exhausting. But even though she makes me cry until i am severely dehydrated with each and every word she writes I still love the characters and the worlds she creates and the stories she weaves. A sky full of Stars was such a wonderful read and I enjoyed every moments, even the ones where I had to step away for a moment to get a new box of tissues. 

Be warned, this book does start off with a lot of really weepy events. It's no spoilers because you know going into a Dani Atkins novel that you're going to need tissues but She doesn't normally get you so early on. You will need tissues for the first 25% of this book. There is a lot to get through in terms of bad new for people in that first quarter. After that though I loved the fact that we got deeper into the storyline and deeper into the relationships between these characters. 

This book is told in a dual narrative format (my favourite). We get to meet Alex and we get to meet Molly. Molly is a primary school teacher so I instantly warmed to her. She is a similar age to me and she has a wonderful outlook on life. I really love the fact that her best friend is also a work colleague. That is so often true for those of us who work in schools because it is very hard to try and have a life outside of school to bravo to Dani for writing that so true to life. 

Alex is such a complex character and because we get to see the narrative from his point of view as well as from Molly's we get to see how he is feeling after Lisa. I love that he is really open and honest with himself about his feelings and he has the most precious relationship with his brother. I really don't feel like I have read about such a brotherly bond in this kind of novel before and I found it fascinating to follow. 

There are so many unusual features in this novel and even though it made me cry so much at the beginning and I spent the rest of the book worrying about these characters I just couldn't stop reading it. Like most Dani Atkins novels I read this in less than 24 hours. I felt such a bon with these characters and I loved the story that this author created. This is definitely another hit for Dani Atkins and I highly recommend this truly special book!

I read this in 2 sittings  it would have been 1 but I needed to sleep. Beautifully written and heart-warming, no pun intended.

**3.5 stars**
I’ve been a huge fan of Dani Atkins books and while I enjoyed this, I feel it didn’t give me the same emotional feels her previous books have. 
It follows Alex and Connor who have lost Lisa, wife/mother in a tragic train accident. They both struggle with acceptance and moving forward after the event but their life is enriched by four strangers who have received a transplant gift from Lisa.
I think part of the story that I had an issue with is that Lisa was put on a pedestal, she seemed perfect, the perfect wife, the perfect mother. I did enjoy the other characters and their roles and I’m really happy how everything played out in the end.
A light hearted read, great if your looking for some magical kind of escapism.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read.

Beautiful well writtn emotional story of loss and longing. Pulls at your heart and made me read on. 

Death, life, hope, new beginnings! 

When Alex's wife Lisa dies suddenly he is forced to piece his life back together along with his son Connor.  Alex struggles trying to bridge the gap of grief for them both, until he meets those whose Lisa's organs have saved. Alex seeks solace and help in each of them in various ways as their lives are now interlinked forever.

I am a huge fan of Dani Atkins and have read and enjoyed all of her previous novels and this was no exception. Yet another well written book that was packed full of emotion - keep those tissues handy. Would highly recommend reading this book. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I’ve read a few of Dani’s books and absolutely loved them. I expected to feel the same
about this book, but I struggled to get in to this one. 

It tells the story of Alex. He loses his wife Lisa in a train crash and is left to look after their son Connor. He makes contact with the people who received organ donations from Lisa. 

For me, the story struggled to pick up pace until near the end and the story was rounded off with a nice ending. I really wanted to like this book more than I did. 

Thank you to Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read it, in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. From heartbreak and death comes hope, life and new beginnings. A wonderful book about how the gift of being a organ donor breathes life into four people of different ages. How they get to meet the donors remaining family and the pleasure and pain that this brings. Definitely a must read.

A Sky Full Of Stars by Dani Atkins, Pub Date 4th February 2021
The story centres around Alex and his young son Connor, tragically coming to terms with Lisa's death, wife and mother, and the decisions made following her passing.
Lisa was involved in a train crash. Alex is faced with a painful decision. Lisa chose to donate her organs upon her death, despite breaking his heart, he must honour her wishes.
Multiple emotions arise as Alex meets the four donor recipients and the story follows them, Alex and Connor to an emotional conclusion.
There is a lot of grief, hope, friendship, kindness and romance woven throughout the story.
A wonderfully well-written story that touched me deeply in places,  heartfelt and moving. I highly recommend it.
Thank you to Netgalley, Head of Zeus and author Dani Atkins for a pre-publication to review.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an early review copy. 

This lovely story explores what happens when we lose someone from our lives suddenly and the bonds that are too immense to quantify and how love lives on. 

This is, of course, a sad subject but a sensitive one, one which I  felt was handled delicately and truelly to the journey of grief and what little things get overlooked or change. 

Its not always the obvious loss that hurts the longest, but those micro moments that resurface time and time again. 

It also, delved into the gift of organ donation, the journeys of those recipients and how their lives  also change forever. 

Recommend it.

Dani Atkins is a fabulous author and I was lucky to be able to read an arc of this, her latest book A sky full of stars. 
Each of Dani’s books are beautifully and sensitivity written based on well written characters and each pull on the heartstrings. This is no different and caused me to laugh and cry at different points of the novel. Towards the end I was so emotional I had family members checking I was okay!
In this novel Dani writes about loss and the story centres around a young family who tragically lose the mother and the decisions that are made following her death. Lisa, the mother, has chosen to donate her organs and during the novel we see her husband Alex deal with his bereavement and his young sons inability to process the loss of his mum.
Complicated emotions come into play as Alex meets and befriends the four donor recipients and the story follows them and the family to an emotional conclusion.
It is a very interesting topic to cover and the delicate focus on grief, moving in and dealing with the complex emotions of another person living with something that was a part of your loved one is dealt with great compassion.
A lovely book which I am very happy to recommend and will be buying to add to my collection of Dani’s previous novels which I have also recommended many times.
Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

* Disclaimer I was given an ARC f this book in exchange for an open and honest review the NetGalley Platform*

Having been an avid reader of Dani Atkins previously I was eager to get started on this novel and as always it was worth the wait.

I hate reviews that give away too many spoilers so I’ll try my best not too.

This book is about Alex and his young son Connor tragically coming to terms with the death of Lisa, wife, love of Alex’s life and Connor’s mum.

As a result of Lisa’s death Alex agrees for her organs to be donated. 4 recipients receive something from Lisa and what then ensues is a friendship between Alex and the recipients.

What really got my intrigued though was the added relationships/situations of the recipients. We learn about each of them and there lives so it’s like there are 5 or 6 different stories all interwoven to create a fine masterpiece of fiction that will leave you not only, laughing out loud but reaching for the tissues through tear stained eyes.

Would definitely recommend,

*****

I’d like to thank Head of Zeus and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘A Sky Full Of Stars’ written by Dani Atkins in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Lisa leaves home to catch the 07:38 Norwich to London train to give a lecture to fellow-astronomers.  The train never reaches London, there’s a crash and Lisa dies, leaving behind her husband Alex and six-year-old Connor to carry on without her.  Lisa is on the Organ Doner Register and four strangers benefit from her untimely death, Barbara, Jamie, Mac and Molly, but Alex thinks Lisa is watching over them and for some reason has chosen these four people to be recipients of her organs.  Months later they meet and become friends but Alex feels a special connection with Molly who has Lisa’s heart beating within her.  Meanwhile, Connor is waiting for his mummy to return home and take him to the Astronomy Convention she’s promised they can go to.  

‘A Sky Full of Stars’ is the heart-breaking story of the love and loss experienced by a newly-widowed father and his young son and the chance of a new life given to four strangers.  I hadn’t long started reading when the tears began to fall and this continued near enough through the entire novel until the last few pages when they changed to tears of hope and the promise of a better future.  I loved every single character who was each unique in their own way, and my heart went out to Connor who kept gazing at the stars waiting for his mummy to return.  Ms Atkins’ tongue-in-cheek humour kept me smiling through the tears and brought lightness into what could have been a sombre and depressing subject.  I’m so grateful that Head of Zeus allowed me to read this beautifully-written novel which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed, the ending was perfect and it was a joy to read.