Member Reviews

I loved this story and the characters in it, from Tuesday to her grandson Matt and Harlow Hayes, the personalities were captivating and not at all stereotypical. The book was long, I kept thinking, wow, I'm only 42% in and it feels like I've been reading a long time, but not at all in a bad way. There was meat to it, and it covered a period of years in the historical timeline, which takes a while. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes novels. The faith content was definitely there but it was done in such a way that it would be attractive and not off-putting to a non-believer. This was absolutely one of the best Rachel Hauck books I have read to date. Highly recommend.

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MEET ME AT THE STARLIGHT by RACHEL HAUCK is a deightful read with equally delightful characters. I love the contrast between smalltown Sea Blue Beach, Florida where the locals all know one another and share a history, brought together by the famous Starlight roller skating rink, and Hollywood, with all the falseness, ambition and backbiting……
Tuesday Knight, the unwanted child of a sixteen year old and abandoned by her granny, was taken in by Prince Blue from Lauchtenland, and lived at the Starlight which he built with a freed slave and left in her care. She marries Leroy, a decorated WW1 soldier, the love of her life, and they have two sons, LJ and Dupree. Leroy gets involved in a gang and is hardly ever home. She draws great comfort from the Starlight and Immanuel…….
The next generation follows with Dupree and his son Matt, who is a famous film star. He has got into trouble once too often and comes to Sea Blue Beach to stay with his dad. He gets involved with saving the Starlight from demolition and is pleased to find a rather plump Harlow Hayes, once voted the most beautiful woman in the world, who works with him in the campaign. Both Matt and Harlow realize the importance of being themselves, in Matt’s case of forgiving himself, and in Harlow’s case of not letting her mother or anyone else run her life.
The author describes the characters’ emotions very well as we journey with them from 1932 to 1991.
There are themes of romance, forgiveness, tragedy, desperation, hope and redemption running through this entertaining story.
I waa given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Bethany House Publishers. The opinions in this review are completely my own.

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4.5 rounded up. Love me some Rachel Hauck.

"Titles come and go. Beauty fades. But pizza. . ."
Meet Me at the Starlight is a fun combination of the 1930s and 80s, the eras, Hauck's writing, and Hollywood dazzle adding charm to a typical coming home / save the family business plot. I was completely engaged and turning pages even though this maybe wasn't my very favorite cast of her characters (Prince John, anyone?) even though I did come to care for them. This is fiction that doesn't pretend to be anything else and yet has relatability and universally true messages. I mostly knocked down half a star because the message that God is with us in the highs and lows of our lives is true but also is becoming this author's one note song and I'd like to see a bit more meat with the milk--because while Immanuel does mean that God is with us, it also means so much more.

"Temptation still existed, but after Immanuel’s bread and fish, her emotions changed."

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ebook so I can share my honest thoughts.

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So very good!
I was caught up in this story from the beginning until the end.
Miz Tuesday wouldn't let me go until I finished her story. Such a strong and faithful woman! There's no way I could ever be like her. I loved in getting to know her.
Harlow and Matt's part of the story was pretty good too. I liked how it all wrapped up in the end leaving my heart full and satisfied.
We have a Starlight diner here in Daytona but nothing quite like the one in this book. Seems as if this one is quite special.
This book is a must read and it will be going on my shelf of favorite books
Hauck writes the best stories! I look forward to each one and will reread them again.
The cover is so beautiful that it makes you want to do a Mary Poppins thing.
5 stars for a beautiful cover and story!
My thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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This is a perfect novel for fans of the Hallmark channel, and I absolutely mean that as a compliment. This is a sweet, multi-generational story about a skating rink - but also about community and love and personal growth. I especially enjoyed seeing how the past impacted the present. There's not a ton of suspense here, but then again, that's not what readers of this genre want. Hauck's writing is top-notch, as always. There's an ease to her prose that keeps us turning the pages, and she handles multiple time periods with aplomb. She manages to include just the right amount of detail so that the reader is grounded in time and place while still keeping things moving at a good pace. The message of the story will resonate with so many readers. I highly recommend this novel for fans of uplifting fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance e-galley; all opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

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Meet Me at Starlight by Rachel Hauck brought back many memories of spending tons of time as a young child and a teenager at my local skating rink. Our parents would drop a van full of us teenagers off when they opened and picked us up when they closed. They gave us pocket money, and we would spend all day with our friends. A free baby-sitter and all the kids were tired when they arrived at home. Anyways, Meet Me at Starlight is a timeslip novel, but they bounce off each other pretty well. Readers will see the story in the past as it moves forward to present day. The characters had deep stories that needed to be told. Hauck has brought back some familiar characters and a familiar setting if readers are familiar with her previous stories. Of course, there is romance in the later time period, but nothing too distracting from the plot. The plot kept me interested, but there were moments when the story was a little light on the action, but overall, the plot did capture my interest. I would recommend this story to others who enjoy a good feel good story with a spiritual truth to the plot.

I received a complimentary copy of Meet Me at Starlight by Rachel Hauck from Thomas Nelson Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.

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This is beyond gorgeous! I could see this being a movie. I loved the story, the characters, and the meaning. It has such a romantic Old Hollywood vibe about it.

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