Look at that cover - I mean, wow. The Sky Beneath Us follows two distantly related women, separated by almost 100 years, as they journey through Nepal. As both women trek through the mountains, they must face their past, their future, and their identity. The author explores historical and modern contexts, bridging two very different worlds together and exposing the unwavering and unchanging aspects of the human condition. The potential with this plot is immense. Fiona Valpy has beautiful diction and her ability to describe nature so vividly is incredibly impressive. It also felt so enlightening to learn about the suffering of the Sherpas, to see inside such a resilient population. There’s a lot that I liked, but also a lot that I didn’t - which can mostly be explained by my dislike of this writing style.

My feelings about the first half of this book are very different from those of the second half. For the first half, I feel like the back and forth between 2020 and the letters from the late 1920s created a false sense of understanding and depth. There’s little character development and the content is just large blocks of play-by-play narration of the two women moving through their days or months. Thoughts are explained almost too literally and unnaturally, leaving little to the reader’s imagination. There’s just so much fluff. It was extremely hard for me to get through this part of the book because of how bored I became reading about where they walked, the color of the flowers and sky, what the food tasted like, etc. Setting the scene in this novel just took way too long and reading action after action became exhausting.

I think it comes down to my dislike of this kind of writing, which is characterized by heavily detailed narration and scene descriptions. In the second half of the novel, the pace picked up and it was much easier for me to get through. It kept my attention with the promises of families reuniting and discovering, serenity in Phortse, and plot development. The prose takes a sharp turn to readable and airy in this half. The story unravels in a cozy, mild way - not void of its heart-wrenching moments. Depictions of nature are kept reasonably brief and are immensely breathtaking. At points, I felt like I was there, breathing in the thin, fresh air, surrounded by the flowers of my dreams.

It’s hard for me to reconcile my feelings about this book. I have issues with some of the writing, but there’s heart and wisdom to it that I appreciate. I think this novel is perfect for those that love an atmospheric read, drenched in details and the awe of nature.

The Sky Beneath Us by Fiona Valpy is a captivating tale that spans decades and continents, weaving together the stories of two remarkable women connected by courage, resilience, and the spirit of adventure. Set against the backdrop of Scotland and the high-altitude Khumbu valley of Nepal, the novel follows Violet Mackenzie-Grant, a Scottish botanist embarking on a journey of self-discovery in 1927, and her great-great-niece, Daisy Laverock, who retraces her ancestor's footsteps decades later. As Daisy navigates the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, she finds solace and inspiration in Violet's journals, uncovering long-held secrets and forging her own path forward. With vivid descriptions, poignant themes, and richly drawn characters, The Sky Beneath Us is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the transformative power of hope.

A dual timeline between Violet in the 1920s and Daisy in the 2020s, and their journeys to Nepal and discovering themselves.

This book took me some time to get in to it but eventually I did become very invested in both timeline’s story and their characters.
To be honest I’m not sure if I’m read to COVID stories yet, although I understand the symbolism of it in this book.
I loved the primary location in this book, it was definitely not your typical home base for a story.

Well Fiona Valpy has done it again,another beautiful story that draws you in right from the beginning. The back and forth from the different time eras is well done and the you can’t help but love the characters. I always look forward to her books.

This book really has the potential to be something great. I love the back and forth between Daisy and Violet (using the journal entries). However, what I didn't like at all was how Daisy's timeline takes place during COVID. While yes this was a huge change in our current time, I felt like it seriously pulled away from how beautiful this story could have been if this was let's say 2021 for Daisy.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for my E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the eARC.
What a beautiful book, I absolutely loved it!
The two main characters, Violet (in the 1920's) and Daisy (2020 -2023) both went to Tibet. Daisy wanted to walk in the footsteps of her ancestor and find out what happened to her.
The story is heartwarming throughout with a wonderful ending. The Scottish and Nepalese scenes were so interesting, featuring many anecdotes of plants, flowers and their importance in our world. The lives and kindness of the Sherpas were also moving parts of this story ... so lovely.
A must read, highly recommended.

A beautiful story of the unique and fascinating intersection of Scotland and Napal. I especially enjoyed the actual facts included in this book - laws of Napal, customs of the Nepali, real facts about hiking Everest and the Himalaya. All incorporated into a lovely, realistic story.

Realistically, you can’t go wrong with a Fiona Valpy book. I don’t think I’ve read one of hers that I feel was not up to par!
A duel timeline read that follows Violet, a determined young woman in the 1920s who defies societal norms to pursue her passion for botany, ultimately finding herself in Nepal, where she builds a new life with the Sherpa people. The second timeline is some decades later which follows Daisy, Violet’s great-great niece, who as a result of the pandemic finds her stranded in Nepal, where she learns to live amongst the locals just like Violet, did.
A really engaging read with an absolutely stunning cover!

The story follows Violet and Daisy, her great great niece, both strong wonderful characters that I was immediately rooting for.
This is a multi layered and dual time line novel. The author depicts the struggle women had in the early 1900's - no voice and no choice of a career. Violet however was a determined young woman who had a great love of plants and persuades her parents to let her study at the Edinburgh School of Gardening for Women. Whilst in Edinburgh she meets and falls in love with Callum, but her parents consider him to be an unsuitable choice for a husband. He in the meanwhile has gone to Nepal to help identify the various plants. Violet decides to join him, leaving Scotland.
After discovering Violet's journal, Daisy, at a low point in her life decides to visit Nepal with her mother to discover what happened to Violet once in Nepal. Due to the pandemic Daisy's mother is unable to accompany her and Daisy sets out on her own.
I was fascinated to learn about the Sherpas' way of life, then and now, and the kindness shown to both women though many decades apart.
Beautiful descriptions of the Valley of Flowers . Brilliant storytelling. I loved it.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

This was a lovely book set in Nepal and told during two time periods. In 1927, Violet goes to Nepal (Kathmandu) carrying a child to let the father, who is working there, know of her condition. Upon her arrival, he passes, but she falls in love with the country and spends the rest of her life there, raising her child in a remote village. In 2020, her great, great niece, Daisy goes to Nepal to learn more about Violet's history and gets stuck due to Covid-19. She too falls in love with the remote village. Highly recommend!

I wonder if every mother facing an empty nest has a bit of an identity crisis - who are you (now, as well as still)? Daisy travels to Nepal to find out.

Sooo well written! I was quickly drawn into the stories and kept turning the pages to read more of the vibrant descriptions. Utterly captivating.

Strong recommendation.



Thank you to Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for the DRC

Violet Mackenzie-Grant and Daisy Laverock share the same travels through the mountains of Nepal, but over one hundred years apart. It is 1927s and Violet is forging a way for herself in a society that constricts her love for learning, botany, and most things that go against the status-quo of a young woman in her time. In 2020, at the beginnings of a pandemic, Daisy dares to venture in her great Aunt Violet's footsteps as she seeks to find herself and the woman she once was before a painful divorce. In a touching story of kin and kindred spirits we follow these women's journey through the Himalaya as they endure the grief of losing loved ones, persevering through heartbreak, and finding strength and hope within.

This book created such vivid pictures and I was transported to the beauty of both Scottish gardens and mountainsides of Nepal. The descriptions of flora and fauna were so intricate and I appreciated being lost in it for a few moments. Following Violet and Daisy's search for love and self love was a heartfelt journey and I found them to be so relatable as a woman in search of herself and as a mother whose love for her children pushes her onward in the face of heartbreak. This was a beautifully written story about love, heartbreak, family, home, and learning how to keep putting one foot in front of the other in the face of adversity.

Traditional format 📕 (digital). The cover art of this book caught my eye right away and once I further read the synopsis I knew I wanted to give this book a read.

This alternating timeline book tells the story of Violet, a botanist who travels to Nepal to follow the love of her life. Many decades later her great great relative Daisy follows in her footsteps and journeyed to Nepal to learn more about Violet. Much of Violet’s story is told through diary entries throughout the book.

This was a beautifully written book. The details about Nepal made me feel like I was there experiencing it and I loved learning about the Sherpa people.

Here’s my only criticism: the modern day timeline took place in 2020 and the main character Daisy gets trapped in Nepal bc of the Corona virus. This book would have been a five star read to me had this not been the case. The whole virus plot just took away from this book for me. The book very easily could have been written without this with a little bit of effort and would have been so much better in my opinion.

I am rating this book a 4/5.

Thank you Lake Union Publishing and Net Galley for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

Just look at this gorgeous cover with prayer flags fluttering as a Himalayan peak rises majestically behind a stupa! My heart soared just looking at it. The Sky Beneath Us is a remarkable historical and astoundingly relevant novel, taking the reader from Scotland to the high-altitude Khumbu valley of Nepal. The author's descriptions of trekking in the Himalayas with their rich biodiversity had me gasping from the thin air while at the same time, I could smell the cascading wild roses, camellias, and towering rhododendrons. Told in a dual timeline, we have the stories of Violet and her great-great niece Daisy, who strive to rise above what life has thrown at them.

Fair warning...Daisy's timeline begins in March 2020, just as COVID was changing life as we knew it. Reading this brought emotions rushing back, the fear of the unknown and the isolation. I lost my sister to COVID so it was difficult reading about victims dying alone in the hospital and families being unable to have a funeral. This story beautifully illustrates how no one was untouched by the pandemic as it even changed life in a remote Himalayan village in Nepal. I was so touched by the generosity of spirit shown by the Sherpa people as they offered unconditional sanctuary to both women. This book is inspiring, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting as both Violet and Daisy conquer the obstacles in their lives. "Sometimes you just have to throw your heart into the river of life and dive in after it." It was a privilege to read this book...I loved it.

I really enjoy Fiona Valpy's books and this was no exception. The setting was really wonderful and I loved the journey of discovery the story explored. Recommend

A beautiful written novel set in both Scotland and Nepal describes the story of two women in different time periods discovering who they are and what is important to them. Beginning in the 1920's with Violet, who is attending classes at the Edinburgh School of Gardening, this character embarks on a journey that will alter her life completely. In the Covid era, the reader meets the other main character, Daisy, who has found her great great Aunt Violet's journals and sets off to Nepal to find out what happened to her relative. Both characters are faced with circumstances that they never imagined. The descriptions of both countries and the characters in the story are fantastic. .This is a wonderful read that I highly recommend, I look forward to reading more from this author.

The Sky Beneath Us unfolds as beautifully and as warmly as a vintage quilt. Set mostly in Nepal, not far from the base of Everest, a Scottish young woman, Violet, chooses to live a life which gives her the freedom to chart her own course, along with her young daughter, unlike the path that would have been set out for her by her wealthy parents back home. She is a botanist and an illustrator, and the author does a fabulous job of describing native Nepalese flora, as well as the majestic mountain scenery.

Decades later, Violet's great, great niece, after reading much of Violets journals, travels to Nepal to discover the ending to Violet's story. The early weeks of the Covid pandemic leave her stranded in Nepal, where she learns to live freely among friends and relatives, just like her ancestor, Violet, did.

This book will leave the reader wishing to travel to Nepal to uncover their own long-lost Nepalese relatives. Superb!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

The Sky Beneath Us by F. Valpy, published by Lake Union Publishing, is a story that spans decades.
Beautifull written, beautifully thought out and told, I couldn't put the book down. Multi layered, a sittengemälde of society and time I was intrigued and was nor disappointed.
Blurb: An inspiring, uplifting story of love and loss, courage and adventure.
1927. Violet Mackenzie-Grant is embarking on her dream of studying at the Edinburgh School of Gardening for Women. She doesn’t yet know that it’s a journey that will take her to Kathmandu and beyond, deep into captivating landscapes and cultures that are worlds away from everything and everyone she’s left behind in Scotland.
2020. Daisy Laverock has dreamed of retracing the footsteps of her great-great-aunt Violet ever since discovering her long-lost journals, whose accounts of plant hunting in the 1930s inspired Daisy’s own career. Divorced, and facing an empty nest, Daisy decides to embark on the trip of a lifetime. She arrives in Nepal, ready to start trekking in the shadow of Everest. But fate, and the pandemic, have other plans.
Stranded and alone, Daisy must fall back on the kindness of strangers, taking inspiration from Violet’s determination and resilience to keep going in the darkest of times. As she gradually pieces together the fragments of Violet’s story and uncovers long-held secrets, can Daisy finally reveal a path forward to her own future::
I recomend the book.