Thank you NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced reading copy of Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray. I can't wait to start this book.

This was the perfect mix of historical fiction and mystery. This book takes place over three timelines.

The first 1940’s Hitler’s Germany, shows Sophie and Hanna’s perspective and how two school age youth took part in the resistance against the Nazi’s.

The second is a coming of age story that takes place in 1980’s West Berlin where Jenny is an American tourist learning about the wall and division of West Berlin and East Berlin.

The third takes place in Spring 2020 during the Covid pandemic. While in lockdown Miles and Chloe investigate Chloe’s family history. This leads them to the mystery of two missing teenagers who disappeared 80 years earlier at the Bridegroom’s Oak.

Libba Bray has a way with words and does an excellent job of seamlessly weaving all three timelines. The narrator does a phenomenal job distinguishing between the vast amount of characters and timelines. I truly enjoyed learning how the narratives were interconnected.

I just can not get into this one, and once the topic of covid was introduced, it lost me. The narrator was great though, but even she couldn't save the book for me.

A slow burn plot that I just could not get into. Maybe part of it was that it is a YA book and every aspect had to be explained. With three different timelines there was a lot to get through. Perhaps it wasn't the time in my life to read a literary read. I'll try it again later.

This is a story of love. This is a story of resistance. Brilliantly told by 3 sets of characters in three timelines all telling the story of what happened to three young people who defied the Nazis & then disappeared. What happened to them? You will be desperately turning the pages to find out. Beautiful!

I received an audiobook advance copy of Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray. 3.5 stars.

I think the narration for this book was really well done.

This YA story takes place over 3 time lines.

When I read historical fiction, I typically like WWII, so that story line was really interesting to me and really pulled me in. The character development was well written.

I also enjoyed listening to the 1980's storyline. More well done character development, and I could really feel the emotions portrayed.

However, as much as I enjoyed the earlier storylines, the 2020 storyline is too recent for my liking. I'm not ready to read COVID19 fiction yet. Unfortunately it took a while to finish the book because if I left off during the 2020 story, I wasn't pulled to get back to it.

Overall though, this book is really well done. The mystery and history of it are intriguing. Perfectly written for YA category.

This book was so good. I listened to the audiobook and the narration was wonderful. It kept me engaged and changed my perspective. Our times are becoming eerily close to what happened with Sophie & Hanna in 1940's Germany. I enjoyed learning more about Berlin in the 1980's and following Miles & Sophie during COVID in 2020. I kept wondering if the stories would connect and I was not disappointed at the end. I shed so many tears. This is a book I will remember for a long time. It's a must read.
We must be present in this life and fight for what's right.

I love Libba Bray's writing, and getting to read another one of her books was a treat!

I loved the commentary on right vs wrong, and how people make assumptions about others. It was a little hard to listen to how the Jewish individuals were treated during WW2, but I knew that going in.

I love how all the character are unique and have their own voices. Each story is compelling in it's own right, and each character has their own flaws and twists.

The ending made me sob.

So historical fiction is a new genre for me. This book set the bar high. I loved the time switches and trying to figure out how it was going to come together! Very well written.

I picked up this book because I loved Libba Bray’s books as a kid, and her adult novel didn’t disappoint! I liked the different perspectives and how they all weaved together to tell a similar story.

DNF@60%

I spent the last couple of days contemplating whether I should DNF this book or not and I couldn't really re-pick it up. This started so strong and I was so excited for it however it began dragging out around the 30% mark. I had so many topics that I was not comfortable with so for my own mental health and time I had to let it go

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Thank you so much Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC it was much needed to get me out of my slump 💕

This book was heartwrenching, raw, honest, and powerful. It deals with three difficult periods of time in history: WWII Germany under Nazi occupation, 1980s Germany during the Berlin Wall with East and West Berlin, and 2020 New York during the COVID pandemic and the murder of George Floyd. The characters are well written and nuanced, and the storylines are all connected and come together to form a beautiful tale of courage, fighting back against oppression, and the power of love. It will make you stop and think, and I believe it’s an important read. The cast did an amazing job with the audio, and I highly recommend listening to it if you get a chance!!
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My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Spice level: 🌶️
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Read if you like:
▫️historical fiction meets mystery
▫️1940s Germany and 1980s Germany
▫️multiple POV
▫️social reform and resistance
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Thank you to Fierce Reads, Macmillan Children’s, Macmillan Audio, Libra Bray, and NetGalley for the ARC and ALC. I received advanced copies for free, and am leaving this review voluntarily.

An impressive look at three generations of rebels working to make the world better. A really great audiobook

Under the Same Stars and Libba Bray have left me completely speechless. Libba has created a unique lens in which to explore transformative historical events and the multi-generational impact they have. Libba’s signature take on magic is ever present as she interweaves the importance of words, fairy tales, mythology, stories, and storytelling into her narrative about World War II, the Berlin wall, and the COVID pandemic.

As with other Libba Bray novels, I knew that our three story lines would eventually merge to reveal how all of the characters and their actions were interconnected. This reveal was organic and added meaningful depth and layers to the relationships that had already been established in their own separate timelines.

All of the narrators in the audio book version are absolutely phenomenal and bring life to the intricate characters that Libba created on the page. The nuance, tone, and inflection of their voices help paint the vivid picture of self-discovery, love, and resistance which are the themes within Under the Same Stars.

Under the Same Stars tells three different stories in three different times, but they are all tied together by Sophie and Hanna when they go missing in 1941.
In 1941 Germany, we find Sophie and Hanna, both writing letters, but for different reasons. They think they may know where the key to the resistance is. In the 1980s West Germany, we find Jenny and Lena. They are part of a rock band that wants the wall torn down. In 2020 NYC, we find Miles and Chloe going through the shutdown from COVID-19. Chloe receives a package from her grandma that leads both Chloe and Miles to investigate a case from the 1940s. The case? Two girls went missing in Germany.

Obviously, this will come with some trigger warnings. If you can’t read things about WWII era Germany, Berlin Wall era Germany, or COVID-19, don’t read this book. But, if you like any of these eras or historical fiction, I highly recommend this book. It was very well written and the importance of history repeating itself if you let it is prominent.

“Nothing ever happens in a vacuum. No incident is isolated. The past is with us always. This is the lesson of history and why it is important not to forget. We are always in a conversation with history.”

I listened to the audio version of this. Fair warning, it’s a long one. I listened to it on 2x speed and sometimes wanted to increase the speed. I enjoyed listening to it though. The narrators kept me interested and I liked that there were different narrators for the different timelines.

Absolutely stunning narrative that had me completely gripped. I'm both hopeful and heartbroken at this book. The character arcs, the interwoven stories, the prose, everything about this book was beautifully tragic. It's a book I think everyone should be reading.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I loved the three stories and how they intertwined together. I think this will be my favorite read of 2025 without a doubt. Beautifully written. Beautiful story. I wish I could reread for the first time.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Narration: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Duration: 16 hrs 31 min
Narrated by January LaVoy; Jeremy Carlisle Parker; Major Curda

* Historical Fiction
* YA
* Multi Interconnected Timelines
* Multiple POVs
* WWII
* The Cold War
* Covid
* Complex Themes
* LGBTQ+

Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray is beautifully written! I have always loved her writing style and this definitely didn’t disappoint! The story is a historical fiction (without her usual fantasy) told in three different timelines-1940s Germany (January LaVoy), 1980s West Germany (Jeremy Carlisle Parker), and Spring 2020, New York City (Jeremy Carlisle Parker). Truly is a powerful read and so much research, thought, heart and soul.

I absolutely love her talent with world/ character building. Each intricate detail, down to the flawless transitions. She had me on the edge of my seat. I won’t be going into much detail, as I don’t want to have any spoilers.

1940’s, Germany, follows two young Germany girls that are trying to navigate life and society with the heavy weight of the Nazis. This time line has so much going on in it.

1980’s, West Germany (Berlin), follows an American (Texan) who is trying to find herself. She fell in love with a punk rocker girl that is part of the punk movement.

2020, New York City, follows a young man with two moms. It covers the pandemic, BLM movement and helping a friend find out more about her ancestry.

The contrast in different timelines, they all share the themes of independence, freedom, and friendships. Highly recommend this book to those that live seamless multiple timeline stories that are rich with historical fiction.

I received an ALC of this. The narration was incredible and very well executed. I throughly enjoyed that there was multiple narrators and you knew by that, which timeline you were in. They all definitely brought the story to life.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this incredible ALC.

In Under the Same Stars, Libba Bray tells intertwines stories from 1940s Germany, 1980s West Berlin, and 2020 New York City. It is an ambitious book and Bray definitely pulled it off. I anticipate many people loving this book.

As with most multi-timeline books, I liked one more than the others, but I found all of them pretty compelling. Every time we were back with Sophie and Hanna in the 1940s, I couldn't stop reading - I needed to know what happened. Jenny's storyline in the 1980s was unlike anything I've read before and kept me on the edge of my seat. Miles's story in 2020 was more challenging for me to read simply because some of it felt too fresh.

The audiobook narration and production were extremely well done - I'd recommend listening to this book.

Master storyteller Libba Bray delivers a complex plot that will hook readers in. The intertwined narratives worked perfectly to fully tell the tale of 3 different major events/times in history. This is a must have for all collections!

This is my first read by Bray and it was an interesting and nuanced story exploring different characters across time. The characters are richly written and incredibly well developed. The story as a whole has a slower pace; however, that didn’t stop me from reading it start to finish in one day. It sucked me in with how Bray didn’t shy away from topics or controversies affecting the time periods being written about. It was interesting to experience the three different time lines and see how they all wove together. I also appreciated the choice to reveal the connections a little at a time as it helped me stay invested with the slower pacing. I enjoyed the narration for this and really appreciated the choice to use multiple narrators. It helped me keep track of the story. I felt all three did well in their roles and appreciated that they were speaking in a similar cadence where I didn’t have to adjust the speed of the story between narrator swaps.