A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice

In the stories and legends surrounding the Titanic, the Carpathia, the ship that picked up the survivors from the disaster. In this novel, Connolly imagines the story as it unfolded aboard the Carpathia the night of April 15, 1912; the decision of Captain Arthur Rostron to push his ship to its structural and engineering limit to reach the survivors as quickly as possible and then alternates his story with that of Titanic lifeboat passenger #13, Kate Connolly, who is traveling to America from Ireland for a new life. Even though we already know the ending, readers will be reading with a white knuckle grip. And I have to wonder if author Rebecca is a descendant of Kate’s.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy for review!

I am absolutely obsessed with the Titanic and I read every book I can find about it so I was so excited to see this book on the NetGalley website.

Though A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice is a historical fiction book, it was obviously well-researched. Rebecca Connolly did an excellent job of tapping into the emotions of the survivors aboard Titanic as well as the captain of the Carpathia who had to come to the aid of the survivors without knowing what situation he was getting into. A lot of Titanic books I've read have had a romance at the center of them but this one focused more on friendships and the rescue efforts, as well as the trauma of the events.

I think this is the Titanic book that has touched me most deeply. Connolly does a great job of exploring the heartwrenching decisions that passengers had to make, the grief of losing loved ones, and the horror of splitting families apart. I definitely had tears in my eyes while reading some of the lifeboat scenes.

There were a few mentions of religion scattered throughout the book that made sense in the historical context which I didn't mind too much. However, there was one chapter that was a whole religious funeral that I ended up skimming which affected my enjoyment of the book a bit (but that's just personal preference).

In A BRILLIANT NIGHT OF STARS AND ICE, REBECCA CONNOLLY gives us the story of the sinking of the Titanic, together with that of the Carpathia, whose captain, Arthur Rostron, bravely turned his ship around when the cry for help was intercepted by the young Marconi operator, Harold Cottam, late at night on the fourteenth of April 1912, when he was uundressing for bed. I like the way the godly captain did not hesitate to hasten to help the Titanic’s passengers, pushing the Carpathia to greater speed even as they had to move carefully around icebergs. I like the excerpts from Arthur Rostron’s book together with those from survivors of the ordeal. I also like the way the author gives us closure on some of the survivors who are the main characters in the novel by telling us what happens to them afterwards.
Kate Connolly is a young Irish girl who is travelling third class on the Titanic with a group of new found friends when the unthinkable happens - the unsinkable ship is going down! She escapes on lifeboat thirteen. After the horrors she experiences she knows she will never be the same. She feels guilty to have survived when so many haven’t. This horrific ordeal reveals what the people involved are made of. In this early twentieth century world, rife with class distinction as shown in the haughty and entitled attitude of Sir and Lady Duff-Gordon, it is “Amazing how compassion could bridge the divide of classes when nothing else could.” I like to see how the passengers on board rhe Carpathia join the crew in making things as comfortable as possible for the shipwrecked survivors even giving up their cabins in some instances.
It is a sensitively told and well researched story in which we really feel the characters’ anguish.
It is an interesting and inspirationl read and one I highly recommend.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Shadow Mountain Publishing The opinions in this review are completely my own.

As a child I was fascinated with the Titanic. Rebecca Connolly has reignited that passion with this gripping novel. Told in multiple points of view, you won't want to set it down. 5/5 stars!

When I first began this novel, I expected yet another ‘Titanic’ story, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Vividly compelling from the first page, the author pulls us into life aboard Carpathia, en-route to Europe from America. Understandably the world continues to be fascinated by one of history’s worst maritime disasters, and most know rough details of what happened that night, but Connolly has brought us a very human story of courage and determination by Carpathia’s crew, especially its radio operator, without whom the message from Titanic would not have been heard. The fact that it was is nothing short of a miracle, and it was a night full of miracles woven into a tapestry of heartbreak.
Encompassing the magnitude of the tragedy without ever resorting to overdramatisation, Connolly’s copious research goes far beyond the actual events and into the mind and heart of Carpathia’s Captain Rostron, who was, not just a natural-born sailor, but a true gentleman in every sense of the word, who did everything he could to protect his passengers from the worst of media attention. This is fact-based fiction which will appeal to readers who enjoy a well-known story with a different twist. A deeply moving account which I can highly recommend and won’t easily forget.

Rebecca Connolly has done it again. This was stunning! The plot was well-paced and completely captivating from start to finish. The characters were well developed and intriguing. Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the book.

A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice by Rebecca Connolly is a great historical fiction that highlights the Carpathia’s involvement with the aftermath of the downfall of the infamous Titanic.

I really have always been drawn to anything associated with the Titanic. I also have researched quite a bit into the rescue and post-rescue aspects, so I have knowledge of the Carpathia and its involvement. Of course I was drawn to this historical fiction that alternates between the point of view between Captain Arthur Rostron of the Carpathia and a fictional third-class passenger, Kate Connolly, on the Titanic. Being able to read this tragedy and the subsequent rescue effort. Seeing the events unfold from such diverse viewpoints and from literal opposite ends of the spectrum, was a wonderful compare and contrast of the sinking.

The author does a fabulous job creating a narrative that is emotional, jarring, suspenseful, and fresh/new despite knowing what is to happen. The concept of addressing this infamous and devastating loss from these new angles and arranging it in such an addictive, haunting, and harrowing way makes for a wonderful read. I devoured it as fast as I possibly could.

Wonderful.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Shadow Mountain Publishing for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately (as of 11/20/21 no BB listing has been created and link will be updated when it is available) and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication on 4/5/22.

I really enjoyed this book. Rebecca Connolly is a talented author and this book displays her talent perfectly! The story of the Titanic has always piqued my interest so when I saw this book, I knew I had to read it! I love that it is based on a true story, but even more alluring is that it includes the story of the Carpathia. Most retellings of the Titanic focuses solely on the ship and its passengers, however, Connolly includes the Carpathia and its Captain Arthur Rostron in addition to a passenger on the Titanic, Kate Connolly. I really enjoyed getting to explore the different perspectives of each person.

Captain Rostron is bewildered that the unsinkable ship is calling for help. After deciding to come the the rescue of the Titanic, he must push his ship to unthinkable and never tested speeds as they are four hours away from the location of the Titanic and pray they don't come in contact with icebergs along the way.

Kate Connolly is a passenger on the Titanic. She is lucky to get a spot on a lifeboat, drifting in the darkness, listening to the screams of fellow passengers in the freezing cold water, and hoping for a rescue to come quickly.

If you enjoy stories based around the Titanic, this is a MUST read!

I loved this book. Admittedly, I have been fascinated by the Titanic since we did a unit study on it and ocean exploration in 3rd grade. However, in all the time I researched it, the Carpathia was just mentioned as the ship that picked up the survivors. This historical fiction novel dives into the lives of those on the savior ship. Captain Rostron pushed his ship to its limits. I never even thought about the bravery behind the act of responding, and all that came along with the rescue. The plight of steerage passengers gets explored and honored. All in all Connolly beautifully weaves a story that amazes and engages readers from beginning to end. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. I truly loved every bit of this one.

I have mixed opinions about this book. I should start by saying I’m a long time maritime history buff, which has included a ton of Titanic history. I was honestly more excited to see someone take on a story centered in large part around Arthur Rostron and the Carpathia.

Ultimately, I wish we got more depth to the Titanic characters. We hardly knew them before the ship hit the iceberg, so I wasn’t as emotionally invested in their stories. There wasn’t an enormous amount of backstory of the Carpathia crew and passengers either, but this didn’t seem as bad because we’ve really never had any historical fiction book where they’ve even been included as characters. I liked the true historical details added in, such as Carlos Hurd getting the story of a lifetime as a reporter who was a passenger on the Carpathia.

The overall historical picture presented was fairly accurate, but I noticed some glaringly obvious small inaccuracies. For example, during Captain Rostron’s testimony during the senate inquiry, he most definitely never referred to the Titanic as unsinkable, I doubt a captain ever would. The true senate inquiry actually reads like it’s own fiction. There’s also no evidence boat 13 pulled a survivor out of the water. I doubt little things like this will bother the average reader and I’m willing to overlook it a bit because it’s fiction.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Wow! I’ve always been fascinated by the story of the Titanic but this novel awakened a whole new level of fascination. While the Titanic movie mostly focuses on everything leading up to the sinking of the Titanic, this novel focuses on the dramatic and heroic rescue operation by the crew of the Carpathia, lead by Captain Arthur Rostron. Arthur has the daunting task of responding to the distress call and orchestrating a rescue of epic scale in the frigid waters of the northern Atlantic. Be prepared to be amazed!
This book checked so many boxes for me!
✔️historical fiction
✔️heroic tale
✔️emotional journey
✔️loveable characters
✔️dramatic
✔️page turner
I finished this book with a serious love and respect for all of the crew members who attended to the survivors on that fateful day. This book would make the most epic sequel to the movie, the Titanic, and I can only hope that @paramountpics and @jamescameronofficial take on the challenge.

P.S. My most favourite part of the book were the quotes, at the beginning of each chapter, from Captain Arthur Rostron and the survivors.
Well researched and well done @author.rebecca.connolly 🙏🏻 Thank you to @netgalley and @shadowmountainpub for providing me with this lovely eARC.
#bookstagram #canadianbookstagram #abrilliantnightofstarsandice #thetitanic #netgalley #shadowmountainpublishing #titanic

A great novel regarding the rescue of the Titantic survivors. This is a little known story of the brave captain and crew who risked their safety to perform the rescue. The characters are well developed and the story line is gripping and inspirational. A must read!

Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was a very insightful and interesting historical novel. It gave you a good perspective of the Titanic as well as the rescue ship Carpathia.
I loved how it went back and forth between the passengers on the Titanic and the heroic efforts of the crew on the Carpathia.
The characters were well developed especially Captain Rostron. I loved hearing how the passengers on the Carpathia helped meet the needs of the titanic survivors.
The plot held my interest and had no boring, slow spots. I also loved the bit at the end where the author gave brief bios of some of the characters.
This is a book I would recommend to everyone men, teens, etc. since it was clean, fascinating and well written.

A truly phenomenal book!
We all think we know the story of the Titanic but this book makes it so much more real and compelling bringing out details forgotten in the past. Rebecca Connolly makes the characters come alive as they face the harsh realities life sometimes dishes out. Catherine or Kate is from County Caven, Ireland on her way to America and a new future traveling on the Titanic with friends. Even in steerage the ship is amazing. It was full of excited, happy people heading for an adventure if not a new life. Arthur Rostron was Captain of the Carpathia, another cruise ship heading from the United States to stops in Europe with a full load of passengers. The Carpathia was not as elegant as the Titanic but it was beautiful in its own right and had a good, experienced crew. No one knew what the future would hold and only by chance did the sailor in the radio room get the distress call from the Titanic, the ship that was unsinkable. Thus begins the saga of a moment marked by both tragedy and extreme bravery and efforts in the face of harrowing circumstances. The characters and their emotions are so real and intense I found myself both smiling and crying at different times. If you are concerned that this could be too much intensity, please know that Connolly does a masterful job of handling the situations in such a way that they are not overwhelming. I highly recommend this book. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy. This is my review and all thoughts are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for letting me read this book ahead of time. I loved it! No one thinks about what the Carpathia went through to get to the Titanic. This book gives us an idea of what went on and what they went through. I thought it was a wonderful story based on facts.

I was given an ARC by the publisher for an honest review.
I absolutely love reading and this book was one of those 'can't put down' types. I was absolutely enthralled. After attempting a few duds, it was such a relief and so pleasurable to read something well written, with a good pace, a clear storyline. I learnt a lot about Titanic, even through the lens of historical fiction, but no doubt telling an amazing perspective of the well-known story. Will definitely be following this author!!

Having been fascinated with the Titanic for years (long before the 1997 movie came out), I’m always interested in reading books related to the topic.

This historical fiction novel focuses on the aftermath of the sinking and the crew of the Carpathia, the ship that rescued the survivors.

While the story presented a different angle, I felt the book fell short on character development. For example, we are just intrigued to a group of women travelling to New York in steerage. No sooner do we meet them then the ship has sunk. It’s hard to care much for the characters if you aren’t given a chance to know them.

The pacing of the story is quite fast, so it’s a quick read, I just felt it came at the expense of a more literary, if you will, quality. I did still like the book though.

Thank you to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So good! I have been obsessed with the titanic forever and learned something new despite my many years of research on my own. That’s how you you know it’s a good historical fiction novel. No romance in this one but I still found myself really enjoying it.

This was a very good book, told largely from the perspective of the Captain of the Carpathia, the only ship that responded to the emergency calls of the Titanic. Captain Rostron of the Carpathia literally pushes his ship to the limits, getting as much speed as possible to reach the Titanic in time. We also hear from a fictional person in steerage on the Titanic, Kate Connolly, a young girl from Ireland on he way to America to meet up with her sister and eventually, she hopes, a job. The sinking of the Titanic happens very quickly, Kate and a few other girls she had made friends with make it up the the boat deck with the help of a fellow they had met earlier, his fate was unknown. Kate and her friends make it into a lifeboat (number 13) with an almost full load of passengers and manage to make it away from the Titanic as it sinks. Captain Rostron is not only pushing his ship for speed, he's dodging icebergs by directing the person steering the ship to steer right or left, managing to miss all of them, a miraculous feat. The Carpathia eventually arrives at the coordinates where the Titanic should be but discovers only lifeboats and bodies of those that did not make it into a lifeboat. He gets all the survivors on board, even though his ship already has maximum passengers on board. The survivors are put up in any space that can be found, including the Captain's room. This was a quick read, I learned a lot about the Carpathia and her role in the disaster, although the Titanic is still the more famous ship. I would recommend. Thank you to Netgalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the ARC.

3.75 stars on storygraph
4.0 stars on goodreads

Since I was a little girl, I have always been morbidly obsessed with the sinking of the Titanic since the glorious Kate Winslet and Leonardo Di Caprio graced our screens. I probably have watched it, 60 or so times and in 2012 I dragged my future husband to see it in 3D on big screen (which I never got to see in 1997 as I was 5 years old). In 2020, my dream overseas trip commencing at the Belfast museum got cancelled (no surprises there), it was an extremely disappointing time for me. I had been dreaming of this trip and wanted to see the "other side of the Titanic" as I have become worried about the romanticisation of the Titanic through Cameron's portrayal . The Titanic's sinking was a tragedy and one of nightmares. Due to this, I have been dying to read more historical fiction related to the Titanic, which did not have a romantic focus.

As I was scrolling through Netgalley.com, the gorgeous cover including the overarching, grim, iceberg, immediately got my attention. One of my favourite book covers so far for 2022. I cannot wait to add a copy to my shelf. Author Rebecca Connolly kindly included a character map included the characters which was particularly helpful as there is a complex range of characters that you will meet during this novel. It can be particularly confusing as there are multiple characters with the same first name.

Even though, the tragic sinking happens relatively early on in the novel, the heart wrenching moments are when fellow passengers are entering the safety of the Carpathia, captained by Rostron. This answers the questions, why couldn't other ships like Carpathia get to the Titanic to rescue the poor passengers.

This book did take me some time to read, only because of the time in my life (moving house and leaving jobs) however it is a fairly quick read. It does take a while to get through the early portions of Rostron's perspective. Each chapter is divided by a vignette from a real-life Titanic passenger or staff member from the Carpathia.

I would recommend for the 110th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, for you to read this book before watching the film.

Thank you Shadow Mountain and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this ebook to read in exchange of my honest review.

This is a wonderful telling of the fate of the Titanic through the eyes of the Captain of the Carpathia, the sole ship that responded to the emergent calls from the Titanic.
I have read non-fiction and fiction about the voyage of the Titanic and Rebecca Connelly writes with well researched fact, rich in character and beautiful in prose. Emotionally, I laughed and cried and was moved by the thoughts, feelings and decisions that were made by crew of the Carpathia, Titanic and passengers on that fateful night. It was captivating, unputdownable and the best historical fiction on the Titanic that I have read.
NetGalley, Rebecca Connolly and Shadow Mountain Publishing, thank you for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review.

This book alternates between Captain Rostron of the Carpathia, and Kate, a third class passenger on the Titanic. After receiving a distress call, Captain Rostron speeds towards the Titanic, while his crew prepares for the worst. Onboard the Titanic, Kate and her friends are told that nothing is wrong and that they should remain calm. Once she realizes that water is creeping through her third class berth, Kate fights her way to second class, and onto a lifeboat.

This was a fast paced and captivating novel. I really enjoyed reading about the Carpathia and the rescue attempts. I'm not sure I have seen anything else from this point of view. Well written, I could not put this book down. Highly recommended!

As someone who is interested in all things Titanic, I knew I had to read this as soon as I read the description on NetGalley. The story is told from two points of view, a group of young women heading to New York in third class aboard the Titanic & Arthur Rostron, Captain of the Carpathia.

I enjoyed reading the story of Rostron and his crew as they selflessly risked their own ship to respond to the distress calls of the Titanic. I knew the Carpathia was the only ship to respond, but I didn’t know how risky it was or how close they were to missing the call. What a miracle!

I wish Connolly had given more of a backstory into the characters on the Titanic. I found that I didn’t connect to them as much as I would have liked to. The writing wasn’t very detailed which made for a quick read, but also caused me to take off a star.

Overall, I give this book 4 stars out of 5. It was an interesting, quick read. Thank you to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for providing me with an advanced copy to read and review.

A powerful look into two different perspectives of the sinking of the Titanic - one from a survivor, Kate Connolly of Lifeboat 13, and one from the captain of the Carpathia, Arthur Rostron.

**Thanks to the NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this title in exchange for a fair and honest review**

Historical fiction is one of my favourite genres and, like many people, I have a fascination with the story of the Titanic so this title jumped out at me. I also helped that the cover was beautiful and I am definitely a sucker for a pretty cover.

The storyline is split between 2 main characters; a passenger in Titanic's steerage section and the Captain of the Carpathia (the ship which came to the aid of the survivors). You get to know both of these characters a little before the disaster happens (spoiler - the Titanic sinks) and then you're thrown headlong into the race for survival.

We all know the story well enough - there weren't enough lifeboats on the Titanic and those that were launched into the water saved only a fraction of those who were on board with over a thousand of the passengers drowining or freezing to death in the water.

This came across as well-researched book, many of the characters were based on real people, and the author had clearly worked hard to make sure they were represented as fairly as possible. I was particularly struck by the cruel irony of 2 passengers having the same name and the wrong family being informed of her survival.

I was not sure what to expect with this book. I,like so many, have always found the Titanic intriguing a story, but I really haven't read too much about it.
I loved the direction this took, following the Carpathia and it's crew, along with some of the survivors. They came to life as the story progressed. We could feel their pain and their sorrow, along with how hard some of the decisions were they had to make.
This was well written, as I would expect from this author. The research involved has to be extensive.
This is a worthy read! Well done!

This book honors its premise by showcasing the experiences of both the Titanic and the Carpathia's crews the night of the sinking through the personal perspective of two different characters. While historically accurate, I did at times find the presentation a bit lackluster and dry. The prose is serviceable where I would have enjoyed a lot more description. As a result, I did not ultimately find myself as immersed in the story as I would have liked.

Wow! I am amazed by this book. I kind of have been putting off reading it, but it was just stunning. A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice is a historical fiction based on the Carpathia and her crew that rescued 705 passengers from the sinking of the Titanic.
I really enjoyed this book, it was fascinating to learn more about the rescue of the passengers through this book. I really admire Captain Arthur Rostron, he was a real man and he truly did save many lives. It was interesting to read about what Connoley chose to write of. This was a great book especially considering that it is based on a real life event. I love the way that Connorly wove this story together, it changed between the Captain of the Carpathia and a female third-class passenger on the Titanic, Kate Connolly.
I was able to connect to these characters, these people through the book and understand how they were feeling. It was such a powerful and devastating book to read because I knew that there were many who could not be saved. Although I knew the outcome of the Titanic, I was still on the edge of my seat as the Carpathia raced to the Titanic and as Kate waited on a lifeboat for help to come.
A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice is definitely a book to read if you enjoy historical fiction.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher through Netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion, a positive review was not required.

I thought the Author had done well on her research before writing this book. When I first started reading, I didn't realize it was alternating chapters, between the Titanic ship and the Carpathia ship, so I was a little confused, but by the end of the 2nd chapter I was hooked, the story follows along the Sinking of the Titanic, Kate Connolly is on her way to America to join her sister, she is in a room with a few other women, all very different personality's, just trying to have a good trip, and then she feels something happen, no more sound of the engine, but no one will let them up past the 3rd deck where they staying. Then the story about the ship that is headed 4 hours away, to try and rescue the passengers that are on a sinking ship, the Carpathia, and the Captain Rostron, who Is horrified when he receives the news, he knows they are hours away, they wont stand a chance at reaching them unless they push never before speed, but can the ship handle that, or does he risk more danger.
I loved reading this book, I couldn't hardly put it down once I got going on it,

I read A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice in one sitting because I was so compelled by the story and the characters.

As most of us, I knew the basics of the story of the Titanic, I’d seen the movie and various documentaries about it. I really enjoyed reading about a familiar story from the perspective of the Carpathia, the eventual rescue ship. Throughout the book the chapters change perspective from a third class passenger, Kate, on the Titanic to the captain of the Carpathia, Arthur. The decisions Captain Arthur made that night saved the lives of hundreds and his thought process was fascinating to read about.

I really loved that while this is historical fiction, it wasn’t based around a war. It was a nice change of pace.

Ever since I was 14 years old I've been hooked on Titanic and her passengers for years. I love anything new and I was happy to grab this one.
I liked this book because it was fast paced.
In my opinion the author has done a wonderful job in her research for this book and she's done a remarkable job in bringing the passengers to life once more and I really like the Carpathia and her captain's side of the story
I've always wondered what Carpathia's passengers thought of this dreadful situation.
In this well written story we get to find out.
I was lost in the book and didn't want to come back to the present.
Titanic is a very hard and emotional story that I feel like we have learned many important things from her.
Maritime laws have changed for the better along with other things too.

Synopsis: This novel covers the story of the Titanic interchangeably through the point of view of a passenger and the captain of the Carpathia, Arthur Rostron.

I always love historical fiction about the Titanic or other grand ships in the early 1900s. This novel covered a new point of view of the story from the crew of the Carpathia which was refreshing given the many nonfictional and fictional narratives of the passengers of Titanic. I liked learning about Rostron through a fictional based first person narrative and I am eager to learn more about him. His character development was strong and I’m so glad his story is being told. As to the characters on the Titanic, I felt like there were almost too many players to keep up with. The main character Kate Connolly is only lightly expanded upon and she has so many peers in the novel (with the same name as well) that it was hard to keep track and connect with them all. Also there is a chapter (#20) that is based on prayer for all the passengers alive and lost. While this is beautiful to read about and I understand the need to cover both religious values, there were too many quoted prayers/songs and less narrative that I ended up skimming the chapter entirely. Criticisms aside, I enjoyed reading this story and I appreciated the authors attention to detail and research on the seafaring side of the story. I recommend this to readers that love history and immersing themselves in well known stories. I also appreciate delving into a lesser known version of the Titanic tragedy. Overall 3.5 stars rounded up for support!

Thank you to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain publishing for a eARC copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this one . I felt as though on boat that night . I loved the characters and the evocative sense of place and time. It was masterful in its crafting. Excellent piece of historical fiction!

Brilliantly done! I could feel everything as if I was right there. This was such a heart wrenching time in history and Rebecca Connolly nailed it!

Wow! Rebecca Connolly took me on an emotional journey with this book. I have only ever seen movies about the Titanic. One I liked (The Unsinkable Molly Brown) the other I didn't like at all (The Titanic). This book was so well researched and written that I felt like I was on each ship with the people, the Titanic and the Carpathia. I was heartbroken with the horrors that happened. I was deeply moved by the heroic efforts of people from both ships. I was inspired by the captain and crew of the Carpathia. This book is amazing. It captured the tragedy and the beauty of that night perfectly. I would highly recommend this book to those that have any interest in history or the events of that night.

A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice. The story of the ship and her crew that came to the rescue of the Titanic--the ship that was unsinkable.

There are some books you read that are a 5-star book. And then there are FIVE STAR BOOKS with a little extra. Those are the books that have written a whole new page in the book of your soul and you are forever a little better for it.
A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice by Rebecca Connolly is a story that touched my heart and left a life-changing imprint.

We all know the event of the Titanic. We know it was a tragedy for the ages. Most of us have seen at least enough of the iconic movie to know the main points to the story. But what most people don't know is the story of Carpathia, the only ship to answer the Titanic's distress call.

When I saw that this book was going to be released this year, I knew it was one I wanted to read. I'm always game for a good historical fiction story, and this one seemed like it was going to be a GOOD historical fiction novel. It's pretty early on in the year, folks, but I'm going to venture to say that this is going to be one of my highlighted reads when 2022 reaches an end.

I was interested to see how heavy this read was going to be, discussing such a heavy topic as this story was. Rebecca Connolly did a fantastic job at keeping the story rolling. She built that connection to the characters and the story without destroying your soul in the plot. She keeps it serious and humbling while also being uplifting and "warm".
Never once did I find myself tired of reading this book.
It was full of many rich, historical details and kept well in line with fact.

Some people have noted that there is one chapter in particular in the book that is full of much prayer and hymn singing, and less dialogue. That is a true point, but it didn't deter the story for me. I feel like this was more an immersive story than not, and this chapter in particular focused more on "walking in the shoes" of those on board the ship after the rescue than it did on being a third-person bystander.
I could see how this could be a drab chapter to get through for some, but I didn't mind it. It didn't last long, and helped me really connect with how the people on board must have been feeling after such a large ordeal. It showed how thoughtful and caring the Captain was to even think of such details as different religions among all the larger pressing details he was worrying about.

As a whole, this story was truly incredible. An amazing read I will be reading again and thinking on often.

Seeing the miracles unfold in this story left me in awe. I cried. (I knew I probably would-- it's the Titanic, for gosh sakes...) But not just sad tears. There were such beautiful "highs" to match the lows. If you want a reminder that there are miracles all around, even in the hardest of times, OPEN THIS BOOK and look for them. They will pour out of the pages. I'm so glad I was able to learn the story about the Carpathia and her crew. What an INCREDIBLE story.

“A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice” is an ingenious piece of historical fiction!

A Titanic passenger’s journey to survival and a captain’s expedition in answering the sinking ships distress call. While we know the history of Titanic sinking, what about the Carpathia’s voyage in responding to the “unsinkable ship” or a survivor’s passage out of the frozen abyss. .…. Highly recommend!

A sincere thank you to NetGalley, Shadow Mountain Publishing, and Shadow Mountain for providing me an advance copy (ARC) of this book in exchange for an honest review. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to read this story and leave my review voluntarily.

A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice by Rebecca Connolly is the story of the Titanic told from a different perspective than you normally hear. While some of the story is told from the perspective of a third class passenger on board the Titanic, most of the book takes place on board the Carpathia, the show that responds to the distress call from the Titanic and rescues her survivors.

I was a little hesitant to give this book a try because I am not usually a fan of historical novels. To my surprise I really enjoyed reading this book. I was captivated by the story from beginning to end. Connolly did a great job bringing the story to life and making you feel as if you were right there witnessing this tragedy. I highly recommend this book.

“We were not prompted by testing our mettle or our might, Dean. We were prompted by our humanity. We risked our ship, our passengers, and ourselves to save the lives of others.” [Captain Arthur Rostron]
A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice is an emotional depiction of the sinking of Titanic from the perspective of the Carpathia, the ship who came to her rescue. Rebecca Connolly does an exquisite job weaving stories of actual Titanic survivors and Carpathia crew members to illustrate a comprehensive picture of the tragic night.

I’ve always been fascinated by the story of the Titanic since I was little and really enjoyed getting this perspective from the Carpathia. I loved that Connolly’s characters are real passengers and crew members and the care she took in telling their stories. One of my favorite aspects of the book was the quotes from Captain Arthur Rostron, other crew members, and passengers at the beginning of each chapter.

Thank you to NetGalley, Shadow Mountain Publishing, and author Rebecca Connolly for the eARC!!

What a gripping, fascinating read! This brilliantly written story about the daring rescue after the sinking of the Titanic kept me riveted from beginning to end. This stirring story is told by Arthur Rostron, the Captain of the Carpathia, and Kate Connolly, a third class passenger of the Titanic. Vivid detailed descriptions transported me to the scene--on board the Titanic, in the frigid waters of the Atlantic, or on board the Carpathia. Through Ms. Connolly’s rich expressive prose, I could feel the intensity of the mission and the anguish of the Carpathia’s brave captain and crew as they speedily navigated through the icy, treacherous waters of the Atlantic toward the sinking Titanic. I could also feel the joy of the Titanic’s passengers as they embarked on their journey and then the fear and trauma of the survivors who were floating in the Atlantic’s dark, freezing waters. The story is fictional, but the characters and events are real and are beautifully portrayed showing evidence of the author’s extensive research. If you are looking for a well-written fictional story based on historical fact, you will want to try this one! This is the first book I have read by this author, and I will definitely be seeking out more of her works.
I received a complimentary copy of this book in e-book form from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#abrilliantnightoficeandstars #netgalley
This was a wonderful historical fiction story. I loved how it brought out the emotions and reality that these passengers faced. What a beautiful story.

I absolutely loved this book! I love anything on the Titanic, but having it told from two different people, on two different ships, made you feel like you were watching it unfold. Also loved that it was based on true events. Once I started it, I couldn't put it down.

"The whole thing was absolutely providential. I have no other explanation for it."

Based on the true story of the rescue of Titanic survivors by the Carpathia, this story moves between the viewpoint of Captain Arthur Rostron of the Carpathia and Kate Connolly, a third class passenger of the Titanic. The first half of the book is very fast paced leading up to the last days and hours of the disaster. It truly was miraculous the Carpathia received the telegram signal from Titanic and was able to reach them as quickly as it did.

The last quarter of the book moved much slower in response to the grief and shock experienced by the survivors aboard the Carpathia. The memorial service and then burial at sea of four who did not survive the rescue was very moving and reverent. I appreciated how the writer used both prayers actually shared during the event and hymns that were well-known at that time.

This was an absolute tragedy. The writer did not try to create a sensation novel, but was able to fill out real people in response to a real nightmare event where over 700 survived against the odds. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I have read many books about the Titanic but knew little about the Carpathia which quickly went to aid the Titanic to rescue surviving passengers. Loved reading from Carpathia perspective. Many details I had not known before. Great read!

This was one of those books that I plowed through in the course of a night when I really settled down to read it. Have read many Titanic accounts and but I have been waiting for a book like this from the perspective of the Carpathia, so I was very excited to spot this and it was truly what I have been waiting for.
Told through the eyes of Captain Rostron who navigated the RMS Carpathia on that fateful night the Titanic went down, the story is a mix of emotions, sadness and determination of a man who was powerless to help many more of the victims of Titanic as he risked the lives of his own crew and passengers to assist in the rescue. Also told is the story of Titanic passenger Catherine Connolly, a young woman who left Ireland to meet up with her sister in New York and start a new life. Kate tells the tale of befriending another group of young women on their way to start anew when tragedy strikes and their hopes and dreams quickly turn into terror and fighting to survive. Most of us know about Titanic's tragic end and of all the people who perished but this book had a depth of emotions that you can feel through the eyes of Captain Rostron and young Kate at least for me it did, I was totally immersed in the storyline that I had to finish it last night. This was totally awesome. Recommended!

Thanks so much to author Rebecca Connolly and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this fantastic book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Like many people, I devour books about the Titanic disaster. A Night of Brilliant Stars and Ice looks at the shipwreck from the perspective of the Carpathia, which has become a footnote to the tragic events. I loved the history of the book but the storyline and characters fell a little flat. I think I would have preferred this in a nonfiction format but it was still engrossing and a fast read.

#BrilliantNightOfStarsAndIce #NetGalley

This book gripped me from the beginning., based on a true story. The book is told from the voice of Captain Arthur Rostron of the Carpathia and Kate Connolly, a third class passenger of Titanic. With the authors attention to detail, it wasn't hard to imagine the sheer panic of those aboard the Titanic. This book was well written and I think Rebecca Connolly, did a good job of recreating what happened.

What a great historical fiction. I think many dont consider what the people aboard the Carpathia we’re going through. And this story gave a voice to people from both ships. It was an engrossing read to say the least.

When the Titanic hit an iceberg on April 14, 1912, the tragedy that we are all so familiar with quickly unfolded. The Carpathia, another passenger steamship that was 4 hours away, heard their distress call early in the morning on April 15th, and tried to come to their aid. As we know, they were too late.
The story of the Titanic (and the sequence of events involved in the only voyage it took) has always been something that has fascinated me. I've always read books & accounts of the tragedy, wanting to learn all I could. As soon as I read the description of this book, I knew I needed to read it.

What I loved about this book was that it didn't take the usual route of Titanic books, as it was really focused more on the Carpathia & imagining how the events unfolded for their passengers & crew. The story is told from two perspectives - Captain Arthur Rostron (the captain of the Carpathia) and Kate Connolly (a third class passenger on the Titanic). The sinking of the Titanic was featured, of course, but it focused more on the Captain's perilous journey to try to save the Titanic. He literally entered a minefield of ice & unknown conditions, putting himself & his boat at risk to try to save this other ship in distress. I love how the author put his perspective into the book. He was calm, collected, and entirely in charge of all going on. His goal was to save people. For me, Kate's perspective was not as heart wrenching as some of the accounts from survivors have been, but I understand that wasn't the focus.

I did love that the author stayed very true to history with her timeline & characters. So many of the characters named throughout the book (including Titanic survivors) are actual real life people, and I loved being able to look them up (or recognize them) as I read. I'm very glad that this book really focused on what the Carpathia did, as it is a bit of history that people forget about (or overlook) when thinking about the Titanic. I highly recommend this for anyone who is interested in this piece of history!

(3.75 STARS, ROUNDED UP TO 4)

An intriguing look into the character, emotions, and heroism of Carpathia's Captain Rostron. I especially loved the references to Carpathia's other crew by name, particularly the officers and Purser Brown. These names, as the author rightly says at the novel's conclusion, seem to be left out of the history books unlike Rostron.

Having a Titanic passenger in Kate Connolly overlap with Rostron on Carpathia was a great way of weaving together the two ships, showing Carpathia's transition from a ship of happenstance to a ship of salvation. My only comment on this part of the novel is the author's frequent use of the same name for multiple characters - while I appreciate the reasoning behind it, that being the use of rather common Irish names, it became difficult to follow as a reader with multiple Marys, Martins, and Katies to keep track of.

I really liked the use of quotes from the testimonies of Captain Rostron, Carpathia passengers, and Titanic survivors placed between chapters to break them up. There's always something haunting about reading the exact words of firsthand witnesses which adds an extra element of poignancy.

Overall, A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice was an enjoyable and emotive read and I will certainly be purchasing a copy upon its release to add to my Titanic historical fiction library!

Connolly breathes life into the harrowing Titanic rescue mission from the viewpoint of the Carpathia. Switching between Captain Arthur Rostron of the Carpathia and Kate Connolly, a third-class passenger aboard the Titanic, the events on April 14th, 1912 are relayed minute by minute.

It is a pristinely told story of unbearable grief and stomach churning loss that morph themselves into brilliant inspiration, hope, and the goodness of humankind.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the chance to review. I cannot wait to get my own copy for my bookshelf.

I have no shame in saying I love reading anything and everything Titanic related. I just finished Stacey Lee's The Luck of the Titanic (a great YA historical told from a Chinese-British POV) so was thrilled to have gotten approved for this title as well. This book provides a different perspective to an event many of us already know so well, told from the POV of those on the Carpathia that answered the Titanic's distress call, as well as providing perspectives from the Titanic. An engrossing read and a nice addition to the canon of Titanic fiction out there.

This book is a great historical fiction. I love books about the Titanic disaster. A Night of Brilliant Stars and Ice looks at the shipwreck from the perspective of the Carpathia. This book was very well written and the author stayed very true to history with her timeline and characters.


A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice is definitely a book I recommend everyone read!

In the words on Mr. Knightly "if loved you less I might be able to talk about it more." That is absolutely how I feel about this brilliant story. I am at a loss for words. How have I lived my life never knowing (or even wondering) about the ship that came to the Titanic's rescue?

I feel a profound sense of loss for all the lives lost with the sinking of the Titanic and at the same time extreme pride in those who assisted in the rescue. Captain Rostron is to be praised for all of the tough decisions he had to make and for caring more about the survivers than anything else. What an amazing man and what an incredibly dedicated crew.

The story of Kate, though fictionalized, was insightful and brought the story to life. I can not even fathom the terror and pain of that night.

Rebecca Connolly did a beautiful job of blending the two POVs coming from the Carpathia and the Titanic to create a realistic look at what that night held for everyone involved. I've been a long time fan of Rebecca Connolly and can only say that she made the leap to a new genre of writing spectacularly!

"The magnitude of the tragedy will overshadow everything else— as it should. The losses will outweigh the gains; that is simply human nature. Our providential moment in the sea will fade against the tales of each life lost, each lifeboat launched, and each member of the crew who sacrificed himself or herself to the sea."

Solid 5 star historical fiction! Loved every second of reading it.

Things to know about content: tragedy and death. No language or sex.

A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice is a well-researched historical fiction about the captain and crew of the RMS Carpathia, which rescued 705 Titanic survivors. The author, Rebecca Connelly, has done a terrific job gathering facts about the two ships, their crew, and several passengers, and spinning them into a stunning survival story.

The main characters in this book are the captain of the Carpathia, Arthur Rostron, and Titanic steerage passenger, Katie Connelly. The novel unfolds as a dual storyline, which ultimately comes together as the passengers from the sunken Titanic settle onto the Carpathia.

For me, it was a little off-putting to begin the novel with a three page list of characters. Usually when a book begins with a long list of characters, the reader instantly knows they will have to slow down and spend a lot of time memorizing who is who for the first few chapters. In this book, the majority of the characters on the lists were very minor characters in the story, and I was able to establish the main characters fairly quickly.

Once I got into the story, the pages raced by! Even though we all know how the story of the Titanic ends, this author was able to spin a very fascinating and fast paced story of their survival.

I appreciate how much I learned about the Carpathia and its crew. Captain Rostron and his crew truly were the heroes of that disaster. Previously, I didn’t know the details of the risky decisions the captain and crew made in order to rescue as many passengers as possible. The author’s research and development of the Carpathia crew is fantastic!

I highly recommend this book, especially to lovers of historical fiction and anyone interested in the Titanic. 4.25 Stars.

I finished this book in a day, that's how much I enjoyed it. It was such an interesting and new perspective on the story of the Titanic. I don't read much historical fiction but this book captivated me. The beginning quarter seemed a little rushed for me, as the last quarter dragged out a bit, overall a really solid and enjoyable read that I would recommend to anyone (even if you're not a history buff).

I am obsessed with the Titanic and its story, and this is one side you never hear about. I have heard of the Carpathia before in my research on the Titanic, but I never knew much about it. I loved this story and how it told another point of view on the story we all know. I know this was a fiction story, but I feel as though there was quite a bit of facts in it that made it almost seem like you were reading the true story of that night from someone on the boat.

Thanks to Shadow Mountain Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced copy for my review. “A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice” gives a new perspective to the story of the Titanic. Vivid characters and detailed historical facts bring the actions of the Carpathia to life, and offers readers a new point of view on what happened that infamous night.

See the moving and emotional story of the Titanic through a unique perspective.

In this novel we get to experience the events of the Titanic’s sinking in alternating POVs, from one of its survivors and from the one captain who answered its distress call.

My favorite part was reading from Captain Arthur Rostron’s perspective. He strives to maintain his composure through the night's disaster but cannot help the heartache he feels for each of Titanic's passengers. He is sentimental, but courageous as he does all he can to come to their aid. We know that night was horrible for every Titanic passenger, survivor or not, but I never gave much thought to the risks involved for their rescuers and how the night affected them. As captain of the Carpathia, Arthur must navigate the same icy waters that brought Titanic down, see the wreckage remaining on the sea, and witness firsthand the raw horror and grief in the survivors just hours after they lost everything.

Kate Connolly is a 3rd class passenger on Titanic and one the few that survived. She boarded alone, and had no husband or family to be separated from. I liked her character, but there was nothing particularly unique or memorable about her story. It seems this was intentional, and I don’t view it as a negative. Instead of focusing solely on her character, I found myself feeling sympathetic towards all the passengers. She acted as the eyes and ears that allowed the reader to see the effects of loss for everyone on Titanic, whether it was great or small. It emphasized, as is mentioned in the book, “A loss for one was a loss for all.”

Bottom Line: Would recommend for fans of Titanic, maritime history, historical fiction based on fact, or those wanting a unique view on a familiar story.

Content/Trigger Warnings: Overall a clean read. Of course, Titanic being the tragedy it was, there is going to be talk of death, grief, and injury. Some parts were sad to read about, but it was handled well. Enough to tug at your emotions but not graphic that it becomes disturbing.
Romance: None
Profanity: Maybe one or two minor curse words.
Religious aspects: Mention of people praying and providence. Most references are consolidated to the chapter where the memorial service takes place which I skimmed through.

A couple of favorite quotes:

“The sea would be his companion, the ship his instrument, and their song that of his heart.”

“Amazing how compassion could bridge the divide of classes when little else could.”

I received this eARC free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback.

hope, rescue, historical-figures, historical-places-events, historical-research, historical-setting, history-and-culture, drama, tragedy, Atlantic-ocean*****

The Captain of the Carpathia had a choice: admit defeat in the face of overwhelming odds or try his very best with all of the limited resources at hand and save as many of the Titanic's passengers from certain death as he possibly could. This is a very moving story told mostly from two perspectives. See the publisher's blurb for a good intro.
It would have made for easier reading for me if it was TTS enabled.
I requested and received a free e-book copy from Shadow Mountain Publishing via NetGalley.

Rescuing Titanic-A true story of quiet bravery in the North Atlantic by Flora Delargy is a limited form of this story written for readers aged 7 - 11 Years.

In this historical fiction account of the Carpathia, we are exposed to what happened on the vessel on the night that she rescued the 700+ survivors of the Titanic disaster. The tale alternates between the first-person account on the Carpathia by Captain Arthur Rostron and that of Kate Connolly (love that this is also the author’s last name) and her friends who were 3rd steerage passengers on the Titanic. A lover of historic fiction, I found that I could not put this down. The detailed account and reaction of the passengers on both ships made me feel as if I was there or watching a newsreel. There were some parts that I skimmed through as it was too much details that really weren’t pertinent to the story such as the citing of the hymns during the religious service. However, interspersed in the story is the addition of Mrs. Brown, Mrs. Astor, and the reference to the band playing on as the boat sank, which added greatly. It was very sobering. At the end of each chapter were cited notes and quotes from those who were present which only added to the story. This book, while fiction, gave me a new appreciation for the tragedy that night and the also of the courageous people who survived and those who helped the survivors. It was well done and I enjoyed it.

Many thanks to #netgalley #abriliantnightofstarsandice #rebeccaconnolly for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I'm normally not much for non-fiction and historical fiction. I like my books light and happy. I picked this up because I love Rebecca Connolly's books.

While it was not my usual read, once I got 40 pages in, I couldn't put it down. I was fascinated by the aspects of this great tragedy I'd known nothing about. I had never heard of The Carpathia, or Captain Arthur Rostron. This account showed me the beauty of humanity. I loved the unity and sacrifice of this amazing crew in their efforts to go the rescue.

I had to come back and add more to this review. This is a book I keep talking about with my family and friends. I had to share the amazing efforts the crew went to with my sons. The staggering rate of loss and the faith exhibited was shared with my daughter. I knew my husband would love the way Captain Rostron stood up for the passengers with the aggressive members of the press. This book led me to think about the survivors, the poor souls who were lost, and those who risked all to answer the distress call. I have been driven to search out more information. My husband thinks I should give up on clean romance and read more non-fiction. Ha!

Content: clean (no language, mild violence, a sinking ship)

I really enjoyed reading this insightful book. This came across as well-researched book, many of the characters were based on real people, and the author had clearly worked hard to make sure they were represented as fairly as possible. I was particularly struck by the cruel irony of 2 passengers having the same name and the wrong family being informed of her survival.

I was in 6th grade when Titanic came out. It was one of the first experiences I had learning about the history and the tragedy of the ill-fated ship. From then, I've always had a fascination with the Titanic. I've read quite a bit on it, but from the perspective of people on the Titanic. I really enjoyed reading a perspective from the Carpathia. I also thought it was really interesting that it was based on true accounts.

It was a quick read and moved very fast. It was also very powerful and moving.

4/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley, the publisher, and the author for providing this book for my review. This book is one of a kind. I truly believe everyone should read this. I will purchase this book for myself as soon as possible. This historical fiction novel alternates between a young woman on the Titanic and the Captain of the Carpathia. I have never read a story that focused on the amazing rescue efforts of the Carpathia and what the people on board must have experienced. The author did an amazing job at really showing all sides of this tragic event in history. I also love the quotes from survivors as well as the Captain of the Carpathia at the end of each chapter. This book will stay in my heart forever. Thank you so much for writing this book. It is so special. Thank you again to Net Galley, the publisher, and author for allowing me to review this beautiful work of art.

Wow. I had chills pretty much the entire time that I read this book. It is so, so well written. Arthur Rostron and the entire crew of the Carpathia are incredible. I enjoyed both POVs, but I especially loved everyone on the Carpathia and the way they interacted with each other. I could basically write a paragraph about every character in this book just praising them, but that would make this very long. So I’m just going to sum up by saying me feeling that way just shows how well this book and the characters were written.

A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice was fantastic, from start to finish. I read it all within a day, I didn’t want to put it down. The only time I did put it down was when I needed a bit of a break from the heaviness of the story. As much as I read about the Titanic, it still makes me emotional, especially any time I learn something new.

On that topic, I am a bit ashamed to admit that I knew very little about the Carpathia prior to reading this book. So there was a lot of new information for me to learn. I want to include part of a quote here, after Dean said to Arthur that if he continues to downplay this, history will forget the part they played and Arthur replies “I have no doubt they will forget” and why he believes that (I don’t want to include the entire quote, I believe your reading experience will benefit from reading it first as part of the novel and not my review). Part of Dean’s reply is “even if it falls by the wayside on the pages of history.” and I feel like they were both correct. 110 years later, it does feel like the Carpathia is rarely mentioned in the story of the Titanic, at least to the level I believe it deserves. So I am personally very thankful for this book, because as someone who is always seeking to learn more about the Titanic, I am in awe of the story of the Carpathia.

I found the names with the Titanic passengers to be quite confusing due to there multiple sets of people with the same name due to there multiple sets of people with the same name. However, I am aware that this story used the names and stories of actual passengers and the names weren’t just choices made by the author. So I am not faulting the book at all for this, but I still wanted to mention it in my review. So I am not faulting the book at all for this, but I still wanted to mention it in my review. I also want to add that this book felt like such an interesting combination of fiction and non-fiction. I struggle to read non-fiction, but because this is written as fiction but about a real life event and real people, it was so educational while still absolutely reading like a fictional novel.

A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice is absolutely going to stick with me for a long time. I will not hesitate to recommend it to basically anyone and everyone who will listen to me, because I think it’s a really important story that people should know. I will also be ordering a physical copy of this book for my shelf, because I know that I will be reaching for it in the future for a reread (also, how gorgeous is that cover??)

The afterword & author’s note at the end of the both were both wonderful and informational. I loved reading about how life went for the crew of the Carpathia and the survivors from the Titanic. I also really appreciated the author clarifying details and names in her note. She did her research and it really showed.

Thank you to Shadow Mountain Publishing & NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book!

Out of tragedy heroes are born. This is the story of the RMS Carpathia and the ships contribution to the tragedy of the Titanic. For close to 110 years, there has been so many stories of what happened on that fated night. After reviewing a distress call, the RMS Carpathia, captained by Arthur Rostron and his crew race towards the Titanic. This story is took from two perspectives, that of Arthur, and the other being Titanic passenger Kate Connoly.
A quick moving tragic tale of the sinking of the Titanic and the aftermath for the survivors.

Rebecca Connolly's haunting but beautiful retelling of the story of the captain of the Carpathia and some of the survivors of the sinking of the titanic uses powerful imagery to evoke and portray the emotions that would have been felt among all that night. This story brought me to tears. The precursor to the sinking showed things as light-hearted. The sinking brought reality and tragedy to the seen. The scenes afterwards showed the devastation, raw emotion, and heroism of not just the captain but of all the crew and passengers of the Carpathia. While I personally struggle reading books about tragedies like this- there is such importance in not forgetting the disasters that have come before us. Rebecca Connolly does the event justice in portraying what it would have been like that night.

I adore historical fiction, and this is such an interesting premise. I recommend because of the story itself, writing style, and its ability to transport you into a different world/time period.

April 1912

What a wonderful introduction to a new to me author!

In A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice, there are dual threads that ultimately converge. One thread is focused on the captain of the passenger steamship Carpathia: Captain Arthur Rostron. The other thread is centered on four Irish young adult women aboard the maiden voyage of the Titanic. And be still my history loving heart...so much of what is in the pages of the novel is based upon historical facts!

There are multiple novels about the Titanic. This novel provides details about the fated passenger ship, but is more focused on the Carpathia and its crew. So many fascinating details emerged in the pages. And the emotions of the passengers and crew of both ships are well described adding to the tension of the rescue.

I am so glad the author has a back list of novels. A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice is highly recommended for fans of historical fiction.

A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice
By Rebecca Connelly
Publisher: Shadow Mountain (April 5)

Is there something in our history that you know will always keep you reading? Or a monumental moment that is shared through books or tv that you will give pause for?

The Titanic is one of those for me. I cannot help but be drawn in to that night… the human error and miscalculation. The division of classes. The need to be bigger and better. But also taking from it, that when trouble comes, we realize that human compassion and the fight for life eliminate every other division.

This new novel (comes out April 5!) is Carpathia’s story. The ship that answered Titanic’s SOS and follows both the captain’s emotions of attending to the rescue mission in the frigid waters and a young woman aboard the Titanic who was a 3rd class passenger.

I binged it. I couldn’t help it. You’re talking to a reader that saw the Titanic over 5x in the theatre with her HS bestie (here’s looking at you Jackie 😉). But that’s not what kept me reading, what kept me reading was the humanity that happened. That these voices are still being shared over 100 yrs later … so that we never forget the tragedy. I loved it. So fascinating to get into Carpathia’s story this way.

Ps. There’s an added bonus: at the start of each chapter is a quote from survivors.

4.5 stars

Not your usual Titanic story. Here you have Kate in third class trying to survive. As a dual vision, the captain of the Carpathia, Arthur Rostron, trying to get to the Titanic in time to save survivors. Very compelling read.

I don’t think there are too many people who haven’t seen the movie Titanic nor who haven’t read Walter Lord’s ‘A Night To Remember.’ Many people know what happened on April 15, 1912, but few know about the ship that responded to the Titanic’s plea for help and the rescue mission. I caught the Titanic Fever in Grade 9 English because my teacher taught Lord’s book with such passion and I’ve continued to ride on that memory and search out other Titanic novels. What intrigued me about this book is that it’s uniquely told in alternating chapters from the perspective of two eyewitnesses to the epic maritime disaster; the captain of the Carpathia and a passenger from steerage aboard the Titanic.

The author writes to allow us into Captain Arthur Rostron’s mind as he delegates and organizes the rescue mission. Readers discover the leadership and the methodical rescue preparations the captain and his crew undertook to save lives and care for the survivors. When asked about his crew’s actions that fateful night he reported that “There was not a soul among them who had given less than his or her all, from the stokers in the bowels of the ship to the lookouts high above.” I was in awe at the respect he commanded and the swiftness with which the orders were carried out by his crew during what would be a night they’d never forget.

Readers also travel alongside 3rd class passenger, Kate Connolly, and feel her angst as she watches the Titanic sink from her lucky #13 lifeboat. From Kate’s perspective we read about other passengers prior to the collision, their scramble into the lifeboats, their rescue and their stay in hospital. The author was able to bring this POV alive for us by filling in blanks and offering new facts in this tragic event where we already knew the final outcome.

In the epilogue the author highlights each crewmember previously mentioned and the legacy they left.

“Soon Kate would find her own way. A permanent home built on the strength born of a night on icy waters, buoyed by a new appreciation of life and health, and a determination to live for those who could not do so themselves.”

This book will be published just a few days short of 110 years since that fateful night. What the author wants us to remember is not the tragedy, but the humanity. Race, class, sex, and religion were set aside as those on the sea that night helped each other to survive.

“A loss for one was a loss for all.”

I was gifted this advance copy by Rebecca Connolly, Shadow Mountain Publishing and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Did this novel of the Carpathia and the Titanic need to be written? Probably not. Does it add anything new? Probably not. Still, the story of the night the Titanic sank is so dramatic and full of pathos it's no wonder new works about it are still being created. A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice is well researched and has an almost sweet tone. The crew of the Carpathia are depicted as heroic, and the author does a good job capturing what may have been the thoughts and feelings of the survivors. There's no drama - we all know what's coming - but the story is compelling. A recommend for readers who are fascinated by the Titanic story or who enjoy historical fiction.

This book was brilliant! I loved seeing a different angle of the terrifying and solemn sinking of the Titanic! It was so skillfully and bravely written by Ms Connelly! I truly enjoyed learning more about the Carpathia rescue! What an amazing story of honor and strength in the good Captain and the actual and true survivors of the sinking on that fateful night! I am so glad I got to read this amazing book!

What an emotional read! This book had me crying. This book will give you the feels.

Thank you Shadow Mountain for the ARC.

I liked Connolly’s unique approach to the age old story of the Titanic. She pairs the Captain of the Carpathia with a young Irish immigrant, Kate Connolly, and their experiences on that fateful night.
I found it particularly interesting because I had never given much thought to the Carpathian captain. I didn’t know he went on to also captain the Lusitania or did I realize the Carpathia was sunk during WWI.
The split narrative works tremendously well and th4 cover is gorgeous.
Make sure to collect this book In time for the 110th anniversary of the sinking.

Excellent story about the ship that went to aid the Titanic that was long over due to be told. From the beginning I could not put this one down. I could feel the sense of urgency through the author's writing and even my heart was racing at times. I felt like I was feeling everyone's emotions as the event unfolded.. . Told in multiple point of views, which I loved. This is a tough story and Connolly did an excellent job delivering especially about the fierce protection of the captain had for ALL his passengers, despite conflicting opinions of his actions. Thank you to #ShadowMountainPublish and # Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

#ABrilliantNightofStarsandIce #author.rebecca.connolly #historicalfiction #titanticfiction #bookrecommedations

I was sooo looking forward to this book! I found the story fascinating but the writing rather slow. The captain’s tale was rather drawn out but more captivating then the young Irish girl’s story.

An extremely well researched story! The RMS Carpathia was able to race through the icebergs & render aid to the 700+ Titanic survivors on that frigid morning in April 1912. The Carpathia’s captain, Arthur Rostron & the wireless operator, Harold Cottam were two of the unsung heroes of that tragedy.

When I read that other ships, most especially the SS Californian, were only miles from the Titanic & failed to help, I was flabbergasted. What’s that story???

I was gifted this advance copy by NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

Wonderfully written and gripping story about the Titanic and Carpathia, in the few nights before and the night of the sinking of the Titanic. Following the captain, Arthur Rostron, of the Carpathia, and his crew, as well of a few of the Titanic's passengers, we follow along with the emotions and terror of the entire night.

It's just so beautifully written and captivating.

Thanks to netGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

This was an interesting read for me. I really enjoyed reading about the Titanic in such a personal way.

I'm totally obsessed with anything about Titanic and pleasantly surprised that this was a completely different take on the story. I've read quite a lot on it, however all was from the perspective of people on the Titanic. Reading a perspective from the Carpathia was really refreshing.

Very emotional read and highly recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction and Titanic. You can tell the author did a lot of research.

That being said it's 4/5 because historical fiction so it wasn't a fast read for me but that's a me problem.

*Thank you so much NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the eARC!*

I reviewed this book for the May issue of Historical Novels Review, the magazine of the Historical Novel Society. Per their policy, I cannot put a review online until after it is published on the HNS website on May 1st.

A dual timeline chronicling the Titanic and RMS Carpathia.

After receiving the distress call from Titanic, RMS Carpathia rushes to the aid of rescuing the stranded occupants taking on as many as they can. Captain Arthur Rostron and his crew work diligently to save the tragedy weary, keeping them warm, feeding them, and having funeral services for their lost loved ones at sea.

Kate Conolly is a third-class survivor of the Titanic. She has lost friends but she is very grateful for all that the crew is doing for her, and she is very aware and grateful.

A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice was an eye-opener for me as I have never heard of the RMS Carpathia and I suspect was overshadowed because of the tragic tragedy that was the Titanic. At times, I thought I could feel the dampness of the sea as they rowed through the darkness of the night and didn’t know (and feared) if anyone would save them, or they too would find a grave in the sea like the others who weren’t so fortunate. Kate Connolly and Captain Rostron were the two main characters and though they don’t indirectly interact with each other, it clearly shows both sides. The choices they made because of this tragic incident changed so many lives. Recommended. My gratitude to Shadow Mountain and Netgalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

I love reading historical fiction novels set on the Titanic, and I can't believe that it took me until now to find a book set from the point of view of The Carpathia. This book was endlessly entertaining; the story was compelling, the characters were intriguing, and it was evident that a lot of research went into this book. This is a must read for historical fiction fans, and especially for those who think they've read it all about the night the Titanic sank.

Thank you to Shadow Mountain Publishing and NetGalley for the AEC!

4.5 ⭐

Everyone has heard the tragedy of the Titanic. How many knew about the ship and crew who bravely rush towards the sea of ice to rescue her passengers?

"A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice" features Captain Arthur Rostron of RMS Carpathia. The Carpathia was traveling eastbound from New York to Liverpool. In the early hours of April 15, 1912 as Harold Cottam was about to rest he heard a distress signal that the Titanic hit an iceberg and was quickly sinking. The Captain who was already asleep got everyone to their post. They were four hours away and everyone gave their all that night to reach the Titanic fast without hitting any ice themselves.

Kate Connelly was a twenty-three-year-old single third-class passenger who's the "eye" of what happened on the Titanic and on lifeboat #13. What she witnessed while drifting in the frigid dark sea was something we heard before but it's agonizing all the same.

It's so difficult to put into words how much I enjoy this novel. It evokes so many emotions. The dedication of Captain Rostron and his crew is very inspirational and will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you Shadow Mountain Publishing and NG for this ARC.

The story flips back and forth between two narrators, Captain Arthur Rostron, captain of the Carpathia and Kate Connelly, a twenty-three-year-old single 3rd-class passenger on the Titanic.

From them, we get two points of view, seeing what it was like to be in the very heart of the disaster, and what it took for a rescue to take place. The fact that the survivors in the lifeboats were picked up and so quickly isn't given much attention, but without Captain Rostron's quick actions, the tragedy of the Titanic could have been even worse.

A good historical fiction that gives the tragedy a very personal voice.

This telling of the Titanic sinking and rescue was very moving. The writing is so well done and feels so true to the people involved. I thought I new about the Titanic until I started reading this book and realized I knew very little about the actual rescue and the ordeal the survivors went through.

This book is very well researched and almost all characters are based off actual people who were involved. The story comes to life and you will feel like you were actually there watching this terrible accident happening.

Before reading this book, I had never heard of the Carpathia and Captain Rostron. Now he is someone I will always greatly admire. If you are at all interested in the Titanic, give this book a read and you won't put it down (except to maybe do more research on the side because you just can't stop yourself). Seriously read this book
#abrilliantnightofstarsandice #netgalley

The history of the Titanic always has fascinated me, but like many, including the book author, Rebecca Connolly, no one really focuses on the rescue efforts by surrounding ships. In A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice, we are introduced to two main characters: ship captain, Arthur Rostrun and 3rd class passenger, Kate Connelly. I really appreciated how the author allowed us to understand what was happening on both ships at the time the Titanic was sinking. The words and descriptions the author used were moving and powerful, I am so grateful to NetGalley for allowing me to read it early.

A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice is a beautifully written story of the sinking of the Titanic, as well as the events that followed. It is insightful, without being to graphic or gory. I have learn d so much I didn't know and am very grateful I read this book.

Titanic. Everyone knows the story. But do you really know the WHOLE story? A large part of the story is the rescue of the lifeboats by the ship Carpathia. I imagine many people would recognize the name, but nothing else about that ship. I certainly didn't know anything else other than the name. This charming piece of historical fiction explores the Titanic disaster from the perspective of the Captain and crew of the Carpathia as they race to save the passengers of the ill-fated vessel. It's quite a task for an author to take an event where you already know the ending and still bring emotion and intensity to the story, such that you just keep reading and reading. The story follows actual Titanic passengers from third class steerage and alternates with the story of Captain Arthur Rostron and his valiant crew as they are truly at the right place at the right time to effect a rescue of the lifeboats. You do truly come away understanding just how miraculous it was they received the SOS at all. If this maritime disaster fascinates you, then you certainly should add this story to your reading list, you will be glad to have learned the history of this ship and her crew!!

Thanks to Shadow Mountain Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC.

This book is amazingly well written. It gave me Disney Villain vibes (stay with me here) in the sense that a lot of readers may have already heard the main details of the sinking of the titanic, just as many of us may have grown up watching the movie, Sleeping Beauty. When Maleficient came out and we were able to see the story told from a different POV it makes for an interesting tale. Regardless if you’re familiar with the sinking or not, this is an eye opening and gripping storyline of events mostly from Carpathia—the ship that answered Titanic’s distress call, and a Titanic passenger. The dual POV helped keep my attention all throughout the book. I was constantly wondering what was happening from each side of the storyline. I won’t say this book doesn’t have some heartbreaking chapters because it does. This is one of, if not THE biggest ocean tragedy that we know of. I felt that this author captured the feelings accurately and was able to portray them in a way that connects the reader with the characters. I’m not a fan of sad stories and made sure I was in a good place before starting and am so glad I picked this one up. While tragic, it does bring out highlights of hope and goodness mixed with the despair and tragedy. I highly recommend reading through all of the author’s notes at the end of the book. I appreciate the research that went into the writing of this book and it showed! I highly recommend!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

I was completely swept back in time while reading this! I ended the book feeling like the Titanic just went down and I almost experienced it first hand! Connolly does a fantastic job telling the horrific tale of the sinking of the Titanic!

The reader alternates between a young woman aboard the Titanic and the Captain of the rescue boat, the Carpathia. I quickly realized that I knew all about the sinking of that magnificent ship (thank you Leonardo Di Caprio) but next to nothing of the aftermath.

One of the officers of the Carpathia said of dangerously navigating the trecherous, ice filled, dark waters at top notch speed, "We were prompted by our humanity." They did not know what they would find upon arriving at the given accident coordinates, but they went willingly and quickly wanting to help and rescue. Humanity.

There's so much more to the story! This was a captivating, quick and easy read. I just loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the advanced e-copy in return for my honest review.

First sentence: Arthur Rostron exhaled slowly, enjoying the last quiet moments he would have on the bridge of the RMS Carpathia before they were underway.

Premise/plot: A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice is historical fiction at its best. In alternating chapters, the story of a fateful night in April 1912 unfolds for readers. The narration is divided between Arthur Rostron, the captain of the RMS Carpathia, and Kate Connolly, a third class passenger on board the Titanic.

My thoughts: I loved, loved, loved, LOVED this one. I would say though it's definitely marketed as being adult historical fiction, it truly could be for readers of all ages who happen to have an interest in the Titanic and enjoy history.

I loved so many things about this one. I LOVED the chapters narrated by Arthur Rostron. I absolutely loved the behind the scenes glimpse of the crew of Carpathia heading into unknown dangers racing against time to save the passengers of the Titanic. I loved how all the chapters began with authentic quotes. I loved the writing. There were passages that were just BEAUTIFUL. I also loved the faith-focus. For example, I loved this prayer from the captain, "Father God, let us get to them. Guide our hands and our feet, our ship and our hearts. Let it be enough."

I also loved the afterword. I was delighted to know that all the characters were real people. Fictionalized, to be sure, to one degree or another. But this is a well-researched novel.

Quotes:

We must be better sailors, better crew, and better men than we have ever been.

The clarity of the night sky was breathtaking. It would have been something to marvel had the circumstances been different. Each star lit its portion of the sky with a brilliance he'd rarely seen. "A brilliant night of stars," Arthur murmured to himself as he gazed out at it. He swallowed once. "And ice."

A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice had all the making of being a stand out historical fiction read. It has a tragic event which we all find fascinating, impeccable research from the author, and an unsung hero, but still for me it fell a bit flat.

The novel is wrote in alternating viewpoints, Captain Arthur Rostron of the Carpathia and third class girls from Ireland aboard the Titanic. The viewpoint with Captain Rostron is interesting because we all know the story of the Titanic, but we don’t know the intricacies of the boat that saved 705 passengers from the Titanic. We get to hear the distress call, their call to action (which is super impressive and nothing short of a miracle), their finding of the lifeboats, and delivering those passengers to safety. While this perspective was new info for me and I liked the learning that came from it, it was slow and sometimes hard to get into.

The other perspective is told from the third class passenger Kate and a couple of her Irish friends. In this timeline the striking of the iceberg happens quite quickly, so by the time they are all fighting for their lives you barely know the characters and you are not emotionally invested in what is going to happen to them. Had I known more about them and their relationships, I would have cared about their journey so much more. It’s why when you watch the Titanic movie and Jack goes under, you are emotionally distraught because you are invested in his and Kate’s life and story.

So while this wasn’t 100 percent for me and my character loving ways, this will be for many, many people. I did enjoy the new information I learned about the rescue from the Carpathia, but needed more from the Titanic timeline. Overall, if you are a Titanic aficionado you might just love this one.

Thank you NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my thoughts.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have always been interested in learning about the tragedy of the Titanic, yet I have not read as much about the Carpathia and it’s crew. This historical fiction novel tells the true story of Arthur Rostron, the Carpathia captain, and the lengths he and his crew went through that faithful night to rescue more than 700 people.
I flew through this novel in a less than a day. I enjoyed the alternating chapters told in the perspectives of Captain Rostron and Kate Connolly, a third class passenger and survivor from the Titanic. The author drew attention to how class and/or religion ceased to matter in the days following the tragedy as all were treated with care and compassion. Releases April 5, 2022. Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for a digital early copy of this amazing book.

When the Carpathia receives a distress signal from the RMS Titanic, the captain must decide if he will risk his own ship to come to the ship’s aid. It is the middle of the night and there is little information to go by. Will Carpathia hold together if it is pushed to never-before-tested speeds?
On board the Titanic, Kate Connolly is a passenger in third-class accommodations, and is among the last to receive instruction and help after Titanic hits an iceberg.

This was a sobering read. That’s not to say it wasn’t enjoyable. It was. I especially liked seeing this well-known disaster from the point of view of the ship that rescued so many of the passengers. But it is a story about a disaster where 1,517 people died and the scenes told from the point of view of Kate Connolly are gut-wrenching as she describes the aftermath. This is not a light read.

The author clearly did her research. There were times I sat a little closer to the fireplace because the details made me feel so cold, as if I were the one sitting in a rowboat in the middle of a field of icebergs. The final half of the book did feel slow in comparison. It was mostly the return of the Carpathia to New York, but it was not overly so.

I would recommend this book to readers who have an interest in the sinking of the Titanic.

A riveting tale of the RMS Carpathia coming to the rescuing of the survivors of the RMS Titanic! This story will linger long past the reading of the last page. A beautiful recounting of the humanity and heroism that can show up in the face of devistating tragedy. You won't want to miss this history rich story!

I received an ARC through Netgalley and all opinions are my own.

The ship Carpathia was forever noted in history, because it was the one that picked up the survivors of the Titanic disaster and delivered them safely to New York. In this novel, the reader will be drawn into the story of what happened that April night in 1912, when the Carpathia’s Marconi operator burst into Captain Rostrom’s cabin and informed him of a distress message from Titanic. You will be inside this man’s head as he makes momentous decisions about how to best reach the Titanic. You will inwardly cheer for the crew members who follow his commands immediately without reservation.
Another voice you will hear will be that of Kate Connelly, a Third-Class passenger from the Titanic, who was among the few from steerage that made it onto a lifeboat. The reader will tour the lower compartments of the Titanic and marvel at the wonders along with her. You will share her agony from Lifeboat 13 as the Titanic sinks, and feel the urge to be busy and do something, anything, to help those survivors who have lost loved ones.
*Three weeks ago, I was standing at the very pier where the Carpathia docked, and where the Titanic was destined to do so. Reading the details of that arrival from this wonderfully written book made the memories of being in that historic place ever so special.*
No spoilers, but I learned many things about that day that I had never known before. Thanks to the author for writing this incredible novel!

*I received a digital copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.*

This historical fiction novel about the Titanic took a different approach, which I appreciated. It focused more on the sinking and then on the rescue/aftermath and also on the ship and crew that rescued the survivors. This felt very well researched and the emotions of that horrible night were portrayed well. It was a very sad and hard book to read at times, but overall I liked it!

A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice is an achingly evocative and emotive Historical Fiction about the devastating events surrounding the sinking of the Titanic on April 15, 1912 and the rescue of 705 survivors by Carpathia's selfless crew. The historic story is known but reading different perspectives is always compelling.

The story is told from the alternating perspectives of Captain Arthur Rostron of the Carpathia and Kate Connolly, an Irish migrant passenger on the Titanic. Other characters are introduced including Rostron's crew and Kate's friends, lending a personal air. Of course the sea is practically a character as well with its haunting beauty and power. Upon being alerted of Titanic's distress, Rostron immediately heads Carpathia in her direction. One cannot begin to fathom the sheer panic and terror the Titanic passengers experienced as they realized their inevitable fate. Alas, Carpathia arrived too late. The next day desperate people waited at the harbour for their loved ones to return to them...and fifteen hundred never did.

I appreciate that the author did such thorough research and explained what happened to some of the survivors.

My experience with this book was multi-sensory due to the author's descriptions and writing style.

My sincere thank you to Shadow Mountain Publishing and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this book about heroism and hope in the time of extreme sorrow.

The Carpathia is known for saving the survivors of the Titanic. In this moving book, readers will learn about the Captain of the ship and his leadership in the rescue. The efforts of the Captain and his crew to prepare for and take care of the survivors was commendable. I liked reading the story through Kate Connolly. Her viewpoint made the story come alive. Recommended!

Almost 110 years ago, Titanic, the ship that “couldn’t sink” hit an iceberg and sank to the bottom of the Atlantic. Only one ship in the area answered its distress calls, and that was the Carpathia. This novel, which fictionalizes what happened with the Carpathia and those from the Titanic that survived, looks at the story a bit differently than other novels (and (bad) films) about this horrible event. Here we see it through the eyes of a steerage passenger from the Titanic, and the captain of the Carpathia. Because of this, as much as I thought I knew about this tragedy, I was also surprised to find out new things, and see it through a new perspective.

To be honest, I wasn’t sure I wanted to read this book. I mean, I often get offers to read novels, and even where the subject matter sounds interesting (as this one did), I always worry that an offered book from an unknown author won’t measure up to those I actively look for to read, or from authors with whom I’m already familiar. Plus, I found out that Connolly’s usual genre is romance, and my regular readers know that I generally avoid those books. However, I shouldn’t have worried because, well… simply said, this novel far exceeded my expectations, and any of the tiny niggles I may have had dissolved into being totally insignificant by the time I’d finished reading. I should also mention that Connolly really gets the ball rolling very early on in this book, by leaving the background stories of both main characters to a bare minimum, before getting to the accident itself.

Now I know that having alternating points of view can sometimes feel like an overused mechanic, but I would assure potential readers of this novel that it worked perfectly here, and Connolly chose her characters well. The captain of the Carpathian was the obvious choice for that side of the story, and then taking the name of a real passenger who had the same surname as her own for the other character, was stroke of genius. These two voices combined to give a much more rounded picture of what really happened with both the rescuers and the survivors, than I’d ever known or even thought possible. Furthermore, Connolly paints them with such admiration and affection that it is hard to believe that these people died decades before she was born. More importantly, Connolly makes us feel deeply for them.

So, what does that mean? Well, with the pacing Connolly used at the start of the book, I swear my heart was racing while reading both the parts about Titanic’s disaster, and the parts of Carpathia’s rescue. Then Connolly calms things down with her narrative, but in such a way as to allow us to begin to grasp exactly how much this disaster affected everyone involved. To be totally honest, as it sunk in (no pun intended), I became increasingly emotional, and you know what that means? Of course, you do – she made me cry; not once, not twice, but at least half a dozen times. Need I say more? No, I need not; I therefore recommend this novel wholeheartedly, and can give it no less than a full five out of five stars. Thank you Rebecca Connolly for bringing us an amazing story of heroism, humanity, and selflessness at a time when we need to be reminded that these things can and do still exist in our world today.

This book was really fascinating. It's a telling of the Carpathia's role in rescuing the survivors of the Titanic. The characters are all real people, the story as accurate as Rebecca's research could make it but it read like a fictional novel. And I loved it. I thought about it constantly while I was on vacation and even though I was exhausted, each night, I read at least a page every night because I just wanted to learn more.
You read this book and you mourn with Kate and Arthur. You feel the stress and anxiety and pressure the Carpathia crew felt. You feel the numbness, the confusion and the fear that the survivors of the Titanic felt.
It was beautifully written and in my layman's opinion, did great justice to Captain Rostron, the Carpathia and the rest of the crew, as well as the many victims of the tragic sinking of the Titanic.

Oh my heart!

This beautifully written novel was so hard for me to put down. I love the dual perspective and was so enthralled with Captain Arthur Rostron's story. There may have been some tears shed.

This was an easy 5 star book that I will be adding to my shelves when it is released.

Wow! A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice was... Brilliant! I was captivated and didn't want to stop reading. I loved hearing the lesser known story about the rescue of the Titanic survivors. There wasn't a lot of detail about the Titanic as the story followed a group of third class passengers and the ship was sunk half way through the book. The writing and description of the event was beautiful and haunting. I could really feel the emotions of every character both survivor and rescuer. I am so glad that this story and perspective of this true event in history was shared!
I was able to read an advanced copy through Netgalley. All thoughts are my own and I highly recommend this book!

This is a book that will stick with you for such a long time. It is a novel, but based on real people. The author did a phenomenal job of making these people come alive and to showcase events that happened that fateful night. We all know the disaster of Titanic. And I knew that they were saved by one ship. But had no idea what that entailed. Captain Rostron is the hero we all need. He wanted none of the fame. His only worry was the people and their safety. He was the bright shining moment in the dark days of the sinking of the ship. Despite all of the devastation these people experienced, their resilience and strength was inspirational. If I could give it more stars I would. I will be thinking about this book for weeks and months to come!

This tale takes place in two settings during the same time period. The first story is of a young woman that is traveling onboard the world's best ship to America. The second shows you a Captain that is made aware of a distress call, a call he can't answer immediately but tries every way he can to get it answered.

I very much enjoyed this book. I found it a different departure than other Titanic books in that the book alters from the events as they were unfolding on board the Titanic (where I found a timeline error--the error does nothing detrimental to the story, a Titanic nerd is who would notice it) to the Carpathia and how the events unfolded there. This is the first book I have read that gives Captain Rostron a voice. I found that to be my favorite part of the book. His actions and voice are exactly how I would expect him to be portrayed. As far as the Titanic story goes, I like that the author took a character name (a common Irish name) and gave it to two characters. I loved what the author did with the character's storyline too.

I think this book gives the reader a sense of the urgency in both storylines and will make the reader go through a few emotions.

A fictional sister tale to the Titanic, A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice is an intriguing story. I could picture the story's beginning as it started off very similarly to the Titanic - a journey of those privileged and less-so all aboard a ship headed for new beginnings. Well done.

Wow. I truly don’t even know where to begin with describing my feelings on this book.
I’m not sure what defines a good historical novel to you, but for me it is one that humanizes an event that I may have just known facts and figures about previously. The Titanic fascinated me as a young girl, I watched the movie (may have skipped a scene here or there) and I just remember being haunted by the event coming to life for me. This book has reawaken those same feelings and more for me. Rebecca Connolly has brought to life a harrowing event in history that has me aching for those who lived through it. I can’t even fathom the terror and the PTSD that these individuals had after their rescue, but I was able to reflect on it because Connolly brought up points that I never thought on previously.

When watching the titanic we see most of what led up to the sinking and a little after. A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice follows a couple girls that were in the third class of the titanic and also the captain of the Carpathia, the ship that answered the SOS cry for help. It tells the story of how the girls escaped, survived for hours on the lifeboat, and the time on the rescue ship. The captain’s story is nothing short of miraculous. He said it best, “I can conclude… that there was another hand at the helm than mine.” To think about how fast that ship went through the maze of icebergs, they risked their lives in the same area that the titanic went down. It’s absolutely amazing.

This book is beautiful and gut wrenching. It isn’t graphic, but I am going to say that tears welled in my eyes as I read certain parts.

There is much more I want to say about this book, but the limits on captions is my enemy. This book is for anyone who enjoys a gripping tale, who is looking for a book they can’t put down, or for those who want to connect with history.

If there is one historical novel that you choose to read this year, I believe this should be at the top of your list. Prepare to do your own research on the side, not because it’s needed, but because you’ll be wanting more.

We’re all at least somewhat familiar with the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, but do you know anything about the people who came to the rescue of the survivors? Well, have I got a book for you.

Oh how I LOVE when fiction teaches me about forgotten bits of history! This book is written from the POV of Arthur Rostron, captain of the ship Carpathia, the only ship that answered Titanic’s distress call and the only one that pulled her surviving passengers from the icy waters that night. The other POV is that of Kate Connolly, a young Irish woman traveling onboard the Titanic.

“The vessel was somehow still majestic despite her descent, the scattered lifeboats, and the cries and screams of the passengers all around her. Somehow still a wonder. Somehow still marvelous. But not, as it happened, unsinkable.”

I really loved this story, and I finished it in two sittings on the same day — it hooked me pretty quickly and I felt compelled to continue reading. It is as emotional as you’d expect during the disaster scenes; I teared up more than once! The imagery of the iceberg-filled sea is a beautiful contrast to its demonstrated deadliness and the prose flows well for me. The author doesn’t spend terribly long detailing the specifics of the ship sinking, which I like — she sticks strictly to the details that her character would know or witness. There’s also a photo of Captain Rostron, which I love seeing included in historical novels!

What I didn’t love as much was the amount of text dedicated to the religious service. We see several prayers typed word-for-word, as well as the entirety of the sermons given by both preachers. I skimmed these. I understand the relevance of the moment, but I didn’t need to read the entire blessing/service. The “action” in this book is definitely front-heavy, but I liked the ending as well.

Rating: 4.5/5⭐️
Pub day: 4-5-2022

This was intricate look at the days surrounding the sinking of the Titanic, told from the perspectives of a woman aboard the Titanic and the captain of the Carpathia, the ship that came to the rescue.

Wow, I literally couldn’t stop reading this until I was 70% in, and that was only because I had to sleep! I saw @books rave about this and requested it immediately. I’m so glad I did!

I know I’m not alone in being fascinated by the Titanic, but this was more exceptional than I expected because it showed multiple points of view as the events unfolded.

The characters in this novel are based on real people and follow as much of a real timeline as was possible. This is broken up into specific moments, making it fast paced and hard to put down. Thanks to the intricate details, I felt like I was truly in those moments experiencing the fear and trepidation of the people we were following.

Highly recommend for anyone wanting to know more about the Carpathia and the Titanic!

Thank you Netgalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for this digital arc in exchange for an honest review!

#BookReview: A BRILLIANT NIGHT OF STARS AND ICE by Rebecca Connolly

“How could it be so clear and the stars so bright when they were fleeing for their lives?”

As this is my first book by the author, I didn’t expect much. I thought it’s another Titanic story. This historical fiction is so much more. It tries to keep the facts as true as possible but what I like about it is that it focused more on the efforts of RMS Carpathia in rescuing the survivors of the Titanic, on what it meant to the passengers as well as all the crew and captain.

This tale of the grandeur and then later on the sinking of the Titanic felt realistic. It was a horrific event and took the lives of many. The survivors were not only physically exhausted but also emotionally spent. Survivors' guilt was common. They saw things that would haunt them forever. Their faith kept them hopeful. They prayed a lot and helped each other while trying to stay alive in freezing temperatures.

The call of distress was responded right away by RMS Carpathia despite the risk of ice. Their determination was applaudable. I liked how the story captured the emotions of both survivors and rescuers. It wasn’t easy for all of them. There were so many quotable lines and events but one thing that stood out to me was the singing of Amazing Grace once all 705 survivors were on board. It was very emotional. Social class and religious differences didn’t matter at that time. Sadness and grief were there but the need to move forward was present as well.

I didn’t think I would love this book, but I did. I couldn't put it down. The flow of the story was good and based on specific dates. I did research as usual after reading this story. The story of the Titanic and the survivors are known today. But now, I know more about the people who braved the seas and uncertainties to help others. I appreciate the documented true accounts by survivors after every chapter. Such brave men and women. A story full of hope, faith and compassion. It was inspirational! I highly recommend it!


Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Pub date: 05 Apr 2022

Thank you Shadow Mountain Publishing and netgalley for the complimentary copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

I'm kind of embarrassed to admit I have never thought about the ship or people who rescued the survivors of the Titanic. I really enjoyed that this book focused on that. Captain Rostron and his crew should be acknowledged as heros. Their work and care for the survivors is admirable. You hope the rest of us would have responded the same way, but you just never know. I enjoyed that we had the POV of the captain and a Titanic survivor. I felt like it gave a well rounded view for the story, seeing things from both sides. I'm now interested in learning more about these people and the events surrounding the Titanic.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through Netgalley and this is my honest review.

I was drawn in to the story of the Titanic on that fateful voyage from the very first page. I enjoyed having chapters from the alternating perspectives of a rescuer and a passenger in need of rescue. Rebecca Connolly made the events come alive in poigniant ways as people wrestled with a tragedy that had no good solutions for everyone.
The book was well researched, but I felt it was very well done as a story, not dry at all. I felt like I was there, struggling through the decisions and fear and heartbreaks with the characters.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice from the publisher via Netgalley. All opinions in the book review are my own.

It’s been 110 years since the sinking of the Titanic, and it still captures our attention. Rebecca Connolly has written a fascinating new historical fiction novel. It’s based on the true story of the Carpathia and her courageous captain, Arthur Rostron, the man who answered the distress call of the Titanic.

A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice also follows the perspective of Kate Connolly, a third-class passenger on Titanic, and how she survives and then boards the Carpathia as she deals with the tragic aftermath.

Connolly does a fine job intertwining the stories of both Rostron and Connolly, and I quickly read the story – mostly to learn more about the Carpathia – an integral part of Titanic’s history that tends to get overlooked.

A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice is a well-researched page-turner and a lovely tribute to Titanic’s history.

THE CARPATHIA – AN INTERESTING HISTORY

Captain Rostron is the hero, and his actions before, during, and after the sinking of the Titanic are truly admirable. It was interesting to read about his preparations for rescuing passengers and his grit in the face of disaster.

Kate Connolly presents a more relatable perspective on the historical events and is just as intriguing in a different way.

Before reading this book, I didn’t know anything about Kate Connolly and Captain Rostron (two very real people from history), but I admire them now that I do – even if this book is historical fiction.

A RESPECTFUL TRIBUTE

Ultimately, I liked this book because Connolly found a new way to explore the famous tragedy but did so without exploiting the real people who lived it. And I appreciate the lack of sensation.

Connolly’s attention to detail allows readers to understand the historical events as they unfold, and I never felt bored while reading.

While the historical details are excellent, I wanted more characterization and story. I also wanted a more prolonged buildup to the tragedy, so I felt like I knew the supporting characters more before the events unfolded.

However, I still enjoyed the book, and I recommend it to anyone who wants a respectful exploration of the Carpathia and the Titanic.

OVERALL THOUGHTS

Overall, A Brilliant Night of Stars is a quick, enjoyable read. It’s great for anyone wanting to learn more about the Carpathia and its fascinating captain, Arthur Rostron.

While I would have liked more time getting to know the characters before the tragic events of the Titanic started, it’s still a respectful tribute to the actual people aboard the Titanic and the Carpathia and worth a read if you’re interested in the history and the real people!

ADAPTATION RECOMMENDATION:

A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice would make an intriguing period drama miniseries akin to Julian Fellowes’ Titanic series.

A TV miniseries could take more time exploring the characters, the tragedy, and then the rescue giving Rostron and Connolly a well-deserved fictionalized tribute on the small screen.

Content Note: Everything is very PG-like for the tragic descriptions. It’s a wholesome read.

Overall Rating: 3.5

Revisiting the Titanic tragedy, the viewpoint of passengers and the crew of rescuers from the Carpathia makes this a new look at one of the largest maritime disasters in history. Personable characters and well written prose make this highly recommended.

This is a perfect read if you’re interested in The Titanic. It’s a great historical fiction that highlights the Carpathia’s involvement with the aftermath of the downfall of Titanic. Rebecca really took me on an emotional journey. I’m adding her to the list of my favorite authors.

Inspired by the author's visit to the Titanic Museum in Belfast, A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice is the story of the rescue of 705 survivors from sinking of the Titanic, by the passenger steamship Carpathia, under Captain Arthur Rostron, in April 1912.

One of the Titanic survivors was Kate Connolly, a passenger in steerage class, on her way from Ireland to a new life in America. The author, Rebeccca Connolly, was attracted to Kate's life-story because of their same surnames, so uses Kate as one of the two narrators of this novel, in alternating chapters, the other being Capt Rostron.

It's a really gripping read, particularly when one considers that the sinking of the Titanic is so well known that one would consider it difficult for the author to inject any sense of jeopardy into the narrative - but she does ... the reader is willing the Carpathia to get to the Titanic before she sinks. Also, the rescue of the survivors occurs roughly halfway through the book, so the rest of the narrative could have been a bit of an anticlimax - but it isn't ... we the reader have time to learn more about the central characters, and the post-rescue story.

Captain Arthur Rostron is driven by duty and humanity to do his very best during this unimaginable maritime tragedy. He says, "We were prompted by our humanity. We risked our ship, our passengers and ourselves to save the lives of others ... We will know that we did everything we could to help and save as many as possible. The comfort such a thought will bring cannot compare with any of the fame and glory that the world might think to bestow on us. We have not done anything heroic. We have done only what was right."

It is thanks to this excellent novel that Arthur Rostron's story, and that of his crew, will deservedly become better known, so that "These memories will never be faint, and they will never be forgotten".

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review of the book.

It was a brilliant night of stars and ice, it was a night of death.

Almost 110 years ago, a catastrophe occurred, the greatest unsinkable ship Titanic sank.
I enjoyed reading this book, especially the part of Captain Arthur Rostron's story, his actions to rescue passengers of Titanic, his work with the crew of Carpathia.
Another great thing of this book is the excerpts from the memories of passengers, giving between the chapters.
But Kate's story did not work for me, I couldn't say that I like that part. Many characters with the same names were not good for my understanding.
A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice would be attractive to read by people who love historical fiction and also who are fans of Titanic.
Thanks to Rebecca Connolly, Shadow Mountain and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book!

We have heard stories of the Titanic disaster many times. But this story tells of the honorable Captain, crew and passengers of the Carpathia. The insightful, composed and humble Captain Arthur Rostron, deserves praise for his stalwart command while under unthinkable circumstances. The story alternates between Captain Rostron on the Carpathia and Katie Connelly a survivor of the Titanic, although some of the story is fabricated, it is mixed with facts of the true events. The research and care the author put into the story is remarkable. The raw emotion, the compassion, the faith, are felt throughout the story. The events of that fateful night will never be forgotten, neither will the hero’s and angel’s that served with the almighty. May we all treat those around us each day with love, compassion and respect.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

We all know the what happened to the Titanic, but who knows the story of the ship that rescued the survivors.
A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice is the story of Captain Rostron and the crew of the Carpathia as well as Kate Connelly who was on the ill-fated ship.
Dual povs shed light on the harrowing journeys that they all went through.
This is a story that will stick with you. Days later and I am still thinking about Kate.
Thank you to Shadow Mountain Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC.

A gripping story of the events surrounding the sinking of the Titanic in April 1912, but told from a perspective you may never have read before--that of the <i>Carpathia</i>, the ship that strained every limit to reach the sinking ship but simply could not make it in time. The <i>Carpathia</i> did, however, rescue all of the survivors in the lifeboats.
I had not been terribly interested in reading a Titanic book at this point in my life; after all, when one has read Walter Lord's 1955 novel, and seen the occasional movie or documentary, one's threshold for Titanic mania may seem to have been reached. It's an emotionally exhausting event to contemplate.
But this book, involving a much lesser known perspective, and following a Titanic survivor who has no lost loved ones to lament, struck a balance of being sobering but still bearable to read.

The characters in this novel are all based on their real-life counterparts. The characterizations aren't particularly memorable, but I can see how difficult it would be to make this story character-driven, when in reality it is 100% event-driven.

It held my interest the entire way through.

Perhaps we take it for granted that the Carpathia (Rostron’s ship) would come to the Titanic’s rescue. But I think that Connolly actually does a fantastic job of demonstrating what a heroic act this was. Rostron knew that ice had sunk the unsinkable ship. And yet, he still risked his own ship and his passengers to save the survivors of the Titanic.

think this book does a great job of revealing a new part of the history of the Titanic, but I felt that the rest of the storyline was lacking. I didn’t know enough about any of the main characters to become attached to them.

This isn’t meant to be yet another tragic story about the Titanic. And I totally get that. But I think this book might have pulled me in more if there was more at stake for the main characters. Even the focus of the book, Captain Rostron, fell a bit flat for me as a character. If a heroic historical figure is at the center of a story, I want them to feel really real to me.

Overall, A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice tells an interesting story that’s worth knowing. Unfortunately, I think there are other books out there that do it better.

Interested in books about the Titanic? Check out my review of A Night to Remember by Walter Lord.

I just finished this wonderful book. It is a first person fiction story from 2 different peoples prospective. A women who was a passenger on the Titanic and the captain of the rescue ship that came to the aid of the surviving passengers. I really enjoyed the story of the captain and how he felt and made decisions on the ships rescue efforts. I have never thought about the actual rescue process and what those rescued passengers must have felt like. What a horrific experience, but this beautiful book made both the surviving passengers and the rescue crew real! It is based on real life people and actual accounts- although it is fictionalized, it was just as powerful. I cried and that always means to me that it was a well told story and that I connected to the characters. I highly recommend this book to history buffs, good fiction lovers, and anyone interested in the Titanic story. It is a clean read, which I love and appreciate so much!

Such and interesting look into such an iconic and tragic moment in history. While this book was admittedly more serious than my typical reads it was well crafted and delivered a moving story that will memorable long after the final pages. This glimpse into a fictional version of history was captivating and heart wrenching at the same time. Anyone who has been intrigued with the sinking of the titanic will want to dive into this compelling story.

I was drawn into the heart-wrenching and heroic history of how the ship the Carpathia along with her crew and passengers saved the lives of those that made it into lifeboats when the Titanic went down. Captain Rostron and his crew acted decisively and courageously and saved about 700 lives in the process. I love the 2 points of view as the author relates the experiences of that fateful night. I saw the story in a way I've never seen it before, even after reading other historical fiction about the Titanic. I could feel the emotions of the passengers and the rescuers through the story. Looking forward to more from Rebecca Connolly!

I have always had a fascination with the sinking of the Titanic and have read many books about it. The focus of this book, however, is on the Carpathia, the ship that rescued 705 survivors from the Titanic’s lifeboats and brought them safely back to New York. It is a brilliant account of the heroics of the captain and crew to reach the survivors told through the eyes of the captain of the Carpathia and one of the survivors in lifeboat 13.

This book was gut wrenchingly fantastic. I finished it over a week ago and I am constantly recommending it to everyone. This is a story that takes place over roughly a week, from the departure of the Titanic to arrival of the Carpathia in New York with the survivors of the Titanic. I really enjoyed getting to meet all the different characters and learning their stories. The author did a great job with her research and you could feel that with the depth of the characters. I also feel that the author showcased the survivors guilt in a way I had seen before that was utterly painful. A great read and I really look forward to what Rebecca Connolly does next!

Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review!

Everyone knows the story of the Titanic, and those who don’t ought to learn one of the most important events in history. The Titanic taught us that all ships can be sinkable. (And to always double our lifeboats just in case.) That we can plan for every structure to be huge and impossible but the slightest item can damage it in the blink of an eye. The story of the Titanic is one of my favorites in history. I can’t put my finger on why, exactly. Maybe it’s because of the heroism of those reaching the poor people that barely survived the sinking of the Titanic. Maybe it’s because I adore ocean stories and survival stories. Maybe because it was such big news back in the day that it still haunts us all even now. Whatever the case, I read every Titanic book I can get my hands on, along with other sunken ships.

This story is historically accurate in terms of events, down to the timing being listed on every chapter. I appreciated the story for it’s accuracy and I did like the characters that I read. I flipped through the book rapidly and had to sit and think about how this review was going to go. Because while the first half was absolutely brilliant, the second half was nothing but paragraph after paragraph of prayer, hymns, and “thank god we’re alive!”. Of which, yes I’m aware that they likely did all that. But I was hoping for more backstory about the ship that rescued the survivors of the Titanic, not half a book of prayer.

The first half of the book was amazing; strong characters, I felt as though I was right there with them, vivid details, lots of rushing about to safety. The author did a fabulous job in recreating history, she’s a great writer. I was seeing a five star book on the horizon.

Then the characters were rescued by the Captain of the Carpathia. They were pulled up to safety, to warmth, to life again. And that’s where the story swapped from harrowing historical events to prayer. Praying almost every page. Hymns being sung. I flipped through the rest, and that was it. Nothing else but grateful for being alive.

Don’t get me wrong. I understand that back then religion was rampant. As it is today. However I was really hoping for more information about the Carpathia. So I’m rating this four stars-reluctantly. After all. I did enjoy it. It just wasn’t what I thought it would be.

A gripping, dramatic novel about the Titanic disaster, told from a fresh perspective. The novel is told from the points of view of the captain of the Carpathia and its heroic against-all-odds rescue of the Titanic survivors, and a third class passenger on the Titanic. I really enjoyed learning more about the Carpathia's role in the story. The novel doesn't stop at the night of the sinking of the Titanic, but also details the days afterward and is very moving.

You've read many accounts of the Titanic disaster....and this book does include some more...but it's told mostly from the crew's perspective of the Carpathia ship, which tried to help the sinking Titanic and picked up survivors in the lifeboats. It was heart wrenching, but so good. I really enjoyed reading a different perspective.

I've been intrigued with the story of the Titanic since the movie hit the theaters in 1997. We all know the timeline of what happened but it was interesting to read from the perspective of the ship that rescued the survivors. The story was told from the perspective of two Carpathia passengers, Kate and the Captain. I thought the characters were very well-written and enjoyed how Rebecca sprinkled real facts throughout the story. I really feel as if I know that night so much better after reading this and recommend it to any history buff or lover of the Titanic story.

First things first: This book brought me out of my reading slump and I am forever grateful.

With that said, I didn't expect to like this book so much. After all, months of reading and getting annoyed with one's own book selections makes one rather cynical. But I read this book in ONE SITTING and yes, I can confirm it's a beautiful and *CLEAN* story.

I love how the author didn't shy away from the pain of that night many years ago, in fact, she only made it so much more real. Painful, yes, but also real. The author skillfully threaded the emotion through the pages, but rather than letting it bog the story down with darkness, she chose to weave a story of hope from the shattered pieces. Through the eyes of Kate, a passenger on the Titanic, and Arthur, the captain of the Carpathia, we see a story of great pain, but we also see a story of hope, of people coming together in the end to uplift and serve one another.

Guys. Not gonna lie, we need more books like this.

“We have done something heroic. We’ve done something miraculous. There is too much providence in it to be anything less. We have done what was right, I concede your point there, but that does not mean there was not something glorious in it. Even if it falls by the wayside on the pages of history.”

All I can say is wow! This amazing story of the Carpathia, it’s brave Captain, Arthur Rostron and crew, and those endearing Irish young women who survived the awful sinking completely captured my heart. Like the author herself, I thought I knew the story of the Titanic. I’ve seen the movie a dozen times and was fascinated as a very young woman when pieces of the wreckage were finally exhumed from the sea. This is the brilliant often untold story of the Carpathia and its dramatic rescue of the survivors.

Though historical fiction, the author takes great pains to recreate the inspiring true story from various points of view. History definitely comes alive as the heart stopping rescue unfolds where the Carpathia risks everything, facing those same icebergs which sunk the Titanic, to rescue the survivors. Even knowing the eventual outcome, I couldn’t help but feel that mounting tension as the Carpathia races to the rescue hoping somehow the ending will be different. The experiences of Kate Connolly and her friends brought new insight into the horror they experienced on lifeboat 13 witnessing the tragedy unfold.

Despite the tragedy, I was especially touched by the faith and conviction of Captain Rostron and how the passengers of the Carpathia opened their hearts. All worked together regardless of class to care for the survivors, giving their own clothing and rooms, helping any way they could. The various reactions of the survivors were so memorable where some were so out of touch hardly acknowledging what happened and others like Kate, the “Unsinkable” Molly Brown, and the Countess of Rothes who focused on helping others. I loved the interesting facts as well like Mary and her jar of St. Mogue’s earth she brought from Ireland for protection.

This is definitely a story that should be remembered and celebrated. Highly recommend this poignant, incredibly moving story to historical fiction fans and anyone interested in the history of the Carpathia and Titanic. I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are my own and voluntarily given.

I remember as a kid choosing the Titanic as my topic for my school project. I have always been interested in reading historical books and articles about the events surrounding Titanic, so when I saw this book that included both factual information and a fictional story based around the Carpathia I was really excited.

While I really appreciated and enjoyed learning more about the Carpathia and it’s story I felt the fictional story didn’t hold up for me.

In the beginning I was hooked, as it follows a group of women traveling to New York in Steerage, however the lack of character development throughout the book let me to get bored with their story. I just wish there was a little bit more story to grab onto.

Thank you NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I found this book quite compelling as it focused on the rescue efforts of the British ship Carpathia and its captain, Arthur Rostron, and his very professional crew members the night of the sinking of the Titanic. The author did her research and included passengers and crew members actually present at the time, from both ships.

Of special interest to me was the commingling of classes on board the Carpathia after the rescued souls from Titanic were aboard. Charity and helpfulness seemed to abound, and I believe the Christian example of Captain Rostron led the way. I enjoyed the blurbs at the beginning (end?) of each chapter, some from Rostron, some from passengers or other crew members, which helped maintain a sense of reality to the story.

I received this book from the publisher via net galley in exchange for an honest review. I’m giving this book five stars not so much from my personal enjoyment but because of its historical significance.

110 years! That’s how many years it has been since the fateful and tragic sinking of the unsinkable Titanic. I loved that author Rebecca Connolly and her publisher released this beautifully powerful book around the anniversary of that sorrowful and unbelievable night.

If you enjoy historical fiction, especially because of all that you can and will learn about historical moments and facts, this book is or you. The author did an amazing job researching and studying and learning about the people involved in this tragic moment. Make sure that you read her author’s notes at the end of the book. So fascinating. And now I want to go visit this Titanic memorial/museum that she talked about.

I’ve always been fascinated and held in reverence what happened to these people, especially the survivors. Unfortunately, I honestly never thought about the ship, captain, passengers, crew of the ship that answered the call for help from the Titanic. Sitting here, writing this review and my thoughts and thinking back on this book and what I read about these many individuals, I have chills and tears. None of us can truly understand or imagine what happened. But we can have a better understanding through their words and the records kept. How Rebecca Connolly wrote and portrayed them in this novel was truly moving, inspirational and very emotional. It made me think about and hope that someday whatever I am faced with, I can rise to the need of those around me and that we can rally and support and help and care and be better for what we experience.

I had tears throughout the book, but nothing moved me more than the scene when the Carpathia comes into port in New York City. Oh my heart! The tears were flowing, there were some sobs. My heart ached for these families waiting and hoping against all hope that their loved ones had been returned among the survivors. The reverence for those lost. The sorrow. The unity. So many emotions.

I would love to tell you so much more about this book. I’m sure everyone has their own knowledge of the Titanic but this is something you need to read to experience and understand and feel. I’m so grateful to the author for all the time and research and writing and emotions and understanding that she put into this powerful, poignant and inspiring book.

Let us not forget that we all need compassion and love and strength from each other throughout our struggles and trials and sometimes tragedies in life.

Content: Clean. We all know what happened to the Titanic and the loss of many lives. This book portrays in a very respectful way, the sinking of the ship, the deaths of passengers (not graphic), the rescuing of freezing individuals, the emotions and grief and despair.

I received a copy from the publisher, Shadow Mountain Publishing, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

My emotions and imagination were swept away in this informative account of the Carpathia and her crew. Told from the perspective of Captain Rostron, Captain of the Carpathia, and Kate, a passenger from the Titanic, a captivating narrative of the events that occurred that tragic night. I am well versed on the events and tales of the Titanic. However, prior to this book, I had never heard of the Carpathia. Rebecca Connolly brings honor, and perhaps even justice, to the captain and her crew. I was captivated with the experience from Kate’s perspective as she raced to get to a lifeboat and then waited for hours, in the cold dark, listening to the voices, screams, cries of those who did not make it and perished with the Titanic. I was mesmerized by Captian Rostron and his crew. The leadership he demonstrated was phenomenal. The call, the response, the actions…all were miraculous. Amongst the chaos, he provided organization, logic, and compassion. There are so many untold stories from that calamitous night, but this one was done right. Thank you, Rebecca, for honoring all the men and women from that heartbreaking tragedy. I absolutely, most emphatically, recommend this book for all lovers of both fictional and nonfictional historical stories.
I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are solely my own, freely given.

This book by Rebecca Connolly was one I didn’t want to put down. I loved the way this author used real characters from history and made them jump off the page. The story of the Titanic has always been one that has fascinated me and this book made it seem even more real.

The author picked several characters to have the story line of this one follow. One of them was Captain Arthur Rostron, captain of the Carpathia. I had heard of the Carpathia, and I knew a small bit about her role in the saving of passengers, but this book really showed me so much more. The people who worked on this ship were true heroes, from the captain down to the women who served the meals.

I also loved Kate Connolly. I can not even imagine having been in the position of the passengers on the Titanic when the ship went down. The horror they would have felt, knowing what happened to their friends, and in some cases family.

This is such a touching book. I loved the way the author did it! It is a must read if you enjoy stories about the Titanic.

This is a story that needed to be told, and Ms. Connolly's masterful hand does it justice.
Like many, I have been fascinated by stories of the Titanic. When faced with a tragedy of that magnitude, it is one of the greatest honors we can grant to those lost: to not forget them; to not let their stories fade away. I knew hazily of the Carpathia and its role in the Titanic survivors' rescue, but not much more than that. "A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice" gives a face, a heart, and a soul to that part of the story.
When you read about the Titanic, it's easy to get buried in the sensationalism - in the grit, and in the grime - but not fully appreciate the extraordinary levels of providence witnessed over those initial hours. This story shows us that light - the light that counterbalances those horrific moments of darkness and intense grief. Towards the end, we witness a beautiful exchange that will stick with me for a very long time. "How did we do it, sir?" ... "I can only conclude ... that there was another hand at the helm than mine." Thank you, Ms. Connolly, for bringing this story to us. For personalizing the rescue, for giving faces to those rescued as well as those lost, and for sharing the extraordinary acts of heroism seen throughout the crew of the Carpathia.
Beautiful.
Brief note on content: please do know this story does not hold back from the horrors of that night. You meet kind, genuine people who you then lose a mere 30 pages later. There is loss, there is grief, there are moments where elation gives way to raw anguish. But stick with it -- there is also goodness, and hope, and bravery, and courage. As far as triggers, we do witness death, at-sea burials, intense grief, and a fairly significant amount of survivors' guilt.
Thank you, thank you for sharing this story. I wholeheartedly recommend it to mid-teens and above. Let us not forget this night! Thank you, author and publisher, for granting an advance copy of the title in exchange for a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

**I've posted to both Amazon and Barnes & Noble, along with Goodreads, Bookbub, and Twitter. I'll update with URLs for the first two mentioned once the reviews have been approved.**

Thanks to NetGalley for this advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.
Yay! As a librarian endlessly fascinated by the events of the Titanic, I gobbled this book whole. We often read about they “why” of the disaster, but not so much about the recovery, the decisions of the captain and crew of the Carpathia, or the third class passengers on board. This book brought back the humanness of the people of titanic. Gone are stats and numbers, or about the terrible losses of the first class passengers. Here we see the humanity in third class, putting a voice to those who’ve been ignored. The Marconi operator and captain of the carpathia take center stage as we learn new things about the recovery efforts and the delivery of survivors to New York. I leaned things I didn’t know. This was a fast read that pulled me in an held me tight. I would recommend this to historical fiction fans and to anyone remotely interested in the titanic. Congratulations!
5*. This review will appear on Goodreads.

This book followed a completely different story line about the Titanic, which was fascinating to me. I have never put much thought into the ships that came to help after the Titanic sank. But in this story we get to delve into the lives of a few key individuals that were instrumental in saving as many people as they did from that deadly crash.

This one is told in two story lines. Kate on Titanic and Arthur on Carpathia.

Through Kate we get a fairly "typical" look at what the events looked like on the Titanic. While I liked Kate, I didn't enjoy this story line as much, but I understand how it was helpful in keeping the events of the night in the right order.

Arthur Rostron on the Carpathia awakens to a distress call from Titanic and spends the next days doing his best to get the boat he is on to the Titanic, as well as spend the time to relay messages back to shore to family and friends that would have heard of the sinking. The Carpathia was one of many ships out in the area that fateful night. While not close (4 hours), they were still barely within radio reach of the Titanic. Hearing the story of bravery from the ship captain (there was still plenty of ice out there!) was very inspiring.

Again, I really feel like I have a better picture of that fateful night and it was heartbreaking and touching as well. Clean, with an overall uplifting message. Would recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Rebecca Connolly deftly weaves true accounts of the Titanic's voyage, sinking, and rescue into the narratives of two historical figures - a young Irish immigrant aboard the ill-fated ship (Kate Connolly) and the Captain of the rescue vessel, Carpathia (Arthur Rostron). The flow between the narratives was smooth, the quotations from various eyewitnesses at the beginning of each chapter compelling, and the emotional connection I felt to the people involved was strong. This book is a very accessible look into a piece of history that we all know the surface details of, but dove deep enough to develop awe for those valiant seamen and passengers aboard the Carpathia who stepped up and became heroes.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions expressed are completely my own.

Everything linked to the Titanic is interesting to me. Like many people, the events of that night in 1912 fascinate me for some dark reason. That's why I requested this book on Netgalley as soon as I saw it.

It is a pretty original take on the Titanic events, as it focuses on the Carpathia, the first ship to answer the Titanic's distress call, and rescued some of the survivors. I thought it was really interesting, as I never read or saw anything from this perspective, the perspective of the people who could do nothing but hope they would not be too late.

I loved following the various characters, especially the passengers who had friends and family aboard the Titanic. The emotions described and the way people supported each other during the wait felt very real, and it was truly touching to read. Add to this an alternating POV between Carpathia and Titanic, and you get a captivating novel filled with emotions and some kind of solemn atmosphere.

This was only a bit ruined because of the Captain of the Carpathia, Arthur. The author really emphasized his role, and the way he keeps repeating that it will be an event that will be remembered, and how super sad it is, and I think it was a bit too much. The somber mood was already there, there was no need to push it even more. He was a little too dramatic for me and it annoyed me, but not enough to prevent me from absolutely loving this book!

This books was amazing! I loved how it told the story not just of the Titanic, but of the Carpathia, the ship that braved the ice strewn waters to come to the rescue of the survivors. The captain of the Carpathia was an incredible man. I also love how it told the story of people in the third class part of the ship. This book did a good job showing the trauma the survivors may have felt after what happened to the Titanic. I learned things that I never knew about this event in history.

I fell in love with this book, it had been a while since I liked a story so much.
Knowing that this is a real story didn't make it any less exciting, I cried in several chapters.
For me the author knew very well how to bring this story to life, she manages to involve you in a way that you don't want to stop reading.
The chapters are short which makes the story go by quickly and makes you want to read more and more.
The author's writing is simple but manages to bring all the necessary emotion.
I think this is definitely one of the best books I've ever read.
I highly recommend it.
It was a wonderful experience reading this book. learning more about the history of the Titanic from another view was very interesting.
I learned a lot from this book about this disaster, I can wholeheartedly recommend this book to everyone.
Even though it's a real story, the author manages to make you forget about it without taking the weight of the story in addition to being able to bring a real story without looking like a textbook, if I didn't know about the Titanic I would say that this was a fictional book so well written and done that he was!

I have always been fascinated by all things Titanic so I was excited to see this book offered for review. First of all, I have to say that the cover of A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice is absolutely beautiful and represents this story so well.

Told from the viewpoints of the captain of the Carpathia, the first ship to come to the aid of the Titanic, and a female passenger of the Titanic, the reader gets to experience what both sides of the tragedy went through. I sensed the anguish and terror that were felt by both. The writer researched this very well and I felt like I was there experiencing it all.

A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice was an excellent read, especially for anyone interested in the Titanic and what happened on that fateful night of the iceberg crash that sunk the 'unsinkable' ship. It was very interesting getting a different perspective of that night.

I have always been fascinated by the story of the Titanic. I love reading nonfiction accounts, such as A Night to Remember by Walter Lord and A Survivor’s Story by Archibald Gracie.

As a self-proclaimed Titanic “snob,” I am pleased to say that A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice is a great addition to the historical fiction genre. The characters were engaging, even though I was a little confused between the multiple Marys, Kates, and Martins from Ireland. I wondered why the author chose to name her characters that way, but then I learned that the characters in the story were real passengers on the Titanic. That intrigued me and I found myself “cheating” by looking up the names of the real people. ;) There isn’t very much information available about the experiences of those particular passengers but Ms. Connolly created a beautiful, believable story.

What I particularly loved about this book is that the author told not only the story of the Titanic and her passengers, but also the story of the rescuing ship, the Carpathia. I loved the quotes the author included at the beginning of the chapters from historical figures, such as Captain Rostron of the Carpathia. In researching more about him, I felt that the author did a fantastic job in her portrayal of him as a captain and as a man of faith.

A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice, is a riveting story that I couldn't put down. The author has really brought the different perspectives to life. I would recommend this book to anybody not just titanic fans.

Rebecca is an amazing author. Although this book is outside the normal romance novels I would read from her, her talent for character development shines through. She is able to weave an amazing tapestry of fiction and fact into the perfect marriage of a book that readers of all ages will enjoy.

4.25 stars. Wow! As common as the story of the Titanic is, not many know about the ship who came to the rescue. I loved that this story was about the Carpathia and it’s captain and really made me feel like I was there experiencing the stress and decisions of navigating that night. It was so beautifully told and I can’t stop thinking about it. I will definitely recommend this book to my book club as I think it’s an important story and one many people would find interesting.

“I have heard that some of you are questioning why you were spared, why you did not perish with so many others, and why the Lord would part families in such a way. I submit to you, my friends, that those are questions that may not have answers in this life. May we remember those we have lost, and take comfort that they are, even now, with the angels above, looking down on us without pain or sorrow.”

This is the remarkable true story of that awful night in 1912, but told from the perspective of the Carpathia, who answered the distress call of the sinking Titanic.

This side of the story isn’t talked about as much as I think it should be-from the point of view of the rescuers.
There were several times while reading this book that I got emotional, I can’t even imagine what these people witnessed and the survivors guilt. There are so many little details I learned that had me in awe of the rescue and the real people who lived to tell their story.

I definitely recommend this to any Titanic lover out there. This book reads more nonfiction so make sure to read the authors note at the end.

"A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice" was a book that I thoroughly enjoyed. From its title and cover to its plot, pace and characters, I liked everything about it.

I had read Rebecca Connolly's Regency romances in the past, but this different genre only further proves her talent. It also shows how well she transposes her talent in one genre to another: her understanding of human emotions make a historical event more touching and real.

"A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice" is a historical fiction based on a real event: the Titanic's sinking and the rescue by the Carpathia. It follows two characters: Katie Connolly, a young Irish women on her way to a new life in America on the Titanic, and Arthur Rostron, the Carpathia's captain.

I have read many Titanic fictions in the past, including at least one focused on the Carpathia ("S.O.S. Titanic : Journal de Julia Facchini, 1912", by Christine Féret-Fleury [in French]). Therefore, I didn't learn many new facts. But what I found so special about "A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice" is that it provides such an interesting insight into the Carpathia's captain thoughts and feelings. It is also particularly moving and harrowing because the suffering of the drowning people and survivors is deeply perceptible. Even the reverend's sermon at mass brought tears to my eyes, even thought I'm not religious.

More than Captain Rostron's heroism, I was touched by his humanity and modesty. I loved his saying "We have done nothing heroic, Dean. We have only done what was right" and "Our providential moment in the sea will fade against the tales of each life lost, each lifeboat launched, and each member of the crew who sacrificed himself or herself to the sea". It is true that the Carpathia's crew efforts - and the sacrifice of the Titanic's crew - are sometimes eclipsed by the tragedy or the romantism attached to it by other fictional works. Rebecca Connolly's book thus sheds an important light on what has sometimes been forgotten.

It made me want to Captain Rostron's autobiography "Home from the Sea" (1931).

Thank you Netgalley and Rebecca Connolly for the ARC of this book.

I am fascinated by the history of Titanic and when I saw this ARC available I knew that I had to request it.

Connolly told the story so well and mixed in with different perspectives meant you couldn't help but to feel you had a 360 view of what was happening at the time.

I was captivated at all times and feel this was a great mix of historical fiction mixed with history.

I would recommend this book to anyone fascinated by history and/or the Titanic.

A Brilliant Night is a maritime historical fiction book. I remember the first time I watched Titanic, I made my research about the historical Titanic, and I was so young at that time. So I’m glad I get a glimpse of that era in this book. I wanted to know more about certain characters. However, I’m happy the author made an effort to raise specific issues about the era.

I recommend this to anyone interested in clean maritime historical fiction. Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read an arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I give it 3 stars.

Book review: Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice by Rebecca Connolly
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This was a captivating book from start to finish. The emotions, the faith, and the focus on the good during a tragedy made this book amazing. I knew right away I liked the captain of the Carpathia based on how he talked about his wife. I thought the two perspectives chosen for this story really made it that much more engaging. The writing had me feeling all the emotions because it was so descriptive of the tragedy. I really appreciate all of the work and research that went into this book. As any good historical novel should do, I learned something new and appreciate my life more.
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My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Content: death

Interesting narration and a very unique portrayal of the Titanic myth - really enjoyed how much Carpathia’s role was stressed, which is often forgotten in both fiction and nonfiction about this tragic event.

The characters were likeable, however, the fast pace made me feel like I didn’t really connect with them that much.

Nevertheless, a gripping and alluring book.

We are all familiar with the tragedy that was the Titanic, but what of the Carpathia and her crew? Told from the perspective of Captain Arthur Rostron and a third class Titanic passenger, Kate Connoly (of County Cavan), the book shares the story of the sinking as it might have been through their eyes.

The author certainly had to fictionalize much of what she's written, though Captain Rostron's response to the tragedy is well documented and researched. All of the characters in the book are actual Titanic survivors and Carpathia crew. Author's notes at the conclusion of the book share more information.

I enjoyed this book very much and would absolutely recommend it.

So much has been told about the sinking of the Titanic that it was nice to find a story that covered the immediate aftermath. I loved getting to know both Kate Connolly and Captain Rostrom. Seeing how the decisions Rostrom made affected both his passengers and those he took on. He is shown as compassionate and a true leader. The heartbreak of the Kate Connollys broke my heart but it was an interesting glimpse into what it was like for steerage passengers before and after the sinking. I also enjoyed the quotes from the passengers at the beginning of every chapter. A fascinating read!

This was a masterpiece. Usually when I find books I really love, I like to scarf the entire thing in one or two sittings and just live and breathe that book for the next month. With A BRILLIANT NIGHT OF STARS AND ICE, the feeling was definitely the same but my execution differed. I not only savored it, but I also had to take my time. The material was truly haunting. Kate's narrative will forever live with me as one of the most haunting things I have ever read.

And I've read a lot of Titanic material. Nothing comes close to this for me.

Do yourself a favor and read this book. Everyone knows the story of the Titanic, but not everyone knows Carpathia. Let her live in glory.

My Rating: 4.5 stars
(Read a finished copy)

I've always been interested in the Titanic and how the 'ship of dreams' met its fate on its first voyage and all those people lost their lives. It's hard at this point with it being so publicized and written about to find a narrative that does the people justice. Connolly does a good job of bringing history to life once again through A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice. They don't shy away from what happened, and all the speculation that followed the sinking.
In this book, we switch between two different perspectives Kate Connolly a third-class passenger on the titanic, and Arthur Raston the captain of the RMS Carpathia.
Kate is traveling with some of her friends from Ireland as they look to start a new life in America. They are enjoying being on the titanic, but they also starting to sense a bit of unease as the journey goes on. They ended up being right about this once they find out the ship has struck an iceberg and they and other third-class passengers fight to get to a lifeboat. Once on a lifeboat though they must endure even more hardships and fear.

Captain Raston is proud of the Carpathia and while at times he is a little frustrated that the Titanic is getting all the attention right now, he wishes it well. Through his parts, we get to see the Journey the Carpathia took on its voyage back to England, and how it was taking a lower route than the Titanic in order to avoid Ice. As the story goes on and once it hears the distress call from the Titanic he immediately makes the Carpathia switch courses and goes full steam ahead towards the Titanic in order to try and save it. The Carpathia and Captain Raston take risks that night that could have ended in tragedy for it, but it managed to stay afloat and kept going and did eventually manage to get to the lifeboats and save lives.

Overall I loved this book. Like I said earlier Connolly did such a good job of bringing real people to life once again and showing dual perspectives of what was happening throughout the days leading up to the sinking, and most importantly the night of and a little bit of the aftermath. You could feel the emotions of worry, uncertainty, and just plain fear at times from both of the characters. Kate was stuck in a lifeboat waiting for help to arrive while they heard what was happening in the water, and the pitch black. Captain Raston was putting his ship and his passengers on the line to try and get to them and going through huge chunks of Ice all in the dark and just hoping they wouldn't hit anything.
There was so much tension and fear throughout this book and it was done wonderfully, so it was never too much of one.
The ending and getting to see what happened in the inquiries after, and how protections were attempted to be put in place to keep the Titanic passengers safe and to family and away from the press was so nice to see as it's not usually talked about in books about Titanic. Usually, the focus is just on the sinking and not the aftermath. I appreciated how everything was mentioned in this book, and all without it being too much.
I can't wait to read more by Connolly in the future as they did such a good job with A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice.

Since the film Titanic came out in the 90s, most of us are pretty familiar with how that disaster played out. But what’s less familiar is the story of the Carpathia, the ship whose captain and crew raced to the aid of the Titanic after receiving its S.O.S.

This historical fiction novel is told in alternating perspectives; the first, an Irish third-class passenger Kate Connolly on Titanic, and the other Arthur Rostron, Carpathia’s captain, who pushed his ship and crew to the brink in reaching the Titanic in time. It’s a fascinating side of the story, with a poignant focus on the aftermath: the grief, the guilt, the media firestorm, and not least, the kindness of Carpathia’s crew and passengers toward those traumatized by that fateful night.

I confess I am a little Titanic-ed out in that I won't actively search any more books or fiction where it is featured. But when I stumbled upon this well-reviewed tale that includes the perspective of the Carpathia ( the ship that received a distress signal from the fated Titanic ). Here, Captain Arthur Rostron of the Carpathia and Kate Connolly, third class passenger who survives in one of Titanic's life boats, are given alternating viewpoints to paint witness on one of the most infamous man-made tragedies in history.

As a historical writer, I'm fascinated by how authors breathe respectful voice into real personages -turned-characters --- as Connolly does. I'm also beguiled by authors who wonderfully pace real events into a sequence that metes out action in close to real time. I know how the story ends but darnit it I didn't forget watching this fictionally realized world come to life in genius detail.

I respect @author.rebecca.connolly so much. This project cannot have been an easy endeavour. But it is a fascinating one. ♥️📚

With my thanks to @shadowmountainpub for the review copy

Wonderful story of those who helped save the people on the Titanic. This story was wonderfully written and there were things that I had never heard before. I liked that it was told from a perspective that was unique from other stories that are written about the Titanic. I thought this was well done.

A week written book for those who have always been intrigued by the Titanic. The shifting perspectives between those on the Titanic and Captain Rostron keeps interest. At times the quotes prior to the chapter are so insightful and other times they give too much away about the context of the next chapter. There are times because of this that the dialogue seems forced and you wonder how likely that conversation was to have actually happened. Questioning what is based on fact and what has been embellished by the author. That was the only real draw back for me while reading and caused me to take more breaks than normal.

Overall a worthwhile read, with details you never thought about and tells the story in a whole new light.

This was an extremely well written book about the convergence of the Carpathia and the Titanic. . Seeing things through the eyes of Captain Roston was particularly interesting as I have not read anything from his perspective before. Likewise, seeing the sinking of the Titanic through the eyes of a third class passenger, a young Irish girl named Kate Connally, was a strong counterpoint to the stoic captain.

After I read the book, I went and did some research on the captain and on the Carpathia. Based on everything else that I read, the author really captured the essence of who Roston was; how he thought and how he viewed his duties, not only as the captain of the Carpathia, but as the sole person who could save the remaining Titanic passengers.

Two things in particular stand out to me in this book. The first is how the Carpathia passengers, no matter what financial situation they were in, came together to help all of the passengers from the titanic. Wealthy women were giving their clothes to third class passengers. Poor men and women on Carpathia were giving what little they had to the passengers from Titanic. After knowing the way that the third class passengers were retreated on the Titanic as she was thinking, it was good to know that those ridiculous boundaries were erased once the survivors had been brought aboard. It was a small but vital kindness to people who had been through such terror and tragedy.

The second thing that really caught my attention was Kate‘s musings about how loss and grief have universal similarities, and yet are very individual based on who someone had lost. Clearly, she has survivors guilt. Which makes sense given the number of people that died on the ship, but also because in her case she did not lose a husband or a child or any other close family member or friend. Nevertheless, her whole life has been changed, and she recognizes that the whole experience will follow her through her entire life.

Overall, this is a well-written entry about the human side of one of the worst maritime tragedies in modern history. I highly recommend this book.

I love when historical fiction makes me want to do more research about an event. A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice was just such a book for me. Most of my knowledge about the Titanic came from mentions in history classes ages ago, and in seeing the film in the late 90s. I learned quite a bit in this book and am excited to learn more. What a tragic event and what heroes who came to help when they learned the ship was sinking.

A fascinating tale of the Titanic and the Carpathia.
Many thanks to Shadow Mountain Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Whenever I think about the Titanic I picture the upper-class passengers traveling in luxury. I think of a single glacier and open water. I don't think about the ship that came to the rescue, the Carpathia.

Rebecca Connolly dug deep in research to write this book. The story is told from two perspectives. The first was Kate Connolly, who was a third-class passenger. She was fortunate to board Life Boat 13. Her POV is heart-wrenching. She vividly describes the men who helped women to board the boats, only to remain behind and go down with the ship. I really can't imagine how hard it was to listen to the unfortunate people who wore life jackets and floated in the freezing water. She also describes the cries of anguish as many women realized that they had just become a widow.

The Carpathia was a new story for me. There were many miracles that allowed the ship to get to the survivors shortly after the Titanic sank. The Titanic was supposed to be unsinkable Captain Rostron and his crew were stunned to discover that she had already gone down. Their actions were heroic and I have great respect for them.

This book was everything that I didn't know that I wanted. My expectations were exceeded.

Source:. I received a complimentary copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I can never get enough of that amazing vessel Titanic. This novel follows the rescuer and survivor perspectives.

In one moment of time She swallowed up whole lives, families, fathers and sons, heart-busting efforts, long-lost stories and genealogies, business deals, long careers, almost there inventions, budding romances, centuries-old fortunes, brand new hopes and dreams.

And then in a blink, during that same fatal moment, Her slide into the depths created life-long, culture-long accounts, mental snapshots, memories of wailings, horrific-itch watery silences, bodies floating, sinking, freezing, witnesses learning what a last look really captures, and knowing the mixed blessing while sitting in a lifeboat denied to others - all those memories of what was spit out and upon onto the water's surface as the unsinkable sank and unforgettable souvenirs crept into the forever places of the survivor mind.

A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice by Rebecca Connolly was a captivating read from a different perspective, and drew me into a new and fresh reconsideration of one of the compelling cautionary tales of our modern age - hubris? arrogance? happenstance? random acts? Maybe it is as simple as Never say Never. The author's tale tosses all that aside and shows that no matter what happens there is a right action to take and a true course to pursue which springs from a willing spirit, a volunteering heart and selfless hard work.

A very satisfying wrap-up with end materials, who's who, who's real, and research pointers for further investigating.

A Sincere Thank you to Rebecca Connolly, Shadow Mountain Publishing, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review. #ABrilliantNightofStarsandIce #NetGalley

“A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice” by Rebecca Connolly was emotional, moving, and informative. Definitely recommend.

This book was not what I thought it would be. I was thinking it would be a titanic like remake, or something like it. But this book brought me to tears. The untold story of the Carpathia and it’s HUGE part in rescuing those from the titanic is a story I’ve never heard before. This was not the light hearted story I was hoping for, but what I got was so much better! A true story of how some amazing people saved a ship 3x their size, and without the radio or equipment we have today!

If you enjoy historical retellings this is your book! Don’t read it looking for romance, it’s not the typical HEA or “romance” I’m used too, but I’m still glad I read it!

An engaging and unique perspective of the tragic sinking of the Titanic.

I've read many books about the Titanic in my life, but never have a I read a book that more than whispered of the Carpathia the only ship to pick up survivors. Told from the perspective of the courageous and humble Captain Arthur Rostron of the Carpathia as well as Kate Connolly a passenger on the fated Titanic the added depth of perspective gives the true story a fresh angle. The chapters go back and forth between the two main characters as they tell their sides of the story. I liked how the author used the alternating narratives to give more information and depth to the story.

I walked away from reading this book feeling like I had learned so much and had doubled my knowledge of the Titanic by learning about the humble heroics of Captain Rostron, and how hard he worked to save the lives of the survivors. I also liked how Kate's side of the story added emotional depth and gravity to the situation as a survivor.

Overall, a well written read, well researched and compelling telling of a true life tragedy. A wonderful read for fans of historical fiction!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This book was really interesting! I was intrigued by the storyline and that's what initially drew me to this title. I also really love the cover artwork.

I've read plenty of novels about the Titanic, but NEVER one about Carpathia, the ship that saved Titanic's passengers! What a unique perspective. I had never even really considered the story from this perspective. The urgency, strength, and discipline that Captain Rostron and Carpathia's crew exhibited is amazing.

I also like that Captain Rostron is portrayed as a praying man who reads his Bible. Excellent, excellent! There is not much religious content in the story, but I liked a few of the facts thrown in there like that.

Clean fiction, no rough language, etc. I could definitely recommend this book to friends and family, of any age. I am so glad to have picked up this book!

This fascinating story is the part of the Titanic story I never knew! It’s filled with suspense, sadness, filled me with awe, and broke my heart. It’s beautifully written and made me curious to do more research about the time period. Although too mature for my classroom, my high school daughter will want to read this one for sure!

I've always been fascinated by the story of the Titanic. Obviously we knew what happened from it being a big historical event but not a lot was discussed about the ship that came to the rescue of those on the Titanic. I thought it was an interesting read and I liked how the book jumped back and forth between passengers on the Titanic and the Carpathia. Although I did feel like the writing was a little lackluster and it was very confusing with all the different names and similar sounding/spelled names, it was a quick read and kept my interest.

Titanic Fanatics: RUN, don’t walk, to pick up this book.

A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice is genuinely one of the most, if not the most, heartfelt, empathetic, respectful, and well researched books about the sinking of the Titanic that I’ve ever read. And I’ve read quite a few!

Stringing together fictional moments and real, known witnessed moments and passengers made for such a beautiful and emotional book and I can’t say that enough. The reverence for the crew of the Carpathia and Captain Arthur Rostron alone was beautiful to read, as it’s apart of the Titanic story that is too often left out.

Just a beautiful book that I cannot say enough how much I loved it, and how much love and research went into it that leaks from the pages.

We all know the story of Titanic and not just the Jack and Rose one. I learned about this boat when I was young and then the movie came out and my fascination grew. I was so excited to get this book! i found myself unexpectedly (i dont know why i was surprised) emotional while reading this and had to take breaks from it. Imagine the Jack and Rose story but like thousands of them trimmed down to enough people to fit in a novel.
I definitely recommend!

I've read many accounts of The Titanic, but I haven't read many based-on-a-true story books about the rescue ship, The Carpathia. Of course, I know the basic details, but it was both heartbreaking and inspiring to read about the perspectives of different people who either worked aboard the ship, were passengers, or who were rescued.

It was apparent the hand of God played a significant part in this rescue and it was a powerful collection of reports describing the events, emotions, and experiences these people had during this massively difficult time in history.

I loved the way Connolly pieced everything together, starting each chapter with an actual quote. My heart was tugged on and I had some moments of reflection on what happened, especially with the recent Titan submersible tragedy.

Powerful. Inspirational. Beautifully written.

Content: mild moments of peril/danger/death