Lucy Clairmont’s family treasured the magic of the past, and her childhood fascination with stories of the high seas led her to become a marine archaeologist. But when tragedy strikes, it’s Dashel, an American forensic astronomer, and his knowledge of the stars that may help her unearth the truth behind the puzzle she’s discovered in her family home.Two hundred years earlier, the seeds of love … are sown between a boy and a girl who spend their days playing in a secret sea cave, while the privileged young son of the estate looks on, wishing to join. As the children grow and war leads to unthinkable heartbreak, a story of love, betrayal, sacrifice, and redemption unfolds, held secret by the passage of time.As Lucy and Dash journey to a mysterious old estate on the East Sussex coast, their search leads them to a community of souls and a long-hidden tale that may hold the answers–and the healing–they so desperately seek.
more
Can I please give this book 10 stars?
It was simply fabulous and absolutely delightful!
I throughly enjoyed every moment of my reading of this title. Wow. So good!
Author Amanda Dykes pulled the time lines together so seamlessly and created characters you couldn’t help but care for.
And not only that, but she beautifully intertwines a reminder that our stories matter, that our inner most longings draw us to the light of the One who Created us, to the Light of the World!
This book is a gift, please don’t miss out on it!
***Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the digital ARC of this book. All views and opinions expressed in this review are my own.***
This story was beautiful and poignant. It was so touching that I got over the fact that it was a time slip novel (which admittedly is not a style I usually enjoy at all). The themes, characters, and stories took time for me to get to know and understand, as this is a complex and layered novel. It is so well told and written I just fell in love with it. The romances were soft and sweet, which may not be the normal descriptors, but they fit this perfectly. The fact that it touched on the darkness in the world and the true source of light made it such a perfect thing for me to be reading right now.
Beautiful, Lyrical, and deeply emotional. All the feels with Amanda Dykes’ second novel, Set the Stars Alight! Can I just say the inside of the book is as gorgeous as the outside!? That cover! Huge sigh and all the heart eyes <3 <3
Lucy and Dash are tender and true together, a team I rooted for from page one. And the history woven through the pages is unique and captivating. I was quite taken with Frederick's story as well, and how his sacrificial love paves the way for Lucy's family in present day.
Amanda paints with words and phrases, and she ties it all together with so much emotion. She's a gifted storyteller, and in a chaotic and loud world, her gentle, loving stories allow readers to sink in deep. Highly recommend Set the Stars Alight and her debut, Whose Waves These Are.
This book deserves 10 out of 5 stars! It is a beautiful, riveting, breathtaking story that captured my heart and soul! I can’t fully explain just what an amazing read this was!
Sigh . . . what do you say about a book that takes your breath away with its lyrical beauty? I love the beauty of the written word as told through the pen of the talented author, Amanda Dykes. Set the Stars Alight took my breath away and left me yearning to know more about these characters. I equally loved both past and present story lines and how the historical story was weaved into the theme and symbolism of the contemporary story. I don’t want to say too much and give the plot away, nor do I want to tell you the theme. Part of the richness of this story is the readers journey to discover that theme through the lives and stories of the characters. I would love to see these characters again, and I will be thinking of these book for days to come. I didn’t think Amanda Dykes could top her first novel, which I adored, but her new novel is just as exquisite as the first. I hope to read many more of her books in the years to come.
Set the Stars Alight is Amanda Dykes‘s second novel. After reading her first, Whose Waves These Are, especially since it was one of my favorite reads of 2019, I couldn’t wait to read this one. And it did not disappoint!
The story follows Lucy Claremont from a young girl full of curiosity to a woman set upon finding a lost ship. Her father, a clock maker, would tell story upon story to her and her friend Dash, feeding their sense of discovery. Where Dash’s eyes were on the stars, Lucy’s was on the water. In particularly, a tale about a traitor who, on the night before he was to be executed, vanished along with the prison ship that held him.
I loved Set the Stars Alight. It’s the type of story that needs to be digested slowly over a mug of warm cider. Even writing a review about it, my words don’t seem to do it justice. It’s a the type of tale that is carried on the wind. Drifted over the sea. Best read under the stars.
The way the words are woven, the way the story bends and twists, it is captivating. Like watching a fire dance in a fireplace. It’s the type of story you read once for the wonder of it and twice to catch all the hidden depths you didn’t catch before.
So, do I recommend reading Set the Stars Alight? Absolutely! Just go into it with that sense of wonder. It will not entertain like a suspense, but it won’t let you go. It has hints and simmers of romance, but not when you expect. And the characters, they wrap themselves around your heart so that you don’t want their story to end.
—
I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley and Bethany House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC guidelines.
I really enjoy a well done dual timeline novel, and the author is building an excellent reputation with these novels. Join Lucy and Dash as they build their friendship in her father’s humble cottage with his incredible story telling. I love that Lucy is enamoured with the sea and desires to find a legendary lost ship. Dash is a man of the stars and has an unusual gift with astromomy that just might help her in her quest.
I loved this story and felt that it transformed me into another time and place. Her novels have a magical feel to them as she spirits you away to the past, which is skilfully interwoven with the present time frame. I have no idea how she does it, but this is definitely a gift that she uses extremely well, and it humbles me each time I read one of her novels. I also enjoy the strong faith thread, which only becomes stronger towards the end of the novel.
I admit to being skeptical when Whose Waves These Are came out and thought that it was just hype. I was so very WRONG, this author is incredibly skilled at the time split novel. Be sure and grab a copy of that debut, you will not be sorry. She is now a must read author for me!
I won this book on a blog giveaway and I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Wonderful. Fantastic. Beautiful.
There wasn’t a second of my reading when I doubted this was a five-star gathering of words. Yet again, author Amanda Dykes has crept into my heart and planted a story that feels otherworldly because it’s always pointing to the divine. Can our stories make a difference? Be a gathering of light that consistently leads to the Light of the world? Yes.
If I were to ever write a book, I would want it to feel the way this book feels–full of pure emotional wonder. I’m in awe, reader friends. This book is such a delight.
I received a complimentary copy of this novel from the publisher. All expressed opinions belong to me.
Amanda Dykes has blown me away with another phenomenal split time Christian fiction book!
Dykes has done a wonderful job of taking a story from the past and weaving it in with a modern story and seamlessly tying them together. The characters were realistic and made me kinda sad that they were not real. The timing of the way Dykes made the timeline play out was perfection – just enough tease to keep you going, highly anticipating the next chapter.
I loved the nod to her previous book, Whose Waves These Are. While the books are not related, it is nice to have authors link their books together.
I look forward to Amanda Dykes’ future books!
I received a complimentary ebook, but was not required to give a positive review. All opinions are my own.
Hero or Betrayer?
This book has two stories in one that each take place in different time periods. The first is that of Lucy. She was raised by a story-spinning father who filled her childhood, and that of her friend Dash, with fairy tales and imagination. As an adult, she has become an academic who studies marine life. Two things occurred in her childhood–the death of her mother, and Dash’s move to a different country–that caused her life since then to be edged with sadness. Most recently, she has lost her father, as well.
While Lucy attempts to solve the over century-old disappearance of a ship, Dash steps back into her life, fifteen years after he left it. She is stunned to see him again, and unsure how she feels about the now grownup Dash. As they work together to solve the mystery about the ship, Lucy feels like she has walked into one of her father’s tales.
The other story is Frederick’s, and how something he once thought was the best thing in his life, might have become the opposite. He finds himself with the dilemma of helping someone else, but by doing so, he will ruin his own life—what will he choose?
I love that the meaning of John 15:13 is highlighted in this clean tale. Vivid descriptions of the countryside and people allow you to clearly see them in your mind’s eye. The beautiful prose in this complex story made some parts more difficult to understand than it needed to be. I recommend this 4.5-star book to those who enjoy intricate, wonderfully crafted tales.
Bethany House Publishing through NetGalley provided Tickmenot with a complimentary copy of, Set the Stars Alight, for the purpose of review. Opinions are my own.
Oh my God!!! Absolutely no words would do this story justice. I loved it from the very start.
This book was an adventure, a journey through the lives of both Dash and Lucy and also Fredrick.
The author has a way with words that pulls you in, beautifully woven and so descriptive.
I love that these characters bonded over this love for words trusted God in the midst of their pain and found their way home by following the stars
This book is a boatload of emotions beautiful and so well written. I enjoyed every minute. You would too!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. All opinions expressed are solely mine.
This is one of those breathtaking novels that leaves you sitting in awe. I hardly know where to start with a review, or how to put words together to even begin to adequately describe this glowing story.
It is an absolutely beautiful, beautiful story. This is one of those that could not be rushed in its reading. I loved it so much. I finished it with a bittersweet sorrow. I’m almost certain it will be a top read of the year for me.
This book is a lovely weaving together of two stories. And more layers than you can count. Stories intertwined between the two main stories. Poetry. And prose. Riddles and ballads.
Friendship. Loss. Sorrow. Hope. Love.
The story begins with Lucy. And Dash. It shows their childhood. Almost the kind that fairy tales come from, at least for Lucy. Then everything changes, and she is almost as much an orphan as her dear friend Dash.
Interwoven with the lovely characters is the detailed description of their lovely setting. Lucy grew up in a little glass cottage by a match factory. One that is now abandoned. Set in London (or England, somewhere). I just loved reading the descriptiveness of the setting. The author made it come alive before my very eyes.
As an adult, Lucy is so alone. She’s forgotten the lovely stories told to her by her dad. But she’s on a hunt, determined to find a long-forgotten ship, the Jubilee. So this story is also a treasure hunt, of sorts.
Then you have the story of Frederick. Of Juliette. Of Elias. This from a time about 200 years earlier. Their stories are also full of sadness. Anger. Loss.
But the stars. The light. The hope. How beauty can come from ashes. Diamonds from dust. Stars from darkness. Anything is possible. Expect the impossible.
I loved the richness of these tales. I had the feeling that each word was carefully chosen, polished, placed exactly in its proper place, in a revealing of a treasure beyond description.
All of it is just so very beautiful. This is one of those stories that will stay with me for a long time, one that I will hold close.
Five out of five stars
Disclaimer: I receive complimentary books from various sources, including, publishers, publicists, authors, and/or NetGalley. I am not required to write a positive review, and have not received any compensation. The opinions shared here are my own entirely. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
Set the Stars Alight is a rich, multilayer story that begins with, Lucy and her parents, a family in London, in modern times and the friendship of a young American boy, Dashel Greene, who has moved around living with one family member and then another. Lucy’s parents were his adopted parents and meant so much to him with their rich storytelling that they passed on to Lucy and Dash. After years apart, Lucy and Dash are reunited after her parents have passed. At a time in their careers, their paths crossed. Dash is responsible for that happening.
Two hundred years ago, a couple of young boys are forced to serve on a ship for His Majesty’s Navy onboard the HMS Avalon. Their relationship started off in a negative way but they ended up best friends, where one will lay down his life for the other. And a young girl is part of their story.
These two stories are crossed in today’s time when Lucy, a marine archaeologist, and Dash, an astrophysicist and forensic astronomer, unite to put their specialties together to find a lost ship, the HMS Jubilee, on the East Sussex coast in England on a small farm with delightful residents.
This is a lovely story about friendship, storytelling, exploration, rich history, puzzles, seeing God’s handiwork in the stars, sea, and so much more. I was drawn in and held to the end of this rich story that will stay with you after the book ends. I highly recommend it.
I received a complimentary ARC from Bethany House Publishers through NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are mine only.
Set the Stars Alight, the newest novel penned by Amanda Dykes was my most anticipated release of 2020. After reading and reviewing her debut novel, Whose Waves These Are, I was excitedly anticipating this newest story. Imagine my delight to begin this story and discover myself immersed in a creative, imaginative new tale.
Amanda Dykes is truly a gifted author who has a magical way with words, carefully weaving stories from two different eras that become epic, heartwarming adventures while simultaneously engaging readers and delighting them with a story well crafted.
Set the Stars Alight is now a beloved favorite of mine because of it’s heartwarming characters, sweet love story, timeless narrative and lyrical words. The story pace is smooth, transitioning from modern day to the age of 1800’s pirates and warships and back again. This intelligent story offers a beautiful underlying tale of wonder, hope, friendship and sacrifice that both those with deep faith will enjoy as well as secular readers. As a Christian, I saw the profound truth in this story that was beautifully presented in a simple and endearing way. I dearly loved Lucy and Dash. All of the characters became characters written into my heart and their passion and grief were deeply felt. Set the Stars Alight is a story to be absorbed, reveled and herald. It is a now cherished one that I intend to keep through the ages and share with my children, right along with the classics of years ago.
I implore you to take a chance on this novel and see if it doesn’t impact you in one way or another. Both contemporary and historical fiction readers will enjoy it. This story is clean and appropriate for ages 13+.
This is the second full-length novel that I have read by this author. I have also read other novellas written by her. So, I knew that Set the Stars Alight would most likely be written in a beautifully poetic style, full of whimsy and wonder. What I didn’t foresee was that this tale would be one of the best stories I have ever read. And I have read a lot of stories.
Set the Stars Alight is an intricately woven dual-timeline novel, with both timelines entrancing me equally. That is almost unheard of for me. I usually have a distinctly favorite timeline when I am reading a book that travels from one time to another in its storytelling. I loved these stories equally.
I finished this book hours ago and cannot stop thinking about the characters in both timelines. I am enthralled with their love stories and the way in which the author connected the characters and events. I simply want to pick this book up and read it for the first time again, so that I can experience once more the wonder of the tales that the watchmaker told to Lucy and Dash.
The author not only wove two beautiful timelines together, but she also gently and clearly pointed to the One who weaves all things together, even from the beginning of time. I can’t say enough good things about this book or express how much joy it brought to my heart to read it.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
What a beautifully written story! I didn’t think it possible, but I enjoyed this one even more than Amanda Dykes’ debut novel Whose Waves These Are. And that was a tall order.
Anything I say will be inadequate to describe the absolute breathtaking wonder and magic of this story. It was such a beautiful and captivating tale. I was transported right into the pages. I felt like I was standing right there beside these wonderful characters experiencing all their ups and downs, their joys and sorrows. This is the type of book that can reignite a love for reading and I wholeheartedly recommend it.
My goodness, what a story! When I had the pleasure of reading “Whose Waves These Are” last year, I was struck by the lyrical quality to the story, it had such a unique storytelling feel to it. I am happy to say this new book by Amanda also retains this quality. She is truly a gifted storyteller the way she weaves her stories-it’s a quality I haven’t seen in any other books I have read. I adored this story. Lucy and Dash were spectacular characters and I loved Juliette and Frederick as well. Honestly, I can’t say enough good things about this story. The story gripped me from the beginning and it did not let up once. I really can’t do the story justice in this review. All I can say is read it for yourself-I highly doubt you will be disappointed. This one is going to stay in my heart for a loooong time to come!
I received this book as a member of the launch team and was not required to post a positive review. I also purchased a copy for my keeper shelf because it was wonderful.
This is my first book by Amanda Dykes and just wow… Set the Stars Alight has taken me a few days to really process and get my thoughts together on it.
I honestly have no idea where to start with this review. I have never read a book quite like this one. It is full of lyrical words and phrases that set your mind alight with thoughts and pondering’s about the deeper thoughts of the world. Then interwoven are two stories about finding the way home from out of the dark. It does not read like your typical dual timeline story. It is two stories so deeply and flawlessly put together that it almost seems like a story inside of a story, rather than two separate stories intermingling. I loved the mystery of it, fitting clues together in my mind and thinking about the meaning behind the words the characters were saying. I really enjoyed this thought-provoking story.
“Nothing is impossible. Just think. Pay attention. Stretch forward. When things seem dark, Lucy, that is when you fight for the light. I think it is the duty to keep the stories, to pass them on. It is our duty- and our honor. In a world as dark as ours, people forget how to see the light. So we remind them by telling the truth, fighting the dark, paying attention…setting the stars alight.”
The characters showed almost a banked set of emotions, letting you see little bits of themselves over time as you got to know them better. I loved their selfless actions, their growth, and their deep pondering’s that led to an undercurrent of deeper meaning throughout the whole story.
Truly a very well-done book of characters with lots of layers, emotions, and mystery. I give it 5 out of 5 stars for the amazingly well-done dual timeline, the historical facts, and mystery, and for making me think deeply about what was happening inside these pages.
*I volunteered to read this story in return for my honest feedback. The thoughts and opinions expressed within are my own.
LOVED this read!!!
Set the Stars Alight has a lyrical, prose feeling to it. Almost a rhythm of sorts. It took me a few chapters to get that rhythm under my feet, but once I was in, this story led me in a beautiful dance. It had my heart racing, my eyes tearing, and my lungs out of breath. Amanda Dykes takes the reader on a journey through the stars with this one. She never ceases to amaze me with the depth of her stories! Absolutely beautiful!
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.