Amelia Cole―Lia for short―is one of the first women studying abroad at Oxford University in the 1920s. Finally free from her overbearing Brooklyn parents, she finds a welcome sense of independence in British college life. Lia quickly falls for Scarlett Daniels, an aspiring actress and hardheaded protester. Scarlett introduces her to an exciting gender-equality movement with high stakes. But when … when their secret love clashes with political uprising, their relationship is one of the casualties.
Years later, Lia’s only memories of Scarlett are obscured by the glossy billboards she sees advertising the actress’s new films. But when a mysterious letter surfaces, she is immediately thrown back into their unsettled romance. Lia’s travels span oceans and continents in her search for Scarlett. Spread across time and place, their story is one of desire, adventure, and ultimately, devotion. Lia will stop at nothing to win Scarlett back, but she soon realizes that uncovering lost love might not be attainable after all.
more
Swearing Off Stars opens in 1919, and covers over thirty years. This story belongs to Lia–a young, rather naive student at Oxford University, away for the first time from conservative, rather provincial American parents. She meets and discovers Scarlett, a drama student and feminist at a time when women were only allowed to attend classes, not matriculate. Living in fear that their budding romantic relationship will damage (and possibly endanger) their lives, they are determined to keep their love secret. Lia embodies both toughness and vulnerability, while Scarlett is determined to do what it takes to be a successful actress.
The themes of feminism and sexual identity are seamlessly and beautifully intertwined throughout Swearing Off Stars, with the author revealing the hesitancy and pain the two women share. Facing the challenges of foregoing the lives they want, Lia and Scarlett deny themselves the happiness they deserve. Lia reflects: “Some of us live in constellations, forever connected by something that once was. But others spark like shooting starts, brilliantly lighting up this world before moving on to the next.”
For readers of historical fiction and romance, you will enjoy the page-turning Swearing Off Stars: an evocation of the spirit of the times (1920’s to early 1950’s) as well as the lively descriptions of London, New York, and Hong Kong.
“Swearing Off Stars,” by Danielle M. Wong, is a poignant, tender love story with a historical aspect. Beautifully written, heart-felt and filled with emotion, it’s a tale about a young woman—Lia, short for Amelia—who goes off to college and meets the love of her life. What makes this story different, and therefore fresh, is that Lia is an American who goes off to the University at Oxford in England in 1919. And the love of her life that she meets there is Scarlett, a beautiful aspiring actress and an activist for women’s rights at a time that was a dangerous thing to do.
Oxford, in 1919, had many restrictions on what female students could and could not do. Although women had been studying at the university since the late 1800s, they were not permitted to graduate until 1920. In the book, faculty and male students resented the women. Lia is threatened by male students, and a teacher ignores her so pointedly in a class that she tries to speak to him about this only to be rebuked as someone who shouldn’t even be allowed at the university in his opinion.
As Lia joins Scarlett in her advocacy for women’s rights at Oxford, shy Lia finds her voice. Scarlett and Lia begin a star-crossed love affair that puts them both at risk in their strict culture. Faced with an intolerant society and duplicitous interference, they break up and Lia returns broken heartedly to America. But their love—and their story—is far from oven. The book spans their lives until the 1950s and a good portion of the book takes place in Hong Kong in the post WWII era.
There is such tenderness in this book, in the writing, the perspectives, and the characters. In one scene, for example, Lia has taken a tumble at Oxford, her hair is a mess, her books are scattered, and she is crying. Scarlett sits with her and helps her, and then braids Lia’s hair. The scene, told from Lia’s point of view, contains this quote: “She (Scarlett) took my hair in her hands and rebraided it slowly. Every gentle tug put me further at ease, like everything was being woven back into order.”
A well done, compelling love story in a historical setting, “Swearing Off Stars” is a worthy book to read and enjoy.
Absolutely terrific! I’m so glad BookBub recommended this book to me! Scarlett and Lia were so vivid, and the ending was perfect. I’ll definitely be reading from this author in the future!
This book was full of amazing imagery and took me through a love story shared by these two women.