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Synopsis
In the face of hardship, two women learn how to rise up again under the bright side of the stars.
Everyone knows that Addie Fullbright can't keep a secret. Yet, twelve years ago, as her best friend lay dying, she entrusted Addie with the biggest secret of all. One so shattering that Addie felt she had to leave her hometown of Starlight, Alabama, to keep from revealing a devastating truth to someone she cares for deeply. Now she's living a lonely life, keeping everyone at a distance, not only to protect the secret but also her heart from the pain of losing someone else. But when her beloved aunt, the woman who helped raise her, gets a shocking diagnosis and asks her to come back to Starlight to help run the family bakery, Addie knows it's finally time to go home again.
Tessa Jane Wingrove-Fullbright feels like she's failing. She's always been able to see the lighter side of life but lately darkness has descended. Her world is suddenly in shambles after a painful breakup, her favorite aunt's unexpected health troubles, and because crushing expectations from the Wingrove side of her family are forcing her to keep secrets and make painful choices. When she's called back to Starlight to help her aunt, she's barely holding herself together and fears she'll never find her way back to who she used to be.
Under the bright side of the stars, Addie and Tessa Jane come to see that magic can be found in trusting yourself, that falling apart is simply a chance to rise up again, stronger than ever, and that the heart usually knows the best path through the darkness.
Synopsis source: Goodreads
Review
Genre(s): Fiction, Magical Realism
HB&W Rating: 3
View on Goodreads
Buy on Amazon, Barnes & Noble
Expected Publication: July 23, 2024
Another sweet and heartwarming story from Heather Webber, if a bit too similar to her previous work.
I have come to appreciate Webber's ability to depict many different relationships, and in this book, she focuses on family, both biological and found.
If you read Midnight at the Blackbird Café and/or South of the Buttonwood Tree, you will recognize elements of both in this book. Honestly, I felt like this book could have been the natural child of those two. But if I'm going to compare this book with Midnight at the Blackbird Café and South of the Buttonwood Tree, I feel like this one feel just short of the mark. The pacing felt almost too slow and character development not as nuanced. It just wasn't quite up to the standard set by Midnight at the Blackbird Café and South of the Buttonwood Tree.
But while I enjoyed both of those better than this one, I still liked this story with the Southern small town charm and words of wisdom I've come to expect from Webber as well as the heartwarming exploration of familial relationships and the story's hopeful message that we must experience the dark to better appreciate the light.
If you enjoy easy reads with a touch of magic, small towns, and family relationships, you'll like this one too. You can pre-order now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or wherever you prefer to buy your books, or pick it up on July 23, 2024.
Thank you to Forge and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Until next time,
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