Set the Stars Alight

An atmospheric and absorbing story of two sets of characters and the threads that tie their stories together.

I tried several times to get into the story and each time the 2020 timeline totally threw me off because of the book being written beforehand and completely being unaware of the whole covid mess. England with meetings and people hopping from town to town to visit each other was just a bit much. Pet peeve anyway, because authors setting stories gently in the future can't drop little realistic hints about the current times, and the story feels more generic than realistic. I had to keep pretending it was 2019 to get through the story. This continual “check the facts at the door” every time we flipped back to modern day kept snapping me out of the story and is part of the reason I didn't add a fifth star.

I love the cover...it's the sort of cover you buy a book for, and it's even prettier in person.

I identified most with Lucy and Dash. The historic timeline was occasionally vivid but incomplete, and having to infer certain things happened was a bit of a letdown at the end.

The writing style is beautiful and carries much of Dykes's trademark poetic touch in the prose. I'm eager to read her next book and already preordered a copy at the bookstore.

Thanks to the publisher for a free reading copy. A favorable review was not required.