Happy Friday everyone!
Fall is finally here. The leaves are changing, pumpkin flavors are everywhere, and I am excited to be reading books with a comfy blanket and warm drink! Today I’m sharing a book that simply takes your breath away – A Song for the Stars by Ilima Todd. Simply put, this is a book you need to read!
About the Book
Inspired by a true story
Hawaiian Islands, 1779
As the second daughter of a royal chief, Maile will be permitted to marry for love. Her fiancé is the best navigator in Hawaii, and he taught her everything he knows how to feel the ocean, observe the winds, read the stars, and how to love.
But when sailors from a strange place called England arrive on her island, a misunderstanding ends in battle, and Maile is suddenly widowed before she is wed.
Finding herself in the middle of the battle and fearing for her life, Maile takes John Harbottle, the wounded man who killed her fiancé, prisoner, and though originally intending to let him die, she reluctantly heals him. And in the process, she discovers the man she thought was her enemy might be her ally instead.
John has been Captain James Cook’s translator for three voyages across the Pacific. He is kind and clearly fascinated with her homeland and her people and Maile herself. But guilt continues to drive a wedge between them: John’s guilt over the death he caused, and Maile’s guilt over the truth about what triggered the deadly battle a secret she’s kept hidden from everyone on the island.
When Maile is tasked with teaching John how to navigate using the stars so he can sail back to England, they must also navigate the challenges of being from very different cultures. In doing so, they might also find the peace that comes when two hearts become one.
My Thoughts
There is so much culture, history, romance, and character development in this story. Todd easily held my attention from page on until the very end. The setting was vivid, and the story was beautifully written. Todd’s attention to detail is evident in every chapter, and it made the story come alive in my mind.
This is no regular love story. This is two different people, two different cultures, coming together and learning how to trust and balance each other. The inclusion of journal entries from John only added to the depth of the story, providing readers a glimpse of his thoughts while experiencing this new world. There is joy, pain, sorrow, love, healing, and so many more emotions that readers will feel right along with the characters. I suggest taking your time to read this one so that you can enjoy every ounce of it.
Caution – reading this will probably make you want to go explore the Hawaiian islands. But in all honesty, Todd writes so vividly that you’ll already feel as if you are there! I highly recommend this remarkable novel.
About the Author
Ilima Todd was born and raised on the north shore of Oahu and dives for octopus with her dad every time she visits—otherwise she’s diving into books in the Rocky Mountains where she lives with her husband and four children. She graduated from BYU with a degree in physics and eats copious amounts of raw fish and avocados without regret. But mostly she loves being a wife and mama and wouldn’t trade that job for anything in the world.
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Lynn H. Blackburn loves writing suspense because her childhood fantasy was to become a spy—but her grown-up reality is that she’s a huge chicken and would have been caught on her first mission. She prefers to live vicariously through her characters and loves putting them into all kinds of terrifying situations—while she’s sitting at home safe and sound in her pajamas!
Terri J. Haynes, a native Baltimorean, is a homeschool mom, writer, prolific knitter, freelance graphic artist and former Army wife (left the Army, not the husband).
Inspired by a true story
Diversity Between the Pages 