Book Review: The Inevitability of Stars by Kathryn R. Lyster

The Inevitability Of Stars

Title: The Inevitability of Stars
Author: Kathryn R. Lyster
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Realistic Fiction, Grief
Publisher: Harlequin
Publication Date: August 2013
Pages: 304
Rating: 5 stars

Synopsis (from goodreads):
A modern-day Romeo and Juliet set amongst the beauty of Byron Bay and the grind of Sydney.

Rip and Sahara have always been together. Primary school friends to high school lovers, their ties to each other are as intertwined and inescapable as the roots of the Byron Strangler Fig. But like that same tree, the tendrils of their love are beginning to stifle and choke, and soon, Sahara finds she must leave — moving to Sydney to pursue her career as an artist.

In Sydney, Sahara draws the attention of Sean, a charismatic entrepreneur, and is quickly drawn into his expensive and glamorous world — so very different from the quiet, simple place of her youth. But even as she creates a new life, and a new version of herself, Sahara cannot seem to leave Rip behind.

Back in the Byron hinterland, Rip moves to a working farm to recover from the wounds Sahara left. It’s here that he begins to understand his past and reimagine his future. But as Rip rebuilds, Sahara unravels, losing herself in Sean’s shiny, but meaningless world and plagued by visions of her previous life and lover.

Heartbreaking and haunting, The Inevitability of Stars is a poignant novel about the burden of fate, the viscosity of reality and the resilience of love.

My Review:

This book starts with heartbreak and for the characters, things are downhill from there on. Rip and Sahara have always had each other in their lives. Even when Rip’s mother died – he has always had Sahara. But she had dreams for more than small town life. So she flees to Sydney to paint and leaves a grief-stricken Rip to try to make his way in the town he’s always lived in without the girl he thought would always be there. Without Sahara, Rip doesn’t want to live. Sahara learns that life without Rip is harder than she thought and begins to lose herself in a world of glitz, glamour and high-profile socialites.

I wasn’t expecting this book to be so spiritual. Rip finds himself on a farm where his work there leads him to discover himself and how to heal his soul. Lead by a collection of quirky characters, Rip finds who he can be without Sahara. And she learns how to survive in a world so different from the small town she grew up in – and without the boy she still loved.

All of the characters are interesting to read – and I liked that they were well-formed and had a life outside of facilitating the journeys of the two main characters. The switching point of view worked well to show how deep Rip and Sahara’s feelings for each other were. The speech took a little getting used to with dialogue being italicized and thoughts being in quotation marks but as I got further into Rip and Sahara’s story I got used to it.

This book is beautifully written and I loved how the story flowed. However I did find the character of Sahara very hard to like and connect with. The settings – of both Byron Bay and Sydney – contrast each other well and the author did a great job of using the environment to show the mental state of the characters. There were small details like the gardenias and Rip’s song that I really enjoyed and thought added an extra something special to their story.

The Inevitability of Stars is a story about the spiritual journeys that two lovers must take when they’ve lost each other. Written beautifully, and yet at times confusing, it’s a lovely book that was nothing like I was expecting from the blurb and yet I’m glad I read it.

Thanks to Harlequin for the review copy.

Purchase the novel from:

Amazon | Book Depository | Booktopia | Bookworld

Also available on Harlequin Books


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