My Reading Spot

By The Stars

Lindsay Ferguson

320 pages

ARC from author in exchange for review

From the Publisher:

When Cal finally gets a chance with Kate, the girl he’s loved since grade school, their easy friendship quickly blossoms into a meaningful romance. Spirited and independent, Kate keeps a guarded heart due to a painful past, and Cal wants nothing more than to gain her trust. But World War II soon cuts their time far too short, and Cal prepares to part from her – possibly for good. After he’s gone, what Kate does next changes everything.

In the suffocating jungles of the Philippines Cal encounters the chilling life of a soldier and deadly battles of war. With Kate’s memory willing him on, Cal must put his trust in God to survive if he hopes to ever return to her. Inspired by a true story, By the Stars is a love story that stands the test of time and the most intense obstacles.

Review:

I have been on a big historical fiction kick the last couple months.  Specially war fiction, so when I saw a post and read the description of this book I knew I would want to be part of the blog tour! I wasn’t wrong, I loved it!  By the Stars is inspired by a true story, about a boy and girl and how they fell in love, and how love conquered all!  It doesn’t get much sweeter and classic than that!  Doesn’t everyone enjoy a good classic romantic story?

The story is sweet and clean.  After hearing Cal and Kate’s story, Lindsay Ferguson knew it was a story that needed to be told.  You can even watch a clip about her talking about this book on Studio 5, by clicking here.  I love that she points out – these stories are all around us, we just need to open our eyes and ears and look for them!  What a wise statement!  She is a local author (and you know I love that!) and you can read more about her on her website here.

This is Ferguson’s first novel and she really does so well at transporting the reader into that time period.  The descriptions are so vivid and you feel like you are right along with them.  The first couple chapters transport through time as the teenagers meet and then grow up, but the more I read and the more that time passed the more I had a hard time putting this book down.  It kept me up at night (and for those who know me, know that is hard to do…I am always falling asleep early!) I received a digital version of this book in exchange for a review, but I loved it so much I went out and grabbed a hard copy for my library too!

Another reason I really loved this book – it is based on a true story!  So I am checking off my “based on a true story” category in my 16 in 16 challenge!

If you are a fan of historical fiction, this book will captivate you!

The book was just released this month and you can purchase it at Desert Book or on Amazon.

Final Score:

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