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See the Stars by Eleanor Ray #Review

  See the Stars by Eleanor Ray will be  published on February 5th 2026 by Piatkus .  Do you ever feel that life isn't going to plan?   When Alice Thorington collapses in the street after a particularly hellish day at work, she must finally admit to herself that her outwardly happy life - steady relationship, well-paid job, beautiful flat in the city - isn't everything she'd hoped it would be. Burnt out by long hours and living a life that doesn't fulfil her dreams, Alice returns home to Yorkshire.  Her childhood home brings complicated family dynamics, a rediscovery of her passion for stargazing and two new friends: Berti, a boy who finds it easier to count the stars than interact with people, and Matt, her brother's best friend and Alice's teenage crush. With each of them facing their own struggles, can the stars that meant so much to Alice in her past help them to find their way in the present?  Filled with heart and warmth, this uplifting novel...

The Fortune Teller's Promise by Kelly Heard #Review #Bookouture


Today I am featuring a wonderful debut novel by Kelly Heard: The Fortune Teller's Promise.
 
Counting things in threes usually calms Dell’s crippling anxiety—the passionflower vine along the shop wall, the jimsonweed by the roadside, the sleeping valley in the distance—until the day her baby daughter goes missing.



1979, Virginia. Growing up amongst the sprawling valleys and forests of Blyth, beautiful young Dell has always had a natural intuition for how to fix other people’s hurts, if not her own. She hopes for a better future, although thanks to her alcoholic father and narcissistic mother, happiness seems far out of her reach. She certainly could never have predicted holding her baby girl for the first time, and the life-changing, powerful love she would feel when she did.



Even as a heartbroken single mother in a small town riddled with gossips, she suddenly feels that she can do this. She can raise her daughter. But when she turns to her own mother for help, her mother convinces her that the child would be better off with another family. With nobody to fight her corner, Dell must watch the local church take the baby away, leaving her alone and completely devastated.



Dell feels there’s nothing left for her in her tiny hometown but heartache and shattered dreams, and so she flees, vowing never to go back. It finally seems like luck is on her side when she finds a small shop for rent, overlooking the peaceful Shenandoah Valley. This quiet corner of paradise feels like the perfect place to heal and use her gift to help others heal, too. Until Dell’s mother tracks her down to tell her that her baby girl is missing.



Dell knows she won’t find out where her child is in the stars or on her palms. Instead, she must do the one thing she promised she never would. She must return to Blyth. Will what Dell finds there finally heal her fragile heart, or break it into a thousand irreparable pieces?



An unforgettable and heart-wrenching debut about the endurance of love, the power of forgiveness, and finding beauty in the world around us. Your must-read book of 2019. Perfect for fans of Where the Crawdads Sing, Kristin Hannah and Kerry Lonsdale.  

My Thoughts

Dell is an outsider from the beginning and struggles to connect with her dysfunctional family. Motherhood in this novel is not shown to be a soft, touchy feely, comforting state to be in. It feels hard and painful no matter who is fulfilling that role. The narrative moves back and forth in time from before Dell becomes pregnant, to a year later when she comes to search for the child she gave up for adoption. She seems a lost and lonely figure who had built a wall around her feelings in retaliation against life.

    This is an evocative and emotional read. The relationship between Dell and the father of her child is central to showing how she made certain decisions. Life is hard for Dell and you are always made aware of the difference between the comfortably off and the poorer families. Some people, it seems, have choices. Others do not. Written with a distinctive narrative voice, this is an impressive debut novel. 

In short: Contemporary fiction, full of atmosphere and emotion.  
About the Author



Originally from the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia, Kelly Heard now lives in Richmond with her husband, spoiled house cat, and two-year-old daughter. She writes poetry, adult fiction, and creative nonfiction. When she is not writing or reading, Kelly enjoys spending her time gardening, cooking, and playing the ukulele for her toddler. 

You can follow Kelly here: Twitter   |  Website

Book links: Amazon UK   |  Amazon US  

Thanks to Kelly Heard, and Bookouture for a copy of the book and a place on the tour. 

Check out the rest of the tour!

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