One summer to change her life...
Wanda Williams has always dreamed of leaving her wellies behind her and travelling the world! Yet every time she comes close to following her heart, life always seems to get in the way.
So, when her mother ends up in hospital and her sister finds out she's pregnant with twins, Wanda knows that only she can save the crumbling campsite at the family farm.
Together with her friends in the village, she sets about sprucing up the site, mowing the fields, replanting the allotment and baking homemade goodies for the campers.
But when a long-lost face from her past turns up, Wanda's world is turned upside-down. And under a starry sky, anything can happen...
Many thanks to Orion via NetGalley for my copy of Under a Starry Sky to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
I first discovered the writing of Laura Kemp last year when I read her wonderful book Bring Me Sunshine. If you haven’t read this brilliant story, make sure you do as soon as possible. Now she is back with another great read, Under a Starry Sky which has such a beautiful cover that really sums up the setting of the book to perfection. We meet Wanda Williams as she is just about to finish up her last shift at the family campsite before embarking on her gap year before starting university. She is going to spend six months working in a travel agency to save some money and then head away to follow her travel dreams. The small Welsh village of Gobaith has just become too claustrophobic for Wanda seeing the same people day in and day out and everyone knowing your business.
There is nothing to stay for and Wanda is ready to get out and explore the big bad world and all it has to offer. But Wanda’s dreams are cruelly snatched away from her as her family are torn apart with the loss of their father and the destruction of the campsite because of a fire that tore down the mountain and shattered their lives. I loved the dramatic opening to the book as it gave us a brief backstory on Wanda but also it set the scene for the various plots that would be developed throughout the rest of the book. It gave me an appreciation as to how certain characters acted and felt the way they did. Although, I can’t say I agreed with the stubbornness of a lot of them.
Fast forward fifteen years later and history is repeating itself. After being the stalwart of the family in their time of need, Wanda is finally escaping the village and has a fabulous trip meticulously planned. Get Lost travel agents has been sold and her boss has moved away so now is the time for Wanda to make her merry way off on her own travels. But the village and her family just have a way of putting obstacles in her way. Maybe she is meant to stay there and not go away? Her mother Lynn has a fall and has broken her hip meaning there is no one left to run the campsite and her sister Carys has just discovered she is pregnant with twins and the father, who was a one night guest, has left no trace and all attempts to find him online are to no avail.
Poor Wanda, an awful lot of the time she is stuck between a rock and a hard place. She has such devotion and loyalty to her family but you sense that they kind of expect her to fill the gaps and step in when needed. She is the reliable one but has she taken on this role herself ever since her father died in the fire? Maybe she has as she has been consumed by guilt that his loss was all her fault as he ran back to the house looking for her. She stayed to help her mother and sister with their grief and to get the campsite back up and running but now its time to spread her wings and even more so now that her former friends Annie and Lew are back in town. But things are conspiring against her and she needs to stay and turn the fortunes of the campsite around. She has what seems to her as very valid reasons for not wanting anything to do with them especially after the night of the fire. But has so much water flowed under the bridge and is now the time that when Wanda needs help will she be willing to accept it? After all Gobaith is known for its sense of community which oozes from every chapter but will Wanda be able to forgive and forget? Or will she remain stubborn and try to do too much on her own and at the same time her own life dreams and aspirations will once again be put to one side to be forgotten about?
Wanda soon discovers the campsite is not what it should be and that her mother has been hiding things and again she feels as if there is something inside of her daring her to leave that only leads to bad things happening in her life. She has so much to do to get things back in order and put Under a Starry Sky back on the tourist map but she has she burnt too many bridges with those who may be willing to help her? Wanda on the one hand was quite harsh on herself and I felt she really carried a burden from the major life changing event fifteen years ago. She had never put the demons to rest and the loss of her friendship with both Annie and Lew really ate away at her. Yet on the other hand she was so stubborn that if she had questioned things that little bit more and given both Annie and Lew a chance to make amends and speak, she might have had her eyes opened to some startling revelations. Surely everyone deserves a second chance?
I really thought that Wanda needed to move onwards and upwards and stop clinging to the past. Yes, the loss of a parent is a horrific thing to have to deal with, but she carried so much blame around with her that she was doing herself no favours. I seem to be making it out as if Wanda was all doom and gloom and couldn’t get on with people but that’s not the case at all. The more I read through the chapters I saw a transformation of sorts happening with Wanda. She was given lots of opportunities to make a new version of herself and starting with embracing forgiveness and understanding was one of them. Would she be strong enough to turn the fortunes of the campsite around? Will she be able to help Carys through her pregnancy and what about love can she admit that she has harboured feelings that haven’t left her and will she act upon them?
When reading the blurb for Under a Starry Sky I thought this story would just solely focus on Wanda and as much as I enjoyed reading about her character and what was happening with her it was a lovely surprise to see Annie get plenty of time to share her story. Annie has returned to the village after many years away. Her marriage to the awful Dean is over and she is doing her best to break free and start afresh. But as with Wanda the memories of the fire that night that led to such change still very much linger. Annie feels the community are constantly talking about her and the role her brother played will never be forgotten. It’s like she is tainted by association. The loss of her friendship with Wanda haunts Annie and she does her best to rekindle it, but Wanda was very stand offish at first. Annie harbours her own secrets and terrors, but one thing is for sure her love of the outdoors, gardening, flowers and their healing properties shines through from every page in which she is mentioned and that is what will possibly carry her through.
Annie’s relationship with her canine companion Teg was just wonderful to read about and it certainly made up for the way she was treated by Dean. I hadn’t expected to see such a serious issue being raised as if you were to judge the book upon its cover you would think it as being a lovely, nice, cosy read all of the time. I thought Laura Kemp wrote about the issue extremely well and I felt every bit of Annie’s anxiety, fear and unease but also her sense of courage and determination shone through too.
I loved the storyline that allowed Spike and his son Arthur to feature as it gave Annie a sense of purpose and also the grit and tenacity to face what has been threatening her in order to move on with her life and find happiness. I thought she was brave when she tried to make amends with Wanda and even though it took a bit of time theirs was friendship that could not be left lingering in the doldrums rather it was one where they were a great pair who could both help each other move forward and deal with unresolved trauma.
Lew featured to a lesser extent and to be honest I really wanted more of him. I felt he was very elusive and kept things close to his chest. He too was there the night of the fire but then had never came back to Gobaith until now. He is back to set up a hostel of sorts for walkers and mountain climbers. But I sensed as with Wanda and Annie he was clinging on to pain and until all their wounds and scars had been reopened could the trio ever move forward and find the happiness they so desperately deserved?
Overall I really enjoyed Under a Starry Sky, it gave me a lot more than I had bargained for and there was some real depth and emotion to both the characters and the plot. Yes, there was some repetition at times, I think I knew fairly early on that Wanda had a mountain to climb and that she still felt so guilty about everything, I didn’t need to be kept reminded of this several times over. She was slightly frustrating too as in she could never make her mind up as to whether to go off on her adventure. I know she had commitments but as these were being resolved she was still so indecisive. I did think the book was just that little bit too long and shortening it a little bit with just some more action or exciting events would have made it truly brilliant. But aside from those little issues I am once again reminded why I fell in love with Laura Kemps’s writing last year and Under a Starry Sky is a lovely story perfect for your summer reading.
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