Hi All,

It’s the last day of September and I can barely believe it. I have no idea where 2019 has gone. It feels like five minutes ago I was deciding on how many books to challenge myself to this year and now we are nine months gone. Hopefully I can get plenty more awesome books in before the end of the year!

Book 📖

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

Jojo Moyes is such a big time author, I was surprised and super buzzed to be given this ARC of her new book. I love her work and couldn’t wait to start this one. Thank you so much to Penguin UK and Jojo Moyes for the opportunity to review in return for an honest review.

Description 🔖

Based on a true story set in Kentucky within the Depression era, this book tells the story of a group of women brought together by the controversial travelling library endorsed by Eleanor Roosevelt. All of the women come from different walks of life, but quickly bond over their passion for their work and the unexpected depth of the friendships that are made. Not everyone in their small town and the surrounding mountains wants the initiative to work which forces the ladies to fight together to uphold their beliefs, hold on to their relationships and do what they believe to be right.

General Thoughts 🤔

Some books hit me like a lorry right from the very beginning. Some books steadily get my attention and peak my interest at a steady pace. This book falls into the second category and I think it made me appreciated it more. I found the story to be heart warming, eye opening, sad and happy all at the same time. I enjoyed it so much I didn’t want it to end, even as the story was nicely wrapped up and concluded at the end.

Characters 👫👭👬

The characters are what make this book so good. I loved each of the ladies in their own right and for their own qualities. I genuinely believe that with just one of those ladies removed from the book, it would be a totally different story. Then there are the “baddies”. Those characters that mess everything up and you love to hate; yes Van Cleave I’m talking about you! Jojo has achieved such special character development in this book, letting us as readers know a little more about each character at just the right time.

Writing Style ✍🏽

I love Jojo Moyes and I have read so much of her work. I found this book to be quite different from other books she has written but just as brilliant. As I said above, the story unfolds at just the right steady pace. There aren’t any POW moments or shocking twists, but this isn’t the story for that. She has created such special characters through her writing, I can only thank her for awesome work.

Conclusion & Scoring 🎖

I loved this book. It made me smile, laugh, feel sad and hold my breath at moments of tension. This is such a marvellous story, told through fantastic characters via astounding writing. With Christmas right around the corner, I’ll be gifting this to my nearest and dearest to share it’s fabulousness!!

😍😍😍😍😍