One Thousand Stars and You is the first novel by Isabelle Broom that I've read and I really enjoyed it - I'm not one for really cheesy, over-the-top romance/ chick-lit (hate that word, sorry) but this managed to have a good dose of relationships, fun friendship and humour without being any of those offputting things...

The characters are great, and they're a big part of what makes this book so enjoyable. Alice is likeable and sweet, and though at times she can perhaps come across a little naive, she makes a great protagonist. Her friends Maureen and Steph are vibrant, entertaining characters (though Maureen got on my nerves sometimes!) and Max seems like a great guy - kind, fair and brave considering everything he's been through. It may be obvious from near the start that Max and Alice are going to hit it off, and there are various parts that are fairly predictable, but the story is lovely to read about anyway, so to me that doesn't matter!

The setting for this book completely sucked me in - I've always wanted to go to Sri Lanka and I felt like I could really picture their trip, from the bustling streets and vibrant colours - Isabelle Broom manages to bring this amazing place to life for the reader. Definitely gave me travel envy (yes, this is fiction but still...!)

I really enjoyed One Thousand Stars and You, and would recommend it to anyone who fancies a light, entertaining but also quite emotional read. It's touching, heartfelt and definitely has its funny moments!

I absolutely loved this book! Alice is old before her time and decides to go off on an adventure with her girlfriends for their 30th birthdays in a last chance escape from her settled and safe life. The trip of a lifetime to Sri Lanka is set to change the path her life has taken thus far, when she meets Max, a war veteran. These two characters were delightful - both warm, credible and incredibly complex - both struggling to rediscover who they truly are.

This was a truly lovely holiday read and what surprised me more was what an incredible job the author did of showcasing Sri Lanka as a holiday destination!

Many thanks to netgalley for an arc of this book in return for an honest review.

Brooms signature style is to revolve her story arc around an issue/s that plagues her protractors in great locations. Despite this, each of her novels has been unique. So one begins reading Broom's latest novel with high expectations. It scales new heights as she tackles the complex issue of disability in exotic Sri Lanka. Yes, she has strayed from her conventional but charming European locations to the east. And she does a surprisingly good job of both. Traversing a range of emotions, she weaves a spell binding tale sure to enthral even the pickiest of readers. Moreover, Brooms protractors give her plenty of scope to exercise her innate acuity. Undeniably, those born with a disability have different life experiences from the able bodied. However, an able-bodied person acquiring a disability has to adjust to the new circumstances, perhaps rebuilding ones life. Often an emotional journey, fraught with the complications surrounding ones disability as one comes to terms with their handicap and learns to manoeuvre around it. Broom explores this dynamic and does a rather good job both in its scope and veracity. Rather than a taut, depressing tearjerker, the entire novel proves to be awe inspiring and uplifting. Doubtless there are the ah moments and then the oh moments interspersed with copious tears. Brooms wordsmithery shines as her amazing characters spring to life and it is not merely their physique. There is a very good reason for Max's fitness as he explains to Alice. Um…I leave you to discover for yourself. There are no spoilers in my reviews. Though the novel revolves around Max and Alice, their friends play an equally crucial role in its telling – a very Broom trait. With characteristic depth and intensity, she weaves each characters persona with the setting. Beware of the ubiquitous papaya juice. Oops is that a spoiler. Thought provoking both Max and Alice are frequently questioning their life decisions. Often in life, one opts for the comfortable rather than the challenging until life's roadblocks force one to face them. Bursting with feeling this is another unputdownable read by Broom. When the last page is turned and one wipes away tears of joy, one cannot help but realise that there is possibly not one but two sequels to this novel. Well Broom dare you rise to the challenge?

One thing can be said about Isabelle Broom. She knows how to set the scene. Her writing shows you setting of the book, the country, people so well. It's light and not overly descriptive but tells you enough to paint this perfect picture in your mind. That's probably one of the reasons, why I enjoy her books so much.

Alice and Max are two souls with a lot in common but also many hidden feelings. They pretend who they are and how they feel, just to please people they love. It's just easier that way. But when they find the way they want to live, they don't want to pretend anymore. They don't want to just exist, but live.

For Max it's easy, he's now himself, feels comfortable in his own skin and came to terms with who he is and how life changed him. Alice is yet to discover her full potential and passion for life but is it something she can do, can she hurt her family, her loved ones? Can this trip to Sri Lanka open her eyes and meeting Max change her life forever?

I adored this story, it was so full of emotion, sadness, loss but also about self discovery, love, friendship. Beautiful country and people just added to the whole picture and made it so much more real. This book just made me so happy and although I was sad it was over, it left me content and I felt like I experienced it all myself. Five fat stars to Isabelle Broom for this stunning story and if you haven't read it, don't wait. I can't recommend it enough.

WOW,WOW,WOW. I have read all of this author's books and they just keep getting better. Alice and her two friends take a trip to Sri Lanka to celebrate their 30th birthdays. They meet up with two single guys, Jamal and Max. Alice has been with her boyfriend for over ten years and she feels stifled in her life and work. She longs to be free and have an adventure. The author is so descriptive in her books that I always feel I am in each country she takes the story to. A brilliant romance.

I'd never read an Isabelle Broom before and clearly I've been missing out. I absolutely loved this book and was rather bereft when I'd finished it. The tentative slow burn development of the relationship between Alice and Max is so beautifully written and the locations described in Sri Lanka were just gorgeous. I've never been particularly drawn to there before, but I've been seduced by the author's descriptions and have added it to my bucket list. I also liked how Max had as many demons as Alice and how they helped each other realise how much life there is out there to live. I can't recommend this book enough and am hunting down her other titles to keep me up late into the night.

Being offered to review this book was such a delight. It has such a lovely cover and I was excited by the blurb.
A full review to follow.

There is a particular joy I get from reading a really good, British book, and this one gave me that joy in spades. It's all of my favourite things - an adventure, an interesting setting, a wonderful romance, and a journey - both physically and metaphorically. Oh, and a main character with a disability, just to add a bit more brilliance. I love, love, love it when authors give minorities a big role, and in my view, Broom has done Max proud. She manages to highlight the physical difficulties without bringing the tone down, as well as taking the menta toll into account. Both Max and Alice, plus all the peripheral characters, are just superbly-written. Incredibly realistic, with human faults and lifelike dialogue. As for the setting, Broom does a brilliant job of bringing Sri Lanka to life without boring me with overlong descriptions. Somehow she gets the perfect balance of drawing a picture with words, and making the reader really experience it. Excuse me while I go book a ticket to Sri Lanka and buy all of Isabelle Broom's other books...

A story of self-worth, self-love and trying to find the real you. This is the second novel I've read by this author and she is fast becoming one of my favourites. Her books are easy to read and always leave me wishing I was on the adventure with her characters. They are realistic, believable and loveable in equal measures.

When Alice and her friends head off on the trip of a lifetime to Sri Lanka they are unsure what will unfold but no one knew what fate would have in store for the main characters Alice and Max. I loved that we knew their backstories early on. I think this helped me to connect with them better as I don't like stories that keep you waiting until the end. We are able to follow both Alice and Max as the book is written from both perspectives in alternate chapters.

I would highly recommend to those who love an easy read, feel-good story.

Alice has a boyfriend who wants to settle down with her- but she decides to go away to celebrate her 30th birthday with her best friends. They travel to Sri Lanka , which is so beautifully described that you feel that you holidayed with them. You experience the friends they meet, the food and drink they try and the wonderful sightseeing expeditions they go on.
They want an authentic travelling holiday and we follow the trauma two of the characters have been through, romance and flirting alongside wonderful friendships that are tested but remain strong.
The last book I read by Isabelle Broom had me booking a trip to Prague next month and now I really want to travel to Sri Lanka! She has such a wonderful, warm writing style that draws you in and captures you until you have finished the story.

One Thousand Stars And You by Isabelle Broom is a most delightful contemporary novel about awakenings and exploration. I just could not put it down. It's beautiful.
We all need to be true to ourselves. If we live a lie, sooner or later we will crack. We must be the person we were created to be. We must not live a life that someone else expects of us. We need to live our dreams, not theirs. Internal inspection can be painful. We need to be truthful about what we find. We need to love the skin we are in.
Life is an adventure. Do not settle for anything less.
The novel is about friends, both old and new. Friends who will support, love and encourage.
We all need a safe place. Where is yours?
The novel has the theme of PTSD affecting an Afghan veteran. It is sensitively portrayed but breaks your heart. The love and care of a best friend will bring tears to your eyes.
Much of the novel is set in Sri Lanka. With glorious descriptions, the novel really comes to life for the reader.
We all need to have hope. "Even in the darkest corners, there's always light." Without hope we will crumble and perish. We need to have a reason to get up in the morning. Life is for living.
The characters were wonderfully drawn. I adored the leading roles - a mixture of strength and vulnerability. The blossoming and healing as they broke free from moulds was a joy to behold.
I adore Isabelle Broom's books. I urge you to read One Thousand Stars And You today. It's beautiful.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The characters were engaging and well drawn. The crossroads reached in relationships, go for safety or live your live when you have the chance
The descriptions of Sri Lanka were so vivid I could almost feel that I was there
Highly recommended

Beautiful vivid descriptions of Sri Lanka, the setting of this boy meets girl story. This was by far the strongest and most enjoyable part of the story. The author has a message of confronting fears and living life...but I felt this was hammered too much. From the first chapter I knew how it would end.
Worth reading for Sri Lankan scenes.

I have a rather embarrassing confession to make. Although I have all of Isabelle’s books on my ever increasing ‘To Be Read’ mountain, ‘One Thousand Stars And You’ is the first book that I have actually read. Sorry Isabelle. However, going by how much I enjoyed ‘One Thousand Stars And You’, I can guarantee that the rest of her books won’t be on the TBR mountain for much longer. I absolutely and totally flipping well loved this book but more about that in a bit.
Alice is one of those characters that you can’t help but take to and think of her as a friend. I also felt rather protective of her. At the beginning of the book, Alice is very self conscious about a scar that she has on her face. She is convinced that people are talking about it behind her back but really they aren’t. To a degree I could empathise with her in that respect. I have a scar on my arm thanks to an accident I had as a 5 year old. I am convinced that people see it and talk about me behind my back when really they don’t. For a long time I tried to hide it and I would refuse to wear short sleeves but then decided that my scar was part of me and why should I keep it hidden? Sorry I digress so back to Alice I do go. Alice is in a relationship with Richard and it looks as though it could lead to wedding bells. At the beginning of the book Richard and Alice’s mother are desperately trying to put Alice off from travelling to Sri Lanka because they say that it is too dangerous for her. To be honest Richard irritated me a bit and he sounded rather boring . Alice is a bit of a stubborn devil though because once she has decided on something then you know that that is exactly what she is going to do. She travels to Sri Lanka with her two best friends and the trip is to celebrate their 30th birthday. Alice is a proper little tourist who swots up on anything and everything to do with the country to which she is travelling. Her friends gently pull her leg about her super organised travel research. Alice meets the lovely sounding Max, who is travelling with his best friend. It’s easy to understand why Alice and Max get on as well as they do because they are both of a similar nature. Both have suffered injuries that have left them with scarred both mentally and physically, both feel self conscious, both are gentle and kind souls and both sound rather easy going and easy to get along with. It soon becomes clear that there is more than one spark between Alice and Max. Will Alice and Max get together? What happens to Richard? Is there a twist to the tale? Well for the answers to those questions and more you are just going to have to read the book for yourselves to find out because I am not going to tell you.
Oh my giddy aunt this book is one hell of an emotional read, which had me smiling and wanting to cry in equal measure. The author’s writing style is such that you can’t fail to be drawn into the story from the first word on the first page. That’s what happened to me anyway. I found that I couldn’t put this book down. It wasn’t glued to my hand but it might as well have been. The writing, the story and the characters were so beautifully and sensitively written that I just had to keep reading. If I had to put the book down then I was counting down the time until I picked it up again. It’s fair to say that reading ‘One Thousand Stars And You’ became a serious addiction for me. I would pick the book up only intending to read a couple of chapters, only to realise after a couple of hours that I had read way in excess of a couple of chapters. It took me no time at all really to work my way through the book. I had mixed feelings when I finished reading this book. Don’t get me wrong I was pleased to finish the book because I knew how the story ended but I was sad to finish the book because I was enjoying reading it so much that I just wanted the book to continue. Reading this book certainly put me through the emotional wringer somewhat. As I mention towards the start of this review, ‘One Thousand Stars And You’ left me smiling and wanting to cry in equal measure.
In short, I absolutely adored reading ‘One Thousand Stars And You’. I would strongly recommend that you read this book. ‘One Thousand Stars And You’ is right up there on my top 5 reads of 2018 and Isabelle Broom is up there on my list of must read authors. I can’t wait to read what she comes up with next. Here’s hoping that I don’t have too long to wait but whilst I wait, I fully intend to read Isabelle’s other books. I’m looking forward to reading them. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board can be nothing less than 5* out of 5*.

This was book that was so hard to put down. The story is so relevant to today with young men and women losing limbs to landmines. This tells the story of two very determined young people .....she is escaping from an impending engagement and he from a concerned, and suffocating with well meant care, mother. Together they are determined to fulfill a trip to the top of a sacred mountain at dawn.
The gradual awakening of their feelings for each other is beautiful.
As always Isabelle Brooms’ descriptive writing is a delight. I could feel myself climbing that mountain and visualise the daybreak and the sights and sounds of a new day.
I look forwards to Isabelle’s next book and am sure it will not disappoint.

When we’re first introduced to Alice you realise that at some point, things have to change. Who you really are can’t stay buried for the sole reason of pleasing those around you and despite Alice trying her hardest, when that tension gathers she has to do something about it in the most safest of ways possible. Parental expectations, duty and responsibility are often heavy and will always bring some degree of guilt … Celebrating a milestone birthday with friends Maureen and Steph in Sri Lanka gives Alice the outlet she needs (especially when Max is around).

The friendship between Max and Jamal is many layered, a friendship worth treasuring! Max is on a journey to independence and acceptance of who he is. Sometimes his determination and strength is a weakness as he hides his struggles. Such an inspirational character. I might just have fallen a little in love with him myself 🙂

I enjoyed the developing bond between Alice and Max. The confiding and understanding adds depth to the romantic spark. I enjoyed all the relationships between the characters as they journey around Sri Lanka, sharing experiences and a different way of life (the fun and the conflicts!). The settings felt very real, once again Isabelle Broom’s writing drawing me in so that I stepped into a scene and became a part of the group, experiencing the landscape and customs as they did.

As well as the romantic theme in One Thousand Stars and You, emotional health is an integral part of the story. Authentic and sensitively done, I expect you’ll feel it as much as I did.

One Thousand Stars and You is a story that shows how important it is to live fully – not only a small percentage of life because you’re so caught up in being what others want you to be. It’s about integrating all aspects of who we are, sharing the fear as well as the love. A recommended read from me.

Having read and enjoyed an earlier book by Isabelle Bloom, 'The Place We Met'. I decided to give this book a try. Once again the criterion of location drew me to this novel.

I hope to visit Sri Lanka in the near future. As I start writing this review I am about halfway through the book. I am finding the descriptions of the places, the sounds and the smells to make Sri Lanka seem very real.

The way that the characters are developed is becoming intriguing. I am particularly enjoying the way the back story surrounding Max is opening up.

Each of his chapters open with snippets from his poetry. This is very cleverly developed from lines from the poetry of the famous Great War poet, Rupert Brooke. This has had me reaching for my copy of Brooke. It makes me realise how well researched this novel is.

I am not a huge fan of romantic fiction, but the geographical and historical aspects of the writing still make this a really enjoyable book to read.

You will need to read it for yourself to find out how the story ends. All I will say is that I enjoyed the conclusion.

My thanks to Netgalley and Penguin UK (Michael Joseph) for a copy in return for this review.

Wow! I loved this book :)
I loved the wonderful descriptions of Sri Lanka, it felt like I was really there.
I also loved the relatable characters.
Once again Isabelle cracked it with this brilliant novel ! :)
9/10 !

Alice and her two friends are celebrating their 30 th birthdays with a trip to Sri Lanka which they always said they would do. For Alice, it's her last taste of freedom before settling down with her boyfriend.
An accident when she was young left Alice with a facial scar and stopped her tomboy and adventurous ways. Her mother became so overprotective after that and made Alice scared to do anything. Richard, her boyfriend is every bit as bad and they don't seem suited.
Max is an amputee after an incident while in the army in Afghanistan. He wants to prove he can do as much as anyone else to the point where he hides his pain.
Yes, it's a love story, but it's a beautiful one. It's the story of a young woman finally loving life and believing in herself for the for the first time since her accident. And the story of a young man accepting who he is.
Travelling around Sri Lanka, staying in huts, going on safari, all provided a background of excitement to the story.
And....a lovely ending.

This book was overly adorable and so easy to just sit and digest in one go. I really connected with the characters and would definitely read from this author again (this being my first experience). I was excited to read this from the original blurb and the actual book did not disappoint.