This is an incredible, amazing and enthralling story which I absolutely loved from the very first pages, all the way to the ending. This is another of those rare books where my advice is grab yourself a copy and read the book rather than my review!

Alice was a really adventurous tomboy as a child but that was before she had an accident which left her with facial scars and an over protective mother. After that both she and her older brother were encouraged never to take risks and that behaviour was largely ingrained in her throughout her teens and twenties. She’s in a long term, very stable relationship but she arranges to go on an adventurous holiday to Sri Lanka with her two best friends so they’ll all celebrate their thirtieth birthday there together. It is there they meet up with two men who are participating in a similar adventurous holiday. Max is striving to prove he can cope after life changing injuries ended his army career. 

As the two groups merge to explore the country together there are adventures to be had, relationships to develop and emotions to be explored. It is a lovely story of re-evaluating your life, making choices and being prepared to make changes to help achieve happiness - but only after some dramatic events and near disasters. I thoroughly enjoyed this whole book and the great range of characters in it. The author clearly knows the setting well and brought it to life within the pages of this story. I have no hesitation in highly recommending this to anyone who enjoys reading of someone taking stock of their life choices and being brave enough to make new choices because of love. It is an enthralling story, a keeper and one that will live on in my memory - one I look forward to re-reading in future, and I don’t do that for many books!

I requested and was given a copy of this book, via NetGalley. This is my honest review of the book after choosing to read it.

Alice is coming up to 30 a birthday she shares within a few days of her best friends Maureen and Steph, and so they decide to celebrate it together by having a holiday in Sri Lanka. Richard, Alice's long term boyfriend, and her mother are not too happy as she had been wrapped in cotton wool since a childhood accident but she is desperate to escape from this stifling atmosphere and have an adventure.

Max is an army veteran with a prosthetic leg and PTSD, he had also been stifled by family and desperate to get away he goes on holiday with his best friend and physiotherapist Jamal, when they meet the girls on their first night instant rapports are made and they decided to journey together...... can Alice let her real self come out and enjoy the adventures and how much will she enjoy sharing them with Max?

A lovely book which was made great by the descriptions of Sri Lanka and definitely transported me back there. The main characters were interesting and I enjoyed watching their true characters emerge throughout the story.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest and independent review.

Alice is on a girly trip to Sri Lanka with her best friends, Steph and Maur, to celebrate their 30th birthdays, before she announces her engagement to long-term boyfriend Richard and settles down. Within days of arriving, the girls meet Max and Jamal and share the Sri Lankan experience with them. But the trip ends up leading Alice to think about her future, and if it’s what she wants: the nice, predictable life with Richard, but with no adventure; or fun with thrill-seeking Max.

I loved the characters in this book, especially Alice and Max. Max’s character is a war veteran, an amputee with PTSD, and I think showing a strong thrill-seeking amputee character in fiction is a great move of raising awareness. But with Max’s high risk of infection, sores, ulcerations etc discussed, it’s clear Isabelle Broom has done a lot of research into this topic.

The story did take a while to get moving, and at first I found it a bit choppy in places, but the detailed descriptions of the beautiful Sri Lanka scenery made me want to keep reading, and I ended up feeling like I was there travelling with the gang. From the descriptions, I feel Isabella Broom must have been there too.

As well as being a great summer read about travels and adventures, this is a great story about self-discovery.

From the start I couldn't put this book down. It was happy, it was sad and it took you to emotions one didn't realise one had. Yet another delightful book by Isabel and I just hope she keeps writing them. It's made me really want to go to Sri Lanka; her descriptions off it were wonderful. And as a bonus we had a happy ending.

Isabelle Broom is back and this time she is showing us the sites of Sri Lanka in One Thousand Stars and You.

As best friends Alice, Maureen and Steph have their Big 30 looming they decide to spend their birthdays together in an unforgettable trip to Sri Lanka which Alice’s over protective partner Richard and her mum are not pleased about. Alice craves adventure and can not wait to discover what Sri Lanka has hidden but she finds more than she set out to find.

This was the first book by Isabelle Broom where I wasn’t chomping at the bit to get on a plane to the destination but I think this is because I felt more invested in the storyline and characters this time. It was almost a forbidden fruit romance that should have felt so wrong and yet was so right.

My favourite character was actually Max he was an admirable guy and I found his situation and daily challenges insightful (I don’t want to give anymore away). Alice was also a great character and I enjoyed watching her finally unravel and begin to find who she really is inside rather than who she is expected to be.


This is a beautiful written romance that is set in a stunning location following a journey of self discovery. Another whopper from Isabelle Broom.

Although One Thousand Stars and You is Isabelle Broom's fifth book, it's only the second that I have read and reviewed on the blog although I do have her three other books, A Year and a Day, Then. Now. Always. and The Place We Met, on my kindle and I'm hoping to read and review these next month during a planned catch up month.



One Thousand Stars and You is told from the viewpoints of Alice and Max who have both suffered traumatic experiences that have shaped their lives. Alice's accident as a child has left her family, especially her mother, overprotective of her which has shaped her into a cautious, young woman who doesn't take many risks and has settled for a safe, quiet life with boyfriend Richard although she does have a rebellious, adventurous side too as we soon discover. Whereas it was only eight years before that Max's life took a drastic u-turn and everything he knew and loved was torn out from under him and he's had to his new way of life without the job and wife he once loved.



Alice along with her friends Steph and Maureen decide to book a holiday to celebrate their upcoming thirtieth birthdays and decide on a trip to Sri Lanka where their paths cross with Max and Jamal. Not only is it the holiday of a lifetime for them all, it also gives Alice and Max the chance to seriously think about their lives. Are they happy to settle for the life they are currently living or is it time to make a change?



Sri Lanka is a country that I have never thought about visiting before but through Isabelle Broom's descriptive writing I was able to picture what I would imagine to be a vast picturesque country with lots to see and explore. I'm not quite sure I'd manage a climb up Adam's Peak but would definitely love to go on a safari to see the elephants although I hope I wouldn't have the same experience that Alice, Max and Maureen do! The only thing I'm not sure I'd be able to cope with is the busy bustling towns and cities as I'm not that great in crowds, give me a nice quiet location to sit, relax and read any day so maybe a balcony on one of the treehouses that the group also stayed in would be more my cup of tea.



What can I say about this group of characters other than they really were a great bunch, I loved the dynamics between the two sets of friends. Alice, Steph and Maureen each had totally different personalities but the mix worked well for them. Maureen was definitely the more adventurous and flirtatious of the group, Alice the most reserved and Steph fit nicely in the middle to bring out the best of her two friends. They had a true friendship and would be there for one another no matter what, that's not to say they don't have their fights along the way. And then there's Jamal and Max who first met under tragic circumstances but they have built a strong friendship over the years that followed. Both Jamal and Max sounded like dream guys that anyone would be lucky enough to have as a friend and partner but for me it was definitely Max all the way.



One Thousand Stars and You truly was a magical read, a story about self discovery with warm, engaging characters that you can't help falling in love with. The one consolation in being behind in my reading is that I know I don't have too long to wait for another gorgeous story from Isabelle Broom as I still have three more waiting for me although I hope it won't be too long until we have a new book to discover... where will she take us to next I wonder.

Alice and her girlfriends are fast approaching thirty – with a steady (boring) History teacher boyfriend Richard, and an over-protective mother it seems that Alice’s life is all mapped out. Until one of her best friends Maureen suggests that the friends go on holiday to Sri Lanka for one last hurrah!

On arrival, the girls chance upon two other travellers Max and Jamal and soon they all buddy up and travel together. After a catastrophic, life changing injury, Max is determined that life should carry on as normal. Forming a friendship with Alice, she then starts to view life through different eyes, and realises that she doesn’t have to accept what life has thrown at her.

This is the first Isabelle Broom book I’ve read, and it certainly won’t be the last. She made the colours, sights and sounds of Sri Lanka lift off the page. I quickly found myself absolutely absorbed in the story, and even felt that I was travelling with them, I felt the heat of the sun on my back, and the crush of people on the packed train as it rattled along the tracks. I even found myself googling Adam’s Peak whilst I was reading about their ascent so that I could witness the wonderful sunrise with them! I’ve never done that before in my life when reading a book!

A beautiful novel which has you holding your breathe right up to the finish, and which I didn’t want to end!

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Books for a Advance Review Copy in return for an honest and open review.

I love a good book cover and shamelessly I will admit that it is often the difference between picking up a book in the store or not. This latest book from Isabelle Broom has the most gorgeous cover art and it captured me right from the start.

Alice lives with Richard. She has a job she knows inside out but hates. Her life is very organised and compact. After a serious accident when she was young she has been molly coddled and protected for most of her life. Firstly by her mother and since college Richard has taken care of her.

When best friends Maureen and Steph suggest a joint trip to celebrate their thirtieth birthdays, planning begins in earnest and the girls are all off to Sri Lanka for an adventure.

I don’t know about you but I really didn’t know much about the country other than the horror stories that I’d seen on the news over the years. While this is very much Alice’s story it is also a joyful appreciation of the variety of experiences and culture to be found in Sri Lanka. Broom makes you feel like you are right there with the girls as she describes the sights, sounds and smells with such exquisite detail that you feel like you are on the trek with them.

This book is so much more than a travelogue with all of the major characters going through life changing events and circumstances. Dealing with subjects as diverse as limb amputation, alcoholism, depression and fear this isn’t your average Romcom. It is however a joyous celebration of being yourself and learning to like who you really are.

Supplied by Net Galley and Penguin in exchange for an honest review.

Isabelle Broom is quickly becoming one of my favourite authors. Her stories are getting better and better with each new book and she always takes us readers to the most wonderful places. In her latest book, she takes us on a stunning tour of Sri Lanka.

Full of magical moments, heart-melting romance and intense emotions, One Thousand Stars and You is unmissable. I felt completely in love with this story and its characters and I am now 100 % obsessed with Sri Lanka. I even cooked a Sri Lankan Chicken Curry this weekend and made Chicken Kottu Roti with the leftovers. I cannot wait to go there myself and try the real thing.

Also, don't you just loved it when you get to a scene in a story and then boom! The title makes so much sense and is so perfect? This happened here and I loved it, so much.

Alice is such and interesting and intriguing character. I really couldn't wait to discover all her secrets. I enjoyed it so much reading about her friendship with her two child-hood friends and how they interacted with each other. And then we had Max. He stole a tiny be of my heart and kept it to himself.

This is one of those reads that makes you remember you what is important in life and that there's always the possibility of an adventure around the corner if you are willing to turn the corner. Definitely a story that I will be re-reading soon to enjoy all the little details again.

This story was amazing. It’s the first book I’ve read by the author and it most definitely isn’t going to be the last. She’s woven a beautiful tale of unexpected love, of friendship, of special moments and spectacular scenery. The writing instantly had me gripped from the first page, and moved along at a nice pace throughout the whole book.

I liked Alice and Max. They worked really well together and I loved their little conversations. It was nice to have a serious connection between characters, both having suffered horrific accidents, instead of some superficial connections. Alice was a very relatable character. She only wanted was best for her family, always putting them first. I loved the fact that she had a hidden rebellious side to her. I loved Max’s humour. It’s a sort of humour only somebody who has even been in that situation can have. I loved the fact that he wasn’t too serious about anything, but he knew when to have his moments.

I loved all the characters in their own little ways really. Each had something special about them, but the ones that stand out the most are the characters they meet on their journey. Some of them were funny and touching, while others are what I would imagine to be like when they let strangers stay in their home.

My favourite part of the book is probably where the book gets the title from. It was such a moving, special moment. Alice had no idea what Max meant, and it was perfect. It was so well written, the whole section gave me goosebumps. You could feel the emotion flowing off the page and really get into the moment with them.

I’ve given this book a 5/5. I loved the characters, I loved the location, I loved the writing. This book is one that I remember for a long time. It’s a touching story about finding who you are, and learning to let go if you want to be the person you want to be. I highly recommend.

I love Isabelle Broom’s novels. With her flawless writing style, she creates heart-warming and entertaining plots that keep you glued to the page. But what I really love about her books is that they take the readers always in some beautiful and exotic place. In this novel, she takes us to Sri Lanka, where the two protagonists, Alice and Max, are on a journey of self-discovery.

Alice is on holiday with her two best friends, Steph and Maureen “Maur”, to celebrate together their thirtieth birthdays. Alice is a free and adventurous spirit, but a childhood accident has left her a scar on her face and leading a restricted and dull life surrounded by her overprotective mother and boyfriend. Sri Lanka is her way to freedom, it is the place where Alice can find herself again. It is also the place where she meets Max. Like Alice, Max’s life has been marred by a tragic event that has left him with emotional and physical scars, but his friendship with Alice may bring him back to life.

Alice and Max are two characters who are easy to like. They are engaging and they feel real and sincere. I was completely captivated by these characters and I enjoyed reading how their relationship and their stories develop throughout the novel. With its suggestive wildlife and excursions, it’s exotic food, and its friendly and warm inhabitants, Sri Lanka becomes a character itself under Isabelle Broom’s pen. The detailed and vivid descriptions make you feel (and wish) as though you were there visiting these beautiful locations.

Isabelle Broom did it again and wrote a fabulous novel. ONE THOUSAND STARS AND YOU is a vibrant, refreshing, and romantic story about love and loss, about family and friendship, and I’d like to thank Laura Nicol and Michael Joseph for inviting me to take part in the blog tour.

This is an amazing book.
It is not only a love story but also a book about friendship and discovering your inner self as well as a travel blog about Sri Lanka and it’s wonderful beauty.
It is very brave because at the centre of the story is Max an amputee who lost his leg whilst serving in Afghanistan as a member of the army.
It describes in great detail not only the events that caused his injury but also his rehabilitation and what it is like to deal with on a daily basis living with a prosthetic leg.
Max does not let this injury stop him from living life to the full and that is why he goes on holiday to Sri Lanka where he meets up with Alice and her friends who are celebrating their 30th birthdays.
Alice is in a long term relationship with Richard but upon meeting Max could this all change.
One of the best books I have read recently can’t recommend it enough.

Before we’re whisked away to Sri Lanka, we see Alice at home and this shows us why we she so badly needs this exotic trip, filled with the possibility for adventure. I was as relieved as Alice that her friends Maureen and Steph had persuaded her to go on this joint 30th birthday celebration trip, and was willing her not to cancel. (I know she wouldn’t have because otherwise this would have been a short book but I was pretty anxious for her to leave the UK behind for a couple of weeks.)

When the story switches to Sri Lanka, Isabelle Broom lands you right in all the colour and chaos of Sri Lanka from airport arrivals through taxi transfers, tuk tuk rides and packed train journeys to night-time mountain climbs to see the sunrise and onto a photogenic safari with a hairy encounter. She describes the scenery and animal life, the heat and humidity, the tastes and sounds of the country so well that I imagined myself there. I could understand why Alice comes alive there and feels more her true self.

That Alice and her friends hook up with Max and his friend and travel together is something that feels natural. It happens when you’re travelling. And sometimes you get lucky and meet someone who’ll be important to you and won’t just ride a couple of stops along the way. It’s the best kind of holiday romance when you meet someone who can see the real you, and encourages you to be that person. It’s so freeing when you finally find the courage to be yourself, and can open up to new experiences and adventures.

Max’s story helps to balance Alice’s and put it into perspective. Where she has put together an itinerary to challenge herself and her friends, he faces very real challenges doing things they take for granted. Again, though, he’s holidaying with a good friend there to help him – and finds in Alice someone from whom he can’t hide. She reads him well within a short time and notices things he manages to hide from others.

I was a very happy fellow traveller with Alice, Max and friends and fell headlong into this lush will-they? won’t-they? story. It’s tender and tentative, heartwarming and heartbreaking, and vibrant and life-affirming. Isabelle Broom’s put Sri Lanka firmly on my map of places to go (but not before Prague, obviously) even though I feel as if I’ve already been there thanks to this beautiful book. One Thousand Stars to You, Isabelle Broom. You’ve done it again.

Alice is travelling to Sri Lanka with her friends for a final hurrah. She leaves behind her boyfriend, Richard, a teacher, who wants to marry Alice. Whilst in Sri Lanka, Alice meets a man called Max, who lost a leg while fighting in Afghanistan. He has struggled to find friendship ans romance ever since. There is an instant connection between them, but Alice is in a realationship and Max is not looking for a woman. They are both trying to discover more about themselves.

I love Max's character for many different reasons but probably most for his struggles with his disability. I also know people like Alice, who struggle trying to please everybody around them. The way the author describes Sri Lanka is almost perfection, I think Sri Lanka has just been added to my bucket list due to this. I also liked the way Alice and Max's relationship was not rushed. A story of hope, learning to live again and emotional turmoil. Have the tissues handy.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and the author Isabelle Broom for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was asked to read and review this book and I was on holiday so I thought, why not. I am so pleased that I did.
I thoroughly enjoyed it!
I could picture Sri Lanka so well as Isabelle described it perfectly. I imagined the frenetic pace at the beginning and the tranquility towards the end.
I thought that the characters were very likeable and was very happy with the outcome, and enjoyed the little twist towards the end.
Thanks for asking me to read and review.

One Thousand Stars and You, the latest book by Isabelle Broom is another fabulous 5 star read.

It’s set mainly in Sri Lanka and you almost feel as though you have been transported there, feeling the hot sun and smelling the delicious fragrances with every turn of the page. There are happy bits, heart breaking bits, three fun friends celebrating their thirtieth birthdays, elephants and an overall sense of friendship. I loved all of the main characters and felt you could identify with them easily.

I knew when I started this book I’d be in for a great read and I certainly wasn’t disappointed. I will happily recommend this book to everyone!

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin UK Michael Joseph and the author for the chance to review.

Awesome. Finished it at 3.30 am as couldn’t put it down. Wonderful characters, wonderful setting and excellent story.

One thousand stars and you

Omg Isabelle Broom has done it again, transported me to another country. This time our adventure took place in beautiful Sri Lanka and I could almost feel the red dust on me as I was taken on the trip of a lifetime with Alice and her two friends Steph and Maureen as they celebrate their 30th birthdays.
The descriptions of the amazing places they visited were filled with authenticity, so much so that I feel I have been to Sri Lanka myself.
When the girls meet two handsome hunks called Max and Jamal they travel as a group and spur each other on when the going gets tough.
Some parts of their trip felt exhausting and Isabelle manages to capture the feelings so well that I felt out of breath at some points.
The sensitivity with which Max’s situation is described actually brought me to tears a few times it was written beautifully and was very evocative.
Chapter 48 reduced me to trembles.
Isabelle Broom is one of my all time favourite authors and I feel as though I am on a round the world trip with her with every book she writes. This one is a love story so different and so special, heartbreaking, touching and so very poignant.
At one point I wanted to put it in the freezer so that I didn’t have to end it but I had to finish it and boy what a heart racing climax it reached and it made me so happy.
My advice to everyone is to read every single one of Isabelle’s books and have the experience of an exotic holiday from your very own home.

I thought this was a bit slow to get going, but towards the latter half it picked up - I enjoyed it more towards the end. I have to say that whilst I loved Max (the hero if you like), and Steph and Maur (Alice's friends), I wasn't overly keen on Alice herself, which was a problem being as she was the main female character. Whilst with Max I could understand his issues, I thought Alice was a tad melodramatic, and should have been able to stand up to her mother way before she turned 30. Max was lovely, just right, and the ending was done well too. Great descriptions of Sri Lanka. Overall, a good read.

I have read a couple of Isabelle Broom's books before and can honestly say that I think this is her best yet. It's a book about two people becoming the people they are always meant to be, becoming the best versions of themselves, a real meeting of minds.

Alice is on holiday with two of her friends, Maureen and Steph, all of whom celebrate their 30th birthdays within the space of a few days while they are on the trip. They meet and team up with Max and his friend Jamal almost as soon as they arrive. Neither Max nor Alice are looking for any kind of relationship. Alice is already in a long-term steady, if rather uneventful, relationship. Both have had accidents in the past which have changed them in some way. Alice's accident had led her mother to become overprotective and for Alice to suppress the outgoing, adventurous side of herself, settling for a quieter, more mundane life. Max's accident was much more life-changing and had made him strive to become a better version of himself, someone more determined to live life to the full.

Both main characters were very easy to like from the outset. Max is incredibly strong, brave and resilient although his moving poetry gives insight into his darker days. I liked the way that he clearly had no self-pity nor did he want anyone else to see him as anything but an everyday guy. Alice was perhaps more complex as she was really just beginning to open up to the possibility of changing her way of living and becoming more the kind of person she knew deep down she was, not suppressing her outgoing nature any more. It was lovely to see her grow throughout the book. I liked the other characters too. Jamel is the invaluable and supportive physiotherapist who became Max's closest friend. Alice's friends were great fun to read about although Maureen could be a little annoying at times!

The heat, the colour, the noise and the beauty of Sri Lanka are all vibrantly described. I see from the notes at the end of the book that the author has visited and she has brought her her experiences vividly to life on the page. From a little Twitter chat we had I also know she took part in the same adrenaline packed activity which Alice does in the book and I can only say she's a braver woman than me! But it does explain why the experiences of the travellers in the book seem so authentic.

One Thousand Stars and You is one of those books where I just want to say go and buy it. It's a beautiful, romantic, enchanting story and I didn't want it to end.  I loved the main characters, I loved reading about their experiences and I love the way their stories ended. All in all, it's fair to say that I just adored this book!