As a musician, I felt like I connected with Sarah so much. How she used music as her escapism and found comfort in that. This was a truly beautiful but harrowing story that dealt with lots of difficult topics.

First, I have to mention that glorious cover, which is what drew me to this book in the first place!

Unfortunately, I found the inner contents a little bit disjointed and unevenly paced. The story starts with Sarah as an adult, married and eventually setting aside her cello and career for children and homemaking. Then we see flashbacks to Sarah’s childhood and family history that fill in the detail of her character, why she has the issues that she struggles with and what unresolved secrets remain waiting to disrupt the veneer of her adult life.

I loved finding out about Sarah’s childhood past – her difficult home life, her friendship with Bird Boy and school struggles – but adult Sarah and her husband Daniel are both intense and intensely annoying, over-dramatic and self-obsessed. And Sarah’s mother Iris came across as a two-dimensional character of pure, insane evil, right up until the end, where we were offered a little mitigation (not enough!).

I did enjoy some of the twists and reveals seeded throughout the plot and discovering the links between the past and present that cropped up in unexpected ways, and I was immersed in the story during the middle portion, but I’m afraid it lost me to boredom and aggravation at both the beginning and the end.

That is not to say that I wouldn’t be interested to read more from this author, as her exploration of family trauma and the impact it can have on adult children was interesting and insightful. This just wasn’t quite the spellbinding read I had hoped for from the blurb and cover.

Absolutely wonderful book, I loved every moment spent in the world of the characters. Dilemmas and joys all expertly crafted thank you!

What a beautiful book! I’ve always been a fan of this author and The Stargazers has become an instant classic for me. I found it atmospheric and compelling to read. The writing was beautiful and characters unforgettable. Gorgeous!

I love this author and really enjoyed the Beloved Girls last year, and this one certainly didn’t disappoint. Such a magical and immersive story, and one that will stay with me for a while. Looking forward to picking more up from Harriet Evans!

#TheStargazers is absolutely breathtaking. An absorbing and immersive tale of neglect, resilience, secrets and lies, of love and family, of music and nature. Utterly compelling, gripping, thoughtful and beautifully written. I adored it.

I really wanted to like this, historical fiction with female central characters is very much my thing but this was darker than I expected and not just in the gothic style but elements of abuse which I found hard going. I've enjoyed the authors other works but this one wasn't for me. Giving it 3 stars as the writing is good, but I couldn't connect with the story. Lots of other reviewers have loved it, so definitely give it a try.

Absolutely loved this read, although not a gripping read, it kept me wanting to read it, I was so happy when one of the twists happened and completely shocked when the other did, I also liked how the author wrapped everything up nicely at the end so I didn't have any questions

The book is written in three timelines though Iris’s childhood only features fairly briefly. Mostly it’s about Sarah as a child in the 1950s, living with her sister Victoria, and their mother Lady Iris Fane. Their father Henry Fox (the girls have his name Fox, but Iris has reverted to her maiden name of Fane), appears to be totally absent.

Then we have Sarah as an adult in the 1970s, married to Daniel (who is lovely but would annoy me if he was my husband) and their life in a crumbling house in Hampstead. It’s a house they can’t afford and Daniel’s attempts at DIY always end in disaster. After a childhood in a crumbling mansion, I am surprised that Sarah wants to live here, but then I suppose for her it’s normal. Daniel invites his bohemian friends and half the neighbours to drop round all the time and Sarah can’t cope. I’m not sure I would be able to.

Iris is truly awful. The girls have been dragged away from a flat in London to Fane Hall, which is freezing all the time, full of dust and dead flies, and stinks of the fossilised bodily waste of the soldiers who lived there during the war. They never have any clothes or shoes that aren’t too small, or enough food to eat. Iris never feeds them. They have to fend for themselves. They are sent away to a second rate boarding school for the children of parents who want to be rid of them, but it is here that Sarah can realise her talent for the cello. The other girls are truly horrible (apart from Monica) and Sarah’s sister does almost nothing to defend her.

Iris is obsessed with the house being hers and not her Uncle Clive’s and they argue and fight all the time. At times I found the girls’ childhood very hard to read, but then I had a mother who suffered from chronic anxiety and agoraphobia, and never left her room for many years. However, she wasn’t cruel, adored cats, and collected them like other people collect postage stamps, and certainly never hit us. And I had my beloved father and grandmother to feed and clothe us, and keep us warm. It did make me wonder though if Iris had a serious mental illness.

The twist at the end was so unexpected, I gasped. I certainly never saw it coming. This is one of my favourite books of the year, like The Beloved Girls by the same author in 2021.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A book that makes you want to book a flight and take a train to a remote corner of the UK, settle into a cosy armchair and open the pages. Gorgeous writing and sense of place.

“Always look up and you’ll find your way home”
Love Harriet’s immersive style of writing.
Musician Sarah, recently wed to Daniel, moves into a crumbling mansion house in Hampstead.
She is fractured by childhood memories and secrets that are still impacting her today.
It’s a gorgeous multi-generational family saga - it has the heart and soul of a classic with characters so life like, they will stay with you long after you’ve finished the book.
Pure romantic escapism that is engaging and unputdownable.
Thanks @harrietevans @headlinepg & @netgalley for the eARC

I had seen suggestions that this was a book that readers of Kate Morton's books might enjoy so jumped at the chance to read an ARC. I could certainly see why comparisons were being drawn. The story focuses upon three snapshots in time - present day, when Sarah is a grandmother, 60s/70s when she is struggling to cope with life as a new mother, and in the immediate aftermath of the second world war, when as a teenage she is torn from her unhappy life in a London apartment and taken to her mother's ancestral home, to experience an even unhappier time there. We learn as the book progresses how Sarah's upbringing has shaped her and her relationship to her sister, and as the book proceeds learn too how Sarah's mother's upbringing in turn impacted upon her and thus upon her children. Undoubtedly a very clever book, and I did like it's detailed exploration of Sarah's life. At times it felt a little slow to me though, which is why I ultimately gave it 4 stars.

It is the 1970's and Sarah is a happily married Mum with two daughters. Sarah is struggling though. She is struggling with parenthood, doesn't know how to form friendships, and is haunted by her troubled childhood at the hands of a cruel, neglectful, and abusive Mother, while living in a rundown and rotting stately home....

Superb book - great pace

I was invested from the start , it had an ethereal feel to it - it’s a definite to anyones TBR . Full review left on good reads .

Having not read any of Harriet’s previous books I read this with an open mind - it is very different to what I normally read .

A book about two sisters and their relationship with their mother ( who by all accounts is evil )!

Focusing on Sarah , a musician with a very busy lifestyle , living in Hampstead heath with her husband David , life is chaotic and at times fragile but she is happy . A life far away from the one she had when younger , with her mother sister and their family home Fane.

Fane which brings with it the darkest fear and the whispers of secrets that are bursting from the seams of the house . Was the home her mothers obsession or did fane posses her mother?

When Sarah left she thought she would never have to return until now ….

Superb book , utterly breathtaking in parts , good pace of story and although it does go back ward and forward over time we’ll written so not to confuse , I was invested and utterly gripped ! Add to your TBR .

Crumbling country houses, family secrets and their impact echoing down the years. Sarah and Daniel try to negotiate their current lives whilst events from childhood raise their heads. Fane House is like a character itself in this novel and Sarah's mother Iris has a long lasting impact. Beautifully written, Harriet Evans delivers another wonderfully immersive family saga.

Harriet Evans is one of my go to authors, I adore her multi generational family novels and so I was excited to have the opportunity to read The Stargazers.
It’s set during two different twentieth century time periods and begins with Sarah living in 1970s Hampstead and the novel then moves back to her childhood with her mother Iris, in the family home Fane Hall.
This has all the aspects I love about Harriet Evens novels - including the dual timeline and the big family house.
I did find the start of the novel to be fairly slow paced and it took me some time to connect to Sarah’s life in the 1970s. However when the novel moves back to the past it becomes a much more compelling if disturbing read. The author shows how our past trauma impacts on our lives and I was completely drawn in by the authors atmospheric writing and strong characterisation.
Overall , this is another excellent novel by the author. Recommended.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

I absolutely loved this book. Although disturbing in parts, it was both beautiful and melancholy. A slow burn book that shows how childhood traumas can severely impact our future lives and how we go on to behave as parents. Harriet never disappoints.

Sarah and Daniel seem the ideal happy family but both struggle with hidden childhood traumas. Sarah a talented musician has n't played for a long time, her child sees to be a priority but is she a good mother? As she tries to forget her mother Iris and her cruelty and obsession with the family House Fane doubts set in. Until she can revisit Fane and face the life she and her sister had then there is no hope for her. It is hard to believe that a mothers obsession of a house can inflict such cruelty on her children, is she mad? The story takes us back and forth with great detail but at times seems rather long and repetitive, the ending as usual comes with surprises that you may have guessed....an interesting book but rather too long.

Huge thanks to the author and publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC, in exchange for an honest review.. This is an emotional stunner, its heartfelt, richly crafted storytelling. I felt like I was watching this family from afar, stargazing. It’ is a gem.

Spanning 100 years, this is the story of Iris, her daughters, Victoria and Sarah and a house called Fane. Iris' father dies in World War 1 and Iris' World changes because Fane her beloved home passes to her uncle who has been in Canada. Iris never accepts this and her ownership of Fane becomes her overwhelming obsession. Her daughters, Vic and Sarah live in a world of neglect and poverty which their mother hids from the world.
The heartbreaking part of this tale is how everyone chooses not to report the children's neglect. The people in the village including the vicar, the teachers at school all know but xhoose not to tell. I would like to think this would be the case now.
It is a tale of how upbringing affects the child into adulthood and how some thi gs never get put to bed.
Not a read for the beach or holiday but ideally recommend