Fantastically written story. A heart breaking story about childhood sweet hearts, Dean and Shauna. Shauna moved to the area and becomes friends Pam, Dean and Mark. The story is told two through timelines, Shauna’s initial moving to area and the other a number of years in the future, that end up meeting at the end. I would highly recommend this book. I was in tears at the end.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy for an honest review.

I found this book so moving. How Dean and Shauna’s relationship grows over time. The care they have for one another and how that might not be enough to keep them together. And when that conflict comes, it’s not one big dramatic moment - instead just those familiar circumstances of life and all its responsibilities coming in between them to move them away from one another. And somehow that’s even more heartbreaking.

There’s sadness and hard truths in this novel but also hopefulness and the love and appreciation for community. And it’s not just romantic love, it’s the love between friends, family. I felt like I knew the four friends at the centre of this story by the end.

Fíona is brilliant at writing that human story and I was in tears by the end. An indication of a good story, if you ask me.

Being honest, I almost gave up on this book. It might be because I was reading on an e-reader, but there were some confusing transitions and the style of writing made it hard for me to understand context at times. Having said that, I persevered and I am so so happy that I did. As I got to about halfway, everything started to click and I became so invested in the story that I forgot the world existed for a short while.

There were such exquisitely moving moments that made my heart overflow. And break. So many missed chances and such bittersweet memories as we read Dean and Shauna's story. And Mark was the sweetest, kindest character who showed such compassion and thoughtfulness.

This is a coming of age story but not a predictable nor happy ever after kind of story. It's brutally real and moving and sad. It's reflective and visceral and compelling.

A book that slowly reveals a story which will take a piece of your heart with it as you turn the very last page.

I'm not gonna lie, it took a while for me as an non-native english speaker to get used to the Irish slang and how the book is written. HOWEVER, when I got used to it I realized how beautifully written it is. I came to love the way the author sets up the scenes and describe the environment, and how the two timelines work together. It's a beautiful story about friendship and love, about growing up together, and realizing our parents might not be as invincible as one may have thought... I definitely cried while reading this 🥹

What drove me to the book was the cover and the title, and I'm so happy that it did because I'm extremely grateful to have received this ARC and had the honor of reading it.

A novel set in Ireland in the 1990s and present day. Shauna Ryan is running her family hair salon in the present day. Most of the book takes place during her teenage years in the 1990s with her inseparable friends Pamela, Dean and Mark. We see their home lives, families and feel for them. Shauna and Dean are attracted to each other but do nothing about it for so many years. Finally they get together but will it last. Present day situation suggests not but what happened in the intervening years. A beautifully told story of teenage angst, family responsibilities and how the direction of our lives can change. #netgalley #MayAllYourSkiesBeBlue

This book was so good. A story of 4 friends throughout the years but returning to modern day throughout the chapters. It was fun, sombre, uplifting but also heartbreaking. Shauna and Dean always drawn to one another but never quite getting there. It broke me at the end despite the fact I had an inkling of how it would end. I will definitely be reading more from the author.

I absolutely loved this authors first book , Boys Don’t Cry, unfortunately this book just didn’t work for me.

It’s a slim novel yet it took me numerous attempts to read it. I didn’t really connect with the characters and it was a little too over sentimental for my taste .

I think some readers will enjoy this one but unfortunately I wasn’t one of them.

There is nothing I can pinpoint as a negative it just wasn’t for me.

I write this review through sodden, puffy eyes. Please excuse any typos.

I loved this book, it was cracking. As a teenager in the 90s, in Scotland compared with the Ireland in this novel, I felt completely connected to Shauna, Pam, Mark and Dean. The pop culture just made me melt into the period from then and I could also connect with the modern Shauna and the challenges life gives us in our 30s/40s.

I loved being able to reminisce about my life then, while enjoying their story too. The irish twang really helps to set the location which is something that really excites me about dialect/language in novels.

I ugly cried at this book, it absolutely shook me, not purely the plot, but the writing was sharp, yet absolutely engaging and poetic in its brevity. I know there are readers out there who like books to wreck them and this book is one of them.

I loved Boys Don’t Cry, which I read with The Pigeonhole (now sadly departed), so I leapt at the chance to read this.
I finished at 12.30am, which is too late for a school night and I am heartbroken. This is such a sad book, but it’s also beautiful. It follows a group of teenagers in 1991, and particularly new kid in town, Dean, who sees Shauna at her mum’s hairdressing salon, beginning a love story.
Dean and Shauna are star-crossed lovers. We meet Shauna again in different points in time and see what happens to her and Dean at various points. They both have adult responsibilities and there is a growing sense that all will not end well.
There’s a lot of humour and nostalgia in this book - the salon provides a lot of opportunities to get to know the community and the teenage dating and drinking are brilliantly depicted. However, this book will rip your heart it and stamp all over it. The ending, whilst not unexpected, is devastating. Highly recommended.

I just loved this book from start to finish, it was so full of sadness, but never depressing - it was a real love story, telling of a connection that will last forever. The kind of love that bleeds into every other facet of your life and changes you irreversibly, for good and bad.

It reminded me a lot of Talking at Night by Claire Daverley, it's full of the kind of interactions you only have with people in the small hours when the rest of the world is asleep and you are full of possibilities and melancholy at the same time. There's the same underlying feeling that there isn't going to be the perfect happy ending for the main characters right from the start and that their story may well devastate you as much as it does them. The emotion that Fiona Scarlett pulls out of the reader is immense but never gratuitous, it's real and raw and beautiful.

The theme of friendship is everywhere in this book, how it is everything when you are a teen and how it changes as you grow up but still remains a source of strength and exasperation in equal measure...how would we survive half of what we do without the supporting hands of our friends? Another strong theme is family and the obligations we have to it, how they can determine what our life can and can't be.

It's a wonderful story, told with real heart and grace.

(4.5 stars) Fiona Scarlett's second novel is a tender, dialogue driven story that reads a bit like an Irish kitchen sink drama. I loved the way the plot was constructed. It flicks between a day of appointments in Shauna’s hair salon and flashbacks to teenage memories with her friends in the nineties.

I also loved the characterisation and felt like I really came to know Shauna, Dean, Mark and Pam. Whether they were downing shots in a nightclub or watching a video in Mark's front room, I felt like I was a friend there with them. Even the peripheral characters were drawn well enough to visualise and believe in.

There is a real sense of immediacy to this story which initially left me reeling and at times a bit muddled as to who was who (particularly when new characters are first introduced such as Melody or Tina). It felt a bit like being invited to a private party where you don't know anyone so have to pick up what you can without introductions. Sink or swim. That said, I did get used to this and came to feel it a strength once I became totally immersed in the action and the characters.

I quickly became really invested in Shauna and Dean and wanted things to work out for them both. This is a novel about love, the choices we make, the paths we don't take and the repercussions these decisions have - not just for us but for our family and friends.

I cried at the end of this novel. It was very nearly a five star read and it's a story I'd heartily recommend.

With thanks to Netgalley and Faber & Faber Ltd for granting me the e-ARC for this review.

Achingly beautiful and heartbreaking, it's 4.30 am and I had to stay up to finish this. The writing is so magnificent, Boys don't cry was wonderful as well. Fiona has a talent that can not be denied.
May all your skies be blue tells the story of four childhood friends. Their lives and loves and losses, told from the narrative of Shauna.
I honestly would recommend this and Boys don't cry to anyone.

When I first started reading this I struggled as there were no definitive breaks in between chapters and it moved in decades.

This is the story of Shauna and Dean and their childhood friends Pam, Mark and Natasha. Set in Ireland the early 90’s sees the four of them growing up and dealing with their own relationships and those with their parents.

In the initial chapter I was struggling with them being so “choppy” however, I am so glad I persevered and finished the book. Make sure you’ve got your tissues

This book was just achingly beautiful. It left me sobbing during the final few pages as the story of Shauna and Dean's romance reached its conclusion - it was just perfectly paced and I really did enjoy the past/present look back upon all of the friends' lives. I adored Fiona Scarlett's previous book, Boys Don't Cry, so I was a bit apprehensive about starting this one as it might not live up to the first but I shouldn't have worried at all, it was just so gorgeous and heartbreaking and full of love and devotion. One that will stick with me for a while.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC.

I don't think we take enough time to stop and really thank the universe that some people were both given the skill and then chose to use it to write for us, to us. And this is one such author. Woweee this had me by the throat, heart and soul.
The fleshing out of all the character. But mainly our two main ones was beautiful,delicate and so intricate to the detail I felt like I could be there with them.
Their lives took on too many turns for my poor heart. I needed to know both their stories spanning the years but also I was desperate to know the ending. Please bring me tissues. Please don't break my heart.
Everyone should read this authors books. And this being her 2nd I cannot wait for what comes next. Send them my way. They are like sunshine and moonbeam and everything in between

May all your skies be blue 💙🦋📘 Fiona Scarlett

Set in summer 1991 Dean and Shauna meet for the first time. Their friendship grows quickly but as time passes it becomes something of a deeper connection. As they grow older their conflicting family responsibilities threaten to pull them apart.

I don’t think I’m ever going to read one of these real and raw Irish novels and not absolutely devour them! I’m officially obsessed ♥️ I loved that the story was told in duel perspective timeline, with Shauna narrating her then and now, her memories, heartache and love, loss and regrets.
I did not want this story to end, I didn’t want to leave the friendship of Dean, Shauna, Pam and mark 🥲 Off to read Boys don’t cry 💙

Thank you to NetGalley and Faber and Faber for letting me read this for an honest review

My thanks to Faber & Faber and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘May All Your Skies Be Blue’ written by Fiona Scarlett in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

From the initial description I thought ‘May All Your Skies Be Blue’ sounded a great story that told of the friendship between Dean and Shauna and as I’d not read anything by this author I was keen to get reading. I wasn’t very far into the story when I started getting confused with the characters and the timespan and decided to stop reading for a while. I tried a second time but by then I’d lost interest in what was happening and couldn’t finish the book which is a rare occurrence for me. I’ve no doubt it’s well-written and from other readers’ reviews it’s a going to be a popular novel but I’m afraid I struggled to get involved in the story and can only apologise for not appreciating this author’s hard work. This is purely my own opinion and I recommend other readers give it a try and make up their own minds.

'May All Your Skies Be Blue' is the first time I read any work by Fíona Scarlett and I very much enjoyed her beautiful writing and fascinating narrative!
The novel tells the story of Shauna and her close group of friends growing up in the northside of Dublin in the 1990's intertwined with events in the present time. This is effectively done in a dual timeline, partly Shauna telling about her coming of age events over the years which is alternating with the course of one day in her Hair Salon. It is a story of family, love, adolescence, friendship, opportunities and regret. Shauna and Dean are great friends but when they grow closer they have to deal with outside events which keep them apart.
This novel is an emotional rollercoaster and will definitely be one of the books to watch out for in 2025.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Faber and Faber for the eARC.

I like a book set in Ireland, so was glad to read this. I did have difficulty with getting into the book though, told in a conversational style, I had no trouble with, nor with the different time periods, but it wasn't easy to get to the plot. Now that I have finshed, I can step beack and see the bigger picture, the relationship between Shauna and Dean, but it was less evident when reading the book. The Irish way of talking, Shauna's emotions regarding Dean and her mother are well portrayed. There are a lot of characters to keep track of which added to the confusion.
Not bad, but missed the mark for me. Thanks to Net Galley for the ARc

Fiona Scarlett writes like a streetwise Sally Rooney.
Set in a suburb of northern Belfast the innocence of youth gives way to the realities of adulthood. This is a love story told without the schmaltz where the characters are knocked about by life's challenges.
The clever formatting of the backward and forward narrative reveals the paths that their lives have taken using the memories of hairdresser Shauna, as she attends to her long term clients in a suburb where everyone knows each other's business.
My thanks to Faber and Netgalley for an advance review copy.