I think one of the things that drew me to the book was how pretty the cover was. It gave me this relaxes feel. Although I don’t recall reading a book by Rose Alexander didn’t shy me away from it. I did give this book a four star review as I enjoyed it very much.

There are several journeys in this book, a marriage from the past and the other in the present. The stories are woven together. The two ladies in the book are aunt and niece, both harboring inner secrets of the men they actual love, and the men they marry. Sarah has never gotten over someone she met in Portugal many years ago. As time moves on Sarah does marry, but when her life becomes restless, she’s asked if she will go and write a story on Cork. She goes back to Portugal, not sure if she’s going there to relive her youth, or is she seeking out the love she left behind there.

Her Aunt Ines has a diary which is given to Sarah, as she reads the diary, of Ines’s youth, and life in Portugal, in the diary, there are family secrets, and some of them will shed some light on Sarah.
The author has done a great job of describing Portugal to where one feels like they are there or have been there. The story is well written, filled with strong emotions, and the characters are well woven and developed to where the reader can relate to them. The reader is kept engaged in the stories, which I found easy to follow. There was a section I felt that slowed down the book, but I kept with it and before long I was back on track with the story. For being a debut book, I can see the author will have success for many years to come.

Garden of Stars by Rose Alexander was a beautifully poignant, richly-told story of love and loss. This is a beautifully written book about Sarah, a journalist with 2 young children, stuck in a boring marriage.. When the chance comes for her to return to Portugal, home of her younger days and full of excitement and wonderful memories, she takes it. This is the story of her journey, and decisions, interspersed with that of her Great Aunt who went through her own emotional journeys many years earlier, and told by entries in her diary.

In Rose Alexander's Garden of Stars, readers are introduced to Sarah Lacey. As the story begins, Sarah is offered a commission in which she is to travel to Portugal, in order to capture a 5,000 word story surrounding cork, and its journey from tree to bottle. Seeking advice from her Great Aunt Ines who grew up and lived in the area, Sarah is surprised when she is handed an old journal, detailing Ines's early life in Portugal. Unsure as to why she's been given the journal, Sarah takes it with her as she heads back to the place she left so long ago, curious about what lies within. Little does she know, the past is about to rear it's head in the most surprising of ways.

Rose Alexander's descriptions were the first thing that struck me while reading this story. There was so much depth to this tale, and I felt the pages were full of culture not to be missed. It was a real joy to read, to soak it all up and imagine myself in Sarah's shoes. Ines's too!

Things really took an interesting turn when Ines's journal began to be read by Sarah. It was such a glorious step back in time, and learning of Ines's early life in Portugal had a certain dreamy quality to it that rubbed off on me completely. Readers learn of Ines's life after marriage and how things begin to change after time. It was bitter-sweet at times, but struck at my heart in the most moving of ways, leaving me close to tears numerous times. As Sarah continued to dip into Ines's journey throughout the progression of the novel, the similarities between the two women began to become clear to me.

Garden of Stars by Rose Alexander warmed me inside out. The setting of Portugal has never felt so alive to me until now, and the richness of Alexander's writing truly brought the place to life. The characters were wholesome and likeable, and centred around Ines's journal, swinging between the past and the present, I felt incredibly close to this story and the emotions wrapped within it.

I received this ARC from Carina UK and Carina via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this book. It's about life in Portugal in the 1930's; written by the main character's great aunt, the choices she made and the regrets she has. It helps Sarah to understand her aunt more and makes Sarah's choices clearer.