Book Beginnings + Friday 56: Set the Stars Alight by Amanda Dykes

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading. Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice and asks you to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and share a non-spoilery sentence or two.

This week I'm featuring Set the Stars Alight by Amanda Dykes, a really stellar dual timeline. 

About the Book

Lucy Clairmont's family treasured the magic of the past, and her childhood fascination with stories of the high seas led her to become a marine archaeologist. But when tragedy strikes, it's Dashel, an American forensic astronomer, and his knowledge of the stars that may help her unearth the truth behind the puzzle she's discovered in her family home.

Two hundred years earlier, the seeds of love are sown between a boy and a girl who spend their days playing in a secret sea cave, while the privileged young son of the estate looks on, wishing to join. As the children grow and war leads to unthinkable heartbreak, a story of love, betrayal, sacrifice, and redemption unfolds, held secret by the passage of time.

As Lucy and Dash journey to a mysterious old estate on the East Sussex coast, their search leads them to a community of souls and a long-hidden tale that may hold the answers--and the healing--they so desperately seek.

Book Beginnings

London, England
May 1987

The smell of cinders permanently etched the abandoned Bessette Match Factory into the minds of all who passed.

Friday 56

HMS Avalon
May 17, 1811

Imminent death was a paradox. Each moment lived in sharp relief, then engulfed into a rumbling blur.

What have you been reading lately?