Cover and blurb from Goodreads
Layla Byrnes is exhausted. She’s juggling a demanding job as an anaesthetist, a disintegrating marriage, her young kids, and a needy lover. And most particularly she’s managing her histrionically unstable mother, who repeatedly threatens to kill herself. But this year, it’s different.
When her mother rings just before Christmas, she doesn’t follow the usual script. Instead, she tells Layla that there’s something she needs to tell her about her much-loved father. In response, Layla drops everything to rush to her childhood home on the wild west coast of Tasmania. She’s determined to finally confront her mother – and find out what really happened to her father – and lay some demons to rest.
I feel bad that I didn’t post this review much sooner as I read this book towards the tale end of last year (in my defence, a LOT has happened in the past six months but my apologies, nevertheless).
The Heart Is A Star is such a compelling read and this review definitely deserved my undivided attention. This is a book about grief and growth and a devastating secret. It’s a real gift to write a character like Layla Barnes, who is certainly flawed but somehow very sympathetic, and we are on a journey of discovery with her, while everything seems to be falling apart around her, including her marriage, her job and her affair.
There are some incredible twists and turns in this book, most of which I was not expecting, despite being quite a suspicious reader. It definitely raises the question of whether we know our loved ones as well as we think, and even if we know ourselves as well as we should. It’s brilliantly paced and even though we career towards a shocking reveal, it doesn’t feel at all rushed.
TL;DR: Layla Barnes’ life is falling apart, and is going to fall apart some more, and you won’t be able to look away.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
whelmed.blog 