My enormous thanks to the lovely folk at Harper Collins for allowing me to read Rewrite the Stars by Emma Heatherington through Netgalley. I adored Emma’s The Legacy of Lucy Harte and you’ll find my review of that book here.

Rewrite the Stars was published by Harper Collins in ebook on 6th September 2019 and is also available for pre-order in paperback through the publisher links here.

Rewrite the Stars

From the moment they meet one December day there’s something between Charlotte Taylor and her brother’s best friend, Tom Farley. But Tom’s already taken and Charlie has to let him go…

It’s another five years before their paths cross again only a secret from the past forces Charlie to make a choice. She promises herself she’ll never look back…

The years pass and Charlie moves on with her life but she can never forget Tom. He’s always there whispering ‘What if?’.

Can Charlie leave the life she has built for one last chance with Tom?  Or is the one that got away not really the one at all…?

My Review of Rewrite the Stars

Charlotte’s life is about to be turned upside down.

Oh my word, Rewrite the Stars is a lovely book. It had the same effect on me as slipping into clean bedding, taking off uncomfortable shoes and putting up my feet, or taking the first sip of tea when I’ve been desperate for a cup all day. I found it comforting, uplifting and affecting. I know there will be those who would never dream of picking up Rewrite the Stars, believing it to be too ‘girly’ (or whatever derogatory adjective they might like to apply) for their reading tastes, but they will be so foolish. They will have denied themselves a gorgeous story, smooth and skilled writing and plotting, with characters and themes that feel true and genuine.

I admit that I railed against Charlotte’s actions and choices at times, but I understood her completely through Emma Heatherington’s perfect creation of character. Here is a young woman who strives to find her way in life; exactly as we all do. Charlotte’s first person voice is distinct, making her words feel intimate and allowing the reader to access her innermost thoughts and feelings. She is natural and self-critical so that her fears and desires become those of Emma Heatherington’s readers too. The men in Charlie’s life are all distinctly drawn, making for a cast that feels so vivid and real. Just like Charlotte, I had no idea which of them I had the most genuine feelings for so that I felt her indecision and concerns with her.

As is so often the case for me, what I enjoyed most about Rewrite the Stars, however, was the sensitive exploration of themes. Emma Heatherington seems to understand at an almost primeval level how we need love and affirmation to be able to create our own individual identities. She also conveys flawlessly the human emotions of guilt, love and regret and she convinces the reader that what we may have been in the past may have helped shape who we are today but that it doesn’t need to dominate who we are in the future. I found this message very powerful indeed.

Rewrite the Stars is a brilliant story; very moving, beautifully written and, for me, a completely uplifting read. I thought it was utterly lovely and cannot recommend it highly enough.

About Emma Heatherington

Emma Heatherington has penned more than thirty educational short films, plays and musicals as well as eleven novels, two of which were written under the pseudonym Emma Louise Jordan.

She was ghost-writer to Irish country music legend Philomena Begley and Liverpool born Nathan Carter, whose autobiography Born for the Road was nominated for an Irish Book Award.

Emma’s novel, The Legacy of Lucy Harte, was an eBook bestseller in both the UK and US.

Emma lives in her native Donaghmore, Co Tyrone, with her partner Jim McKee and their children Jordyn, Jade, Dualta, Adam and Sonny James.

For more information you can follow Emma on Twitter @emmalou13 and find her on Facebook.