Under the Starry Sky is brilliant and heartwarming story. I warmed to it slowly, but in the end I could not stop listening (the audiobook).

I really like how the story I written and that it kind of follows both Wanda and Annie and how their lives turn up. I like how they both have different reasons and beliefs for why they shouldn’t be friends and what they should be doing but in the end they overcome all those.
I also like the main male characters in this book. They are both not perfect, but kind, gentle and gentlemanly. I wish they would be more men like those in real life.

This was the first book I’ve listened to before I’ve actually read the book. I was a bit doubtful at first, but this book was easy to listen to. At first, I wasn’t too keen on the narrator either but in the end she was and is perfect for this book. I really like how she gave a different voice and a different accent to each character and to all situations.

All in all, this was a great, great book to read and to listen to!

*ARC received from the publisher through Netgalley

3.5 Stars - Rounded up to 4 Stars where necessary

This book was the first audiobook I downloaded from Netgalley and it sounded so charming.

The narrator for this book has done an amazing job. The voices were spot on, and considering the book was written with dual perspectives and only one narrator, they have done an incredible job, making sure you know each character. Also I find it hard to do accents in my head when reading a regular book so listening to it with the welsh accents (among a few others) really brought the characters to life.

I love books where we hear from multiple characters, and the synopsis mentions nothing of this, so I was pleasantly surprised when I found out we hear from both Wanda and Annie.

Wanda was the most infuriating character at times, down to her drama queen tendencies, which to her credit she owns up to.
15 years ago a tragedy happened and it affected her deeply, and understandably she holds a lot of resentment, and I think that adds to her over-dramatising of things, thankfully she is self aware of her dramatics to snap out of it pretty quickly, though sometimes she needs the help of her friends. While she is infuriating, it’s nice to see someone flawed, and not like some other books, where you are reminded every other page how kind or generous a character is.

Annie was a great character, also suffering from the past, and more recent issues with her ex-husband. I really enjoyed her story, and her getting to know Spike and Arthur was a joy to read.

This book was a nice cosy read, great for unwinding in the evening or on a Sunday afternoon. If you want to read this book, then I definitely would recommend the audiobook, the narrator really made the characters come alive in my mind.

This audiobook is set in Wales and I really loved the book and the narrator's pleasant voice and welsh accent. It was a fun and uplifting book, which was a joy to listen to. The story follows 2 women called Wanda and Annie and their journeys in the village of Gobaith. I loved most of the characters of the book and the different scenarios which all came together to form an uplifting adventure. I also loved the campsite setup with the outdoors vibe, as well as the gardening story from Annie and Wanda's travelling adventure. I enjoyed the friendships in the book, the family stories and the romance. It was just overall a lovely, feel good book to listen to while I was doing my gardening and housework. I really loved it and would highly recommend it!

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to listen to this book in exchange for an honest review.

A lovely audiobook about The ups & downs of friendships & relationships. Rebuilding lost friendships while trying to uncover the true you that has been swamped by circumstance & responsibility.
I did find the story a little difficult to get into but I’m pleased I persevered as it was an enjoyable story. Well read by a narrator who got the pace right and a pleasant voice to listen to.
All in all an enjoyable audiobook.

AUDIO BOOK DID NOT DOWNLOAD
Due to issues with the new Netgalley shelf app the book did not download to my phone and has now been archived so I am unable to review the book.

I’m afraid I struggled with this one as it was a really slow pace, where not a lot really happened and the book just dragged. It was totally predictable, the main characters were rather whingey and the few romantic moments with phrases like ‘I feel like I’ve come home’ and ‘she was drunk on him and finally felt complete’ were really cringeworthy. I did enjoy the narrator – she had a nice Welsh accent which was quite pleasant to listen to.

Loved this audio book.
The narrator has a lovely voice that sucks you into listening.
The story is great the way it follows the life’s of a few characters

I greatly enjoyed this book, thank you for giving me a preview copy. The plot was interesting and fast paced and I sympathised with the characters. This is the first novel I have read by this author but I hope it will not be the last!

I received a free audiobook copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley.

DNF'ed at 50%

I just couldn't get into this book at all. I don't think it was the narrator that was the problem, she was a joy to listen to. I just couldn't get into the plot of the characters, so the writing just clearly wasn't for me. Life is too short to carry on listening to an audiobook when you have reached 50% of the way through it and all you can recollect is a character named Wander and a fire.

This was a joy to listen to. It was a lovely, warm uplifting story. It is a book to relax back with and let it envelop you in good feelings!

I wasn't sure about an audio book but as I like listening to the radio thought I'd give it a go whilst getting on with other things, cooking, sewing ... I did, however, find it really long, when I first started it said 11 hours something and I've never taken that long to read the equivalent number of pages so it took a much longer time than expected and think in retrospect I might have got on better with a kindle/book version. The story line was a little flat for me and I felt it lacked depth. There were a few good characters although I felt that Wanda, the main character was a little too self wallowing and I felt maybe that it was more suited to a younger generation than myself. A light listen if you have the time to stay concentrated but not really for me as I kept getting distracted. I did however love the narration, which was reminiscent of Stacey in 'Gavin and Stacey', it was quite soothing overall.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advance readers copy in audiobook form in exchange for an honest review.

I thought that Under a Starry sky was a really sweet, calming story that I just couldn't put down.

Under a Starry Sky is set in the Welsh village of Gobaith and it follows two women: Wanda who has always wanted to travel the world but life keeps conspiring to keep her close to home. When she was younger her father died and she couldn’t go, and now in the present day her mum has an accident and she just can’t leave the family’s campsite business. It also follows Annie in alternating chapters. Annie and Wanda used to be best friends but something terrible happened years ago and they haven’t spoken since. Annie has clearly been through a traumatic relationship and is trying to get her life back together. Now Wanda isn’t going to be travelling and they might just have to face up to the past now they’re living so close to each other.

I was rooting for Annie and Wanda to rebuild their broken friendship. It’s hard to carry the pain of a falling out for so many years when you’re back living close to each other and are going to be bumping into them all the time. I could see each of their points of view and felt equal sympathy for them. None of what happened was either of their faults but family comes first and it just broke them apart.

The romantic storylines in this book were just perfect. I loved getting to know Spike and his son Arthur and seeing how they came into their own as the novel progressed. I wanted Spike to find love again and I could see who would be perfect for him early on and was hoping things would work out.

I also loved the humour in this book, especially the messages left in the campsite’s guest book that were at the start of every chapter. It was lovely to see them change from complaints to praise but I especially loved the message from the naturists who had misread the word naturalists on the website. It made me giggle!

I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook. The narrator Claire Morgan really helped to bring the characters to life, she has such a warm voice and I loved hearing the welsh accent throughout the novel.

Under a Starry Sky is lovely novel that is full of warmth. I loved getting to know all of the characters in the book and seeing how they all rallied round each other when the need arose. It made me want to visit there! This is a gorgeous novel, perfect summer reading! I highly recommend it!

With thanks to netgalley
One summer to change her life...

Wanda Williams has always dreamed of leaving her wellies behind her and travelling the world! Yet every time she comes close to following her heart, life always seems to get in the way.

So, when her mother ends up in hospital and her sister finds out she's pregnant with twins, Wanda knows that only she can save the crumbling campsite at the family farm.

Together with her friends in the village, she sets about sprucing up the site, mowing the fields, replanting the allotment and baking homemade goodies for the campers.

But when a long-lost face from her past turns up, Wanda's world is turned upside-down. And under a starry sky, anything can happen...

An all round good book/audiobook that is perfect for long summer days, that deals with the bonds of friendship.

This is the first Laura Kemp book I have read (listened to), and I have to say it won't be my last. What a great story, Set in Wales, you can picture the area so well. The main characters of Wander, Annie and Lou are all so well written, all stronger than they think with fascinating stories. There are lots of other lovable characters, along with a not so nice ex-husband along the way. A tenderly written story, with lots of twists and turns along the way, tears and happiness and joy. Lovely story. As this was the audio version, I would like to say how good the narrator was, very clear and great voices for the characters, accents very good.

An interesting story, which I would be interested to read the book version. I wasn't too sure about the audiobook version. The narrators voice accent appeared to change throughout the book and at times I was too focused on the sound of their voice than the words that they were saying.

The story focuses on childhood friends but is set primarily when they are much older, focusing around the campsite. The characters are well-developed with a lot of story between them. The narrated audiobook is done well, but the book felt a bit too long due to multiple storylines, and I think it would have been better as a shorter story. The book is sad in places but is a long story.

Having recently read and thoroughly enjoyed this tale in kindle format, I thought I’d enjoy hearing the narration whilst painting the garden fence. Sadly, despite following the instructions to download the book on NetGalley shelf on my iPhone, I was unsuccessful. I would definitely recommend the book, hence the 5 stars for that version.

I wasn't able to listen to this audio book, as I was having wifi issues before I was able to download it to the Netgalley app and now
It's archived . I'm hoping to purchase it on audible with next credit.

A feel-good and uplifting story about second chances. You will laugh and you will cry reading this story about three friends and how their lives were changed by a devastating event, which is told in chapter 1. The rest of the book happens 15 years on.
Being welsh I liked that it was set in small village in Wales and the narrator had a welsh accent. It certainly gave me a taste of ‘home’.