A little heavy on the world building at times, the story of the star and the strange moon was really intriguing to me. I wasn't expecting the horror elements, but I didn't think that it was too much for the story.

Intriguing, original and gripping. A mix of horror and mystery, a story that kept me reading and I thoroughly enjoyed
Well plotted and tightly knitted, fast paced and entertaining.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

“The Star and The Strange Moon” is a very clever, unique book by Constance Sayers.

Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Plot: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Characters: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Suspense: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

“Hell is a rather bureaucratic enterprise, I am afraid” - favourite quote in this book.

Do you love film? Do you like thrillers? What about a demon in the mix of a cursed film and an even more cursed starlet? If you answered yes to all of these then this is a book for you!

A starlet, a boy, a filmmaker and a demon! All in the same story.

Life comes down to choices, but are we aware our choices also have a ripple effect on other people? This book is all about choices… What would have happened if that starlet would have heard her inner voice and had run as fast as she could from a job that damned her for eternity? What would have happened if a film director wasn’t so jealous of his principal actress? Choices, choices, choices….

I loved that chapters were alternating between the parallel (or not) lives of two seemingly unrelated people and could see the different aspects of the story. I love a good dual POV and this one was ecstatic. Also loved that the plot was stretched for several years, about a lifetime for both characters.

I couldn’t put it down, I had to know what happened next especially from the middle of the book to the end, where the story picks pace very quickly and the whole drama unfolds in a different direction from the one I imagined. If you think you can predict the end, think again!

I would definitely recommend it to all lovers of thrillers, films, twisted tales and demons. In my opinion, it is a must-read and I am definitely getting a copy for my bookcase!

My special thanks to NetGalley, Little Brown Book Group UK (publisher) and the author for my early copy. All opinions are mine and sincere.

#TheStarandtheStrangeMoon #NetGalley

A haunting and evocative historical tale that felt at times a bit heavy on the world building. This book was peculiar, and thrilling. There are definitely horror elements and as the mystery unravels, more horror unfolds.

I absolutely loved this book. It had such a gripping story, and it was so unique! I was so eager to uncover the mystery of why she was trapped in this alternate movie world, and was not disappointed.

The only thing I would change is the pace of the book. It feels like it just drags on a bit too long at the beginning, and I was beginning to lose interest, but stuck with it, and I’m glad I did.

Sometimes books beg me to be read. I had not heard about this book before I saw it on Netgalley, but the moment I read the synopsis, I knew I had to have it, one way or another. I was of course insanely happy that Piatkus granted my request for a review copy. I'm, however, especially now that I finished this book, insanely glad that I had also pre-ordered the book and that it will be shipped to me soon. This book belongs on my shelves.

Sometimes it happens. I don't really cry while reading the novel, but the moment I finish, the moment I close the book, the moment the story ends, the tears come. It happened with this book. In a way I was really sad that this book was over, that I had to leave these characters, their world, their magic and their story behind. In a way I also really enjoyed their emotions, the mystery, the magic and the way this story ended.

This story starts relatively slow. We're getting to know the two leads of this story. We meet Gemma when she's finally landing a new film role, we see how she breaks up with her boyfriend, how she dreams about being a script writer and how eventually everything changes. We also meet Christopher, born years and years later. We see how he loses his mother in a gruesome way and how from that day on his entire life revolves around that one picture and that one actress.

Slowly the story becomes more and more sinister. Something magical is taking place and yet we don't exactly know what. We only learn all the secrets of these characters and this story slowly and yet I was never bored. I loved the atmosphere, the characters, all the different plot lines. I of course most of all loved how everything came together quite nicely in the end. I've already ordered the previous two books by this author and I can't wait to read them.

I had no idea what to anticipate because I had never read anything by this author before. In my opinion, this is primarily a mystery story with some romantic and horror aspects. The writing is exquisite. The narrative is presented in two different time periods—the past and the present—in the third person, with Gemma in the former and Christopher in the latter. It's a beautiful tale of coming of age and discovering your place in the world, as well as how obsession can take over a person's life. The characters have been well-written and developed. Although the conclusion wasn't what I had anticipated, I was ecstatic that our protagonists had discovered what they were searching for. The start of the book was slow, but I would say around 30% of the book it did pick up.

This is one of the eeriest books I have ever read, and I enjoyed it immensely.

Christopher Kent is determined to find out what happened to Gemma Turner, a 1960s actress who disappeared while filming a french nouveau movie. It becomes almost an obsession, the seed planted when his unstable mother became even more unwell upon glimpsing a photo of the actress, at a motel that they were staying at, when he was young.

‘The Strange Moon’, the film that Gemma was filming when she vanished, has never been shown publicly - however, every ten years a select few are invited to a secret showing. The film leaves people with a deep melancholia - and if you’re invited again a decade later, you’ll realise that the movie changes, as if somehow the movie is still being filmed and edited, despite its star going missing during its filming and it’s director being long dead. With talk of the film simply being a conspiracy, others claiming it’s haunted, and others saying it seems to come straight from hell itself….what is the truth? And why did his mother react so violently when she saw Gemma’s picture all this years ago? Christopher is determined to find out.

Split between both Gemma and Christopher’s POVs, we watch how the twisted tale takes shape, and the mysteries that arise as the decades pass.

The Star and the Strange Moon is a glittering, horror tinged, tale that fully whisked me away into its complex mysteries, and I throughly enjoyed my time with it. It’s about fame, greed, and a curiosity that just will not let you go, despite how dark the road ahead looks.

I loved trying to piece it all together, and its nods towards classic French films of the time, and early vampire horror vibes with the original film script. It could be a bit slow at times, but it really helped set the scene for when things riled up to an even higher degree, and I found the ending to be extremely well executed.

Highly recommend if you’re after a creepy mystery, that has a streak of darkness, vibrant characters, and a story that will linger on in your head after turning that last page.

Thank you to the publishers, and Netgalley, for the copy to review.

This is the first time I have read a book by constance, and I must say I am impressed. She seamlessly manages to blend elements of horror, thriller, mystery, fantasy, and the paranormal all into one riveting read. The pacing can seem slow to start but this is due to exceptional world building, once you dive further into the mystery surrounding Gemma, the actress who went missing during the filming of what she hoped would be her big movie debut and Christopher, the boys whose mother lost her mind after viewing a photograph of said actress, the pacing really keeps you picked up and becomes an incredible page Turner.

The story is written in dual timeline, so you begin with Christopher and his memories and then move onto Gemma in 1968 during the filming of the movie she vanished from. Sayers can only be described as a maestro for the way she not only manages to seamlessly blend the the multiple different genres I previously mentioned into one book, but also in the way she manages to curate the interwoven secrets and mysteries spanning both the past and present timelines that ultimately culminate in both characters coming together.

Whilst there is romance in this story, it is not the driving factor, and that was actually OK in this book because the plot was fabulous. I haven't ever actually read this concept in any other book, so in that regard it is very unique, however, it did give me strong vibes of the episode from charmed (yes I'm old) where there was the demon who was stealing people into this one particular film that played throughout the cinemas he travelled to. I loved charmed, so I fully loved that little tid bit of nostalgia this gave me. Anyway, I digress, this was a solid read for me, from an author who is now very much on My watch list for more books to read from.

Strongly recommend this story

Oh wow! This is a slow burn epic that was worth the time to connect and then savour. The mystery and fantastical themes werr well set at the beginning and once the characters grabbed me it was a thrill blending obsession, horror, and a love story in one.
The dual timeline with Christopher growing up in America and Gemma's French experiences pushed this supernatural plot along until the tension built to its reveal and climax. The descriptions of place made me want to travel and I loved the authors ability to make filmmaking interesting.

From the start, I loved the author' s writing and thought this would be a solid four star read but the final acts pushed it to five. This book will haunt me and launch me into a book slump.

Constance Sayer’s latest book has a lot of her literary trademarks : time slip narratives; a mystery to solve; magic realism and romance. She places her story in the world of Hollywood and film-making, with two main characters in actress Gemma Turner and young film-maker Chris. Gemma is staying in 1960’s London with her rock star lover Charlie Hicks when she is offered an unexpected film opportunity. Until now Gemma has been making a series of surfing films based in California, but she’s been longing to make something that has more critical acclaim. French director Thierry Valden is part of the nouvelle vague or new wave movement and has offered her the lead role in his next film Le’trange Lune a vampire film set in 19th Century France. He seems open to changes, often working with improvisation so her long held skills as a writer might be needed too. However, when she gets to Thierry’s chateau the mood seems to have changed. She is greeted by Manon Valden, who warns Gemma off her husband immediately which isn’t very welcoming. Thierry doesn’t seem like the man she met before and when she reads the up to date script it still has the same stilted dialogue, despite the potential changes she had sent him. When she finally speaks to Thierry alone, he makes it clear that something has changed. He had envisioned more of a collaboration both on the script and possibly in the bedroom, but Le’trange Lune will be his final film and he can’t afford to take risks. Gemma will have other opportunities for scriptwriting but he won’t. The next day as they’re filming in the nearby town of Amboise, Gemma has a scene where she runs down a darkened and cobbled alleyway, seconds after calling action the camera has suddenly lost Gemma. Has she fallen on the cobbles? Are the dark shadows concealing her? Maybe she’s walked off in a huff. Yet it seems Gemma is genuinely gone and as they look back over the scene on film, frame by frame, she’s disappeared in front of their eyes.

Christopher has had a strange fascination with the actress Gemma Turner since he was a child. Now at film school, his attachment to the actress stands out because she was never one of the greats, students aren’t usually hung up on minor actresses from a handful of surf films. He remembers the day he first saw her, in a hotel where vintage black and white photos of actors are hung next to every door. In a very chaotic and traumatic childhood, this was one of those moments where he and his mum were without a roof over their heads. Chris could sense his mum was edgy and on the verge of a mood change, but as they approached their room and she saw their photo she flew into a rage. She pulled the picture of Gemma Turner off the wall and smashed it, shouting personal insults and expletives. What was her link to the actress? Knowing Chris’s fascination with Gemma, his girlfriend Ivy and fellow student Ivy comes to him with a strange proposition. Every ten years Gemma’s final film Le’trange Lune is shown to a select group of 65 guests at a randomly chosen cinema. Ivy’s father is one of the 65, but for this viewing he has offered Ivy his two place. They must wear a mask and cloak, but most importantly of all they must never approach or try to identify other members, nor can they talk about what they’ve seen. Chris doesn’t know what to make of the film. This is a rather basic or formulaic vampire movie, but there’s something odd about Gemma’s performance. While in some places it’s fairly average, in other scenes there’s an incredible intensity to her acting. It’s almost as if she’s genuinely terrified.

I found the book a little slow at first, but once we reach Gemma’s disappearance I was hooked by this strange story. As we reach Gemma’s timeline in France and Chris has started investigating her disappearance several decades later, the pace really picks up and there are enough strange and impossible happenings for the reader to start wondering what’s coming next. To be honest it felt like anything might happen! I loved the sense of evil created by the film - the strange melancholy that falls over those who see it, something that worsens if you keep going back every ten years. The rumours that the film changes in that decade are intriguing and suggest someone is still behind the lens. Could one of the 65 be playing tricks on the rest? Perhaps not letting on they have extra scenes that Thierry discarded, or that they have found an actress who is the double of Gemma Turner. Is something magical at work here? Despite all the warnings, I did understand Chris’s need to investigate, even when those he interviews start to feel the consequences of talking. This is such a clever concept and the author creates such a sense of mystery with wonderful period detail, especially in the 19th Century when there’s much discussion on the restriction and discomfort of women’s fashion especially in the summer. I also enjoyed 1960’s London where Gemma’s lover Charlie is part of a Fleetwood Mac-esque band where partners are swapped as readily as song lyrics. There’s even an unexpected romance woven within this magical and unexpected series of times and worlds. What I wanted to see more than anything was for Chris to overcome the trauma of his childhood and fulfil his potential, wherever and whenever that might be.

This mix of fantasy, mystery and horror makes for a unique mix and one that I don't currently have within my Library stock.

"The Star and the Strange Moon" is a novel that combines fantasy, horror, historical and mystery elements, written by Constance Sayers.

What a captivating novel! I admit I started the reading expecting something different, but in the end I was still enchanted by the book. "The Star and the Strange Moon" is a dark, intriguing and complex story about ambition, obsession, loss and the love of cinema. A mysterious, seductive, and ambiguous tale that spans multiple timelines, seemingly disconnected from each other, developing incredible connections. A book embellished by extremely evocative, elegant and lyrical prose, accompanied by a slow and placid pace, that takes its time to build each situation. I loved the more horror and fantasy elements of the novel! Gemma and Christopher, the two protagonists with their respective third person povs, won me over. They are two complex, troubled characters, broken in their own way, portrayed exquisitely. The only aspect that did not fully convince me was the romance, in my opinion too rushed, but otherwise I cannot express anything but compliments!

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What stood out to me: the concept, the writing, the clues, the main characters and the ending.

The Stars and the Strange Moon is an amazing book, that is part mystery part horror. It follows an actress, Gemma Turner, who mysteriously vanishes into a film set in 1968 and a boy, Christopher Kent, who investigates her disappearance. I don’t know how someone could come up with this concept but Constance Sayers did and she wrote it perfectly. Although the start (first 40-50%) had a lot of world building it, it was worth it! The pacing got a lot better and the characters grew and became more three dimensional. I would highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book, all thoughts are mine.

DO NOT START THIS UNTIL YOU CLEAR YOUR SCHEDULES AS YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PUT IT DOWN!!!!…
Loved it