Having really enjoyed The Garnett Girls I was eager to read Georgina Moore's latest book.
There are similarities in style in that there's a group of strong women each going through their own dramas and struggles, and flashbacks to the hedonism of the 60s "free love" and music, all set on Walnut Tree Island, a close community of artisans and hippies that live in river boats surrounding a dilapidated hotel. This island may be past it's heyday of the place to go on the 60s music scene, but to the locals it is paradise, with parties, classes and also secrets that run deep.
Discovering the soul of each islander and becoming invested in the future of the island was my favourite part of this story. I struggled sometimes to feel a connection to some of the characters, but others such as Mary I loved. The sadness, secrets and precarious truths do pull you in and weave a spellbinding narrative.

A beautiful story.Growing up on Walnut tree island was a magical time for Mary where music and love were everything to her but when she is left with a baby by a young musician about to make the big time she makes the heartbreaking decision to stay and raise he daughter and subsequently her Granddaughter Jo. Its a story of two generations of of women who found and lost love on the island but is it to late for Jo when Oliver her first love returns as the new owner. Some fantastic characters,beautiful settings and fantastic writing that will make you feel like you are living the dream and it's also very emotional I loved it

A deeply emotional, moving, romantic and hopeful read. The history between the characters was so compelling and twisty..I particularly enjoyed the friendship between Sophie and Jo, Jo’s relationship with her grandmother Mary, and the exploration of the past. Jo and Oliver were also fantastic. Five stars.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC.

I lived in Twickenham in the 1980s and often looked across to Eel Pie Island and wondered what stories it could tell. The River of Stars has given me some ideas. Although the book is set on the fictional island in the Thames of Walnut Tree Island, I think it may have been based on my old neighbour.
I really enjoyed learning more about the Star women and their connection to the Island. Both octogenarian Mary (who we first meet as a teenager) and her granddaughter Jo were likeable and well portrayed. I cared about them and wanted to know what would happen to them.
I think this is the type of book that would suit most ages of reader. It would appeal to those who like character driven novels, different timelines to provide the needed reveals, with a golden thread of friendship, family and love running through it. I enjoyed it.

4.5 ⭐. I really enjoyed this book. It’s set on the fictional Walnut Tree Island (based on Eel Pie Island) in the Thames, famed for its musical past. It follows the stories of Mary Star and her granddaughter Jo, along with the Greenwood family who own the island and the community around them. It’s set in the present day, intertwined with Mary and Jo’s history from the 1960s to now.

It’s well written and captures the community and spirit of the island perfectly. It was very atmospheric, I could really imagine that I was there living in a houseboat along the Thames. It covers themes of love, loss, abandonment, following your dreams, heartbreak, family and friendship. The characters are complex and make (plenty of!) mistakes. At times I positively disliked some of the characters, finding them completely self obsessed and unnecessarily hurtful towards each other. But in the end the love they have for each other and the Island shines through, and the story comes to a satisfying conclusion.

I would have liked for there to have been a bit more ‘history’ as I felt like I had a few unanswered questions at the end. And a map would have been helpful as I got a bit lost with all the different houseboat names and where they were all located (hoping there is one in the final published copy).

But I whizzed through the book, reading it in a couple of days as I wanted to find out what happened. I would definitely recommend this book and look forward to more by this author.

Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this story in exchange for an honest review (all opinions are my own).

Oh wow! This is a great book! Jo and Mary both stole me heart away! Seriously strong characters and I felt everyone of their emotions. This is a book about island communities and relationships at its best.
I’d throughly recommend this book.

This was an enjoyable read with good characters and a well-structured storyline. Set on an island in the Thames, the story follows the lives of the Star women and their connection with the island and its inhabitants. A community of artists started in the 1960s is very Bohemian, and their lives and are wound up with their music and art.

The characters are well developed, I quickly became engrossed in their story. I think some of the characters could have been more developed, Dave and Gotlibe in particular, but overall they were all very engaging. I certainly got a feel for the community life of the island.

The story was engaging and entertaining, and I really engaged with the characters and their lives. It is worth reading and I will look out for other books by Georgina Moore.

I wasn’t quite sure about this book when I first started reading it but I am so glad that I persevered with it, what an awesome story. Some of the characters were challenging but overall a good read.

Unfortunately I was not able to finish this book. I painstakingly trudged through the first 30% of the book, hoping it would get better but just found that even this far into the book, I didn’t care what happened to the characters. I’m sure this would be someone else’s cup of tea, but it wasn’t mine.

4.5 🌟
As soon as I read the blurb for this book I knew it would be the kind of storyline I love to get sucked in to and it didn't dissapoint!

River of Stars was beautiful.
The description of the Island was so rich in detail that I felt like I was there. I loved the past and present timelines and I particularly loved going back in time through Mary's life.

For older characters, I did find some of them quite childish at times but I suppose even as adults we make lots of mistakes, so I guess you could say they were also relatable?! I'm also a sucker for a second chance romance so I had a little swoon at the end when Oliver bared his soul 😍

I really hope this will be a big hit over the summer months! I'm looking forward to re reading this to dicuss with my friends!

This is a love story about Walnut Tree Island loosely based on Eel Pie Island.. There are stories of unrequited love for Isle residents Maggie and her granddaughter Jo. The imminent arrival of Oliver the young inherited new owner of the island unsettles the residents Jo and Oliver have a past relationship and they circle each other making you wonder if they will eventually reconnect.

A really lovely book, I would just have liked to I see the “past” developed a bit more. Thank you to the writer, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this book.

I so wanted to like this, having heard great things about The Garnett Girls. And the title is just so dreamily romantic.
In this novel, through a dual timeline, the reader is taken to the fictional Walnut Tree Island in the Thames, based on the real Eel Pie Island. In the past, 17-year-old Mary has a passionate relationship with an up-and-coming rock star and becomes pregnant. In the present, Mary is now an old woman and her granddaughter, Jo, is the key driver, an artist riddled with self-doubt and obstinacy.
When the new owner, the dishy Oliver, returns to the island following the death of his father, what will happen to Walnut Tree and its assorted residents?
I thought the setting was fabulous and such a great premise for a novel, but the sum of its parts did not make for a satisfactory read.
I found the main characters self-absorbed, privileged, shallow and selfish, their worlds fuelled by alcohol and hedonism . As protagonists, they had no redeeming features and I didn't care enough about them to be much interested in what was going to happen, although it was obvious at the outset where the story was heading.
I thought some of the peripheral characters and settings, such as Dave and the boatyard, and Golibe and his connection to place, could have been developed more to give the novel more depth and nuance.
Sorry, but this novel was not for me.
Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for an advance review copy of River of Stars.

I was asked by NetGalley to review this really good read.

This is set on a fictional island within the Thames.

The people who live there are arty, boat builders and interesting characters. This encompasses several decades and generations within this interesting community.

A former resident returns and things get difficult with plenty of secrets to tell and life will never be the same in Walnut Tree Island.

A really good read and due for publication July 3rd 2025.

This is the first book that I have read by this author. The setting is Walnut Tree Island, with its community of bohemian artists, music, creativity, and love.
Told mainly by Mary and her granddaughter Jo, in two timelines, present day and the 1960s. When Oliver returns to the island determined to sell it, everything has to change.
Although the island is imaginary, the author’s vivid descriptions of the meandering coastline, with houseboats moored along the riverside and diverse community bring it alive, making you feel you are there.
Character driven, the plot is built on the past with Jo not believing in her own skills and talent as an artist, and Mary wanting the best for her. Jo is a feisty free spirit, and the reunion with Oliver explores the past and how things went wrong.
The characters are intriguing with complex backgrounds, but the plot didn’t seem strong enough for me and lacked pace.

Set on an imagined island in the Thames, amongst a community of artists, misfits and boat builders this is a beautiful and touching novel which I consumed in one sitting. Spanning several decades and several generations this is story about belonging, community, art but most of all about all the different sorts of love and how this less than perfect world can get in the way of them. Atmospheric, wonderfully well written and an absolute joy to read, shall definitely be picking up anything else by this author. Fabulous!

Thank you HQ and NetGalley for this ARC!

This is the first Georgina Moore book that I’ve read and I was pleasantly swept away by this character driven, entertaining and engaging story.

The story revolves around an island with history and the community surrounding it. The story follows 3 generations of Star women and how their lives are intertwined with the 3 generations of Greenwood’s who not only own the Island but also have history and hold secrets impacting both the greenwood’s and the Stars.

The book begins in 1964 where the Star and Greenwood families become inextricably linked through time on Thames Walnut Island and then runs in dual timelines bringing the past and present together.

The past focuses on Mary Star and George Greenwood and the present focuses on Jo Star (Mary’s Granddaughter) and Oliver Greenwood (George’s Grandson). Jo and Oliver spend a summer together long ago and fell in love, but then Oliver l ft the island without saying goodbye, and only to return decades later to find Jo still living on the island and harbouring hate (and love) for Oliver all these years later.

Through Mary’s past and the Islands history, Oliver and Jo begin to reconnect but not without its own trials. The rich characters and the history of the Island bring book to light. It’s emotional, heart warming and brings community spirit.

River of Stars is a beautifully atmospheric and emotionally rich book that draws you into the world of Walnut Tree Island, a fictional sanctuary nestled in the Thames. This is a story that balances intimacy and intrigue, blending complex relationships with a strong sense of place to create a reading experience that feels both immersive and quietly moving.

Georgina Moore has a remarkable talent for crafting settings that feel like characters in their own right. Just as she did in The Garnett Girls, she conjures a world that is easy to sink into. Walnut Tree Island is dreamy and bohemian, filled with artists, dreamers and misfits, where the pace of life is slow and communal. The islanders gather for wine on houseboats and share their lives in ways that are both endearing and fragile.

When a long-absent former resident returns as the new landlord, the close-knit island is disrupted, and old wounds are stirred. For Jo, a reclusive artist, his return forces her to confront a love she believed was long buried. The emotional weight of their shared past unfolds with subtlety and grace, revealing how time changes people, and how some scars never quite heal.

One of the great strengths of this book is how it explores the many forms of family—found, fractured and chosen. Georgina Moore writes relationships with a deft hand, capturing the messiness, warmth and heartbreak of human connection. Her characters feel fully realised, and even those who flit briefly into the story leave an impact.

The prose is elegant and evocative, with moments of quiet beauty that linger. There is a contemplative quality to the storytelling, yet it never drags. Instead, it pulls you along gently, much like the river itself.

River of Stars is a gorgeous, character-driven book filled with secrets, second chances and emotional honesty. It is a story about coming home in more ways than one, about how we rebuild after loss, and about the enduring power of community. I finished it with a deep sense of satisfaction and a yearning to drift away on a houseboat of my own.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

Sadly I was disappointed by this new novel from Moore. Maybe because I loved the garnett girls so much this couldn't live up to it? I just felt no interest in the characters - they seemed like a spoiled bunch and were only interested in their tiny privileged existence. I'm sorry!

Having been intriguing by the description for this Georgina Moore book, a previously unknown author for me, I was excited to be approved for ARC thanks to NetGalley. I am so glad I had the opportunity and wish Georgina well once this book comes to publication as it was a very accomplished compelling read filled with love, hope and compassion.
A community living in houseboats on the Thames Walnut Island finds 3 generations of the Stars family, Mary , Ruby and Jo. Their lives are heading to uncertain times in present day when Oliver Greenwood takes ownership of the island upon the death of his Father
Mary Star had dreams of becoming a singer found herself pregnant at 16 but her boyfriend leaves her alone fortunately George Greenwood steps in and fate interjects. Fast forward to present day Oliver Greenwood being the owner and watch the story reveal itself.
A truly beautiful story which I devoured in a short space of time unable to walk away from it this it fast became a memorable read which I feel will stick with me for sometime.