Some things are just written in the stars…

Synopsis

Charlotte James prefers having her head in the stars to having her feet on the ground.

Moving around for her job as an astronomical archivist gives Charlotte plenty of opportunity to avoid putting down roots. When she accepts a post in the idyllic Somerset village of Lower Brambleton to archive an old observatory before its demolition, all that is on her mind is a chance to preserve the treasures of this remarkable place and another summer without having to settle down.

Tristan Ashcombe is managing the development of Observatory Field and as far as he’s concerned, the sooner the observatory is razed to the ground the better. The building holds complicated memories for him and his family, memories he’s ready to put behind him.

But as Charlotte’s work begins to unravel mysteries from a complex past, she realises that there’s more to Tristan and Lower Brambleton than first impressions would suggest. Will Charlotte discover more than she bargained for, will she manage to avoid losing her heart in the process or is her fate already written in the stars?

My review

As an astronomical archivist, Charlotte is used to move from one job to another, from one place to another. Perfect for her, as she isn’t ready to putting down roots anywhere. When an old observatory in Lower Brambleton is set for demolition, she accepts the job during summer of archiving everything before the building goes down. When on a walk around the premises, Charlotte meets Tristan, who is managing the development of the Observatory Field, instead of getting along, they start off on the wrong foot, for more than just one reason. Charlotte slowly learns that Tristan’s life is entwined with the observatory, in a terrible and devastating way. And that it makes sense that Tristan cannot wait to bring the whole building down. However, while working, Charlotte discovers that the past has been keeping secrets, secrets that make her understand not only Tristan even more but also Lower Brambleton itself. And could it be that the more she discovers, the more attached she become, to not only the place, but also to Tristan, no matter how badly they started off?

My knowledge of stars isn’t that great. Yes, I like to watch a beautiful starry night, but please don’t ask me about any constellation, because I know that I wouldn’t be able to find one or point it out.

Yet that doesn’t stop me from dreaming away with the stars…

I am the kind of person that rather likes to stay close to home. Even now that I live on my own, I am not that far away from my parents, and I like the ‘smallness’ of my hometown. Of course I enjoy travelling around the world (well, around Europe, never went further than that 😊) but I am also every time glad to be back home, in the comfort of what I know.

But I also know that not everyone is like me, and that there are people out there that don’t share my same feelings. And that is of course okay, nobody is the same.

In that aspect, I was curious to get to know Charlotte better, I wanted to understand her and I wanted to know why she doesn’t want to stick to just one place.

I was also curious about her job, as I wanted to learn what exactly that entails, as while reading this book, it was the first time I heard this kind of career.

While Charlotte for sure has people looking out for her, while on her ‘quest’ during the summer, I couldn’t shake of the feeling that in a way Charlotte is also a lonely person. And it felt like her inability of setting her roots in one place, was because of she hasn’t found the right people to set roots with. People that make her feel that she belongs, that people are looking after her, and caring about her.

And the moment she arrives at Lower Brambleton, everything just fell into the right place. Now, as readers, we know that someone it will, but still seeing Charlotte develop in the story and perhaps finally feeling at home somewhere, was just amazing.

I liked it how she also had an immediate connection with the observatory itself. It may sound a bit strange, to have a connection with a building, but you will understand it when you are reading this book yourself.

A connection that Charlotte doesn’t have wit Tristan when they first meet. Or on their second meeting, or third…

To say that Tristan is complicated, would be an understatement. Yes, he is grumpy and rude initially, but I could also understand him, as the observatory has been neglected and anything could happen, no matter how much you are looking out.

Yet we also quickly see a gentle side of Tristan, whenever his family is involved. He cares deeply about his family, looks out for them, and wants to protect them from anyone and anything that could possibly hurt them.

Between Charlotte and Tristan there are initially many misunderstandings, and there is a lot of wariness. They both have high walls built around themselves, and especially in Tristan’s case, I couldn’t blame them.

Yet when Charlotte is on a discovery path, and the pair are spending more time together, those walls slowly starts to fall apart, and they start to see each other behind the façade. And them being able to finally see what we have seen from the start, was just amazing.

Charlotte and Tristan are both people that slowly learn to let people back in. That is not easy, and seeing them grow in this book, was a real treat for the readers.

There is also a little bit of mystery, as Charlotte is making several discoveries in this book, involving Tristan’s family too. That only added extra layers to the story, that already captivated me without the extra addition. But of course, more is always better, isn’t it? 😊

Even if the world of astronomy is not something that I know all that well, the world of Charlotte and Tristan for sure was my cup of tea. I loved being on the journey with them, seeing their characters evolve, open and showing their beautiful persona.