Reviews

The Star and the Strange Moon by Constance Sayers

murphy_overbooked's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

cyndqls's review against another edition

2.0

Thank you NetGalley and Redhook Books for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Gemma Turner disappears in 1968, but this novel spans decades on decades. Gemma is trapped in the horror film she was on set for and is cursed to run the scenes over and over until the mysterious director is satisfied with the take. Christopher Kent goes to film school in the late 90s and early 2000s, but has spent his entire life obsessed with the actress whose portrait his mother destroyed in the late 80s. His obsession with Gemma Turner has led him to the film L’Etrange Lune, which allegedly no one has been allowed to see, except for a select group of 75 individuals who view it every ten years. The film is particularly strange because each showing contains new footage of Gemma, which should be impossible. 

When I picked this up, I was expecting something similar to Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Silver Nitrate, but apart from the use of film and love of movies, these are quite different reading experiences. This felt like quite a long read, and while I was quite interested in the mystery of it all, I did not particularly like any of the characters and did not gel particularly well with the writing. This is certainly genre-bending, though it spends a lot of time feeling like women’s fiction sprinkled with fantasy and historical fiction. I found a lot of Gemma’s storyline understandable but frustrating and I felt she spent a lot of the time actively not growing, and I thought Christopher toed the line of unbearable for a large swath of time and often found myself agreeing with his friends and family about his unhealthy and alienating obsessive tendencies. I didn’t enjoy Sayers’ prose, though I think a lot of this was also because I didn’t really feel like she trusted me as a reader.

The Star and the Strange Moon felt really messy while reading, and while I think it all pulls together in an interesting way, I found the ultimate end both logical and unsatisfying. Seeing so many people tag this as horror and reading the synopsis definitely gave me expectations of horror elements but it was rather devoid of them. I also hadn’t been anticipating the romance, though again, by the end I felt like it did naturally point to this conclusion. I think there are interesting things happening here and it is genuinely impressive how Sayers made every bit of this book connect to the ending, and I think this will have broad appeal, especially for people who have nostalgia for old movies and find either Gemma or Christopher relatable. This ultimately didn’t work for me, though I think I maybe had the wrong expectations, and while the plot was interesting, I cared little for the rest of the world.

marita_ls's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

4.0

goodeyreads's review against another edition

slow-paced

3.0

Full review to come!

thealylifestyle's review

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

There are no words that can encapsulate how much I loved this book, this story. Wow! I know this book will have my heart for a long time and it will join the ranks of books that I “think about constantly after reading them” 

The author does an incredible job at blending both timelines together so seamlessly, the “world building” in both times is just incredible. I’m so surprised it’s a historical fiction because i feel like it’s more fantasy than anything else. Do not be discouraged by the “horror” rating which I’m also confused about, i guess the movie in the book is horror but it definitely doesn’t make THIS book horror. I’m glad i gave it a chance because i don’t ever read anything that has horror in it. 

The way I was at the edge of my seat the entire time, this was incredible. The suspense, the mystery, the plot twists, everything was blended so well that i never saw it coming in such a good way. 


This would be such an interesting real life movie!! One can only hope ☺️

Please read this book! It is such an incredible story 🧡

chelsss_ann's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

 

From the minute I picked up this book, there were so many questions I wanted answers to! How were the two main characters connected? How the heck did Gemma get stuck in the set? And more! 

I loved the jumping back and forth between timelines. I feel like it was done so smoothly. And I was never disappointed to switch timelines. Instead, I wanted to keep reading just to find out what was going to happen and how everything was going to come together. I also enjoyed the blending of historical fiction with fantasy and horror. This was the first book I had read that mixed all of these genres together, and it was so strange (pun intended) but also so intriguing. 

I was a little surprised at the ending - there were a few things I just didn't expect to be revealed. One in particular I really enjoyed. Though I don't know what that says about me #iykyk 

This may not be a genre (or subgenres) you typically find blended together, but once I got past the world building (which was not as detailed as other fantasies, so don't be intimidated) I literally could not put it down. I was up until 1 AM trying to finish it before I gave in and left the rest for the morning. So yes, I def recommend this, especially as an autumn read! 

**Thanks to BookSparks for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

ashleyyjo12's review

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

fictionaluniverse's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

thenaptimewriter's review against another edition

4.0

(Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.)

The Star & the Strange Moon by Constance Sayers has has such a spooky, interesting premise: a man named Christopher has been drawn to a famous actress who mysteriously disappeared years ago, in the midst of acting a scene on film. In the decades since, the woman has appeared in a revised version of the original film that only a small, secret group of people are invited to—including Christopher, eventually—and no one knows how, or why, etc. This book starts off so strong & compelling—I was so excited about where it was going—& then the ending gets more wobbly for me. But I think the way the author captures Gemma’s 1960s life, her career ambitions & her relationship with a rocker, are so fun & captivating, & I loved the initial unraveling of the mystery. 

4⭐️. Out 11/14.

amorette73's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0