Reviews - Under the Same Stars

614 reviews for:

Under the Same Stars

Libba Bray

4.32 AVERAGE

monica_k's review against another edition

4.5

hopeful inspiring sad

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

jennifermreads's review against another edition

4.5

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Covers and sprayed-edges sell. Well, at the very least, they draw attention. I was wandering the aisles of a store and saw the beautiful oak-tree-rings edges and that matchbook on the cover. It was only then that I saw the words “Libba Bray” and, when I read the blurb and discovered it was set, partially, in my favorite historical fiction era (WWII), it was buy, buy, buy as fast as I could. I did not even leave it languishing in my TBR pile for months on end but read it within two weeks of purchasing.

What a powerful, multi-timeline, multi-viewpoint novel. As I tried to piece together the resolution to the cold case along with Miles and Chloe, I had so many flagged pages. I thought I had it figured out and then *BAM* a twist, a turn, and a surprise. Weaving the story through three time periods provided powerful illustrations of resistance through the ages. There will always be a need to make our world “better” and we need to decide how we are going to affect that change.

For those who may not be ready to read books set during the COVID pandemic, be aware that one of the timelines is 2020. While there is not a lot of detail or discussion of the virus itself, the mentions of lockdown will conjure up recall of a time we’d all like to forget. This timeline’s scene-setting is not heavy handed—just be aware.

In 2025, I am reading off-my-shelf with the intent of keeping the books I love and treasure and passing along the ones that I do not see myself picking up again or thinking fondly of each time I see it on my shelf. For now, <i>Under the Same Stars</i> will remain in my personal library. I am not sure if I will revisit this WWII historical fiction but I am not quite ready to part with my copy where I have a large number of Post-it flags denoting incredible quotes.

Content Warnings

mgwara28's review against another edition

5.0

emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

ryanallen7's review against another edition

4.25

emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

kari_reads's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous emotional hopeful informative slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Holy shit this book was incredible. So good.

asher_schmidt10's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous emotional 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: Complicated

Multiple main characters

clever_girl_31's review against another edition

5.0

dark hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

cbrzykcy's review against another edition

4.0

challenging inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I enjoyed the WWII and the 80s storyline (for the most part - I felt like the 80s storyline ended sort of abruptly) and the interweaving timelines. I felt like it got bogged down at times

ellenrebeca's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

havenrose06's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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