Susan’s Review of A Sky Full of Stars by Samantha Chase

WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE

Brilliant astrophysicist Dr. Owen Shaughnessy feels more connected to the cosmos than to people. He’s great with calculations, but when he leads a team of scientists to study a famous meteor shower, he doesn’t factor in his free-spirited artist assistant Brooke Matthews.  

LOVE CAN DAZZLE YOU

Polar opposites in personality, the friction between them threatens to derail the project. But the beauty and mystery of the night sky draw Owen and Brooke together—and she’s going to surprise him in ways the stars never could.  

A Sky Full of Stars is a heartwarming story of one man’s courage to believe in himself and the woman who has faith in him and their relationship. Once again, Samantha Chase has written a novel which has exceeded my expectations.

Samantha Chase’s flawless descriptive writing style draws the reader into Owen and Brooke’s story. In the first chapter of the novel, Dr. Owen Shaughnessy notices that an attractive woman has walked into his lecture about meteor showers. Owen is surprised when the woman approaches him and apologizes for being late to his class. She explains that her uncle, Howard Shields, suggested that she attend the lecture. Dr. Shields enters the lecture hall and introduces Owen to his niece; artist Brooke Matthews. Ms. Chase cleverly provides the connection between Owen’s scientific interest in the meteor showers and Brooke’s desire to view the stars through an artistic lens. The author also uses this scene to give insight into the intelligent, shy character of Owen Shaughnessy and compares it with Brooke’s open, easy going personality.

Owen and Riley Shaughnessy are twins. Ms. Chase does a fabulous job with the conversations between the brothers – it’s brutally honest at times--and their twin connection. Rock star Riley always senses when his quiet, shy brother needs to talk or FaceTime. This is one of my favorite conversations between the brothers. Owen has followed Riley’s advice and is dating Brooke.

‘That’s what I am trying to do here,” Riley snapped. ‘A girl like her…Owen, you’re my brother-my twin brother-and I love you, but Brooke is way out of your league!”

‘Out of my league? He paused. ‘You know, when I did talk to you about her, you did everything you could to encourage me to get to know her! And know that I have—“

Riley sighed. ‘The way you described her and the way she is…..let’s just say I didn’t envision her to be this… this…” ‘This what?” Owen asked, teeth clenched. v ‘She reminds me of those girls in school—all cool attitude with a hint of bitchiness. Do you remember how girls like that used to torment the shit out of you in school? Why—why---would you even want to associate with someone like her?”

‘She’s nothing like that,” Owen replied defensively.

Riley shook his head dismissively. ‘She is going to mess with you and break your heart.”

A Sky Full of Stars is an emotional, passionate journey with an emphasis on the themes of loss and forgiveness. Owen believes that he is socially awkward. I liked that Brooke saw him as shy, not awkward. She recognized that although Owen was brilliant, he needed help managing the details and social activities for an upcoming weekend trip to Nevada. I loved how the author compared Owen’s scientific approach to star gazing with Brooke’s desire to paint the stars.

Samantha Chase continues to explore how the death of Lillian Shaughnessy has affected each member of her family. Lillian understands that Owen is extremely intelligent and supports his desire to learn about science. My favorite scenes in the book were when Owen remembered that his Mom encouraged him to reach for the stars and be the best person he could be. Owen associated the stars with his mother’s love.

Ms. Chase creates one of a kind characters that appeal to me. The attraction between Brooke and Owen was apparent during their first conversation. Samantha Chase includes a superhero thread throughout the novel from Owen and Riley’s childhood which emphasizes the twins’ perceived roles in their family. Owen was Clark Kent to Riley’s Superman. Brooke’s faith in Owen and a superbly written heart-to heart conversation with his father enabled Owen to reconcile his feelings. Brooke’s uncle, Owen’s sister Darcy and Riley play pivotal roles throughout the novel. Readers of the Shaughnessy series will adore the cleverly written surprises are included in the last few chapters of the book.

My favorite part of A Sky Full of Stars? When Owen finally understood that he was Brooke’s superhero! Yay Owen!

If you enjoy authors Kristan Higgins, Donna Alward and Debbie Mason—you will love A SKY FULL OF STARS!

5 Stars!

★★★★★

Reviewed by Susan Gorman

I am so excited to share the new cover of Samantha Chase's A Sky Full of Stars! This review orginally appeared on the blog on July 4, 2017 and it's one of my all time favorite reads! The characters, their opposites attract romance and the symbolism of reaching for the stars makes this story so special!