The Launch

Stardust Beach #1

by Stephanie Taylor

Florida’s Space Coast—1962. People flock south to make the Sunshine State their winter playground, moving to the brand new beach towns and neighborhoods to live their lives in the sun. But the families moving to Stardust Beach near Cape Kennedy aren’t there for canasta and cocktails; the men aren’t going to spend their days on the golf courses, and the women aren’t there for fashion shows and shuffleboard. These couples are young, driven, and there to make history. These are the First Families of NASA’s new space program, and they’re ready to aim for the moon…

Josephine Booker, wife to Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Bill Booker, is hesitant to jump into the spotlight. She doesn’t relish the idea of leaving wholesome Minnesota for flashy Florida, and she doesn’t love the thought that her family will be used as a public prop for NASA as Bill goes through astronaut training. But she loves her husband, and she believes wholeheartedly that he deserves a shot at space, so Jo is going to trade in canning peaches, camping in the woods, and waiting for the snow to fall in favor of pool parties, sunshine, and life at the beach.

She thinks she’s ready. She hopes she’ll fit in. She wants Bill to live his dreams…but will Jo make friends with the other wives of Stardust Beach? Will her children be happy? And will helping Bill achieve his dreams mean that she has to give up her own?

The women of Stardust Beach are strong and resilient, and they all want the same happiness, friendship, and love. As they support their husbands and raise their families in the shadow of Cape Kennedy, they share their love of sisterhood, they support one another through thick and thin, and they honor each other’s unique stories and personalities.

The Stardust Beach series will be eight books long and will have intertwining stories and characters, both sad and hopeful moments, beautiful friendships, romance, and plenty of laughter.


The series launches in August of 2024, and all books will be available in both digital and paperback formats.

Book The Launch—releases August 31, 2024

Book Supernova—releases October 26, 2024

Book The Space Between—releases December 21, 2024

Book Starlight & Dark Nights—releases February 22, 2025

Book Across the Universe—releases April 26, 2025

Book The Light Year—releases June 21, 2025

Book A Galaxy of Comets—releases August 23, 2025

Book The Landing—releases October 25, 2025

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical

218 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 31, 2024

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Miscellaneous/Multiple Authors

Reviews

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

A++++ The best!!! I’m so happy there were 8!!

I just finish all 8 books in Stephanie Taylor’s Stardust Beach series…
Oh-my-gawd!!! They are amazing…there was absolutely no way to slow down and make them last! If I wasn’t reading them I was thinking about them, I literally had dreams about these books.
I have no clue how all of the details of the times, and the things that were mentioned in one book, that came up again later…the characters were
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G
Read them!!!! I promise you will love them!!!!!

[James Mullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The 60’s Come Alive

If you are interested in the Space Program and want a glimpse of its beginnings this creative story is for you. Told mainly from the viewpoint of the wives of some of the first astronauts this fictional work provides a sense of reality. The writer has, obviously, immersed herself in the culture of the 60’s and constantly rings the bell of authenticity. I should know as that is the time I grew up. I was a part of that culture. Putting those facts and events into the narrative and lives of four women who were wives of astronauts is a stroke of genius. It is easy to immerse yourself in the every day lives of these characters and feel the emotions so deftly described by the author. Taylor dresses her characters in the casual dress of the day and walks them around in your imagination like people you want to become familiar old friends. I enthusiastically recommend this book for your reading pleasure.

[Lmv100 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting look at the families of the early space program. Good insight into the role of women at that time as they struggle to raise a family but also find their own passion. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.

[Karen Lowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephanie has "launched" another great series! I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the characters, especially Bill and Jo, as they maneuver through life together. It was nostalgic for me because the wives were about the same age as my own mother, and I was in the 4th grade when President Kennedy was assassinated. We were in awe of the astronauts, and every launch was covered in great detail. I can't wait to see what happens next!

[Emily Seitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this one as a pre-game for TJR’s Atmosphere. Fun idea for an intertwining series. I did feel like this ended super abruptly. I’m not sure how much more of the storyline will be fleshed out in the other books with the focus on other characters, but I’ll keep reading to find out…

[Emily Warren · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little bit boring. Not much happens despite an interesting premise.

[Kari Bleth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can’t wait for book 2!

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though it’s fiction I enjoyed the women’s point of view of life during the 60’s as they supported their husbands while training to become astronauts.
I caught myself saying “oh my gosh that was my mom or my family or we had that for dinner too!”
It centered mostly around one couple and the next book in the series is probably about another couple.

[NJB · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title doesn’t connect to the book other than the launch of a series? Not much happened in the book other than to establish a few characters. Felt more like 1/3 of a book.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I fell in love with the vintage cover and the blurb brought that cover to life. I listened to an audio version which I definitely think helped but, not much happened in this book. More to the point, characters and story lines were established but not one single storyline was brought to a conclusion. I understand this book is the first in a series of eight (I did not realize that) so there needs to be a cliffhanger or two but so many storylines were introduced about so many characters and not a single one was brought to any conclusion. Not only that but, there was no launch. And the series is not called The Launch series, it's called the Stardust Beach series so I honestly have no idea where that name really comes into play. I did enjoy the setting, the era, and hearing the women's points of view. Will I move on and listen to the second book in the series? Right now I'm inclined to say no but I do reserve the right to change my mind.

[Macjest · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of a soap opera look at the space program in the 1960s. Everyone has secrets, everyone's marriages are secretly on the rocks, and there isn't a lot of the space program present. There are a few moments that made it worthwhile to keep reading. At one point the astronauts and their kids go to D.C. to meet the president. It was kind of interesting watching one of the wives step out on her own, even if it was just volunteering at the local hospital. This was a freebie, so I won't continue on with the series.

[Marina · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were so many enjoyable characters and so much potential for all of them to have interesting endings but it just kind of ended with nothing resolved. It’s basically about a family that moves to Florida and nothing happens.
I had so many questions at the end lol

What happened to Margret and her care?
How long did Mr. D live? How did Jo handle it?
Does Bill cheat on his wife with Jeanie?
Is Jude in serious trouble with her drinking?
What is Frankie hiding?
There was no Launch… Does Bill ever go to space?

[Kim Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the time period, getting to know the NASA families, and the bonds of the wives growing closer. I’m typically a standalone or short series type of reader, so I should’ve noted how long this series was before committing to the storyline. It was enjoyable enough for me to finish this first book, but I’m not sure I’ll continue. It was a bit slow moving for my liking, likely due to setting up for an extensive series.

Content info: clean as far as explicit language and no open door intimate scenes

[Michael N. Yotz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Historically inaccurate book where NOTHING happens.

This is the first of a series, and only makes a attempt to get you hooked on the characters. Well, I certainly wasn't hooked.

Perhaps the author needs to read Tom Wolfe's book, "The Right Stuff" or at least watch the movie.

And by the way, the Beatles did not come to America until 1964, a year after the setting of this book. She has her characters buying and playing records that weren't available in the US in 1963.

Lots of characters, and lots of plots; none of which get resolved.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astronaut Wives

Enjoyed this book very much. I liked the subject and the characters were believable. I was an Army wife in the 60's, 70's and 80's so could really relate. I loved the way Jo was evolving and realized she wasn't just a wife and mother, but that she mattered too. The ending with President Kennedy's assassination made me weep just like my 13 year old self did, a lifetime ago. Looking forward to the next in the series.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

Really enjoyed this book, the characters were real, and I could feel the sunshine!

It was also nice to see how the different characters viewed the changes occurring in women's roles. It made me look at things from a different direction, and I appreciate that, especially in a book that was entertaining!

[Susan Bohanon · Rating 4 out of 5]

good storyline, elementary writing

I enjoyed the premise of the book and being entwined with NASA families. I struggled a bit with the elementary writing style with superfluous words and descriptions that didn’t seem to have any purpose. But the character development and plot was enough to keep me intrigued.

[Marta Ratliff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Early years of NASA

The Launch was an easy book to get into. The pilots moving their families to Florida while they studied to become pilots. I read this book not realizing it's a series. Now I need to read the next book. I don't like left being in the dark, lol. Stephanie Taylor left me wanting to read more.

[Mary E · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great look at this slice of Americana when society was on the cusp of its "loss of innocence." This book felt like a setup/foundational story to establish characters for a series. Not much happened. Since my TBR is a mile long, I'm not sure how quickly (or if at all) I'll search out Book 2. If you've read the series, I'd love to hear your opinion on whether it's worth it or not.

[Michelle Parham · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 stars - One of my favorite time periods to read about. As a military spouse myself, I totally understand how Jo feels when she first gets to Florida and how those feelings can evolve overtime. Really liked all the characters and am interested to see how the come to life in the rest of the series.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much happens in this book. It is looking like you need to read all 8 books to really get to the end of this story. It's so slow that I don't know if I would read the next 7 books just to find out what is going to happen.
I did like the premise of the book; 1960s theme of the space age and friendships.

[Debbie Beardsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written book

A very good book! A good look at the difficulties women faced in the early 1960s. The space programs focused on the astronauts and we tend to overlook that they were also men with families.

[Fernanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It talks about the lives of women in the 1960's. The story can be a little slow since it talks about the daily lives of these characters but if you just want to get lost in 1960s .... then this is the book for you.

[Ashley Linville · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every second of this book and can't wait to read the next book in the series. It was a complete novel, but I'm guessing they'll build on the other characters in the next one. I loved being transported to another decade.

[PAMELA WNUK · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love beach reads this is the book for you

Great book. Takes you back to great time on life in America during the early 1960's.

When Kennedy was President and some of the 1950's lifestyle spilling over.

Start of great series.

[Christy Browning · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was very disappointed in this book, but I finished it thinking something would happen. I love a good space-related book, but this is not it. The characters were unengaging and failed to captivate me. I will not likely read any more of the series.

[Carmen Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pleasant easy read

It could have been so much more. It's okay if you are looking for a light easy read that remains shallow and fluffy on the fringe of tackling many important issues.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historical and contemporary, at the same time

Not fluff, fluff. This novel explores not so long ago history, of the US, interspersed with human family and marriage drama. This story touches on the beginnings of out country's loss of innocence.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much I ordered the next three in the series! 1960s historical fiction is one of my favorites; reliving my childhood through novels I read. The space race, and space in general, is also a favorite topic so this was the perfect book for me.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

the launch lacked luster

While I enjoyed the novel for it’s historical context, nothing really happens. A lot of small seeds for conflict are planted but they never grow into anything.