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Swearing Off Stars
Amelia Cole―Lia for short―is one of the first women studying abroad at Oxford University in the 1920s. Finally free from her overbearing Brooklyn parents, she finds a welcome sense of independence in British college life. Lia quickly falls for Scarlett Daniels, an aspiring actress and hardheaded protester. Scarlett introduces her to an exciting gender-equality movement with high stakes. But when their secret love clashes with political uprising, their relationship is one of the casualties.
Years later, Lia’s only memories of Scarlett are obscured by the glossy billboards she sees advertising the actress’s new films. But when a mysterious letter surfaces, she is immediately thrown back into their unsettled romance. Lia’s travels span oceans and continents in her search for Scarlett. Spread across time and place, their story is one of desire, adventure, and ultimately, devotion. Lia will stop at nothing to win Scarlett back, but she soon realizes that uncovering lost love might not be attainable after all.
Years later, Lia’s only memories of Scarlett are obscured by the glossy billboards she sees advertising the actress’s new films. But when a mysterious letter surfaces, she is immediately thrown back into their unsettled romance. Lia’s travels span oceans and continents in her search for Scarlett. Spread across time and place, their story is one of desire, adventure, and ultimately, devotion. Lia will stop at nothing to win Scarlett back, but she soon realizes that uncovering lost love might not be attainable after all.
280 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 3, 2017
28 people are currently reading
1134 people want to read
About the author
Danielle M. Wong
5 books166 followersDanielle M. Wong is a travel-obsessed author of psychological thrillers. She pens the type of stories that keep her up at night, featuring gripping scenes, complex characters, and twist-filled plots. She has been published to critical acclaim, earning Independent Press, Reader’s Favorite, and International Book Awards, among others. Danielle’s writing has been featured in Harper’s Bazaar, HuffPost, PopSugar, and Writer’s Digest. She is currently working on her next novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
November 29, 2017
"Swearing Off Stars" is about a sapphic love story that takes place between 1919 and 1950. Unfortunately, it's not a super happy read where we get the benefit of a romance that has the couple getting together in 1919 and staying together. No, this is one where the love endures despite the couple having reasons to be apart.
This review may have partial spoilers but, for readers of lesbian fiction, I want to spell out what the read entails since lesbian fiction has a tragic history.
The vibe of the read definitely took me into the past. I can't speak for the accuracy of terms and lingo used but nonetheless it still achieved the spirit of the time for me.
In the first 100 pages we get the initial romance between Scarlett and Lia when they meet at Oxford in 1919 as young women in their late teens. I found both protagonists to be distinct and likable and enjoyed their coming together. We get them parting for some time and then then the last 75 pages we get to see them reunite as 49 years olds. In that respect, it's interesting because we get a romance of young women which is fairly common to see in the romance genre but then get to see them fall in love again as a middle aged couple which is more rare.
I found the book itself to be well-written and it's an interesting story. I see some critiques that it's all tell instead of show but I didn't find that to be the case. The supporting cast, which is mainly male, added some good feels to the narrative, as well.
The overall feel to the book is one that is bittersweet. A thread of melancholy stayed with the read and the ending left me wanting and is what makes me knock off a star. As I mentioned earlier, lesbian fiction prior to the last decade or so is wrought with tragic endings so it's disappointing to find another in 2017. I get the feeling that the author may have been going for a love story that spans a full cycle with a beginning and an end without the intention of sticking it to the reader. Rather I think the point was to highlight true love and it's powerful endurance. But, just when we think we'll get the happy ending, it's not all happy.
For a similar feel to this book's ending, think of the film "Terms of Endearment" or the finale of "Xena: Warrior Princess". Yeah, get out your tissues.
So, if you're interested in a historical sapphic romance that is bittersweet, yes I recommend the book. If you want an all happy, feel good read then look elsewhere.
This review may have partial spoilers but, for readers of lesbian fiction, I want to spell out what the read entails since lesbian fiction has a tragic history.
The vibe of the read definitely took me into the past. I can't speak for the accuracy of terms and lingo used but nonetheless it still achieved the spirit of the time for me.
In the first 100 pages we get the initial romance between Scarlett and Lia when they meet at Oxford in 1919 as young women in their late teens. I found both protagonists to be distinct and likable and enjoyed their coming together. We get them parting for some time and then then the last 75 pages we get to see them reunite as 49 years olds. In that respect, it's interesting because we get a romance of young women which is fairly common to see in the romance genre but then get to see them fall in love again as a middle aged couple which is more rare.
I found the book itself to be well-written and it's an interesting story. I see some critiques that it's all tell instead of show but I didn't find that to be the case. The supporting cast, which is mainly male, added some good feels to the narrative, as well.
The overall feel to the book is one that is bittersweet. A thread of melancholy stayed with the read and the ending left me wanting and is what makes me knock off a star. As I mentioned earlier, lesbian fiction prior to the last decade or so is wrought with tragic endings so it's disappointing to find another in 2017. I get the feeling that the author may have been going for a love story that spans a full cycle with a beginning and an end without the intention of sticking it to the reader. Rather I think the point was to highlight true love and it's powerful endurance. But, just when we think we'll get the happy ending, it's not all happy.
For a similar feel to this book's ending, think of the film "Terms of Endearment" or the finale of "Xena: Warrior Princess". Yeah, get out your tissues.
So, if you're interested in a historical sapphic romance that is bittersweet, yes I recommend the book. If you want an all happy, feel good read then look elsewhere.
October 18, 2017
Basic summary: Two women—Lia and Scarlett-- meet at Oxford University after World War I and fall in love. They eventually part ways because lesbianism wasn’t really an approved way to live life. Lia moves back to America and becomes a workaholic journalist; Scarlett goes on to become a closeted movie star. Throughout their lives, they come together and fall away; theirs is, at its heart, a “the love that got away until it was almost too late” story. Now: do yourself a favor and, having read this synopsis, don’t bother reading the book. While it’s heartbreaking to think of the countless men and women who had to deny their basic selves and forego lives with the people they loved most, you won’t be honoring their struggles by ingesting this book.
“Show, don’t tell,” the writing gurus advise us. And great, that’s good solid advice. Except I am not ever really sure what that means…until I encounter a book that breaks this cardinal rule. And then I think…Yes. I get it now. Dear readers: this is that book.
To say that this book is poorly-written is to be kind. While I won’t belabor the point overly much through snark, since I don’t make it a life goal to be a big jerk, I will provide the following points:
-This book is the epitome of telling. I have never felt more like a passive audience, being informed of something. It reads like a person’s personal oral history, or recollections, without any editing.
-The pacing is terribly, terribly erratic. A good third of the book focuses on one term at Oxford; the rest of the book jumps ahead two years, then ten years, then twenty, and basically sums up the rest of the main character’s life.
-The character development is shallow, at best. More often, it’s inconsistent and unengaging. At first, the main character Lia professes to love and respect her smothering parents; yet practically as soon as she returns stateside, she begins fighting with her mother and becomes almost estranged from her parents, to the point where she doesn’t even inform them when she is graduating. Some characters, like the people Lia was lodging with in Cambridge, are explored to a certain extent, and then abandoned. We never get a good feel for the secondary characters, like Becks and Will and Robbie; in particular, Will is scarcely, if ever, mentioned after Lia returns from Oxford, yet, towards the end of the book, Lia mentions how “for the first time in a while, I missed Will.” He had been gone from the story for so long that for a moment I was like, “Wait, who?”
-Scene transitions are abrupt and leave you wondering if you accidentally skipped a few pages. (You didn’t). Other topics are introduced out of nowhere, like, when Scarlett and Lia are arguing, when all of a sudden, Scarlett announces, “I went to see so-and-so. He was lobotomized.” Swell.
-The storyline is riddled with gaps and holes. On page 110, Lia says, all casual-like, “since starting my job at the campus library” and I thought, “WHAT job? When did this happen? You’re referencing this like it’s something you mentioned prior, but you didn’t. This is the first we’ve heard of it!” Then later, when she talks about how she and her partner Becks are growing apart, it’s because her job is her true love. Except we don’t even know what her job is. We don’t until later in the story.
-There’s at least one coincidence that is simply too much to bear belief. Lia goes to China to find Scarlett, who is there filming; whilst exploring, she sits down at a hot-pot restaurant and is served by the owner, who turns out to be Scarlett’s father.
While I commend the writer for striking out and publishing a novel, because that’s never an easy feat, I will say that it could benefit from much more meat, as well as extensive editing. In its current form, this book had no business being published or reviewed by a professional journal.
“Show, don’t tell,” the writing gurus advise us. And great, that’s good solid advice. Except I am not ever really sure what that means…until I encounter a book that breaks this cardinal rule. And then I think…Yes. I get it now. Dear readers: this is that book.
To say that this book is poorly-written is to be kind. While I won’t belabor the point overly much through snark, since I don’t make it a life goal to be a big jerk, I will provide the following points:
-This book is the epitome of telling. I have never felt more like a passive audience, being informed of something. It reads like a person’s personal oral history, or recollections, without any editing.
-The pacing is terribly, terribly erratic. A good third of the book focuses on one term at Oxford; the rest of the book jumps ahead two years, then ten years, then twenty, and basically sums up the rest of the main character’s life.
-The character development is shallow, at best. More often, it’s inconsistent and unengaging. At first, the main character Lia professes to love and respect her smothering parents; yet practically as soon as she returns stateside, she begins fighting with her mother and becomes almost estranged from her parents, to the point where she doesn’t even inform them when she is graduating. Some characters, like the people Lia was lodging with in Cambridge, are explored to a certain extent, and then abandoned. We never get a good feel for the secondary characters, like Becks and Will and Robbie; in particular, Will is scarcely, if ever, mentioned after Lia returns from Oxford, yet, towards the end of the book, Lia mentions how “for the first time in a while, I missed Will.” He had been gone from the story for so long that for a moment I was like, “Wait, who?”
-Scene transitions are abrupt and leave you wondering if you accidentally skipped a few pages. (You didn’t). Other topics are introduced out of nowhere, like, when Scarlett and Lia are arguing, when all of a sudden, Scarlett announces, “I went to see so-and-so. He was lobotomized.” Swell.
-The storyline is riddled with gaps and holes. On page 110, Lia says, all casual-like, “since starting my job at the campus library” and I thought, “WHAT job? When did this happen? You’re referencing this like it’s something you mentioned prior, but you didn’t. This is the first we’ve heard of it!” Then later, when she talks about how she and her partner Becks are growing apart, it’s because her job is her true love. Except we don’t even know what her job is. We don’t until later in the story.
-There’s at least one coincidence that is simply too much to bear belief. Lia goes to China to find Scarlett, who is there filming; whilst exploring, she sits down at a hot-pot restaurant and is served by the owner, who turns out to be Scarlett’s father.
While I commend the writer for striking out and publishing a novel, because that’s never an easy feat, I will say that it could benefit from much more meat, as well as extensive editing. In its current form, this book had no business being published or reviewed by a professional journal.
December 14, 2017
DNF - 60%
It begins solid
Author Danielle Wong begins by setting up a wonderful story in the 1920s of a young woman attending university. Now at this time in history women could attend university but not receive actual degrees or formally recognized education. An awkward time for women. Made more awkward for our lead lady as she discovers she's a lesbian and falls in love.
This is a dangerous time for gays and only gets more dangerous as WWII approaches and Hitler's persecution of anyone not like him is brewing.
Wong takes us through the 20s, and the 30s with our leading lady in a way that shows these challenges for lesbians of the time.
And then it goes all wrong
But then, suddenly, at about 55% of the way through the book, we go from 1939 to 1955 (in America). And the only comment made back to the war is that our lead gal worked as a nurse after work for a few years, and her male childhood friend enlisted and was injured (but survived) battle. At first all I could think was WHAT?!?! Then as I read on I realized that was really all that was going to be said about the war.
What could have been
Now if I was going to write a book about lesbians trying to emerge into a world where they are not accepted; and started this story in the roaring 20s, I would be sure to have written about the most significant event of the 1900s and used it to delve deeper into the psyche of the lady's POV. But instead Wong made a unforgivable mistake. And one that had me putting the book down in disgust. She skipped over a section of history because it's a messy, difficult and all around nasty time period.
This is a showing of a weak story teller. While Wong's prose is acceptable for publication and her characters well formed; the inability to even give us one or two chapters set in the 40s tells me that she assumes her readers will go along with it. As though we all don't know what happened.
Cheap tactics
It's an unforgivable error, in my mind, to back your way out of a messy situation. Not unlike authors who create time warps, miracle healing or other cheap ways to avoid something they aren't sure how to handle (but still need to have happened). It's even worse in historical fiction as it's not like the basis of the story doesn't exist. You don't even have to creative enough to think up an awful war and dictator invading countries. Because it ACTUALLY happened.
What could have been
There are so many places this could have gone to involve our gal in the war from her standpoint on American soil. I can imagine her thoughts on prejudice as it pertained to what was happening around her. Maybe some fear from her that someone would find out she was a lesbian during that time and how that would have been more awful than during the 20s. We have Hitler sending (at the very least) any gay man to concentration camps alongside the Jews, armbands to mark their sexual orientation publicly and more. Our leading gal, hearing this unfold (even from a far) must have had thoughts, fears and emotions right?
There are just so many things that could have been written into this story to at least pay some sort of nod to WWII and its influence on the world as a whole. Hitler's reign influenced future discrimination and thoughts profoundly and possibly shaped the course of some of the acceptance in the world that came after.
Final thoughts
I read a lot of historical fiction, and truth in the main events is very important to me (altered small details are fine). So skipping an entire decade or more would be nearly inexcusable to start with. Never mind skipping the imperative, relevant and world changing decade that was the 40s.
So I am giving up on reading this. Nothing, no matter how good the end is, will convince me it's okay to skip WWII in a historical story. Our history happened whether we like it or not and ignoring it or brushing it off is an insult to those who lived (and died) during that time period.
To read this and more of my reviews visit my blog at Epic Reading
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
It begins solid
Author Danielle Wong begins by setting up a wonderful story in the 1920s of a young woman attending university. Now at this time in history women could attend university but not receive actual degrees or formally recognized education. An awkward time for women. Made more awkward for our lead lady as she discovers she's a lesbian and falls in love.
This is a dangerous time for gays and only gets more dangerous as WWII approaches and Hitler's persecution of anyone not like him is brewing.
Wong takes us through the 20s, and the 30s with our leading lady in a way that shows these challenges for lesbians of the time.
And then it goes all wrong
But then, suddenly, at about 55% of the way through the book, we go from 1939 to 1955 (in America). And the only comment made back to the war is that our lead gal worked as a nurse after work for a few years, and her male childhood friend enlisted and was injured (but survived) battle. At first all I could think was WHAT?!?! Then as I read on I realized that was really all that was going to be said about the war.
What could have been
Now if I was going to write a book about lesbians trying to emerge into a world where they are not accepted; and started this story in the roaring 20s, I would be sure to have written about the most significant event of the 1900s and used it to delve deeper into the psyche of the lady's POV. But instead Wong made a unforgivable mistake. And one that had me putting the book down in disgust. She skipped over a section of history because it's a messy, difficult and all around nasty time period.
This is a showing of a weak story teller. While Wong's prose is acceptable for publication and her characters well formed; the inability to even give us one or two chapters set in the 40s tells me that she assumes her readers will go along with it. As though we all don't know what happened.
Cheap tactics
It's an unforgivable error, in my mind, to back your way out of a messy situation. Not unlike authors who create time warps, miracle healing or other cheap ways to avoid something they aren't sure how to handle (but still need to have happened). It's even worse in historical fiction as it's not like the basis of the story doesn't exist. You don't even have to creative enough to think up an awful war and dictator invading countries. Because it ACTUALLY happened.
What could have been
There are so many places this could have gone to involve our gal in the war from her standpoint on American soil. I can imagine her thoughts on prejudice as it pertained to what was happening around her. Maybe some fear from her that someone would find out she was a lesbian during that time and how that would have been more awful than during the 20s. We have Hitler sending (at the very least) any gay man to concentration camps alongside the Jews, armbands to mark their sexual orientation publicly and more. Our leading gal, hearing this unfold (even from a far) must have had thoughts, fears and emotions right?
There are just so many things that could have been written into this story to at least pay some sort of nod to WWII and its influence on the world as a whole. Hitler's reign influenced future discrimination and thoughts profoundly and possibly shaped the course of some of the acceptance in the world that came after.
Final thoughts
I read a lot of historical fiction, and truth in the main events is very important to me (altered small details are fine). So skipping an entire decade or more would be nearly inexcusable to start with. Never mind skipping the imperative, relevant and world changing decade that was the 40s.
So I am giving up on reading this. Nothing, no matter how good the end is, will convince me it's okay to skip WWII in a historical story. Our history happened whether we like it or not and ignoring it or brushing it off is an insult to those who lived (and died) during that time period.
To read this and more of my reviews visit my blog at Epic Reading
Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.
September 11, 2017
*SPOILER AHEAD*
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review!
Swearing Off Stars was the love story of two girls, Amelia and Scarlett.
The novel made me laugh, cry, grin like a fool and fall in love. In short, it did everything an awesome novel is supposed to do.
I loved that Amelia was so insistent about making it work out and hated that Scarlett didn't even have the guts to try!
The author's writing style and descriptions were just beautiful. I had a lot of fun reading this book!
The only negative thing about this book was it's ending. I'm not the kind of reader who always wants a happy ending, but I feel that Lia and Scarlett DESERVED a happy ending. They'd gone through so much and finally united and then bam! Everything's just gone! :(
I wish the ending had been different, but other than that, I absolutely loved Swearing Off Stars!
Thanks to NetGalley for giving me an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review!
Swearing Off Stars was the love story of two girls, Amelia and Scarlett.
The novel made me laugh, cry, grin like a fool and fall in love. In short, it did everything an awesome novel is supposed to do.
I loved that Amelia was so insistent about making it work out and hated that Scarlett didn't even have the guts to try!
The author's writing style and descriptions were just beautiful. I had a lot of fun reading this book!
The only negative thing about this book was it's ending. I'm not the kind of reader who always wants a happy ending, but I feel that Lia and Scarlett DESERVED a happy ending. They'd gone through so much and finally united and then bam! Everything's just gone! :(
I wish the ending had been different, but other than that, I absolutely loved Swearing Off Stars!
October 13, 2017
I received a copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was quite different from what I was expecting. I thought it would be similar to the historical fiction of Sarah Waters or Emma Donoghue, but this focused more on the romance than the history.
The story had good moments and was fun in a melodramatic way, but it was way too rushed. Whenever I was about to connect with what the characters were going through, all of a sudden we'd jump years ahead in time. I think I get what the author was going for, but it just didn't quite work. The narrator's thoughts didn't seem to change much even though we went through several decades, and I didn't get the feeling that she had aged or matured at all over the years. That lack of growth just made the jumps in time even more surreal and artificial.
All in all it was a little frustrating - it felt like there was a really good story in there somewhere, but the execution just let it down. I might give the author's books a go again some time in the future if they write more LGBTQ+ historical fiction because it's possible that this book was more of a practice run.
(Can you tell that I really wanted to like it? I just got really excited over 1920s lesbians and wanted the story to live up to its potential, dammit.)
This was quite different from what I was expecting. I thought it would be similar to the historical fiction of Sarah Waters or Emma Donoghue, but this focused more on the romance than the history.
The story had good moments and was fun in a melodramatic way, but it was way too rushed. Whenever I was about to connect with what the characters were going through, all of a sudden we'd jump years ahead in time. I think I get what the author was going for, but it just didn't quite work. The narrator's thoughts didn't seem to change much even though we went through several decades, and I didn't get the feeling that she had aged or matured at all over the years. That lack of growth just made the jumps in time even more surreal and artificial.
All in all it was a little frustrating - it felt like there was a really good story in there somewhere, but the execution just let it down. I might give the author's books a go again some time in the future if they write more LGBTQ+ historical fiction because it's possible that this book was more of a practice run.
(Can you tell that I really wanted to like it? I just got really excited over 1920s lesbians and wanted the story to live up to its potential, dammit.)
April 18, 2018
I won a copy of this book from Cindy Roesel's blog giveaway. I feel like it could have been a good story but I just couldn't get into it.
June 1, 2019
The story begins in 1919. Lia studies at Oxford University away from her overbearing American parents. She meets and discovers her love for Scarlett, a beautiful women’s right activist and aspiring actress. Scarlett lives in fear of their relationship being discovered because she wants to be a star. They agree to keep their love secret. The relationship falls apart until years later they are drawn together again.
Danielle Wong takes us into the hearts and minds of the characters and we see how they change overtime. The overall theme is feminism and gender equality. Nice historical details. If you like historical fiction and romance, you will enjoy this book.
Danielle Wong takes us into the hearts and minds of the characters and we see how they change overtime. The overall theme is feminism and gender equality. Nice historical details. If you like historical fiction and romance, you will enjoy this book.
September 6, 2017
I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Swearing Off Stars is about a young American named Amelia, called Lia, in England to attend a semester of university in the 1920s. There she meets Scarlet, a beautiful aspiring actress and activist, who is part of a group pushing to allow women to actually matriculate and earn degrees. Lia joins the group, finding purpose in the gender equality group and finding love with Scarlet. However, Scarlet lives in fear of their homophobic society and of their relationship being discovered. Their relationship falters and Lia moves back to America, attempting to move on from Scarlet until she finds a letter in her father's study many years later that inspires her to seek Scarlet out and perhaps rekindle their love affair.
I wish there was more to the plot, but unfortunately that's pretty much it. Probably my biggest criticism is that Swearing Off Stars is too short. Far too short. I wanted to invest in these characters and once I realized that the book spanned decades I wanted to know far more than the story offered. Thirty years passes between the beginning of the story and the end, yet the characters seem to grow more flat and dull as the story progresses rather than richer and more vibrant. We learn the most about Scarlet and Lia as college students, but the years between their meetings are summed up in a few quick paragraphs. That was intensely frustrating for me as Danielle Wong is clearly not without talent but there just wasn't enough of the story to elevate it.
There's not much differentiating the narration of Scarlett and Lia, despite Lia being an American and Scarlett being British; both their internal and external voices sound alike. As the years wore on, I wanted their voices to become more distinct. Scarlet lived the life of a movie star and Lia was a journalist and, during WWII, a military medic. Their adult voices should have felt very distinct and distant from when they were naive university students. Scarlet's surprisingly short perspective chapters almost seem as if they're there to remind you that the their love is mutual. I'm not sure whether that works entirely.
One thing I liked quite a bit, but like everything else suffered from lack of development, was Lia's relationship with her boyfriend-turned-best-friend. He goes from being in love with her to a lifelong best friend that deeply cares for her and their relationship is sweet and steady.
As it is now, homophobia was a spectre hanging over the lives of the queer characters in the story. However, I found the characters' conitnued behaviour frustrating. Queer people have always existed and found ways to exist, yet Scarlet was unable to even attempt it. Back in New York, Lia maintains a long term relationship with another woman, even living with her. Scarlet's reticence felt less related to the sword of homophobic Damocles than to her own issues, but this was not fleshed out at all. It stood out for me because Lia and Scarlet seemed to live lives completely separate from any sort of queer community or connection as well as being met with acceptance from almost all who find out about their lesbianism.
Ultimately, I enjoyed Swearing Off Stars as queer historical novels aren't nearly as popular as contemporary ones and because Danielle Wong clearly has talent, but it was just too short, lacking the depth of character that I need to get really connected to a story.
Swearing Off Stars is about a young American named Amelia, called Lia, in England to attend a semester of university in the 1920s. There she meets Scarlet, a beautiful aspiring actress and activist, who is part of a group pushing to allow women to actually matriculate and earn degrees. Lia joins the group, finding purpose in the gender equality group and finding love with Scarlet. However, Scarlet lives in fear of their homophobic society and of their relationship being discovered. Their relationship falters and Lia moves back to America, attempting to move on from Scarlet until she finds a letter in her father's study many years later that inspires her to seek Scarlet out and perhaps rekindle their love affair.
I wish there was more to the plot, but unfortunately that's pretty much it. Probably my biggest criticism is that Swearing Off Stars is too short. Far too short. I wanted to invest in these characters and once I realized that the book spanned decades I wanted to know far more than the story offered. Thirty years passes between the beginning of the story and the end, yet the characters seem to grow more flat and dull as the story progresses rather than richer and more vibrant. We learn the most about Scarlet and Lia as college students, but the years between their meetings are summed up in a few quick paragraphs. That was intensely frustrating for me as Danielle Wong is clearly not without talent but there just wasn't enough of the story to elevate it.
There's not much differentiating the narration of Scarlett and Lia, despite Lia being an American and Scarlett being British; both their internal and external voices sound alike. As the years wore on, I wanted their voices to become more distinct. Scarlet lived the life of a movie star and Lia was a journalist and, during WWII, a military medic. Their adult voices should have felt very distinct and distant from when they were naive university students. Scarlet's surprisingly short perspective chapters almost seem as if they're there to remind you that the their love is mutual. I'm not sure whether that works entirely.
One thing I liked quite a bit, but like everything else suffered from lack of development, was Lia's relationship with her boyfriend-turned-best-friend. He goes from being in love with her to a lifelong best friend that deeply cares for her and their relationship is sweet and steady.
As it is now, homophobia was a spectre hanging over the lives of the queer characters in the story. However, I found the characters' conitnued behaviour frustrating. Queer people have always existed and found ways to exist, yet Scarlet was unable to even attempt it. Back in New York, Lia maintains a long term relationship with another woman, even living with her. Scarlet's reticence felt less related to the sword of homophobic Damocles than to her own issues, but this was not fleshed out at all. It stood out for me because Lia and Scarlet seemed to live lives completely separate from any sort of queer community or connection as well as being met with acceptance from almost all who find out about their lesbianism.
Ultimately, I enjoyed Swearing Off Stars as queer historical novels aren't nearly as popular as contemporary ones and because Danielle Wong clearly has talent, but it was just too short, lacking the depth of character that I need to get really connected to a story.
October 5, 2017
Posed as a romance set in the 1920s, about a girl becoming a woman in the early stages of the feminist movement, this was more like a water-cooler conversation in language. Devoid of much research into the times, the characters use phrases and language of today and the author tells rather than shows non-stop. Even the easiest research into feminist history was broad brushed and lacking any substance whatsoever. If the main point of this story was the relationship between the two women, one would expect tension, suspense, passion, emotion. Nope. Even there the most dramatic tool the author can deploy is to tell you one or both are crying. Ridiculous. I gave up halfway through.
January 9, 2018
Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (1/18)
“Swearing Off Stars” by Danielle M. Wong tells the spellbinding tale of secret love and gender equality. When Lia leaves her strict family home in Brooklyn to be a student at Oxford University, she has no clue how her life will change. In the 1920’s, Oxford University was not a welcome place for female students. They could attend classes but were allowed no voice in class or a degree.
When Lia meets Scarlett Daniels on campus, she is immediately drawn to the beautiful aspiring actress, in spite of having a boyfriend waiting for her at home. This is not a safe time for homosexuals to be open. The punishment for being caught could be as severe as having to get a lobotomy. Because Scarlett wants to be a star, she has to be extra careful about hiding her forbidden relationship with Lia. While these two women are trying to sort their feelings out, they are also actively engaging in protests on campus. Their goal is to achieve gender equality. Both ladies have reasons for keeping their love a secret, and because of the hurt caused by this secret, their relationship falls apart until they are once again drawn to each other years later. They have to work through their issues and decide if the time is right for them to show their feelings to the world.
“Swearing Off Stars” is a powerfully written novel. The two heroines in this story are way ahead of their time and this causes them a great deal of suffering. On the other hand, it also gives them a chance to be part of the gender equality movement, which enables them to make a difference for others. The development of their characters is exceptional. The author takes us into their minds and hearts to gain a better understanding of the choices they make, and it is fascinating to see them evolve as time passes. The story begins with them having to travel by ship and it ends with them being able to fly. As women, they also gained more rights but they still were not where we are at today, so their chances of being able to be together is still tenuous.
“Swearing Off Stars” by Danielle M. Wong is an engrossing, thought provoking novel that will be enjoyed by all readers of quality fiction.
“Swearing Off Stars” by Danielle M. Wong tells the spellbinding tale of secret love and gender equality. When Lia leaves her strict family home in Brooklyn to be a student at Oxford University, she has no clue how her life will change. In the 1920’s, Oxford University was not a welcome place for female students. They could attend classes but were allowed no voice in class or a degree.
When Lia meets Scarlett Daniels on campus, she is immediately drawn to the beautiful aspiring actress, in spite of having a boyfriend waiting for her at home. This is not a safe time for homosexuals to be open. The punishment for being caught could be as severe as having to get a lobotomy. Because Scarlett wants to be a star, she has to be extra careful about hiding her forbidden relationship with Lia. While these two women are trying to sort their feelings out, they are also actively engaging in protests on campus. Their goal is to achieve gender equality. Both ladies have reasons for keeping their love a secret, and because of the hurt caused by this secret, their relationship falls apart until they are once again drawn to each other years later. They have to work through their issues and decide if the time is right for them to show their feelings to the world.
“Swearing Off Stars” is a powerfully written novel. The two heroines in this story are way ahead of their time and this causes them a great deal of suffering. On the other hand, it also gives them a chance to be part of the gender equality movement, which enables them to make a difference for others. The development of their characters is exceptional. The author takes us into their minds and hearts to gain a better understanding of the choices they make, and it is fascinating to see them evolve as time passes. The story begins with them having to travel by ship and it ends with them being able to fly. As women, they also gained more rights but they still were not where we are at today, so their chances of being able to be together is still tenuous.
“Swearing Off Stars” by Danielle M. Wong is an engrossing, thought provoking novel that will be enjoyed by all readers of quality fiction.
August 29, 2020
“Swearing Off Stars,” by Danielle M. Wong, is a poignant, tender love story with a historical aspect. Beautifully written, heart-felt and filled with emotion, it’s a tale about a young woman—Lia, short for Amelia—who goes off to college and meets the love of her life. What makes this story different, and therefore fresh, is that Lia is an American who goes off to the University at Oxford in England in 1919. And the love of her life that she meets there is Scarlett, a beautiful aspiring actress and an activist for women’s rights at a time that was a dangerous thing to do.
Oxford, in 1919, had many restrictions on what female students could and could not do. Although women had been studying at the university since the late 1800s, they were not permitted to graduate until 1920. In the book, faculty and male students resented the women. Lia is threatened by male students, and a teacher ignores her so pointedly in a class that she tries to speak to him about this only to be rebuked as someone who shouldn’t even be allowed at the university in his opinion.
As Lia joins Scarlett in her advocacy for women's rights at Oxford, shy Lia finds her voice. Scarlett and Lia begin a star-crossed love affair that puts them both at risk in their strict culture. Faced with an intolerant society and duplicitous interference, they break up and Lia returns broken heartedly to America. But their love—and their story—is far from oven. The book spans their lives until the 1950s and a good portion of the book takes place in Hong Kong in the post WWII era.
There is such tenderness in this book, in the writing, the perspectives, and the characters. In one scene, for example, Lia has taken a tumble at Oxford, her hair is a mess, her books are scattered, and she is crying. Scarlett sits with her and helps her, and then braids Lia’s hair. The scene, told from Lia’s point of view, contains this quote: “She (Scarlett) took my hair in her hands and rebraided it slowly. Every gentle tug put me further at ease, like everything was being woven back into order.”
A well done, compelling love story in a historical setting, “Swearing Off Stars” is a worthy book to read and enjoy.
Oxford, in 1919, had many restrictions on what female students could and could not do. Although women had been studying at the university since the late 1800s, they were not permitted to graduate until 1920. In the book, faculty and male students resented the women. Lia is threatened by male students, and a teacher ignores her so pointedly in a class that she tries to speak to him about this only to be rebuked as someone who shouldn’t even be allowed at the university in his opinion.
As Lia joins Scarlett in her advocacy for women's rights at Oxford, shy Lia finds her voice. Scarlett and Lia begin a star-crossed love affair that puts them both at risk in their strict culture. Faced with an intolerant society and duplicitous interference, they break up and Lia returns broken heartedly to America. But their love—and their story—is far from oven. The book spans their lives until the 1950s and a good portion of the book takes place in Hong Kong in the post WWII era.
There is such tenderness in this book, in the writing, the perspectives, and the characters. In one scene, for example, Lia has taken a tumble at Oxford, her hair is a mess, her books are scattered, and she is crying. Scarlett sits with her and helps her, and then braids Lia’s hair. The scene, told from Lia’s point of view, contains this quote: “She (Scarlett) took my hair in her hands and rebraided it slowly. Every gentle tug put me further at ease, like everything was being woven back into order.”
A well done, compelling love story in a historical setting, “Swearing Off Stars” is a worthy book to read and enjoy.
December 23, 2023
Starts off in 1919 or thereabouts of two early 20somethings who meet at Oxford (Scarlett, a Londoner and Lia, from U.S. who’s studying abroad). The story spans well into 1950, following numerous missed, forfeited or intervened upon chances of the two of them rekindling their relationship and building a life together. Then-society’s lack of tolerance for openly homosexual relationships always governed Scarlett’s hesitancy. After a grand gesture on Scarlett’s part, which ultimately seemed unnecessary for all the non-reaction by most people, especially given her moderate (?) fame, do the two settle in together. Post coming out and sort of outing Lia in the process, the two essentially run away together to Bermuda. Lia purportedly wanted to live openly but then they still ran off together so again, a lot of pomp for ironic circumstance. Scarlett ultimately dies from underlying causes due to an unidentified and untreatable cancer—she accepting the finality while Lia never having enough time to find peace either before or apparently after. They don’t do a great job of talking that through but they’ve never done a bang up job at communicating. Lia does honor Scarlett’s final wishes to give her ashes to the ocean, and in that process, Lia does seem to sort of get some closure.
A little more angst than strictly necessary, not HEA which was not marketed as such (though actually quite the downer for me) and delivers a sharp point about not wasting time: the time we have to love in this lifetime is very, very short, and never as long as we may want.
Really don’t want to give this three stars but two is too low.
A little more angst than strictly necessary, not HEA which was not marketed as such (though actually quite the downer for me) and delivers a sharp point about not wasting time: the time we have to love in this lifetime is very, very short, and never as long as we may want.
Really don’t want to give this three stars but two is too low.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 31, 2020
Swearing Off Stars opens in 1919, and covers over thirty years. This story belongs to Lia--a young, rather naive student at Oxford University, away for the first time from conservative, rather provincial American parents. She meets and discovers Scarlett, a drama student and feminist at a time when women were only allowed to attend classes, not matriculate. Living in fear that their budding romantic relationship will damage (and possibly endanger) their lives, they are determined to keep their love secret. Lia embodies both toughness and vulnerability, while Scarlett is determined to do what it takes to be a successful actress.
The themes of feminism and sexual identity are seamlessly and beautifully intertwined throughout Swearing Off Stars, with the author revealing the hesitancy and pain the two women share. Facing the challenges of foregoing the lives they want, Lia and Scarlett deny themselves the happiness they deserve. Lia reflects: "Some of us live in constellations, forever connected by something that once was. But others spark like shooting starts, brilliantly lighting up this world before moving on to the next."
For readers of historical fiction and romance, you will enjoy the page-turning Swearing Off Stars: an evocation of the spirit of the times (1920's to early 1950's) as well as the lively descriptions of London, New York, and Hong Kong.
The themes of feminism and sexual identity are seamlessly and beautifully intertwined throughout Swearing Off Stars, with the author revealing the hesitancy and pain the two women share. Facing the challenges of foregoing the lives they want, Lia and Scarlett deny themselves the happiness they deserve. Lia reflects: "Some of us live in constellations, forever connected by something that once was. But others spark like shooting starts, brilliantly lighting up this world before moving on to the next."
For readers of historical fiction and romance, you will enjoy the page-turning Swearing Off Stars: an evocation of the spirit of the times (1920's to early 1950's) as well as the lively descriptions of London, New York, and Hong Kong.
July 19, 2019
This book was not well written but the plot draws you in quickly. There are probably a million period inaccuracies in the book, but if let yourself you'll fall for the characters and suspend disbelief. Would not read again, but it was a fun (gay) beach read.
November 13, 2017
Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Amelia Cole, Lia for short, is an American attending Oxford University for a semester in 1919. On her first day she meets Scarlett Daniels, a beautiful women's rights activist and aspiring actress, who pulls Lia into the movement. The two slowly fall in love, but have to overcome decades of obstacles to be together.
I'm not going to lie, I was disappointed, and very much in a phase of reading where I had no patience for weakness in books. And this book was just... wholly, absolutely weak.
It was just... to put it bluntly, poorly written in nearly every regard. I'm struggling to think of the good, when from page one I was overwhelmed by mistakes and inconsistencies and absolute confusion.
I wanted more from the characterisation and plot - neither were well constructed in an interesting, engaging way. The characters were just... baffling. In the first ten pages, Lia has a cancelled class on her first day, her braid comes undone and her book bag falls off her shoulder, and this overwhelms her to the point of immediately breaking down crying on the ground, convinced she isn't good enough for Oxford. The scene ends with Lia noticing, after being helped by her love interest, that all the other students are standing around and pointing at her. Ten pages in, and I knew from that point - ah, these characters won't be acting like humans, then. And sure, humans can act like this -Lia could have an anxiety disorder, or something like this, but this is never mentioned as an in-text justification, nor is any in-text justification given for these character flaws. These are just very technically flawed characters.
These characters just do odd things with very little explanation or justification and it jarred me the hell out of the novel. A short time into their acquaintance, Lia and Scarlett undergo a little incident that causes Scarlett to break down and admit to Lia she once had a female lover. To me, this was just baffling - it was too soon into their relationship, they had only known each other for a few weeks, especially in that time, to be admitting such a secret so easily - and to top it all off, Lia hardly reacted at all. She just felt some mild surprise. Which is disappointing, considering the genre I'm reading, she started the story a little confused about her sexuality, especially regarding Scarlett. So, really, I never got a solid grip on either of their personalities, nor their growth - if the author can't have the characters react, at all, to a revelation like that then there's no real
The plot, as it unfolds, isn't particularly compelling. The main selling point is that it's a lesbian romance set in the early 20th century - sad to say, that isn't particularly novel for me, considering how much historical LGBT romance I read. I do love epic stories that span generations though - so much promise of intense character exploration, really emotional stuff as our protagonists go through major milestones and the crazy ups and downs of life. But there was very little nuance in this story, and she didn't do anything particularly new or interesting with this historical LGBT story in the end.
The semester at university when Lia and Scarlett meet are the most rich, with over a third of the novel dedicated to this period - but then this means depiction of the following decades of story is brief, mostly summary, which really hinders any potential exploration of the characters or elevation of the kinda stock-standard plot. And, truthfully, I was disappointed by the way the plot turned out. Of course, life was harder for LGBT individuals in the past, but this story seemed so... relentlessly cruel to Lia and Scarlett, and so removed from the history of the community. And their problems with their homosexuality weren't fleshed out, and led to endless frustration on my behalf at their behaviour - since it was them, and their problems alone, that prevented them from being together. Again, I just felt baffled at the lack of justification at the characters and their actions, and since this was a character-driven novel, it let the plot down as well. And the ending... it didn't seem deserved, within the plot. But that might have been the mood I was in while reading.
Also, I ended up questioning the plot and premise a lot. I wanted to know immediately how an American girl in the 1940s who wants to go traveling, ends up studying at Oxford, on exchange, in her first year - does that work? How does it? My mother's summer exchange to Sheffield University in her junior year in the early 1980s, was seen as quite exciting and unusual in her day. How does someone whose parents are only restaurant owners in America send their child to Oxford? It's never explained. Her father is a German migrant, but her surname is Cole - he could have anglicised Kohl, but never is this mentioned. There's just so many of these questions in the first twenty pages.
The writing was a major weakness, and led to a poor execution of the plot and characters. It's a pretty short story, about 280 pages, that covers three decades worth of story - already, it's going to fall under my too-often expressed complaint of there wasn't enough to make it good. But, whereas this usually leaves me with a likable enough book that just needed more time to be good, this just. Wasn't very good to begin with.
Within about ten pages, I immediately got a grasp for the author's abilities and knew what kind of story would unfold. The first-person perspective isn't used to its strengths at all - Lia's voice is bland, much like Scarlett's, and you'd hope coming from such different cultures as America and Britain would easily give an author something to distinguish character voices, but they sounded identical. And none of the characters' voices ever evolved over the years, Lia sounding the same as a middle-aged woman as she did as a ~naive eighteen year old, and Scarlett, who becomes a famous actress, still sounding the same as Lia.
The majority of the story was telling instead of showing, and the writing for the majority of the time struck me as dull and flat, without nuance or detail. And, since it tried to handle issues of gender equality and domestic abuse as well as the love story between Lia and Scarlett, these more serious scenes came off as heavy-handed and clumsy in execution. I was baffled again by Lia being surprised at the dismissive attitude towards her at Oxford, and her realisation that it was because she was a woman. How is this an absolute shock to someone in the 1910s? Isn't this the culture she's grown up with?
You can also tell this is an American's idea of Oxford, and one who hasn't done an awful lot of research either. Again, within the first twenty pages, I spotted some inaccuracies - a British character calls Lia a freshie and asks what Lia's studying at Oxford. I'm not even British but I know that nobody uses 'freshmen', let alone freshie, and you say read instead of study. This majorly took me out of the story.
To be honest, I never felt much in the story in the first place. It's historical fiction, spanning from 1919 to 1930 to 1953. I forgot it was 1919, had too much Outlander on the brain, I don't know, but I read the first 50 pages thinking it was 1949 and wondering why marticulation was still a thing at Oxford. I mean, there's a lot of difference in culture and society in the world in that 30-year gap. Skilled historical fiction truly transports you to this utterly foreign time - competent historical fiction should be at least able to express this. So, this ended up being neither. This could have been set in 2017 and I would have bought it, honestly.
But, I do have good things to say about some of the writing. Descriptions of the sex scenes, and some of the setting and character description, were lovely - the dialogue between Lia and Scarlett could come up with some beautiful prose, very romantic turns of phrase, used to good effect. I'm just sad it couldn't elevate the rest of the novel for me.
Also, my ARC was really badly formatted. Missing punctuation all over the place, which makes for a much more difficult read.
2/5. A weak story without much in the way of writing or development to prop it up.
Amelia Cole, Lia for short, is an American attending Oxford University for a semester in 1919. On her first day she meets Scarlett Daniels, a beautiful women's rights activist and aspiring actress, who pulls Lia into the movement. The two slowly fall in love, but have to overcome decades of obstacles to be together.
I'm not going to lie, I was disappointed, and very much in a phase of reading where I had no patience for weakness in books. And this book was just... wholly, absolutely weak.
It was just... to put it bluntly, poorly written in nearly every regard. I'm struggling to think of the good, when from page one I was overwhelmed by mistakes and inconsistencies and absolute confusion.
I wanted more from the characterisation and plot - neither were well constructed in an interesting, engaging way. The characters were just... baffling. In the first ten pages, Lia has a cancelled class on her first day, her braid comes undone and her book bag falls off her shoulder, and this overwhelms her to the point of immediately breaking down crying on the ground, convinced she isn't good enough for Oxford. The scene ends with Lia noticing, after being helped by her love interest, that all the other students are standing around and pointing at her. Ten pages in, and I knew from that point - ah, these characters won't be acting like humans, then. And sure, humans can act like this -Lia could have an anxiety disorder, or something like this, but this is never mentioned as an in-text justification, nor is any in-text justification given for these character flaws. These are just very technically flawed characters.
These characters just do odd things with very little explanation or justification and it jarred me the hell out of the novel. A short time into their acquaintance, Lia and Scarlett undergo a little incident that causes Scarlett to break down and admit to Lia she once had a female lover. To me, this was just baffling - it was too soon into their relationship, they had only known each other for a few weeks, especially in that time, to be admitting such a secret so easily - and to top it all off, Lia hardly reacted at all. She just felt some mild surprise. Which is disappointing, considering the genre I'm reading, she started the story a little confused about her sexuality, especially regarding Scarlett. So, really, I never got a solid grip on either of their personalities, nor their growth - if the author can't have the characters react, at all, to a revelation like that then there's no real
The plot, as it unfolds, isn't particularly compelling. The main selling point is that it's a lesbian romance set in the early 20th century - sad to say, that isn't particularly novel for me, considering how much historical LGBT romance I read. I do love epic stories that span generations though - so much promise of intense character exploration, really emotional stuff as our protagonists go through major milestones and the crazy ups and downs of life. But there was very little nuance in this story, and she didn't do anything particularly new or interesting with this historical LGBT story in the end.
The semester at university when Lia and Scarlett meet are the most rich, with over a third of the novel dedicated to this period - but then this means depiction of the following decades of story is brief, mostly summary, which really hinders any potential exploration of the characters or elevation of the kinda stock-standard plot. And, truthfully, I was disappointed by the way the plot turned out. Of course, life was harder for LGBT individuals in the past, but this story seemed so... relentlessly cruel to Lia and Scarlett, and so removed from the history of the community. And their problems with their homosexuality weren't fleshed out, and led to endless frustration on my behalf at their behaviour - since it was them, and their problems alone, that prevented them from being together. Again, I just felt baffled at the lack of justification at the characters and their actions, and since this was a character-driven novel, it let the plot down as well. And the ending... it didn't seem deserved, within the plot. But that might have been the mood I was in while reading.
Also, I ended up questioning the plot and premise a lot. I wanted to know immediately how an American girl in the 1940s who wants to go traveling, ends up studying at Oxford, on exchange, in her first year - does that work? How does it? My mother's summer exchange to Sheffield University in her junior year in the early 1980s, was seen as quite exciting and unusual in her day. How does someone whose parents are only restaurant owners in America send their child to Oxford? It's never explained. Her father is a German migrant, but her surname is Cole - he could have anglicised Kohl, but never is this mentioned. There's just so many of these questions in the first twenty pages.
The writing was a major weakness, and led to a poor execution of the plot and characters. It's a pretty short story, about 280 pages, that covers three decades worth of story - already, it's going to fall under my too-often expressed complaint of there wasn't enough to make it good. But, whereas this usually leaves me with a likable enough book that just needed more time to be good, this just. Wasn't very good to begin with.
Within about ten pages, I immediately got a grasp for the author's abilities and knew what kind of story would unfold. The first-person perspective isn't used to its strengths at all - Lia's voice is bland, much like Scarlett's, and you'd hope coming from such different cultures as America and Britain would easily give an author something to distinguish character voices, but they sounded identical. And none of the characters' voices ever evolved over the years, Lia sounding the same as a middle-aged woman as she did as a ~naive eighteen year old, and Scarlett, who becomes a famous actress, still sounding the same as Lia.
The majority of the story was telling instead of showing, and the writing for the majority of the time struck me as dull and flat, without nuance or detail. And, since it tried to handle issues of gender equality and domestic abuse as well as the love story between Lia and Scarlett, these more serious scenes came off as heavy-handed and clumsy in execution. I was baffled again by Lia being surprised at the dismissive attitude towards her at Oxford, and her realisation that it was because she was a woman. How is this an absolute shock to someone in the 1910s? Isn't this the culture she's grown up with?
You can also tell this is an American's idea of Oxford, and one who hasn't done an awful lot of research either. Again, within the first twenty pages, I spotted some inaccuracies - a British character calls Lia a freshie and asks what Lia's studying at Oxford. I'm not even British but I know that nobody uses 'freshmen', let alone freshie, and you say read instead of study. This majorly took me out of the story.
To be honest, I never felt much in the story in the first place. It's historical fiction, spanning from 1919 to 1930 to 1953. I forgot it was 1919, had too much Outlander on the brain, I don't know, but I read the first 50 pages thinking it was 1949 and wondering why marticulation was still a thing at Oxford. I mean, there's a lot of difference in culture and society in the world in that 30-year gap. Skilled historical fiction truly transports you to this utterly foreign time - competent historical fiction should be at least able to express this. So, this ended up being neither. This could have been set in 2017 and I would have bought it, honestly.
But, I do have good things to say about some of the writing. Descriptions of the sex scenes, and some of the setting and character description, were lovely - the dialogue between Lia and Scarlett could come up with some beautiful prose, very romantic turns of phrase, used to good effect. I'm just sad it couldn't elevate the rest of the novel for me.
Also, my ARC was really badly formatted. Missing punctuation all over the place, which makes for a much more difficult read.
2/5. A weak story without much in the way of writing or development to prop it up.
September 18, 2017
Lia and Scarlett meet in 1919 in Oxford where they bond over their fight for women to be allowed to graduate from Oxford, same as the men. Their friendship blossoms into love, which is scary as it is wonderful. Scary wins out and Lia runs back to New York where she finishes college and works her way up the ladder to manage a mid-range newspaper. Scarlett on the other hand becomes a well known actress. But true love will always find a way, and over many years and across many oceans, two people destined to be with each other will fight against society and expectations to find each other once more.
This book was really disappointing for me. I feel that with historical fiction there is a delicate balance an author has to find between too many details that bogs down the reader and not enough detail. Unfortunately, I felt like this book fell too much towards the not enough detail. Without the author telling me that it was 1919 or 1930 or 1949, there was very little detail showing me the time period we were supposed to be in. This lack of details, unrealistic situations, along with the way a lot of the characters spoke and acted, the story could have been set in 2017 and I wouldn't have batted an eye. Additionally, aside from the author telling me that time was passing by providing the date, all the character's voices sounded the same whether they were 19 or 50 or 66. In 1949, Lia tells us that she's older in 1949, but the author doesn't show any signs in her voice or that she's any different from 19. Her voice, her internal duologue, is always simple and juvenile.
I didn't have any problem with the ending like other's did. I love angst! I loved a lot of the description. Some of the passages were breathtakingly beautiful, especially the love scenes, they were just incredible. The story was really sweet and had a lot of aw-worth moments in it. I loved all the places they travelled. I had a lot of frustrations about the book but I still raced to the end to find out what would happen. I was rooting for Lia and Scarlett. Their story is a love story for the ages. I did like how the author wrote and I would definitely be willing to give this author's next book a chance.
I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book was really disappointing for me. I feel that with historical fiction there is a delicate balance an author has to find between too many details that bogs down the reader and not enough detail. Unfortunately, I felt like this book fell too much towards the not enough detail. Without the author telling me that it was 1919 or 1930 or 1949, there was very little detail showing me the time period we were supposed to be in. This lack of details, unrealistic situations, along with the way a lot of the characters spoke and acted, the story could have been set in 2017 and I wouldn't have batted an eye. Additionally, aside from the author telling me that time was passing by providing the date, all the character's voices sounded the same whether they were 19 or 50 or 66. In 1949, Lia tells us that she's older in 1949, but the author doesn't show any signs in her voice or that she's any different from 19. Her voice, her internal duologue, is always simple and juvenile.
I didn't have any problem with the ending like other's did. I love angst! I loved a lot of the description. Some of the passages were breathtakingly beautiful, especially the love scenes, they were just incredible. The story was really sweet and had a lot of aw-worth moments in it. I loved all the places they travelled. I had a lot of frustrations about the book but I still raced to the end to find out what would happen. I was rooting for Lia and Scarlett. Their story is a love story for the ages. I did like how the author wrote and I would definitely be willing to give this author's next book a chance.
I received an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
September 24, 2017
A wonderful LGBT Romance about two young woman which takes place through the 1920's to 1950's. this book is eloquently written and tells the age old story of love knowing no bounds.
That all being said, I am just a smidge disappointed with this book due to the lack of the historical fiction element. I found that though there was telling signs of the time such as occasional references to clothing, the women's movement, and discussions of homosexuality. But it seemed to be missing things such as the architecture, technology, and other key aspects of the time that simply weren't there enough for my liking.
However that may be in part due to my lack of off hand knowledge of the time period, yet i still wish there was a bit more of that historical fiction element.
That being said I was very pleasantly surprised by how much of a Feminist book this is on top of it being such a moving LGBT+ tale! I'm not one for an abundance of romance, however the character driven and heartfelt effort behind it kept me reading and wishing on stars right along with them.
Plus this book is full of meaningful metaphors, which tho sometimes cheesy, makes it a great book to read both for fun and for some of it's concepts.
Overall if you enjoy Romance, Women's rights, and have an interest/ good grasp of the time period in which it was set I would recommend picking it up.
That all being said, I am just a smidge disappointed with this book due to the lack of the historical fiction element. I found that though there was telling signs of the time such as occasional references to clothing, the women's movement, and discussions of homosexuality. But it seemed to be missing things such as the architecture, technology, and other key aspects of the time that simply weren't there enough for my liking.
However that may be in part due to my lack of off hand knowledge of the time period, yet i still wish there was a bit more of that historical fiction element.
That being said I was very pleasantly surprised by how much of a Feminist book this is on top of it being such a moving LGBT+ tale! I'm not one for an abundance of romance, however the character driven and heartfelt effort behind it kept me reading and wishing on stars right along with them.
Plus this book is full of meaningful metaphors, which tho sometimes cheesy, makes it a great book to read both for fun and for some of it's concepts.
Overall if you enjoy Romance, Women's rights, and have an interest/ good grasp of the time period in which it was set I would recommend picking it up.
May 31, 2019
A meandering plot with characters who flip flop. Starts with a chapter that seems to be a glimpse at something that will happen in the end but it happens 1/6th of the way through the book and is not relevant to the overall story. Scarlett's chapters bring 0 new information. Over the top coincidences and convenient character twists.
The worst offender for me was that so many characters brought up the desire for two women to be able to get married. Anachronistic. Literally zero queers would have wanted or even imagined same-sex marriage in the 20s or the 50s. That was just not on their radar. It was annoying and felt like erasure of actual queer history.
The blurb on the front has me seriously questioning Kirkus Reviews, and I feel slightly more divorced from humanity after seeing how many people gave this book 5 stars. Would not recommend to anyone. I would possibly read another book by Wong as this was a sort of salad of ideas poorly stitched together and I think she could write something compelling with a better editor.
The worst offender for me was that so many characters brought up the desire for two women to be able to get married. Anachronistic. Literally zero queers would have wanted or even imagined same-sex marriage in the 20s or the 50s. That was just not on their radar. It was annoying and felt like erasure of actual queer history.
The blurb on the front has me seriously questioning Kirkus Reviews, and I feel slightly more divorced from humanity after seeing how many people gave this book 5 stars. Would not recommend to anyone. I would possibly read another book by Wong as this was a sort of salad of ideas poorly stitched together and I think she could write something compelling with a better editor.
September 14, 2017
Swearing Off Stars by Danielle Wong is a journey through the beginning of a relationship and tracking it’s progress decades down the line. The way Wong wrote but Amelia and Scarlett made me want more. It was beautifully written. I felt for all the characters from the ‘20s to the 50s.
It’s be a while since I’ve read something that’s made me hurt as the character was hurting but Lia’s innocent, unsure and the heartbreak she experiences, it was like a knife to the heart in some parts. There were times I was so angry with Scarlett, with Beck and I just wanted happiness for Lia but it was truly something that could have happened during that time period.
Wong left me wishing for more, and there were a few areas I wished she would have explored and that’s the only reason I’m giving this a 4/5 star review, otherwise it would have been 5/5.
Would I recommend this to others? Oh yes, I definitely would. Will I be looking for more of Wong’s work? Count me in.
It’s be a while since I’ve read something that’s made me hurt as the character was hurting but Lia’s innocent, unsure and the heartbreak she experiences, it was like a knife to the heart in some parts. There were times I was so angry with Scarlett, with Beck and I just wanted happiness for Lia but it was truly something that could have happened during that time period.
Wong left me wishing for more, and there were a few areas I wished she would have explored and that’s the only reason I’m giving this a 4/5 star review, otherwise it would have been 5/5.
Would I recommend this to others? Oh yes, I definitely would. Will I be looking for more of Wong’s work? Count me in.
February 5, 2018
A coming-of-age/coming-out story that started off with strong storyline and compelling characters, is cheapened by a stereotypical ending of lesbian unhappiness. The book follows the life of Lia, picking up as she heads of to England in the early '20s as one of the first women to study at Oxford, where she meets the love of her life, Scarlett. An intriguing time to be a woman and a dangerous one to be a lesbian, there is potential for an engrossing read, here. But the timeline frustratingly jumps decades, leaving the reader with not enough information to become truly invested in the characters; and the coincidences that allow the plot to continue border on unbelievable. All of this might have been easier to swallow with a profound plot twist or complex conclusion, but the cheap and easy end wallows in one of the worst tropes in gay romances, turning a promising premise into predictable prose.
February 9, 2021
I almost didn't finish this book out of sheer boredom. The story felt like it went nowhere, the author had clearly not researched the time period the novel was set in. Which I guess is fine to read if you know nothing about 1920-1950. The book perspectives switches between the two protagonists whose voices are indistinguishable from each other. For people who apparently come from two entirely different backgrounds (Lia is a journalist, Scarlett and actress) this I found to be sloppy and lazy writing. Their falling in love seemed forced and non-genuine.
I couldn't have really given a shit about the characters, who were one dimensional, bland, boring and predictable. In the beginning it seemed that the feminist movement would take on a significant part of the themes but this dropped off and fizzled into nothingness much like any semblance of a plot this book appeared to have.
One star!
I couldn't have really given a shit about the characters, who were one dimensional, bland, boring and predictable. In the beginning it seemed that the feminist movement would take on a significant part of the themes but this dropped off and fizzled into nothingness much like any semblance of a plot this book appeared to have.
One star!
September 7, 2020
Fundamentally, Swearing Off Stars isn’t a history lesson. It tracks a vibrant relationship that flourishes and falls into turmoil. It is brave enough to follow each trial, each reconciliation; the work required to weather time and the folly of clinging to permanence.
The setting supports these themes. Striving for equality, every aspect of it, in the early 20th century. Traveling to find something more than is present. Pursuing a life at odds with the state of the world.
What stuck out to me is Danielle’s intuitive use of structure. Some incredibly brief chapters, titles that indicate the shift in scenery. This all supports the natural flow of dialogue and internal dilemmas. She understands how people view the world, how they speak to and negotiate with each other. How they respond to joy and suffering.
The setting supports these themes. Striving for equality, every aspect of it, in the early 20th century. Traveling to find something more than is present. Pursuing a life at odds with the state of the world.
What stuck out to me is Danielle’s intuitive use of structure. Some incredibly brief chapters, titles that indicate the shift in scenery. This all supports the natural flow of dialogue and internal dilemmas. She understands how people view the world, how they speak to and negotiate with each other. How they respond to joy and suffering.
October 14, 2017
I wish I could give this book 20 plus stars. Oh my god this book was such a beautiful romance set in the 1920's between two woman that fall in love. Their love is beautiful, real, pure and true I fell in love with Lia and Scarlett from the very start to the very last page. I also shed quite a lot of tears. I am telling you this book is incredible and so damn Beautiful. This book changed my life I am so glad I got to witness the beautiful, life changing romance between these two women. As a lesbian I always enjoying picking up lgbtq genre books and this one did not disappoint. I would recommend this book to any and everyone. Thank you Danielle Wong, I am looking forward to your future works!
January 1, 2021
The book begins after WWI when Lia, an American student, spends a year at Oxford and meets Scarlett, a Brit. Lia is entranced by Scarlett and is soon drafted into a women's rights cause to persuade Oxford to allow female students to matriculate. When the two become lovers, Scarlett pulls away, knowing that the world could never accept them.
This begins a series of second chances between the two that make up the bulk of the rest of the book. The Oxford chapters are the best written and the rest feel more like a recitation than an in depth exploration of the relationship of these two.
A more experienced historical fiction author like many I've read would have done a better job of immersing readers in the time periods featured in this book.
This begins a series of second chances between the two that make up the bulk of the rest of the book. The Oxford chapters are the best written and the rest feel more like a recitation than an in depth exploration of the relationship of these two.
A more experienced historical fiction author like many I've read would have done a better job of immersing readers in the time periods featured in this book.
May 4, 2023
Got stuck for the longest time at about 9% then read the rest of it in one night. With the way it began, I was expecting something close to du Maurier's Rebecca, with everything culminating in a big, dramatic fire. I did not expect it to take place over the span of 30 years (1919-1950ish), and once I realized that, I got a little more sucked in because I wasn't as interested in student politics at Oxford. In the end, though, it was just OK—a worthwhile read with some beautiful descriptions and turns of phrase, and I'm not angry I spent the time to read it, but not the type of book I'd ordinarily stay up until 1am to finish. Maybe I was hoping that grand conflagration would be on the next page.
December 29, 2020
Spoilers
I enjoyed this book until about halfway through and that's when everything starts declining. The pacing is weird, even if I understand what the author is trying to do. There are little details that just get slipped in that take you out of the story and I only continued reading so that I could say I finished this. Scarlet was likeable and the fact that it turned into a bury your gays trope really cemented my dislike for it. I can't bring myself to feel anything for the characters in the end and the fact that you miss the entirety of war and what it's effects might be is just irritating.
I enjoyed this book until about halfway through and that's when everything starts declining. The pacing is weird, even if I understand what the author is trying to do. There are little details that just get slipped in that take you out of the story and I only continued reading so that I could say I finished this. Scarlet was likeable and the fact that it turned into a bury your gays trope really cemented my dislike for it. I can't bring myself to feel anything for the characters in the end and the fact that you miss the entirety of war and what it's effects might be is just irritating.
July 10, 2022
What the heck did I just read? Has the author ever talked to a gay person? Does she know anything about history. Did she expect us to believe coming out in the 1920s or even 1950s was gonna be a thing…
I didn’t mind the jumping around with time lines. But a lot of the story just seemed so…. Weird? The characters immature. I was rooting for Lia and Scarlett but also kind of cringing at their behavior.
Maybe I have to sleep on it for a better opinion.
Oh, and I was so distressed at the end crying when one of them dies that my cat came in from the other room to comfort me.
I didn’t mind the jumping around with time lines. But a lot of the story just seemed so…. Weird? The characters immature. I was rooting for Lia and Scarlett but also kind of cringing at their behavior.
Maybe I have to sleep on it for a better opinion.
Oh, and I was so distressed at the end crying when one of them dies that my cat came in from the other room to comfort me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 4, 2017
This story is beautifully and eloquently written and the characters are well portrayed. It would have been great to have a bit more of a historical background and historical elements in the book. I enjoyed the message of love can overcome everything and the feminist message in it is good. It plays in 1920 to 1950 so the role of women and what they could do and homosexuality as a general we’re very different and it was written out well.
May 27, 2018
(spoilers ahead)
Started off alright, but quickly telegraphed to an all-to-common "I can't really be with you until it's too late" lesbian novel. I also kept thinking an editor had asked her to just add tons of adjectives, willy-nilly. It was an odd read, and the time-jumps didn't help. If you can write a lesbian romance in 2017, why would you lean so hard on tropes of one woman dying? Super annoying. It was a pretty quick read at least. Read for a lesbian book club.
Started off alright, but quickly telegraphed to an all-to-common "I can't really be with you until it's too late" lesbian novel. I also kept thinking an editor had asked her to just add tons of adjectives, willy-nilly. It was an odd read, and the time-jumps didn't help. If you can write a lesbian romance in 2017, why would you lean so hard on tropes of one woman dying? Super annoying. It was a pretty quick read at least. Read for a lesbian book club.
November 20, 2019
I enjoyed this book, but it is different from what some of the reviews say.
First of all, yes, there is romance, but don’t expect it to be all happy. This book is pretty sad, really.
The book reads as an authentic, albeit sad, insight to the obstacles queer women faced from 1919-1953.
The prose is different from my typical read: it’s quite plain and sparse on descriptors. That became difficult for me at times, but the characters and story kept me going.
First of all, yes, there is romance, but don’t expect it to be all happy. This book is pretty sad, really.
The book reads as an authentic, albeit sad, insight to the obstacles queer women faced from 1919-1953.
The prose is different from my typical read: it’s quite plain and sparse on descriptors. That became difficult for me at times, but the characters and story kept me going.
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