Book Review: A Song for the Stars by Ilima Todd

Book Thoughts by Rachelle

A unique clean and wholesome romance…

Anyone who enjoyed the Disney movie Moana needs to read A Song for the Stars. I was so interested in the setting of ancient Hawaii and the traditions of the people who live there. It was especially fun to read about the author’s ancestors and how they fell in love. I thought that Todd did an excellent job of weaving historical bits into the love story.

The character of Maile is fierce and has something to teach all of us as we read about lessons she learns while training a white man to navigate as the Hawaiians did. I loved the interaction of family members and reading about Hawaiian royalty and customs.

I love how the reader discovers the meaning behind the title of the book through character interactions and dialogue.

This proper romance was different than the rest because of the setting, but fits right in line with a clean and wholesome romance that is sure to please all ages.

Here’s more about the book:

Inspired by a true story

Hawaiian Islands, 1779

As the second daughter of a royal chief, Maile will be permitted to marry for love. Her fiancé is the best navigator in Hawaii, and he taught her everything he knows—how to feel the ocean, observe the winds, read the stars, and how to love.

But when sailors from a strange place called England arrive on her island, a misunderstanding ends in battle, and Maile is suddenly widowed before she is wed.

Finding herself in the middle of the battle and fearing for her life, Maile takes John Harbottle, the wounded man who killed her fiancé, prisoner, and though originally intending to let him dies, she reluctantly heals him. And in the process, she discovers the man she thought was her enemy might be her ally instead.

John has been Captain James Cook’s translator for three voyages across the Pacific. He is kind and clearly fascinated with Maile’s homeland and her people—and Maile herself. But guilt continues to drive a wedge between them: John’s guilt over the death he caused, and Maile’s guilt over the truth about what triggered the deadly battle—a secret she’s kept hidden from everyone on the island.

When Maile is tasked with teaching John how to navigate using the stars so he can sail back to England, they must also navigate the challenges of being from very different cultures. In doing so, they might also find the peace that comes when two hearts become one.

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