When the Carpathia receives a distress signal from the RMS Titanic, the captain must decide if he will risk his own ship to come to the ship’s aid. It is the middle of the night and there is little information to go by. Will Carpathia hold together if it is pushed to never-before-tested speeds?
On board the Titanic, Kate Connolly is a passenger in third-class accommodations, and is among the last to receive instruction and help after Titanic hits an iceberg.

This was a sobering read. That’s not to say it wasn’t enjoyable. It was. I especially liked seeing this well-known disaster from the point of view of the ship that rescued so many of the passengers. But it is a story about a disaster where 1,517 people died and the scenes told from the point of view of Kate Connolly are gut-wrenching as she describes the aftermath. This is not a light read.

The author clearly did her research. There were times I sat a little closer to the fireplace because the details made me feel so cold, as if I were the one sitting in a rowboat in the middle of a field of icebergs. The final half of the book did feel slow in comparison. It was mostly the return of the Carpathia to New York, but it was not overly so.

I would recommend this book to readers who have an interest in the sinking of the Titanic.

A riveting tale of the RMS Carpathia coming to the rescuing of the survivors of the RMS Titanic! This story will linger long past the reading of the last page. A beautiful recounting of the humanity and heroism that can show up in the face of devistating tragedy. You won't want to miss this history rich story!

I received an ARC through Netgalley and all opinions are my own.

The ship Carpathia was forever noted in history, because it was the one that picked up the survivors of the Titanic disaster and delivered them safely to New York. In this novel, the reader will be drawn into the story of what happened that April night in 1912, when the Carpathia’s Marconi operator burst into Captain Rostrom’s cabin and informed him of a distress message from Titanic. You will be inside this man’s head as he makes momentous decisions about how to best reach the Titanic. You will inwardly cheer for the crew members who follow his commands immediately without reservation.
Another voice you will hear will be that of Kate Connelly, a Third-Class passenger from the Titanic, who was among the few from steerage that made it onto a lifeboat. The reader will tour the lower compartments of the Titanic and marvel at the wonders along with her. You will share her agony from Lifeboat 13 as the Titanic sinks, and feel the urge to be busy and do something, anything, to help those survivors who have lost loved ones.
*Three weeks ago, I was standing at the very pier where the Carpathia docked, and where the Titanic was destined to do so. Reading the details of that arrival from this wonderfully written book made the memories of being in that historic place ever so special.*
No spoilers, but I learned many things about that day that I had never known before. Thanks to the author for writing this incredible novel!

*I received a digital copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are strictly my own.*

This historical fiction novel about the Titanic took a different approach, which I appreciated. It focused more on the sinking and then on the rescue/aftermath and also on the ship and crew that rescued the survivors. This felt very well researched and the emotions of that horrible night were portrayed well. It was a very sad and hard book to read at times, but overall I liked it!

A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice is an achingly evocative and emotive Historical Fiction about the devastating events surrounding the sinking of the Titanic on April 15, 1912 and the rescue of 705 survivors by Carpathia's selfless crew. The historic story is known but reading different perspectives is always compelling.

The story is told from the alternating perspectives of Captain Arthur Rostron of the Carpathia and Kate Connolly, an Irish migrant passenger on the Titanic. Other characters are introduced including Rostron's crew and Kate's friends, lending a personal air. Of course the sea is practically a character as well with its haunting beauty and power. Upon being alerted of Titanic's distress, Rostron immediately heads Carpathia in her direction. One cannot begin to fathom the sheer panic and terror the Titanic passengers experienced as they realized their inevitable fate. Alas, Carpathia arrived too late. The next day desperate people waited at the harbour for their loved ones to return to them...and fifteen hundred never did.

I appreciate that the author did such thorough research and explained what happened to some of the survivors.

My experience with this book was multi-sensory due to the author's descriptions and writing style.

My sincere thank you to Shadow Mountain Publishing and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this book about heroism and hope in the time of extreme sorrow.

The Carpathia is known for saving the survivors of the Titanic. In this moving book, readers will learn about the Captain of the ship and his leadership in the rescue. The efforts of the Captain and his crew to prepare for and take care of the survivors was commendable. I liked reading the story through Kate Connolly. Her viewpoint made the story come alive. Recommended!

First sentence: Arthur Rostron exhaled slowly, enjoying the last quiet moments he would have on the bridge of the RMS Carpathia before they were underway.

Premise/plot: A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice is historical fiction at its best. In alternating chapters, the story of a fateful night in April 1912 unfolds for readers. The narration is divided between Arthur Rostron, the captain of the RMS Carpathia, and Kate Connolly, a third class passenger on board the Titanic.

My thoughts: I loved, loved, loved, LOVED this one. I would say though it's definitely marketed as being adult historical fiction, it truly could be for readers of all ages who happen to have an interest in the Titanic and enjoy history.

I loved so many things about this one. I LOVED the chapters narrated by Arthur Rostron. I absolutely loved the behind the scenes glimpse of the crew of Carpathia heading into unknown dangers racing against time to save the passengers of the Titanic. I loved how all the chapters began with authentic quotes. I loved the writing. There were passages that were just BEAUTIFUL. I also loved the faith-focus. For example, I loved this prayer from the captain, "Father God, let us get to them. Guide our hands and our feet, our ship and our hearts. Let it be enough."

I also loved the afterword. I was delighted to know that all the characters were real people. Fictionalized, to be sure, to one degree or another. But this is a well-researched novel.

Quotes:

We must be better sailors, better crew, and better men than we have ever been.

The clarity of the night sky was breathtaking. It would have been something to marvel had the circumstances been different. Each star lit its portion of the sky with a brilliance he'd rarely seen. "A brilliant night of stars," Arthur murmured to himself as he gazed out at it. He swallowed once. "And ice."

This book is amazingly well written. It gave me Disney Villain vibes (stay with me here) in the sense that a lot of readers may have already heard the main details of the sinking of the titanic, just as many of us may have grown up watching the movie, Sleeping Beauty. When Maleficient came out and we were able to see the story told from a different POV it makes for an interesting tale. Regardless if you’re familiar with the sinking or not, this is an eye opening and gripping storyline of events mostly from Carpathia—the ship that answered Titanic’s distress call, and a Titanic passenger. The dual POV helped keep my attention all throughout the book. I was constantly wondering what was happening from each side of the storyline. I won’t say this book doesn’t have some heartbreaking chapters because it does. This is one of, if not THE biggest ocean tragedy that we know of. I felt that this author captured the feelings accurately and was able to portray them in a way that connects the reader with the characters. I’m not a fan of sad stories and made sure I was in a good place before starting and am so glad I picked this one up. While tragic, it does bring out highlights of hope and goodness mixed with the despair and tragedy. I highly recommend reading through all of the author’s notes at the end of the book. I appreciate the research that went into the writing of this book and it showed! I highly recommend!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

I was completely swept back in time while reading this! I ended the book feeling like the Titanic just went down and I almost experienced it first hand! Connolly does a fantastic job telling the horrific tale of the sinking of the Titanic!

The reader alternates between a young woman aboard the Titanic and the Captain of the rescue boat, the Carpathia. I quickly realized that I knew all about the sinking of that magnificent ship (thank you Leonardo Di Caprio) but next to nothing of the aftermath.

One of the officers of the Carpathia said of dangerously navigating the trecherous, ice filled, dark waters at top notch speed, "We were prompted by our humanity." They did not know what they would find upon arriving at the given accident coordinates, but they went willingly and quickly wanting to help and rescue. Humanity.

There's so much more to the story! This was a captivating, quick and easy read. I just loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the advanced e-copy in return for my honest review.

A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice is a beautifully written story of the sinking of the Titanic, as well as the events that followed. It is insightful, without being to graphic or gory. I have learn d so much I didn't know and am very grateful I read this book.

Titanic. Everyone knows the story. But do you really know the WHOLE story? A large part of the story is the rescue of the lifeboats by the ship Carpathia. I imagine many people would recognize the name, but nothing else about that ship. I certainly didn't know anything else other than the name. This charming piece of historical fiction explores the Titanic disaster from the perspective of the Captain and crew of the Carpathia as they race to save the passengers of the ill-fated vessel. It's quite a task for an author to take an event where you already know the ending and still bring emotion and intensity to the story, such that you just keep reading and reading. The story follows actual Titanic passengers from third class steerage and alternates with the story of Captain Arthur Rostron and his valiant crew as they are truly at the right place at the right time to effect a rescue of the lifeboats. You do truly come away understanding just how miraculous it was they received the SOS at all. If this maritime disaster fascinates you, then you certainly should add this story to your reading list, you will be glad to have learned the history of this ship and her crew!!

Thanks to Shadow Mountain Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the Digital Review Copy of this title.

Unfortunately, this title didn't end up being my thing. I was interested in it because it was different. You always hear stories that take place on the Titanic, whether fiction or nonfiction, but you rarely hear of stories of any other ship. This story follows passengers aboard the Carpathia, the ship that answered the distress call of the Titanic.

The pacing felt very slow to me, and there wasn't a lot happening.

This telling of the Titanic sinking and rescue was very moving. The writing is so well done and feels so true to the people involved. I thought I new about the Titanic until I started reading this book and realized I knew very little about the actual rescue and the ordeal the survivors went through.

This book is very well researched and almost all characters are based off actual people who were involved. The story comes to life and you will feel like you were actually there watching this terrible accident happening.

Before reading this book, I had never heard of the Carpathia and Captain Rostron. Now he is someone I will always greatly admire. If you are at all interested in the Titanic, give this book a read and you won't put it down (except to maybe do more research on the side because you just can't stop yourself). Seriously read this book
#abrilliantnightofstarsandice #netgalley

The history of the Titanic always has fascinated me, but like many, including the book author, Rebecca Connolly, no one really focuses on the rescue efforts by surrounding ships. In A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice, we are introduced to two main characters: ship captain, Arthur Rostrun and 3rd class passenger, Kate Connelly. I really appreciated how the author allowed us to understand what was happening on both ships at the time the Titanic was sinking. The words and descriptions the author used were moving and powerful, I am so grateful to NetGalley for allowing me to read it early.

The story flips back and forth between two narrators, Captain Arthur Rostron, captain of the Carpathia and Kate Connelly, a twenty-three-year-old single 3rd-class passenger on the Titanic.

From them, we get two points of view, seeing what it was like to be in the very heart of the disaster, and what it took for a rescue to take place. The fact that the survivors in the lifeboats were picked up and so quickly isn't given much attention, but without Captain Rostron's quick actions, the tragedy of the Titanic could have been even worse.

A good historical fiction that gives the tragedy a very personal voice.

4.5 ⭐

Everyone has heard the tragedy of the Titanic. How many knew about the ship and crew who bravely rush towards the sea of ice to rescue her passengers?

"A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice" features Captain Arthur Rostron of RMS Carpathia. The Carpathia was traveling eastbound from New York to Liverpool. In the early hours of April 15, 1912 as Harold Cottam was about to rest he heard a distress signal that the Titanic hit an iceberg and was quickly sinking. The Captain who was already asleep got everyone to their post. They were four hours away and everyone gave their all that night to reach the Titanic fast without hitting any ice themselves.

Kate Connelly was a twenty-three-year-old single third-class passenger who's the "eye" of what happened on the Titanic and on lifeboat #13. What she witnessed while drifting in the frigid dark sea was something we heard before but it's agonizing all the same.

It's so difficult to put into words how much I enjoy this novel. It evokes so many emotions. The dedication of Captain Rostron and his crew is very inspirational and will stay with me for a long time.

Thank you Shadow Mountain Publishing and NG for this ARC.

I'm totally obsessed with anything about Titanic and pleasantly surprised that this was a completely different take on the story. I've read quite a lot on it, however all was from the perspective of people on the Titanic. Reading a perspective from the Carpathia was really refreshing.

Very emotional read and highly recommend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction and Titanic. You can tell the author did a lot of research.

That being said it's 4/5 because historical fiction so it wasn't a fast read for me but that's a me problem.

*Thank you so much NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for the eARC!*

I reviewed this book for the May issue of Historical Novels Review, the magazine of the Historical Novel Society. Per their policy, I cannot put a review online until after it is published on the HNS website on May 1st.

A dual timeline chronicling the Titanic and RMS Carpathia.

After receiving the distress call from Titanic, RMS Carpathia rushes to the aid of rescuing the stranded occupants taking on as many as they can. Captain Arthur Rostron and his crew work diligently to save the tragedy weary, keeping them warm, feeding them, and having funeral services for their lost loved ones at sea.

Kate Conolly is a third-class survivor of the Titanic. She has lost friends but she is very grateful for all that the crew is doing for her, and she is very aware and grateful.

A Brilliant Night of Stars and Ice was an eye-opener for me as I have never heard of the RMS Carpathia and I suspect was overshadowed because of the tragic tragedy that was the Titanic. At times, I thought I could feel the dampness of the sea as they rowed through the darkness of the night and didn’t know (and feared) if anyone would save them, or they too would find a grave in the sea like the others who weren’t so fortunate. Kate Connolly and Captain Rostron were the two main characters and though they don’t indirectly interact with each other, it clearly shows both sides. The choices they made because of this tragic incident changed so many lives. Recommended. My gratitude to Shadow Mountain and Netgalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

I love reading historical fiction novels set on the Titanic, and I can't believe that it took me until now to find a book set from the point of view of The Carpathia. This book was endlessly entertaining; the story was compelling, the characters were intriguing, and it was evident that a lot of research went into this book. This is a must read for historical fiction fans, and especially for those who think they've read it all about the night the Titanic sank.

Thank you to Shadow Mountain Publishing and NetGalley for the AEC!