This book is full of sex, drugs and rock and roll. But so so much drugs! Nevertheless, it's expected in a story set in the 60s.

I really enjoyed being immersed in this time period. You could see and feel everything Jane Green wrote. Such a wild time in history that I found really interesting.

Just finished this gem and really enjoyed it. After the death of her husband, Claire's daughter Tally comes over to help her go through some things. In the process of doing so, they discover treasures from Morocco that Claire has almost forgotten about, including some letters from Talitha Getty. When questioned about them, Claire retells the story of her younger days, when she left home and went to London to work before going on an adventure of a life time with the Getty's and their friends. This is when Claire/Cece discovered more than she ever thought possible in life and also met the love of her life.
A brilliant story.

OMG at his book was amazing - such a deviation from Jane Greens usual style of writing and I loved it.
Loosely based on the life of Talitha Getty, Jane took me to the sex, drugs and rock and roll era of the swinging 60’s in London and to Marakesh in Morocco where the rich and famous indulge in heavy drugs and relationships and exist within a 24/7 party atmosphere.
Claire is a young girl who gets swept up in this world and the excesses of it but forms a close friendship with Talitha which lasts the distance. You read about the highs and lows of this era, the tragedies and transformations of the people as well.
It’s obvious that Jane did an enormous amount of research into the fashion, lifestyle and people of this era and I read this book in 2 sittings - such an escape from my usual choice of novels. 5* from me!
Big thank you to Harlequin Australia and Net Galley for the review copy.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book for an honest review.

Interesting read that blends real people with fictional rockstars. Enjoyed reading about Morocco and learning a little about the Getty's.

After Claire was kicked out of home by her step-mother, she caught the train to London, determined to make it big – to get a job immediately along with cheap accommodation. Of course, she was utterly naïve and after tramping the streets for a couple of days, a girl in the make-up department of an department store took pity on her as she stood there with tears rolling down her cheeks. And that is how Claire’s new life began.

Music, drugs, sex and rock & roll – the sixties were full of it all. When Claire, newly named Cece, met Talitha Getty, the two women became extremely close. But Talitha’s life was fragile and her magnetism drew Cece in. What would be the outcome in those dark, dangerous days?

Sister Stardust by Jane Green was disappointing for me unfortunately. It seemed to glorify the sixties way of living, the drugs, sex and also anorexia. The first part of the book was bland, but it was readable. Claire’s meeting with Talitha changed the way it read, and I didn’t enjoy it. Sister Stardust was not for me I’m sorry to say.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.

EXCERPT: Out of the corner of my eye, something moved. I turned to see her wafting down a grand marble staircase, the robes of an embroidered kimono floating as she walked, an ethereal beauty, petite, with a mane of dark auburn hair, and curiously wide-set eyes filled with life and laughter beneath a heavy fringe. Her smile seemed to wash over all of us as we stood, dirty, tired, entranced.

She was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen.

'I'm Talitha,' she said to me, hugging each of us, hugging me.

She wrapped her arms around my waist as she pulled me in, and I sensed both her fragility and her strength. I knew then that I would go to the ends of the earth to protect her.

And I knew my life was never going to be the same.

ABOUT 'SISTER STARDUST': From afar Talitha's life seemed perfect. In her twenties, and already a famous model and actress, she moved from London to a palace in Marrakesh, with her husband Paul Getty, the famous oil heir. There she presided over a swirling ex-pat scene filled with music, art, free love and a counterculture taking root across the world.

When Claire arrives in London from her small town, she never expects to cross paths with a woman as magnetic as Talitha Getty. Yearning for the adventure and independence, she's swept off to Marrakesh, where the two become kindred spirits. But beneath Talitha's glamourous facade lurks a darkness few can understand. As their friendship blossoms and the two grow closer, the realities of Talitha's precarious existence set off a chain of dangerous events that could alter Claire's life forever.

MY THOUGHTS: Sex, drugs and rock'n'roll, and more sex, drugs and rock'n'roll. I was a teenager in the years this book covered. I enjoyed remembering the music, but that's about all I enjoyed. Sister Stardust is the written equivalent of the reality TV show featuring the Kardashians. I don't see the point of either.

We don't even meet Talitha until almost half way through the book. I am unsure whether to be aggrieved, as I understood from the publicity blurb, and I quote, 'Jane Green re-imagines the life of troubled icon Talitha Getty in this transporting story from a forgotten chapter of the Swinging '60s,' or relieved. I think it is more the latter.

I didn't mind Claire's story up until she meets Talitha and becomes Cece. It was nothing startling, but it was an improvement on what came after.

And as for Cece's stance that 'I knew then that I would go to the ends of the earth to protect her?' That is a massive fail. Had the story actually focused on Talitha, her life and her demons, it may have been a better read. But really, this barely scratches the surface. Sister Stardust is neither one thing nor another.

⭐⭐

#SisterStardust #NetGalley

I: @janegreenauthor @harlequinaus

T: @JaneGreen @HarlequinAus

#1960s #historicalfiction

THE AUTHOR: A former journalist in the UK, she has had her own radio show on BBC Radio London, and is a regular contributor on radio and TV, including as well as regularly appearing on television shows including Good Morning America, The Martha Stewart show, and The Today Show.

Together with writing books and blogs, she contributes to various publications, both online and print, including anthologies and novellas. She has taught at writers conferences, and does regular keynote speaking, and has a weekly column in The Lady magazine, England’s longest running weekly magazine.

She is a storyteller for The Moth radio hour on NPR,
and lives in Westport, Connecticut with her husband and their blended family. When she is not writing, cooking, gardening, filling her house with friends and herding chickens, she is usually thanking the Lord for caffeine-filled energy drinks.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you Harlequin Australia, Harlequin Fiction via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Sister Stardust for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage

Sister Stardust by Jane Green is a novel that certainly captures all the groovy vibes of the 1960s. It felt like being transported back in time with the gorgeous cover truly capturing all the hippy feels. Jane vividly recreates the classic ‘sex, drugs and rock and roll’ in this engaging novel.

‘I felt that my life would only begin if I transformed myself into the look of the moment. If only I had known how dangerous it would be.’

This is a biographical fiction story of the infamous Talitha Getty - someone I had not heard of until reading this book. Jane makes her sound so charming, exotic and glamourous, I was furiously googling and finding photos to learn more. Always a positive sign. The fictional character of Claire is your eyes and ears for all that happens in this remarkable time period. What Jane also does, is offer Claire’s journey - literally and figuratively - of what living at this time was like as she thought this to be a world she wanted to belong to and be a part of. It is, in fact, her personal growth through everything she experiences that proves the most engaging - perhaps to come full circle to find the life truly suited to you.

“She is gorgeous, just a spectacular woman. She’s got more life and fire in her than anyone I’ve met.”

Another key aspect is the locations. London and especially Morocco of the 1960s are vibrant places that literally jump off the page. The ambiance of Marrakech is wonderfully captured in all its exotic richness, as are the taxi rides and extreme partying in London in the 1960s. It did, at times, become somewhat exhausting and tiring with names being dropped left, right and centre and all the parties seeming to merge into one drunken stupor.

“Lucky us, getting to spend time in this beautiful city, welcomed by the Moroccans. I adore them, the most welcoming, wonderful people. They’ve made us so at home.”

If you are someone who is obsessed or desires a window into the swinging 60s, then this is most certainly the book for you. There is an overload of celebrities, partying, fashion, drugs and sex in this wealthy madness. Yet at its heart is a coming of age story of a girl from the English countryside who, for a time, travels to Morocco and lives the high life (pardon the pun).

‘Will she understand that those were different times? Is she able to hear the story without judgment? Will she understand what it was like to emerge from the repression of the fifties’






This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

I adored this book. What The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo did for the glamour of 1950s Hollywood, Sister Stardust does for the heady sex, drugs and rock and roll days of the 60s. Free love, Drug use, vibrant hippy vibe, harem pants and feather boas, floppy hats and beads. The decadent lifestyle of the rich and famous.
Claire has grown up in a small town in England. With a cruel and unkind stepmother and a crush on her brothers best friend, she longs for a better life. When Linda, her stepmother throws her out of the house she heads to London. By chance she happens to cross paths with Talitha Getty, and is soon swept into a glamours time when they head to Marrakech with Talithas wealthy husband the oil baron Paul Getty. Claire spends her days rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous. Movie stars and rock gods, and experimenting with various pills and dope. It all seems exotic and Claire, now CeeCee, is determined to stay. But behind the facade of glitz and glamour is a sad lonely life lead by the hostess and her guests, while famous, have dark murky sides that lead to irreversible consequences for many.
It’s a great book about an era I remember even if I was very young.

#SisterStardust #NetGalley

Thanks to Netgalley, Harlequin and the author for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love this author's work. She has a way of bringing a time and place to life in a seemingly effortless way. For me this was a book of contrasts. Claire's early life contrasts with her time in Morocco & Morocco itself is completely opposite to her life in London.

The author sweeps the reader into Claire's life and loves - it's a fabulous read.

A hedonistic visit to the 1960s, Claire, or CeCe, leaves her very small town for a life in London that leads to a dazzling stint in Marrakesh with a bunch of wild bohemian artists and rockstars. We meet Claire as she bids her husband farewell and rummages through her attic with her daughter, to discover a lost treasure from her youth.

Claire leaves her home – her father, brother and stepmother – to start a new life in London in the 1960s. She becomes connected very quickly to some very colourful characters, including some well-known famous names. From here her life stakes another turn – as does her name to CeCe - and ends up in the riad of the Gettys in Marrakesh. John Paul Getty’s wife, Talitha, is renowned for her parties and lavish lifestyle in Morocco. CeCe mingles with the rich and famous, and becomes immersed in drugs and alcohol and some very interesting friendships. CeCe forms a connection with Talitha but I wasn’t really convinced that the relationship they had was as deeply meaningful as I initially thought. We experience the colour, spices and scents of Marrakesh in the 1960s, and the contrast of life within the riad and out on the local streets created a world within a world. The partying seemed a little tiring after a while and I breathed a sigh of relief when Claire returned to London – so much name dropping!. Another peculiarity of this book was the few recipes that sprung up outt of nowhere – where these pages hat were also in the collection of nostalgia locked in Claire’s attic?

This is a perfect book to reach out for in a comfy deckchair – a book that brightened by rainy day weekend reading!


Thanks @netgalley for the e-ARC.