A relatable read for my middle aged self. Layla is a successful anaesthetist but this comes at a price. She is by no means the perfect character, she makes some lousy choices but no one is her world seems to have her back, not her husband, nor the Dr's she works with She is drowning in work, juggling kids a husband, and an affair, while also remotely taking care of her mentally ill mother and all the emotional baggage that entails. The whole book is about relationships, the relationship she has with her mother (complicated) and the relationship she has with her husband is hanging by a thread I felt like a peeping tom reading the dialogue and all that was left unsaid between Layla and her husband is enthralling (you can feel their boredom). The relationship she has with her aunt is selfish to say the least and the relationship she had with her dad is about to be blown apart.
There was just the right amount of mystery and intrigue with Layla's dad to keep me turning those pages without it feeling like a mystery novel. What a shocker!

I dropped a stars as I wished the novel had felt more Australian, It could have been set anywhere. It would make a great 3 part BBC series.

Thank you to Netgalley for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review

Layla is used to her mother threatening to off herself, but this year just before Christmas, the threats feel different, more like promises. After a turbulent childhood and now as a stressed mother of two with a strained relationship with her husband and her job, Layla really doesn't have the time to be flying across countries to check up on her mother. But if she can finally get some answers, it might all be worth it.

This book hit more than one of my trigger warnings and pet peeves, but I just couldn't bring myself to give it less than 4 stars. It's just too beautifully written. Layla's life is messy and full of dark things, not the least of which is her past, but I immediately fell in love with her as a character and found myself easily able to slip into her shoes and feel her skin. The writing in this book is absolutely worth the pain, and even though it ended up not being the right book for me, I still highly recommend it if you're the kind of person who enjoys a book that contrasts pain and beauty in ways that remind us what it means to be human.

Thank you to Central Avenue Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

i don't think the narrative really lived up to its expectations nad i found it in general a little meh. 3 stasr. tysm for the arc.

Heart is a Star is a lyrical and emotional read. I feel like I had an experience reading this, at points I felt addicted and others appalled and wanting to put it down. This is a story about trauma and toxic relationships. The family secrets that bind us and create our identities. I really enjoyed the setting, this was remote and vivid. The use of the stars and flowers in the language was beautifully written.
The sex scenes for me didn’t really fit with the other parts of the story, this felt disjointed but I am not sure if this was the point.
Definitely a book for those who like drama and literary fiction based on the lives of women.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC. This is a voluntary review of my own thoughts.

Very mixed feelings about this book as it was beautifully written but i found the characters not very intriguing or anything. I felt places in the book felt slow.

I was drawn to this book by the cover and description having never read Megan Rogers. It was an enjoyable read but quite complex themes which sometimes lost flow.

We learn of Layla, a mother of two and an anaesthetist who’s currently suspended as a result of death within her hospital.
Set during the Christmas period, Layla returns home to her mother’s annually who after a strange phone call is more desperate than before to unearth her father’s past.

There is so much disarray for Layla with her loveless marriage and fraught family - especially her selfish demanding mother.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

This started so strongly that it was incredibly disappointing when I reached the halfway point and was no longer interested in the story. Since I was halfway through, I debated what to do, but ultimately decided that I didn’t see finishing it as a valuable use of my time when I was no longer attached or interested in the story.

Great storyline. Different types of characters that pull the reader into the story. . Intriguing story with layered family drama. Could wait to finish the book! Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC.

“What if part of you has always known you were living a lie?”, but what if the truth you’ve been seeking your entire life turns out to be something you’ve never wanted to know? Layla is a troubled woman, from her career to her marriage, to her relationships with her children, sister and mother, she’s a mess. In trying to do the right thing, and uncover a truth she thinks will set her free, Layla may just find out who she really is.
I won’t say this is an uplifting story but it is one full of wise words and themes that resonate with me as a woman of a certain age who can relate to many of her experiences. Rogers takes you on this journey where revelations are uncovered and at times you simply wish they hadn’t been. Her writing style and word choice are worthy of the story and I would recommend this book as a triumph in coming to self awareness, finally.

Megan Rogers writes so beautifully but the story gets lost in a bit too much forced meaning and too many cliched metaphors in the language. The story is slow to unfold but it is interesting and complex, you’ll want to see it through. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy to review.

Loved the cover and chose the book because of it and it's title.

The main character, Layla, has a hard to deal with mother who is a whole separate mess unto herself. She knows how to manipulate her daughter and is always tired and constantly threatens to commit suicide. Her mother holds the secret of Layla's father's disappearance and always holds that over Layla to make her do what she wants. As the story progresses so many traumas come to light and it seems like Layla can not catch a break.

This book is strong, powerful, evocative, and tough to read at times. It touches on a lot of hard to deal with topics and some of which are triggers. It is about family, trauma, generational abuse, gaslighting and much more.

Heart is a Star is a captivating read that pulls you into the heart of Australia. Megan Rogers' writing is both lyrical and raw, painting a vivid picture of Layla's complex life and the secrets that haunt her family.

The story is a rollercoaster of emotions, from heart-wrenching grief to moments of unexpected hope. I was completely engrossed in Layla's journey of self-discovery and the unraveling of her family's past. If you're looking for a book that will stay with you long after you've finished reading, I highly recommend Heart is a Star.

It is crazy how much Layla is consumed by: high-stakes job as hospital anesthetist, her husband Gabe's mounting resentment, her mother Nora Byrnes's emotional needs, her guilt about not being present for her children Jack and Aud, her affair partner Lucas's ultimatum, her absent older sister Willow, her aunt Dawn's escapades, and her mysteriously disappeared father Oscar. Even keeping track of all these names is daunting at first. But I'm glad I stuck with it, because this story is jam-packed with themes and lessons that all come together beautifully in the end. I like that this incommunicative family learns that operating on false assumptions and myths for generations is deadly, and can only be remedied by brute honesty.

When Layla was 5, her family moved from the city to the wilds of the west coast of far-flung Tasmania. I loved the rich description of that setting. While the extent of chaos in Layla's life was outrageous, it never came across as inconceivable perse. Although I did wonder how nobody knew she was planning to leave the island to study medicine at college without mentioning it to her boyfriend of 4 years, who was brother to her best friend, especially considering the families lived next door to each other, and her father was a doctor, and there was no teaching hospital on the island. For that matter, why did Layla never confront her best friend about her cutting herself? Also why would somebody wait naked in bed after being discovered by the cuckolded spouse, rather than jump up and get dressed and run for safety? At times I wondered how all the misunderstandings could be so layered, so spread out for decades without anybody coming to terms or hashing anything out or achieving resolution. Until now. But more importantly it also made for a really, really great story, climax, and ending!

I wasn't sure where this book was going to go, but it went there. I really enjoyed this book: the hidden strength of women, what can be overcome, and the finding of self.

This book was not for me. Why? 1. Layla's mother blatantly manipulates Layla, Layla has a lover that I didn't find lovable, Layla's marriage is on the rocks (go figure) and she made a very bad decision during a surgery that resulted in a very poor outcome. I just didn't connect. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary digital ARC. This review is my own thoughts.

3.5

The cover is what immediately attracted me to this book. It's certainly a stunning piece of artwork but, for me, the narrative didn't quite live up to my expectations. My problem, not the book's.

The story follows Layla, an anaesthetist who is currently suspended due to a death at the hospital. She is unhappily married to Gabe but is having an affair with artist, Lucas. Every year Layla returns home to see her mother, Nora, but this year she is more desperate than most because of her mother's odd telephone call. Layla leaves her husband and children and heads home with her aunt, Dawn, but even the journey itself is fraught with problems. She has no idea what she will find when she arrives but she's determined to find out the truth of what really happened to her beloved father who died at sea many years before. Layla thinks her mother has been lying to her and won't leave without finding out what really happened.

The story, in itself, is interesting as Layla confronts her past but I found the circuitous nature of the narrative quite tiring. It seemed to take forever for Layla to get home and then even longer for someone to tell her about her father's demise. I think I was so invested in finding out what the secrets were that I forgot to enjoy the telling. As I said- my fault, not the book's.

If I were to offer advice it would be to enjoy the ride as much as the outcome. I'd like to read this book again with that in mind. I'd recommend it with the proviso that it's read as a piece of literary fiction rather than a thriller (as I did).

Thanks to Netgalley and Central Avenue Publishing for the advance review copy.

Published in Australia in 2023, this moving novel throws us into the disordered lives, secrets and lies of two generations of women. Layla, the main character, is in her mid-late 40’s, a physician, married, mother of two, and still dealing with deep emotional scars from her childhood. Her sister, Willow, six years older, left the family when Layla was 10; her father, the only physician in their Tasmania town, drowned when she was 14. Her mother, needy, demanding, and sometimes deluded, refuses to give Layla the answers she craves.

The story takes place at Christmas time, when Layla and her family, now living in Queensland, usually visit her mother. This year, her mother in crisis, Layla comes earlier with her aunt Dawn, her mother’s older sister. And secrets finally unravel.

Rogers writes profoundly and poignantly about the choices mothers make, and the circumstances creating emotional storms that tear lives apart. The natural world also is powerfully present, with the land, sea and the night sky central to understanding the characters’ world.

Well-plotted, lyrically written, with varied and strong characters, this is a skillful story of love, grief, art, and science, seen through the eyes of a strong yet fragile woman. What she learns has lessons for many of us.

Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC of Heart is a Star by Megan Rogers. This is the story of a woman exhausted by life. Layla is an anesthesiologist, a mom to young children, married but not happily, and has a relationship on the side. She is also trying to help take care of her mother who is quite unstable. Everything changes course a bit when she gets a call from her mom that just does not sound like the mom she is used to, which sets Layla on a path to find out what is going on not only with her mother, but also to something in the past concerning her father. This was a pretty good read and I do recommend it if you enjoy domestic dramas.

hey quick question; what the hell?
layla deserves so much better.
honestly this was really hard to get through and i feel like it dealt with serious subjects poorly.

When I sit to write my review of this book I am struck by how beautifully written it is. Looking at the themes of this book it could be quite a hard read, but it was very well handled.

I won’t give any spoilers, but it is definitely worth a read!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the copy to review.