Captivating and unsettling in equal measure, THE STARS AND THEIR LIGHT is an examination of truth, our beliefs, and the power of mystery. Much more than a historical novel about the Roswell UFO incident, Hawker’s brilliantly layered narrative compels and confounds expectations—delivering a story that will have you questioning everything you thought you knew about the universe and our place within it.

Don’t miss the author’s note—it’s fascinating!

A fantastic story that kept my attention all the way through! Certainly different from what I'm used to reading but I loved how this author has pulled it off!
Wow!
I really enjoyed in getting to know these characters especially Mary Agnes. I loved her personality and the way she knew what to do.
The plot has kept my attention all the way through. I was mesmerized from beginning until the end.
Coming of age stories always intrigue me. I love them.
5 stars from me for an awesome adventure!
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine.

An interesting insight of alleged alien invaders arriving in America, just after the second World War.
I loved the firm relationship with the father and daughter.
A new author to me, I found the writing style intriguing.

A fascinating and powerful novel!! As many reviews already mentioned, once started I could not stop reading it. Based on real events and some real people, the storyline which is meticulously researched brings about experiences with unexpected phenomenons. Following accounts of what fell in New Mexico in 1947, we witness the influence of the unexplained (or unexplainable, as mentioned by the author) on ordinary people, Army people and religious characters. I found it particularly fascinating the parallels between the unexplained and religious faith ... Very cleverly done, the plot is very convincing and definitely thought provoking! A great novel!
I received a digital copy of this novel from NetGalley and I have voluntarily written an honest review.

In 1947 a strange object fell from the sky in Roswell, New Mexico. There were strange sightings as well - things that moved in ways that none of the known aircraft of the day could do, and would then disappear. The locals thought maybe it was a spy balloon from arch enemy Russia, but local military officials reassured everyone that it was just a weather balloon mishap. But there are witnesses to the crash, and some residents have other evidence that it wasn't a weather balloon. And then, teenager Betty Campbell experiences the stigmata (bleeding from the hands and feet in the same places that Christ bled from the crucifiction). No one can explain it, and locals are convinced she is making things up. Mary Agnes, a nun at a newly created convent in town, is convinced that Betty's experience is real, and asks local clergy to meet Betty and investigate. Mary Agnes has a history of her own; as a young woman she fled to the monastic life feeling that she was fleeing sin, and incapable of living a sin free life if she wasn't in a convent. After the local clergy reject all the evidence of Betty's stigmata, and is is ostracised and rejected by the local community, Mary Agnes begins to question her decision to leave the real world. Harvey, the handyman at the convent, is also a victim of the sighting. What he saw the night of the crash caused him to resign his commision in the military, after being threatened with a court martial or worse if he told anyone what he saw. Nobody knows that he has a piece of the craft that crashed. Betty's boyfriend Jim, a young man hoping to follow his father's path as a career military man, also has a piece of the craft. Could those pieces have anything to do with Betty's stigmata?
Beautifully written, well researched and thoroughly compelling, The Stars and Their Light asks questions we've all asked. What's really out there? Have beings from outer space been here? The historical notes that Olivia Hawker includes add context and heft to the story. A really great book!

Set in 1947 and the UFO Roswell incident, this book was well researched and as always well written. However, I wasn't that into the book and its history. With a mix of history, mystery and religion I found a difficult read. My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this one I found the plot to be engaging and interesting and loved the characters. I really liked this one . Thanks to Netgalley for letting me review the book and also the publisher

Although, I have never read any of Olivia Hawker's previous books, I was immediately drawn to the book description set in the 1940s and the characters surrounding rumors of a crash landing unidentified object.
Evenmore intrestring you meet Sister Mary Agnes, a main character, who wishes to set up a monastery in town and Betty Campbell who has been affected by the unidentified object event. Sister Mary Agnes, Betty, along with others weave a beautiful and thoughtful tale that really makes you feel like you are back in the 1940s with them.

Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC of this book!

I liked this so much more than I expected. I'd have loved a bit more of a connection between Mary Agnes and Betty but I found all of the characters really loveable and I was sooo invested in their lives and the mystery.

(Review also on goodreads and storygraph)

Olivia Hawker’s newest novel was wonderful! Although I had read the basic outline, the storyline was totally unexpected, but I found it riveting! Set right after World War II with the shadow of the Cold War and the atomic bomb creating a sort of darkness over the lives of people trying to find their new normal, several specific residents of the town of Roswell, New Mexico, are drawn together in a search for understanding as they begin to experience a new reality. While I selected this book because I really enjoy historical fiction and I certainly had never read anything that focused on the UFOs and Roswell, New Mexico, I also found that the storyline went far deeper. Each of the main characters experienced a profound contradiction in their personal beliefs, were forced to explore extraordinary impossibilities, witness the presence miracles, and each was involved in a search for individual truths. More than just an historical fiction novel revolving around government cover ups of UFOs throughout our country over the years, the author splendidly outlined the myriad ways individual lives can and do change when confronted by the mysteries of our world and beyond.

Olivia Hawker never just writes a book. She let's you think she's written a book - and she has, with characters and a plot and thoroughly researched history - but then she sneaks in all these extras. Ideas and concepts and religion and philosophy. I love her writing but she's definitely not giving you fluff for the end of a long day.

The Stars and their Light is set in Roswell, NM in 1947. I had a basic idea of what happened then, based on movies and random things I'd read over the years, but the author has done what the best historical fiction should be able to do: make you care about and become interested in an era that you previously weren't, on the strength of storytelling and coming to care about the characters.

Patricia/Mary Agnes, Betty, Roger, Jim, and Harvey share the telling of the story, giving very different interpretations of something that can't actually be explained in the language that we have. Setting is one of Hawker's strong suits, and Roswell is as much a character as any of the people.

This review doesn't tell you much about the actual story, and that's fine. Read what's on the cover and look inside. It's bigger than it looks.

This book had a lot going on and that made it hard to follow and stay invested. I think the topics of war also make it hard to follow and stay invested. I liked the characters, and the writing style was okay but a bit slow for me. Overall I was not a big fan of the book unfortunately

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and especially the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest review of the book!!

The Stars and Their Light by Olivia Hawker had a super interesting premise, but honestly, it didn’t quite work for me. The story is set in 1947, right after the Roswell UFO incident, and focuses on Sister Mary Agnes, who moves to Roswell to set up a monastery. There, she meets Betty, a girl affected by the crash, and Harvey, a handyman who saw it all go down. It’s a mix of history, mystery, and a bit of religion, which sounds cool, but I found it hard to stay invested.

One of the things I liked about the book was the setting. Hawker does a great job capturing the post-WWII atmosphere and the buzz around the Roswell crash. The whole town feels on edge, and you can sense the tension between faith and the unknown, which is probably the book’s biggest strength. The backdrop of the 1940s gives the story a unique vibe, and I thought the historical context was well done.

That said, the characters didn’t really click for me. Sister Mary Agnes has this internal struggle between sticking to her religious beliefs and questioning what she’s been taught, but her journey felt slow and repetitive. I wanted to connect more with Betty and Harvey, but they didn’t seem fully developed either. Their relationships with Sister Mary Agnes felt a little shallow, and I didn’t find myself caring much about where their stories were going.

The pacing was another issue. It started off interesting with all the mystery around the crash, but then it just slowed down too much. The middle part of the book really dragged, and it felt like the story lost some of its energy. By the time it picked back up, I wasn’t as invested anymore, which was kind of disappointing.

This book had a lot of potential, especially with the mix of historical fiction and the Roswell incident, but the slow pacing and lack of character depth kept it from being as engaging as I’d hoped. If you’re into historical fiction with a hint of mystery, it might still be worth a read, but for me, it fell a bit flat.

I’m a fan of Olivia Hawker, but this book was not my fave of hers, The premise and start of the story was promising, but it stalled out about mid-way through and never picked back up, The writing style seemed more simplistic than in the other books of hers I have read. I would have gone with 2 stars, but the author’s note at the end convinced me to bump it up to 3 stars as I had not realized how much history was embedded in the story, and The Roswell Incident itself is fascinating.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The Stars and their Light by new to me author O. Hawker is an historical fiction novel. Ser in the 1947 in Roawell, it tells the story of Isabel and the clerus who questions her about her medical condition, including sister Mary Agnes who forms a bond with the girl.
I read the blurb and was intrigued, but I found it difficult to connect with characters and story.
Blurb: It’s 1947 when Sister Mary Agnes arrives in New Mexico. Her mission is to establish a monastery in the town of Roswell, where weeks before rumors of the crash landing of an unidentified craft have triggered a crisis of faith. Residents are drifting away from the divine, awed no longer by the heavens but rather the stars.
In service to the frightened and confused, Sister Mary Agnes soon befriends Betty Campbell, a teenager marked both physically and psychically by the inexplicable event. Mary Agnes is also unsettlingly drawn to Harvey, an attentive handyman refurbishing the monastery—and a firsthand witness to the crash. But as Mary Agnes tries to guide her wayward friends back to the church, it’s the fantastic and the forbidden that begin to loom large in her imagination.
Mary Agnes must choose whether to uphold the order in which she came of age or embrace the truth she feels in her heart, despite its terrifying complexity.