We are thrilled to share The Star and the Strange Moon this week. Read on for more details!
The Star and the Strange Moon
Publication Date: November 2023
Genre: Historical Fantasy
From the author of A Witch in Time comes a haunting tale of ambition, obsession, and the eternal mystery and magic of film.
A vanished star. A haunted film. A mystery only love can unravel…
1968: Gemma Turner once dreamed of stardom. Now the actress is on the cusp of obscurity. When she’s offered the lead in a radical new horror film, Gemma believes her luck has changed—but her dream is about to turn into a nightmare. One night, between the shadows of an alleyway, Gemma disappears on set and is never seen again. Yet, Gemma is alive. She’s been pulled into the film. And the script—and the monsters within it—are coming to life. Gemma must play her role perfectly if she hopes to survive.
2007: Gemma Turner’s disappearance is one of Hollywood’s greatest mysteries—one that’s captivated film student Christopher Kent ever since he saw L’Étrange Lune for the first time. The screenings only happen once a decade and each time there is new, impossible footage of Gemma that shouldn’t exist. Curiosity drives Christopher to unravel the truth. But answers to the film’s mystery may leave him trapped by it forever.
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About the Author
Constance Sayers is the author of two best-selling novels: A Witch in Time (Hachette, 2020) and The Ladies of the Secret Circus (Hachette, 2021), the latter receiving both a Publishers Weekly and Library Journal starred reviews. Her work has been translated into six languages and her third novel, The Star and the Strange Moon will be published by Hachette on 11.14.23. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society, and her short fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net.
She received an MA in English from George Mason University and a B.A. in Writing from the University of Pittsburgh. She lives outside of Washington D.C.
My thoughts: the premise of this was so intriguing I had to read it as soon as I received a copy and my goodness. This book is so mindbendingly ingenious and clever and I was hooked from the off.
Christopher has spent much of his life fascinated by why his mum once freaked out and smashed up a picture of a film star in a hotel. He can’t ask her, as sadly she died after a long battle with her mental health. His aunt doesn’t know either.
Meanwhile in the 60s Gemma Turner has been offered a role in a Nouvelle Vague film shooting in the French countryside. It needs to be a success as her career’s on the slide. But things take a strange and terrifying turn…
As the two lives play out and slowly start to collide, strange occurances and a haunted movie dog them both.
Utterly brilliant and written so you really feel for these two lost souls as they search for answers and try to build something for themselves. It’s also an achingly sad story of a young man’s search for answers about where he comes from, and a woman’s about where she belongs.
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*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 