The Sun and Her Star
By: Dylan Allen
*originally titled ENVY*
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Trope: Coming Of Age, Angst, Second Chance, Friends To Lovers
Publisher: Gold Coast Girl Publishing
Publication Date: May 29, 2018
Format: Paperback
My Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
Synopsis:
If envy is a sin, then let me be damned.
Graham was born to be a star.
Once upon a time, that star shone only for me.
Now, I have to share him with the rest of the world.
For a while, I thought I could do it. Because, beneath the hypnotic smile, gorgeous body and God-given charm that made him famous, I still caught glimpses of my best friend.
Of the boy who called me sunshine and loved me.
I wore that love like a crown . . . until he placed it on another’s head.
Losing him was agony, distance felt like the only cure.
When tragedy reunites us after years apart, it only takes one touch to erase the past. Just like that, I’m back in his arms.
He promises this time will be different. But I’m afraid to believe him.
Because behind his star’s blinding brilliance is a darkness that doesn’t want to let him go.
I know a star that bright can’t belong to just one person, but my jealous heart doesn’t want to share him.
I want all of him . . . even if wanting what doesn’t belong to me leads me to ruin.
WOW!!!! All the feels and all the stars!!
My heart feels so full right now. Apollo and Graham were worth every hour spent reading. It’s going to take a long time to get these two out of my head. So much love!! Dylan Allen blew me away with this spectacular read
In My Own Words:
The Sun and Her Star (also titled Envy) is a beautiful story about love, loss, and forgiveness. It’s about choices and the paths we venture down because of choices made. It’s a story about redeeming yourself and growing from your past.
Graham grew up in a cult, his mother married his stepfather after a tragedy took his father away. At fourteen years old, his mother finally got them out of the situation they were put through. But in a few short weeks, during that awful period of his life, he found solace in an eleven year old girl with a smile as bright as the sun and a knowledge that could surpass three worlds.
Apollo knew at eleven years old Graham was a rare and special breed of boy. So she deemed him as her best friend. They spent hours sitting in a hammock reading each other’s favorite books and basking in the wisdom and wonder of literature. Until the night everything came to a screeching halt…
Now years later, Apollo and Graham have found each other once again, and that fire that burned bright between them is still as bright as ever. but with Graham’s new secret occupation and his mother’s illness, he refuses to let their relationship go any further. She’s decided to leave for good, but something in her heart won’t allow her to move on from the fourteen year old boy she loved once a long time ago. Something in her soul keeps fighting. She wants Graham, and she’ll wait until there isn’t a star in the sky left, for him to come back to her as the man he promised to be.
My Thoughts:
Dylan Allen ran me through the emotional wringer with Graham and Apollo’s story! It’s been quite a while since I last cried while reading a novel. I have to say, there were times i had to fight the tears, and there was one time there was no fighting them. I can’t remember the last time I actually full on ugly cried while reading a novel. Dylan Allen deserves a round of applause and all the kudos for pushing my emotions that hard. Her being a new to me author, makes my love for this novel grow even more! I can’t wait to dive into more stories by this wonderful author!!
Also I’m apologizing early on if I accidentally refer to this novel as Envy. The copy on my bookshelf is the older title, and you know what they say about teaching old dog new tricks. The same goes with me as a reader. In all honesty though, I feel the new title is more fitting for Graham and Apollo’s story and I’ll be looking forward to the very near future when both covers and titles will grace my shelves.
Now onto all the things I loved about this novel!
First off let’s start with Apollo’s character. This girl is FIRE! I loved her spirit from the very first page. She brought light to a somewhat dark beginning with her smile and her wisdom beyond her years. I swear to god, this little one is my spirit animal. I felt a connection to her character from the very start.
And then Apollo met Graham and she deemed him as her star, and right there in that moment, my heart felt so incredibly full and content.
Graham’s side of the story had me shaking my head in a mixture of pity and anger. The bottom line, you do what you have to do to help the ones you love. His mother was sick, and an offer was thrown on the table. He turned the offer down once, and let me tell you, when he turned that offer down I jumped up and threw my fists in the air. I was celebrating this monumental moment, because for the first time, a male character didn’t make a reckless decision. Instead Graham thought about where this choice would lead him, and losing Apollo wasn’t an option…. And then his mother’s health started to rapidly decline, and I just knew where this was heading. Graham’s choice was taken from him. Hospital bills were adding up, there was not enough hours in his work to go around, and he simply couldn’t refuse Nanette’s deal….. My heart legit broke for this man. His chance of fate was taken from his hands, and he did what he had to do to see that his mother got the care she deserved, which in the end resulted in him losing his one true love.
My heart still hurts thinking about it all. Dylan Allen not only wrote a novel that took my breath away. She also wrote a novel that made me predict every situation from every single side of the spectrum… and every prediction i made….was wrong. My mind was going a hundred miles per hour a minute. It’s been a long time since a novel had my thoughts racing that fast. I’m kicking myself for not having picked this novel up sooner!
This novel is a definite top read of 2020 for me! As I said before, it’s going to be a very long time before I get Apollo and Graham’s story out of my head. I can already feel a book hangover setting in.
Do I recommend this novel?
There is no hesitation when I say, HELL YES!!!! If you like strong heroine’s with a fierce mind and soul, you should definitely be picking this book up right now!!
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Peace Love and Happy Reading,
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