#Review: Under an Amber Sky by Rose Alexander

Release date - 24th May 2017
Book length - 258 pages
Publisher - www.harpercollins.co.uk 
Amazon UK - www.amazon.co.uk
Amazon US - www.amazon.com

ABOUT THE BOOK

When Sophie Taylor’s life falls apart, there is only one thing to do: escape and find a new one.

​Dragged to Montenegro by her best friend Anna, Sophie begins to see the light at the end of a very dark tunnel. But when she stumbles into an old, run-down house on the Bay of Kotor she surprises even herself when she buys it.

Surrounded by old furniture, left behind by the former inhabitants, Sophie becomes obsessed by a young Balkan couple when she discovers a bundle of letters from the 1940s in a broken roll-top desk. Letters that speak of great love, hope and a mystery Sophie can’t help but get drawn into.

Days in Montenegro are nothing like she expected and as Sophie’s home begins to fill with a motley crew of lodgers the house by the bay begins to breathe again. And for Sophie, life seems to be restarting. But letting go of the past is easier said than done…

MY REVIEW

UNDER AN AMBER SKY by Rose Alexander is a beautifully written, emotional, heartbreaking tale of love, loss, strength, and hope, and is a book that will stay in your heart and mind long after you finish the last line.  

Sophie Taylor is happily married to her childhood sweetheart, working as a teacher, and hopefully starting a family soon. But with one simple phone call her entire world is torn apart and the life Sophie knew no longer exists. Devastated and grief-stricken, she is persuaded by her larger-than-life best friend, Anna, to take a trip to Montenegro and it is there that Sophie clutches to a ramshackle, deserted house, like a lifeline. Knowing that she must move away from London where the memories will linger forever, Sophie quickly settles into Montenegro but she soon discovers that her grief will stay with her and disarm her regardless of her location. But this beautiful place has a power all of its own with friendships old and new developing and the magic of this special community taking root in Sophie's heart. And when she finds old letters from another heartbroken soul, Sophie will begin a quest of self-discovery that is linked with history and a deep connection between two women from different times. 

UNDER AN AMBER SKY by Rose Alexander made me cry tears of sadness as I became really invested in Sophie and Mira's stories and made me breathless with the stunning depiction of the Montenegro scenery, and community that had survived so much, yet steadfastly opened their hearts to strangers. All of the characters in this tale are compelling in their own right - Anna and her little boy, burly and brusque Frank, formidable Irene, and contemplative Ton to name a few. Montenegro is described in such breathtaking detail that it is sure to fill readers with wanderlust for this special place. My only problem with this novel is that I didn't want it to end and I would love to know more about Sophie's future, and that of the rest of this group that has burrowed into my heart for the long haul. 

UNDER AN AMBER SKY by Rose Alexander expertly handles devastating situations of death, war, and grief in such a way that you feel it too, and while these are harrowing subjects, this book is so much more than a sad tale. It is a story of love, strength, friendship and possibilities for the future, and is an outstanding novel. 

Author Bio:
​
Rose has had more careers than is probably strictly necessary, including TV producer / director making programmes for all the major broadcasters, freelance feature writer for publications including The Guardian and secondary school English teacher, not forgetting cocktail waitress, melon picker and interior designer. 

Writing a novel is, however predictable the line seems, the realisation of Rose’s childhood 
dream and the result of finally finding ‘a voice’.  The triumph is that the voice was heard above the racket created by her three children plus rescue cat (tabby white, since you ask). Rose likens the experience of penning Garden of Stars, a multi-layered love story, to another recent achievement of learning to ice-skate: progress is two-slides-forward-one-back; insecurity, self-doubt and despondence reign supreme; onlookers laugh, mock or even worse, smile indulgently.... But the finished manuscript, polished and pristine, is like the perfect pirouette performed on freshly raked ice. (Rose can’t do pirouettes yet, obviously, they just made the best simile.)

Rose is currently working on several new projects including a novel based on a relative’s true story of an epic journey as a ‘flüchtlinge’, fleeing the vengeance of the rampaging Red Army as Nazi Germany collapsed. For more information:
Website - www.rosealexander.co.uk
Twitter - twitter.com/RoseA_writer

​*I want to thank Rose Alexander for giving me a copy of this beautiful story for review.