Lighting the Sky by Katharine E Smith

Lighting the Sky by Katharine E Smith

I LOVE this book. It flowed perfectly from beginning to end. I couldn't put it down.

All is set to change for Alice and Sam as they expect their first child together. Just how they are going to fit themselves, their baby and Sam's daughter Sophie into their little two-bed cottage is a mystery, but Alice is determined not to get stressed out.

Her focus is on best friend Julie, who is trying unsuccessfully for a baby, and on Sophie, who is torn between staying in Cornwall with Sam, or moving to Devon with her mum. Then there are Alice's parents, who don't seem happy with their own move to Cornwall, and Jonathan, who also appears to be falling out of love with life there.

At least work is going well, with a glowing review of Amethi in Staycation magazine, and the possibility of picking up some tourism awards. But it should be no surprise when life throws a couple more challenges in the way.

Can Alice really survive her pregnancy stress-free, and can her friendship with Julie survive the strain of the differing situations they now find themselves in?

Preceded by A Second Chance Summer, After the Sun, As Boundless as the Sea and Sticks and Stones, this much-anticipated fifth book will not disappoint. As we travel through a long, cold winter, from the solstice to Christmas and into new year, the emphasis is on fresh starts and new beginnings. An inspirational read.

E. Katharine Katharine E. Smith is a Yorkshirewoman who lives with her husband and two small children in Shropshire, England. She is the owner of Heddon Publications, an independent publishing business, and has a degree in philosophy. Katharine has loved writing since she was a child, but it took her more than five years to finish her first novel, Writing the Town Read, to her satisfaction. Two years later, Seeing Back was published, and a third novel, Between Friends, is in the works.

Katharine's stories are defined by their settings and characters, which show a deep connection to the South West of the United Kingdom, where she attended school and afterwards lived for another five years. Kate Atkinson, Anne Tyler, and Maggie O'Farrell provide inspiration, with a dash of Nick Hornby and John O'Farrell thrown in for good measure.