Review: Find Me in the Stars by Jules Larimore
Today, I'm delighted to welcome back author Jules Larimore, with the next instalment in her fascinating Cévenoles Saga – Find Me in the Stars.
The plight of the Huguenots makes for an interesting tale, especially when based on a true story, and this is an exceptional journey.
Find Me in the Stars is currently on blog tour with The Coffee Pot Book Club. Discover other great guest posts and excerpts HERE!
Find Me in the Stars
a Cévenoles Sagas novel
Jules Larimore
The novel begins with a parting, as Jehan leaves his cherished home for new grounds. Joining a mixed group of other refugees, they travel with mules to make do in the at times treacherous territory. Wracked by guilt about having inadvertently endangered his beloved Amelia, he realises there is no way back, and they are still safer, apart.But his fear for her never goes away.
Amelia is feeling bereft following Jehan's departure, and she focuses on her ailing mother, under the strong protection of the Knights Hospitaller. But even there, they are not safe from rumours and suspicion, and she must tread carefully not to invite any danger to their lives. Her calling as a healer is strong, but with superstition growing in her rugged, beautiful homeland, there is a profound sadness about her.
Jehan's journey is also wrought with danger, and travelling at night, through hostile territory, is grating on everyone's nerves. He doesn't trust his fellow refugees, and he soon begins to miss his home. But persecution is never far away, so after arrival in the cantons, he is keen to settle. Yet soon, he comes to realise that even here there are religious factions that don't work with each other – but rather against the unwelcome newcomers.
When their letters cease to reach the other, it seems the end of their connection.
Will Jehan find the safety he's craving in Switzerland? Or does fate take him to new places, where he and his fellow Huguenots may feel safe? And most importantly, will Jehan and Amelia be reunited? Find out in the book!
Find Me in the Stars is an evocative and incredibly moving tale of religious persecution, personal hardship, realisation, and enduring love. Ms Larimore paints a vivid picture of Amelia's homeland, in the rugged Cevennes in the south of France, and we can follow Jehan's journey closely as it takes us across the country and beyond.
The research that has gone into the location, but also the historical background, is incredible. Ms Larimore has brought Jehan and Amelia to life, in a spell-binding tale of love between two young people, despite all the odds being stacked against them.
I found the religious background fascinating, especially as I live in the Languedoc region. There is so much history here, it's inspiring to read a novel as immersive as Find Me in the Stars. Even if you don't know the area, you are transported vividly to a time and place, and you remain close to the main characters at all times.
Ms Larimore has created a truly wonderful book. Highly recommended!
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Blurb:
“Larimore's ability to engulf a reader into a tale... is brilliantly done.”
5-star Highly Recommended Award of Excellence
~ Historical Fiction Company
Separated by miles, connected by the stars, two healers forge their destinies in a quest for a brighter tomorrow.
Inspired by a true story, this refugee's tale of sacrifice, separation, and abiding love unfolds in the Cévennes Mountains of Languedoc, France, 1697. A sweeping adventure during the time of Louis XIV's oppressive rule and persecutions, this compelling narrative follows the intertwined destinies of two remarkable protagonists, Amelia Auvrey, a mystic holy-woman healer, and Jehan BonDurant, an apothecary from a noble Huguenot family, in a riveting tale of enduring love, faith, and the search for light in the darkest of times.
Amelia and Jehan are fierce champions of tolerance and compassion in their cherished Cévenole homeland, a region plagued by renewed persecution of Huguenots. The escalated danger forces their paths to diverge, each embarking on their own dangerous journey toward survival and freedom. The Knights Hospitaller provide protection and refuge for Amelia and her ailing sage-femme grandmother, even as they come under suspicion of practicing witchcraft. And, to avoid entanglement in a brewing rebellion, Jehan joins a troupe of refugees who flee to the Swiss Cantons seeking sanctuary—a journey that challenges his faith and perseverance. Jehan arrives to find things are not as he expected; the Swiss have their own form of intolerance, and soon immigrants are no longer welcome. The utopian Eden he seeks remains elusive until he learns of a resettlement project in the New World.
During their time apart, Amelia and Jehan rely on a network of booksellers to smuggle secret letters to each other—until the letters mysteriously cease, casting doubt on their future together. Jehan is unclear if Amelia will commit to joining him, or if she will hold fast to her vow of celibacy and remain in the Cévennes. Seemingly ill-fated from the start, their love is tested to its limits as they are forced to navigate a world where uncertainty and fear threaten to eclipse their unwavering bond.
As a stand-alone sequel to the award-winning The Muse of Freedom, a bestseller in Renaissance Fiction, Find Me in the Stars is based on true events in the life of Jean Pierre Bondurant dit Cougoussac--an unforgettable adventure where love and light endure against all odds.
Buy Link: Universal Buy Link
This title is available to read on #KindleUnlimited.
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About the Author:
Jules Larimore
Jules Larimore is the author of emotive, literary-leaning historical fiction with a dose of magic, myth, and romance to bring to life hopeful human stories and inspire positive change.
She is a member of France’s Splendid Centuries authors’ collaborative, a board member of the Historical Novel Society of Southern California, and lives primarily in Ojai with time spent around the U.S. and Europe gathering a rich repository of historical research in a continued search for authenticity.
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