Of Sunlight and Stardust

After the death of his wife, Tanner Rowe takes a step toward making her dream come true and buys the house with the dilapidated barn she’d been inexplicably drawn to in the picturesque Upper Peninsula. But after a year, he still can’t get past his grief long enough to make the repairs he’d promised.

Wow! This book is really unique, moving, and powerful. I love the story within a story component as they learn about a couple from the past while becoming closer in the present.

Tanner Rowe is a lonely and broken man still grieving the loss of his wife.  He is closed off and in so much pain that he is not really living. He has taken on the project of buying a farmhouse and barn in a small town to honor his wife's dreams, but he is not sure how to even begin restoring it.

Cole Lachlan is a man who has made mistakes and has paid for them, but now needs a chance. He has nowhere to go and has had a hard time finding work. He is stubborn, prideful, but willing to work hard. But he does not really feel deserving of kindness, and hates pity or charity. But Tanner is willing to give him that chance and also stubborn enough to make Cole accept it.

From awkwardness to companionship to friendship and something deeper, these two begin to fill the void of the other's loneliness. They never expected the tension and connection, and it is tentative and fragile. But as they become more vulnerable and attached, they start to feel alive again and develop a bit of hope for building a new future.

When they delve into a journal from the past, they find a parallel story of friends falling in love, but the farther into it they get, the more it seems like they did not have their happy ending. They feel the need to investigate and figure out what really happened to the young men in 1948, while also still navigating the newness of their unexpected relationship. Have attitudes in small towns really changed that much over the years?

This is a poignant, raw, intense story of  loss, true love, and whispers from the past. These two men were so lost, lonely, and hopeless, but only finding each other brought them any semblance of healing and hope. My heart also broke reading about the loves in the past. It makes you believe in soul mates, fate, rebirth, and finding a true home. The characters have depth, are truly likable, and feel deeply. The story is unique, mysterious, and interesting, but also sweet, passionate, and heartfelt. It really touched me.

“I read somewhere that we’re all made of sunlight and stardust. So maybe, whenever you look at the sky, from morning till nightfall, you’re connecting with them in some small way.”