Book Review: Under the Stars by Beatriz Williams

 

Pages: 368

Genre: Adult Historical Fiction

Pub. Date: July 29, 2025

Publisher: Random House

Source: Publisher for review

Other Books By Author: A Hundred Summers,

Husbands & Lovers, The Beach at Summerly, 

The Secret Life of Violet Grant, Cocoa Beach, 

Along the Infinite Sea, Tiny Little Thing, The Summer Wives, 

The Golden Hour, and Her Last Flight

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

 

Goodreads says, "Audrey Fisher has struggled all her life to emerge from the shadow of her famous mother by forging a career as a world-class chef. Meredith Fisher’s glamorous screen persona disguises the trauma of the tragic accident that haunts her dreams. Neither woman wants to return to the New England island they left behind and its complicated emotional ties, but Meredith has one last chance to sober up and salvage her big comeback, and where else but discreet, moneyed Winthrop Island can a famous actress spend the summer without the intrusion of other people? Until Audrey discovers an old wooden chest among the belongings of her estranged bartender father, Mike Kennedy, and the astonishing contents draw the women deep into Winthrop’s past and its many secrets…attracting the interest of their handsome neighbor, Sedge Peabody. How did a trove of paintings from one of America’s greatest artists wind up in the cellar of the Mohegan Inn? And who is the mysterious woman portrayed on every canvas?

On a stormy November night in 1846, Providence Dare flees Boston and boards the luxury steamship Atlantic one step ahead of the law….or so she believes. But when a catastrophic accident leaves the ship at the mercy of a mighty gale, Providence finds herself trapped in a deadly game of cat and mouse with the one man who knows her real identity—the detective investigating the suspicious death of her employer, the painter Henry Irving. As the Atlantic fights for her life and the rocky shore of Winthrop Island edges closer, a desperate Providence searches for her chance to escape…before the sea swallows her without a trace.

In Under the Stars, the destinies of three women converge across centuries, as a harrowing true disaster at the dawn of the steamship era evokes a complex legacy of family secrets in modern-day New England. Williams has written a timeless epic of mothers and daughters, of love lost and found, and of the truths that echo down generations."

It's 1846, and Providence Dare is on the run after the questionable death of her employer. She finds herself escaping via the Steamship Atlantic, but a detective is following her with a warrant for her arrest. She is the only suspect in the death of her employer, Henry Irving, a famous painter. She was the only servant living in the house with him, and rumor has it their relationship was an unprofessional one. Providence is no longer concerned she might be arrested, as there is a major storm coming their way and the passengers are told there is a good chance that the ship won't survive the night. Jump to the present day, and Audrey Fisher is escorting her famous mother, Meredith, back to her hometown on Winthrop Island. Meredith is escaping the glare of Hollywood to dry out at her family's home, and Audrey hasn't been back since she was a little girl. Audrey is also escaping her life since her husband left her, and she subsequently lost their restaurant and their money when he left, disappearing into thin air. While on the island, Audrey encounters her father, Mike Kennedy, who owns the local bar, and must come to terms with their strained relationship. Meredith also has to come to grips with her past and the events that had her running from Winthrop many years ago. Eventually, both plot lines, although they seem disjointed except for the shared location, make sense as Williams weaves the story together expertly. Under the Stars by Beatriz Williams is a page-turner of a beach read that kept me glued to the pages.

I will admit that I didn't care for Providence's storyline at first in Under the Stars. I felt myself gravitating to Audrey and Meredith's story, but once readers get more background regarding Providence, I feel like her story picks up. Readers end up caring about Providence's future and the ship's fate. Although Providence isn't a real-life character, the Atlantic and its wreck are based on the real-life ship that crashed on Long Island. This added to the suspense of the storyline, especially as the connection builds between Providence to the present-day Winthrop.

I really liked Meredith, Audrey, and Mike in Under the Stars. They were such fun characters that I cared about, even if I felt like they didn't always make the best choices. I adored the setting of Winthrop Island; many of Williams's novels take place there, so it was fun to return, not to mention the fact that many of Williams's previous beloved characters make cameos. Thankfully, Williams provides a family tree at the beginning of the novel so readers can make the connections.

If you are looking for a thoughtful beach read filled with historical details as well as some suspenseful moments, look no further. While I didn't enjoy this one as much as Husbands & Lovers, I really liked Under the Stars, and I think Williams's fans will enjoy her latest summer read. Let me know in the comments if you are a fan of Williams and if you read Under the Stars .