Absorbing, lyrical, vivid and compulsively readable - The Heart is a Star is beautiful storytelling from a talented new writer. A novel for fans of Holly Ringland, Jacqueline Maley, Hannah Richell.
Layla Byrnes is exhausted. She's juggling a demanding job as an anaesthetist, a disintegrating marriage, her young kids, and a needy lover. And most particularly she's managing her histrionically unstable mother, who repeatedly threatens to kill herself.But this year, it's different. When her mother rings just before Christmas, she doesn't follow the usual script. Instead, she tells Layla that there's something she needs to tell her about her much-loved father. In response, Layla drops everything to rush to her childhood home on the wild west coast of Tasmania. She's determined to finally confront her mother - and find out what really happened to her father - and lay some demons to rest.The Heart is a Star is an engrossing, lyrical and powerfully absorbing novel about the complicated and beautiful messiness of midlife; about the ways in which we navigate an intricate, complicated world; and about how we can uncover our true selves when we are forced to face the myths that make us.
Untitled
Debut novelist Megan Rogers has written a tragically beautiful novel that follows an every day Australian family as they overcome every obstacle that has been put in their path. The words sing off the page in this lyrical and poetic style that mirrors that of Holly Ringland! Megan Rogers is the next up and coming Australian author. - Elizabeth (QBD)
Guest, 04/05/2023
Untitled
On the windswept and glowering west coast of Tasmania is a woman with a secret she must share. Her estranged daughter Layla, doctor, tired mother and wife, is bearing the burden. She breaks her aged aunt out of a home and heads into the wilderness. Sounds dark, but a feel good ending. Enjoy. - David (QBD)
Guest, 03/05/2023
Untitled
Part mystery, part musings on female agency, Megan Roger's 'The Heart is a Star' is a beautiful, poignant reflection on the complexities of mother/daughter relationships and finding oneself later in life.
The prose are lyrical and the plot engaging and bittersweet; it is equal parts heartbreaking and heartwarming. Roger's debut asks our inner star to guide our strength and sense of self. - Jade (QBD)
Guest, 02/05/2023
Untitled
A brilliant debut novel with a slow burn plot and strong focus on character. This book will have you relating to the main character Layla as she goes through all the complicated tangle of middle life. Work, children, a failing marriage and a mentally ill parent. Follow Layla as she unpacks her past and discovers truths about her family and herself. - Josh (QBD)
Guest, 02/05/2023
Untitled
This heartfelt drama will have you reading this in one sitting. Layla is handling the challenges life is throwing at her and struggling to keep afloat. Her mum reaches out insisting there are things she needs to tell her about her father.
Could this be the turning point in Layla's life that she is looking for. You will have all the feels after reading this novel. - Abbey (QBD)
Guest, 02/05/2023
Untitled
Laylas' life isn't following the script. A crumbling marriage and consuming job are difficult enough to cope with until a call from her unstable mother sends her running to Tasmania to finally discover the truth about her father. This book is an intense exlporation of family and what we owe to those we love and ourselves. An easy read which will invite you to see yourself amongst the stars. - Imogen (QBD)
Guest, 02/05/2023
Untitled
Grappling with memories of her traumatic childhood, Layla returns home to finally confront the secrets she and her mother have kept from each other. Set in the wildlands of Tasmania, this is a book about a messy life and how we navigate complicated relationships, written in spare but beautiful prose, with a story that seems to stretch into myth. Fans of Holly Ringland & Tracey Lien will love it. - Joshua (QBD)
Guest, 30/04/2023
Untitled
The Heart is a Star is an enthralling, soul wrenching and heart mending Aussie tale. Packed with family secrets, Aunts escaping from nursing homes to go to festivals, mystery, chaotic drama and confronting the things about oneself to be able to move forward. For such a jam packed emotional rollercoaster, it was such a well written and easy read. Great for fans of Holly Ringland. - Kirsty (QBD)
Guest, 30/04/2023
Untitled
What started as a heavy drama about the lost relationship between mother and daughterturned into something more as Layla and her mother push aside their differences for a few moments to see between the cracks of their broken lives to look for Laylas missing father. The broken chemistry between characters, the messy life of an anaesthetist and the trauma that bonds them all, A must read debut! - Jacqueline (QBD)
Guest, 29/04/2023
Untitled
The Heart is a Star is a stuning debut novel about the messiness of midlife and the complexity of human emotions. Mega Rogers has creatred a novel with real life complexities and a character in Layla that you can really relate to. A stunning read for fans of Holly Ringland and Lianne Morriarty. - Jessica (QBD)
Guest, 29/04/2023
Untitled
The Heart is a Star follows the story of Layla Byrnes as she battles her way through middle age and all its messiness - a costly mistake at work, failing marriage, needy lover and a mother with mental health issues and skeletons in the closet.
The story switches between present day and Layla's memories of her childhood with all its pain and trauma. Will she ever find the truth about her father? - Alison (QBD)
Guest, 29/04/2023
Untitled
Enthralling and heartbreaking, Megan Rogers has a way with words that makes you want to keep reading. Layla is a character you can't help but feel for as she struggles through the middle of her life trying to get through each day with a demanding job while taking care of her kids as best she can. When secrets come to light within the family, Layla's life changes and we can't help but feel for her. - Michelle (QBD)
Guest, 28/04/2023
Untitled
The Heart is a Star by Megan Rogers is a beautiful Australian novel with relatable and quirky characters that warm your heart. Layla Byrnes is passionate and intelligent, but also exhausted and overworked. Her story is honest and powerful and brimming with feminine strength - I would highly recommend this book to any fans of Holly Ringland! - Chelsea (QBD)
Guest, 28/04/2023
Untitled
Doctor, wife, mother, daughter, lover - Layla does it all. But her life is going off script. A family secret threatens to alter not only Layla's future, but what she believed about her past. Megan Rogers delivers an engrossing read about the importance of truth and family. - Katrina (QBD)
Guest, 28/04/2023
Untitled
Soaked in grief and haunted by the ghosts of family secrets, Megan Rogers' THE HEART IS A STAR is a book, simply put, about love. What it does to us, the lengths we go to keep it and how, exactly, we are supposed to navigate its treacherous and sought after waters. Literary fiction, perfect for fans of Holly Ringland and Jacqueline Maley. - Alicia (QBD)
Guest, 28/04/2023
Untitled
Layla Byrnes is an anaesthetist with life issues. A failing marriage, two young kids, an ongoing affair and most worrying a mother threatening suicide. How do you deal with it all?
Her mother also claims a secret about her beloved father that leaves Layla rushing home to know the truth.
A book that doesn't candy coat the tough choices in life but lets us know there is a way through. - Geoff (QBD)
Guest, 28/04/2023
Untitled
A powerful novel about the struggles of a family dealing with intergenerational trauma. When Layla suddenly drops everything to rush home to her mother in Tasmania, she hopes to finally find the truth about what actually happened to her father, but she soon finds out that sometimes the truth can be more painful than not knowing... ignorance is bliss. - Nicola (QBD)
Guest, 28/04/2023
Untitled
A strong debut novel. It delves deep into the complexity of human emotions as one makes sense of a world which is completely flipped upside down. As Layla struggles with a past that doesn't make sense, she comes to realise that the monsters are not who you believe them to be. - Sophia (QBD)
Guest, 28/04/2023
Untitled
The Heart is a Star is a hauntingly beautiful novel about the intricacies, complexities, and reality of mid-life and motherhood. Author Megan Rogers doesn't sugarcoat here – parenting, working, and maintaining relationships are under a spotlight that highlights the joy – and the despair – of life. Set against the beautiful backdrop of regional Tasmania, The Heart is a Star aches with honesty. - Melanie (QBD)
Guest, 23/04/2023
Untitled
Beautiful storytelling from a talented new author. A novel that will transport you to enthralling physical and emotional landscapes. Captivating and heart-wrenching, a book you wont want to put down. - Hayley (QBD)
Guest, 21/04/2023
