Author: Gabriele Wills
Publisher: Mindshadows
ISBN: 978-1775035411

It's June 1940 and Merilee Sutcliffe's life is about to change forever. As a fifteen-year-old living in the peaceful lake town of Muskoka in Canada, Merilee has not experienced much in the way of excitement in her life up to this point.

Even the dark shadow of the war has kept far away from Muskoka, the only sign that there is a war going on being the Royal Canadian Air Force using the local airport as a place to refuel their planes and for training purposes. But this all changes one summer, when Merilee's peaceful afternoon by the lake is suddenly interrupted by a soldier who informs her and her friend, Peggy’s family that their town is going to be used for a POW camp for German prisoners. 

A huge change overtakes the town as soldiers and German prisoners are brought in. Merilee must cope with these changes and with the idea that some of her friends and family members are going to Europe to join the war effort. 

Meanwhile, a German pilot who was shot down during the Battle of Britain is brought to the camp. Erich Leitner finds that the quality of life as a prisoner in Canada is much better than he'd feared it would be and that the prisoners are allowed to roam free around the camp. It is during his stay that he meets Merilee, and the two begin a romance that leads in directions that neither of them are expecting. 

These are only two of the extensive cast of characters in this book that shows the effects of loyalty, friendship, love and bravery during what was perhaps the darkest hour of humanity. 

Gabriele Wills is a talented author and one that I will definitely be looking out for in the future. The way that the different narratives blended together so seamlessly was gorgeous and made for such a well-rounded read. ‘Lighting the Stars’ is book four of ‘The Muskoka Novels’ series but can be read apart from the first 3 books.  However, I loved it so much, I now plan to read the first three.

About Gabriele Wills

Gabriele Wills is the author of 6 highly acclaimed historical novels, including 4 in The Muskoka Novels saga set in North America, Britain, and Europe through the two cataclysmic World Wars and the seductive Jazz Age.

Her passion is to weave compelling stories around meticulously researched and often quirky or arcane facts in order to bring the past to life, especially with regard to women’s often forgotten contributions.

The first novel in her Muskoka Novels, The Summer Before the Storm was the “Muskoka Chautauqua Reading List Winner”

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