Secrets, lies, and second chances are served up beneath the stars at a picturesque mountain getaway in this powerful novel about love and family by the bestselling author of This Is Not How It Ends.
Intrigued? Well read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Rochelle B. Weinstein’s We Are Made of Stars, which is out February 25th 2025, PLUS a playlist that pairs with the book!
At the Vis Ta Vie inn, Reneé and Jean-Paul De La Rue face the daunting decision to close their beloved home for good.
They’re not the only ones going through a season of change, though. Their guests include three couples in crisis: Hollywood celebs Leo and Penny are spending their silver anniversary together while on the cusp of divorce. Lucy, a practical-minded therapist, and Henry, an astronomer with his head in the stars, are struggling to find common ground. And former lawyer and current stay-at-home mom Sienna and charismatic sports agent Adam look perfect but are hiding rifts of their own. Thrown into the mix are self-absorbed single mother Cassidy and her sullen fifteen-year-old daughter, Rosalie.
The stage is set for a week of betrayals, regrets, and shocking truths that can rend the heart or heal it. Vis Ta Vie―live your life―captures what it means to love through the darkness, and to find the light even after the magic fades.
They’re gathered in the kitchen, sipping wine and champagne as he mixes olive oil with spices. Renée fusses with the already perfect charcuterie board. She’s probably wondering if Leo and Penny changed their minds, and when he spots his niece gazing out the window, he knows she’s wondering the same. Simone has always had a massive crush on Leo Shay. She’s holding her Nikon (a proper camera, she calls it), because on the first night, she always photographs the guests on the steps leading down to the kitchen. Simone makes a big deal of this ritual. She says she likes to capture those first moments, relishing how much is about to change, how guests arrive as strangers but rarely leave as such.
Renée checks her watch and eyes Jean-Paul. She signals to Simone that it’s time and taps a glass with a silver spoon. “If I can get you all together for a welcome photo.”
They set their wineglasses on the table, and Simone directs them toward the stairs. On the highest step in the back row are Lucy and Henry. Sienna and Adam are one step down, and Adam wraps an arm around his wife’s shoulder. The mother-daughter duo stand on the front step, a noticeable distance between them, and the mother is the only one in the group still holding her drink. The daughter stands with her arms crossed. They’re awkward, not yet at ease, and Simone waves them in closer. And just as she’s about to snap the shutter, there’s a commotion at the door.
“Sorry we’re late!” Leo shouts, making his way through the hallway followed by Penny.
Jean-Paul hears Renée’s sigh, the pleasant sound of relief, and before they can greet the actor and his wife, Simone gestures them toward the others.
“Oh my goodness, is that you, Simone?” Penny asks. “You were, like, five the last time we saw you!”
A collection of eyes dances as one of Hollywood’s greats saunters across the room, some hiding their surprise beneath curious smiles. Penny and Leo Shay. Jean-Paul’s mantra has worked. Sure, he notices the hesitancy of their steps, but their presence swells through the room. It will be an extraordinary week after all. How could it not? Leo is as handsome as ever; age has only made him more distinguished—at least, that’s what Renée said when she saw him in People magazine. And Penny: she is a sight with that long blond hair and generous smile. Leo Shay is nothing without his lucky charm, the shiny penny he vowed to love, honor, and cherish.
The guests pose, hopeful and hungry, when Simone presses the button. Click. A few more times. He hears the sound, sees the smiles. Possibility. It’s all there. When she finishes, the guests scatter toward the table, searching for their wine.
For now, they have a full house, and after Jean-Paul plates the salads, he joins Renée in properly greeting Leo and Penny. She takes Penny’s hands into hers as Jean-Paul pulls Leo into a bear hug. “It’s been too long,” he says.
“It’s good to be back,” Leo whispers, nodding at Penny. “I’m not so sure she’d agree.”
Jean-Paul brushes him off, well aware of the scandalous headlines. “That’ll change. Trust me. Renée will have it no other way.”
“What are you two whispering about?” Renée asks, holding Penny’s hand. “Whatever it is, we’ll work it out.” She isn’t wrong. They’ve witnessed Penny and Leo’s love in full bloom, and they know the inn’s transformative power. “Sit!” she orders them.
When everyone’s seated, Renée reintroduces herself and provides a brief history of her and Jean-Paul’s time in France before moving to the area and purchasing the old farmhouse. He slips away behind the counter, returning to tonight’s meal. It’s the same speech she repeats every week. “We knew very little about Vilas, but after visiting a bunch of properties, we stumbled across Broadstone Road.” She glances lovingly at him. “It took us forever to convince the owner to sell.”
“Two years,” he says, carefully shaping the croque monsieur bites. He feels their eyes on his fingers.
“Jean-Paul tends to this magnificent building the same way he tends to the menu. With care. Patience. Mostly everything you see was brought in from Europe, and Jean-Paul worked tirelessly on the restoration.”
He notices Lucy and Henry aren’t paying much attention. Adam’s texting beneath the table, thinking he has everyone fooled. He doesn’t. They’ve heard her speech a dozen times before, but Cassidy and Rosalie are new to the table, and Renée continues, sharing the week’s activities, the house rules, and responding to questions as though it were the first time.
He listens. Fading in and out. He’s on a precipice between doing what he loves and waiting to fall off the cliff, watching his life’s work stripped away. And worse, living with the fact that it’s probably his fault.
“Is there a gym nearby?” Cassidy interrupts.
Renée holds up both hands. “These mountains are your gym. There’s tons of activities that’ll get your heart racing.”
From there, Renée turns the night over to Jean-Paul, and he describes the evening’s menu and wine pairing. The table at Vis Ta Vie has a sterling reputation; the reviews describe Jean-Paul as a culinary genius, a master chef who carefully executes every detail. From the edible flowers adorning each course to the grades of meat and the years of certain wines, his selections are purposeful, the presentation exact.
The conversation among the guests begins simply, as it always does, with a greeting across the table. “We’re Lucy and Henry Rose-Wall from Buckhead. And that’s Adam and Sienna Kravitz. We’ve been friends since college,” says Lucy.
Sienna sips her wine. “How’s it possible that was eighteen years ago?”
“I’m Cassidy Banks.” The mother drops a hand on her nearly exposed breasts when she says this. “And this is my daughter, Rosalie. We’re from Chicago. Deerfield.”
The daughter offers a weak smile. In the light of the kitchen, her features look dark and clunky.
Leo and Penny don’t require an introduction, and someone asks what’s brought the famous actor to these parts. “Same thing as you,” Leo responds, praising the food and the peacefulness of the mountains. Unplugging. Renée pours wine, a bottle of red in one hand and white in the other. Leo points to the red. “We’ll have our usual.”
But Penny shakes her head. “White for me.”
Jean-Paul lets them do their thing as Simone serves the first course. Lucy’s chatting with the mother and the daughter, trying to draw the young girl out by asking her age and what grade she’s in. “How nice you have this time with your mom,” she says, to which Rosalie shrugs, gulping down a glass of water.
They dive into their salads as Simone and Renée circle the table refilling glasses. The chatter grows. The laces begin to knot together; the threads intertwine.
We Are Made of Stars Spotify Playlist
- Pink Skies – Zach Bryan
- Last Night – Morgan Wallen
- Time After Time – Cyndi Lauper feat. Sarah McLachlan
- Cardigan – Taylor Swift
- Heaven Sent – Keyshia Cole
- Wonderwall – Oasis
- Cat’s in the Cradle – Harry Chapin
- Dancing Queen – ABBA
- Shake it Off – Taylor Swift
- Find The River – R.E.M.
- All Too Well – Taylor Swift
- Where The Wild Things Are – Luke Combs
- Baby, I’m A Big Star Now – Counting Crows
- 7 Summers – Morgan Wallen
- One Man Band – Old Dominion
- Better Back When – Luke Combs
- I Remember Everything – Zach Bryan feat. Kasey Musgraves
- Sweet Thing – Van Morrison
- Wishful Drinking – Ingrid Andress with Sam Hunt
- Bright Side of the Road – Van Morrison
