The Launch

Stardust Beach Book One

De: Stephanie Taylor

Narrado por: Virtual Voice

1963. Cape Kennedy, Florida. The world is watching the skies—

but five women are fighting battles no one sees.

When Josephine Booker’s husband is chosen for NASA’s elite astronaut program, she leaves behind snowy Minnesota for a life of sunshine, press conferences, and expectations she never asked for. In Stardust Beach—a brand-new town built to support the space race—Jo is expected to be the perfect wife, mother, and symbol of American grace. But behind the smiles and poolside interviews, her marriage is quietly cracking under the pressure.

The danger isn’t just in space. It’s in what this life demands.

With her husband risking his life in the name of progress, Jo must decide who she is outside of the mission—and whether love is enough when the world keeps asking her to sacrifice more. As she finds friendship with four other astronaut wives—Frankie, Barbie, Carrie, and Jude—Jo begins to question everything she thought she knew about marriage, motherhood, and what it means to be a woman in a world that only sees the men.

Set against the thrilling, high-stakes backdrop of America’s early space program, Stardust Beach is a powerful story of sisterhood, sacrifice, and the courage it takes to chase your own dreams—no matter what gravity tries to hold you down.

Perfect for fans of The Astronaut Wives Club, Beatriz Williams, and Kristin Harmel.

The narration was terrible!

The narration was awful! It did not help that the language used by the characters was too formal and verbose. My third criticism is the introduction of the social justice theme of downtrodden women, desperately looking for fulfillment. I will not be continuing the series.

Loved the story, not narration.

Great story but the AI narration is horrible. Struggled to get through bc of that- definitely would be better as a read.

AI voice :(

I don’t like the AI voice. Pronounced several words incorrectly- like NASA. Enjoyed the story.

Virtual voice is awful

I wanted to like this book but there’s no real plot or conclusion. I hated the virtual voice. I won’t be listening to any others. I also wonder if AI wrote it.

I liked the story, but not a fan of the AI narrator.

Good story about a time in history I’ve always enjoyed. I disliked the AI narrator though. The voice inflection was often off or mispronounced.

Meh!

Narration was too distracting from an already mediocre plot that lacked depth. Interesting setting but under developed characters.

Nostalgic Setting; Intriguing Characters

I’m SO excited for this new series from Taylor! The time period is new territory for her and it did not disappoint. I loved hearing and imagining all the 60s family goings-on with this seeming classic family that’s more complex than they appear. It’s my first-ever AI-voiced listen and it was incredibly good! Not perfect, but solid inflection and pronunciation.
I’m starting book 2 just as soon as I’m done typing here….

Horrible AI Narration.

The AI narration is terrible. There’s some sort of feedback and there’s a lot of squeaking and the narrator is a monotone and it’s just horrible. The book itself really has no plot. I kept waiting for something to happen, but it never did. I don’t recommend this book.

AI Narration is unbearable.

The AI narration is unbearable. I moved to Cocoa, FL when I was 6 years old, because of the influx of construction. My father was a builder. I have photos of myself under rockets at Cape Kennedy and remember the space race design on buildings all over the Cape and surrounding areas. I really wanted to listen to this book. However, the AI narration is unbearable. There is no emotion and inflection is on the wrong part of words and sentences. I won’t be listening to any books narrated by AI.