I have to admit, I had every intention of knocking out so many books this summer. The backlog on my Kindle, library card, and Audible downloads is pretty crazy. This summer has been different for everyone, admittedly, and my reading life took a hit. I have one book review to share today for Lovely War by Julie Berry.
Every time I try to explain this book to someone, I start out with ‘Well… it’s about WWI and WWII …. kind of … and these people fall in love at the beginning of WWI but the whole story is actually a flash back of these Greek Gods ‘holding court’ in a hotel room because Aphrodite cheated on her husband.”
So…yeah. That basically sums up the story.
There are basically two stories in Lovely War by Julie Berry. The overarching story is that Aphrodite has been cheating on her husband, and he calls her out on it. He corners her in a hotel room with her lover, another Greek God, and puts her on trial. As part of her testimony, she offers up a story of true love that took place during WWI.
Hazel and James meet right before James is shipped off for training at the beginning of WWI. Hazel, a British pianist, is so taken by James that she join the YMCA so she can be hear him in France. War and trauma tear them apart. Along the way, Hazel makes a dear friend Colette. Colette is healing from her own war trauma, wherein her entire family and life were destroyed when the Germans annihilated her Belgian hometown.
Working at the YMCA, Hazel and Colette meet Aubrey, an African-American serviceman and jazz pianist who faces not only the war but also racism amongst the soldiers. Colette and Aubrey fall in love but are separated when Hazel and Colette are relieved of their duties at the YMCA for socializing with Aubrey.
The story is about love and war, and it was so hard to put down. I’ve been recommending it. Of course, I don’t want to spoil the ending at all so you’ll just have to read it and let me know what you think!
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Rebecca has been writing about style, beauty, and lifestyle topics since 2011. Thank you so much for reading this post! Feel free to leave any questions or comments below. I love hearing from you!
