“Let them start their dreadful wars, let destruction rain down, and let plague sweep through, but I will still be here, doing my work, holding humankind together with love like this.”
I may be wrong, but I feel like love stories all sound the same these days. Has romance always been this formulaic: two people meet; fall head-over-toes in love; ill-fated circumstances keep them apart; against odds, they surmount obstacles; and they live happily ever after. (Maybe I was lucky? I met my husband and we slid into love, no falling necessary.)
Lovely War is no exception to the formulaic, but it does comes with an unusual twist—while you're consuming the WWI love stories of both Hazel + James (two Brits whose paths cross in London THE DAY before James leaves for war), and Colette + Aubrey (a Belgian beauty who meets the Harlem native as his African-American troop pleads for a chance in the French battles), you're hearing it directly from the mouth of a woman trying to make amends with her husband during WWII. Did I say woman? I mean Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty. Take that for a twist! And who doesn’t love a good twist?
Move over Leo DiCaprio, the Inception of love stories is here. If you’re craving a refreshing dose of love and strife for the World War junkie in you, grab a copy of this multi-layered romance. You won’t be sorry. Julie Berry does a marvelous job of twining together real-life hardships of the war with true love. Best part is, it's a clean read—one you can definitely recommend to your mother-in-law.
P.S. For some, this may feel a bit cheesy, but it warms the soul—which we need during winter’s edge, am I right? Hey, can someone pass me a cup of piping hot cocoa?!?