Lovely War, by Julie Berry (BOOK REVIEW)

 

"You're a brand-new piece of sheet music,' she said slowly, 'for a song which, once played, I'd swear I'd always known.”

Four people, Hazel, James, Aubrey and Colette. A talented British pianist, a British want-to-be architect, a ragtime musician, and a Belgian girl with a gorgeous singing voice. All from different backgrounds, but brought together by the goddess of love. Told from the perspective of ancient Greek gods, we follow the lives of these four young people, navigating the trials of being in love and at the same time being separated by a war. 

World War I is at its height when Hazel and James first meet at a London party. She's a reserved and talented pianist; and he's a new soldier with dreams of becoming an architect. When they fall in love, it's swift and feels like a dream. But the dream is cut short when James is sent off on a ship to the battlefield. 

Aubrey Edwards is also headed towards the battlefields. A gifted musician who is a part of an all-African-American regiment that is being sent to Europe to help end the Great War. Falling in love is the last thing on his mind. But that's before he meet Colette Fournier, a Belgian singer who's already survived unspeakable devastation at the hands of the Germans.

"It was the dimples. Empires have swiveled on less."

Lovely War, by Julie Berry is a captivating and heart-wrenching story of the trials and tribulations of love and war. Told from the perspective of Greek gods, this story was really original. I loved the characters and found myself laughing out loud at the humor. And the romance! Oh my goodness! It was the sweetest thing I've ever read! As I was reading it, I kept going, "Awww!!". This book really touched a lot of points; love, trust, war, grief, friendship.

I mean, wow! Julie Berry's writing was super relaxing and wasn't confusing. The fact that the story is told by Greek gods is so unique! And she accomplished it in the simplest way. I think that the fact that the book had a lot of different things going on and I could see all the character development, is super impressive. I didn't want this book to ever end but, as every book does, it did.

You may be thinking that this book is a 10 out of 10 for me. But I'm super picky about the ending of a book and this one was a little rushed for me. I did like how everything turned out in the character's lives, but it just happened too fast. Everything felt hurried. I can understand that maybe the author felt like she was running out of time, it's a pretty thick book, but some more details would've made this a 10 out of 10. 

"I envy the mortals. It's because they're weak and damages that they can love."

I give this book a 9 out of 10 and recommend it for ages 14+

PRESS HERE to purchase the book. 

Happy Reading!!

-Ari :)