Reviews

Lovely War by Julie Berry

pictturo's review against another edition

4.5

so so good. amazing concept, middle part dragged on with war talk, but it might just be me. sweet and creative characters and situations.

aubrey and collettes love plot was instan t-lovey and i just didnt love them together, separate they were incredible

kayleigh_paige's review against another edition

4.0

It dragged in some parts, but I really enjoyed the Hades parts.

valsoceans's review against another edition

adventurous informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

tanikon's review against another edition

dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

A really interesting concept! Aphrodite telling stories of some of her recent great loves to Ares and Hephaestus, trying to explain "why love and war are eternally drawn together." The rest of the story, however, doesn't...really...strive to answer that question imo. It seemed to me to boil down to 1) love becomes ever more needed during war, and 2) Ares only loves Aphrodite because she's beautiful and is incapable of true love.

I did grow to enjoy Hazel and James' story, but it was very much just a normal WW1 historical romance story? I enjoyed having the gods' input on the story but beyond that, they didn't really end up adding that much to the story.

erinbritt's review against another edition

5.0

It shouldn’t be a surprise that I absolutely adored this book since it combines two of my favorite things: history and Greek Mythology. Aphrodite and a few of the other Greek gods telling the stories of four mortals during World War One is such an interesting twist to most historical fiction. Berry’s beautiful prose makes the book hard to put down even when the book discusses tragedies or the horror of war. The love Aphrodite has for the four main characters is so plain to see in the story (Berry’s love for her characters as well). It’s almost impossible not to fall in love with James, Hazel, Aubrey, and Collette. You can feel every bit of love, hope, tragedy, heartbreak, etc that these four characters went through. The love and effort that went into writing this book is so apparent in the writing especially when you get to the historical notes at the end. I’m very interested in checking out some of the books and documentaries that Berry mentions helped her writing and would give more context to the book. Normally World War One is not an area of interest for me but I am desperate to learn more about the real life people and events that inspired the book. Lovely War is definitely a new favorite that I plan to reread in the future.

smillalikesreading's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

whimsyfaerie's review against another edition

4.0

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powderysweetgirly's review against another edition

4.0

This book has made me feel it ALL! I love it and will FOREVER treasure this! This book has my entire and whole heart ♥️

melissavb's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

It has been a while since I read a historical novel. And I have to say that this one didn’t disappoint. 

The book follows Hazel, James, Colette and Aubrey, all young lovers during the First World War. Their story is told through the eyes of the Greek Gods, meddling in their story. 

I loved how Greek mythology was mixed into this story. Don’t expect it to be a big part of the book, but it’s there and I really enjoyed it. 

The story was well crafted and I enjoyed how part of it was actually based on real life events (as the author explains in her authors note). I didn’t know the story of the black American soldiers in WW1, so it was amazing to learn more about it and of course heartbreaking too. 

The romances were very sweet and cute. It’s very much that feeling of young first love but set to a much more gruesome backdrop. So this is a very solid read, even if you’re not really into historical novels normally.

bleumingpages's review against another edition

5.0

❤❤❤❤❤