A review by heidirgorecki
When the Summer Was Ours by Roxanne Veletzos

3.0

I struggled with this one a bit and I rounded up from 2.5 stars. The story of Eva and Aleandro during WW2 in Hungary was a good perspective I haven’t yet read. And learning about how the country essentially entered into the war so late into it, it wasn’t really affected until 1943, was very interesting.

However, I really did not like the writing style of the book. It was far more narrative than anything, especially in the first half of the book, which felt more like someone retelling a story than being allowed into it. And when there was dialogue it felt very dramatic and a bit detached. Not really realistic often.

If I’m honest, I really didn’t like Eva’s character either. She came across as somewhat self absorbed when it came to her relationships other than her daughters. The decisions she made and the way she treated Eduard and Aleandro both, without regard for how it would affect them, made her very dislike-able in my opinion. I seem to be in the minority when looking at the ratings but all in all I was a bit disappointed in the book.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.