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

5.0

Set in 1943, Sopron, Hungary a young socialite named Eva is engaged to be married to an aspiring doctor who is away doing his part during the great WWII. While Eva is spending time at her summer home studying to be a nurse in Sopron her purse is stolen by a young gypsy boy, however one day, a young man named Aleandro, a poor, Ramani fiddler and artist, finds and returns the purse to Eva. Aleandro is smitten by Eva and cannot stop thinking about her. Eva and Aleandro fall deeply in love while engaged to another man and Eva has to choose between a life with Aleandro where he has nothing to offer her or a more stable, financial life with Eduard. Will one summer night with Aleandro change the lives of both Eva and Aleandro forever?

WWII is one of my favorite time periods and the historical aspect of the Hungary/Russia cold war was a new adventure for me through this piece. The author had me completely engrossed with both Eva and Aleandro and their struggle of class differences. I felt their love from the beginning to the end. I felt their heartbreak from beginning to the end. My heart was broken with theirs. This was such a beautiful story of love and sacrifice.

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.