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A review by katsbooks
Lovely War by Julie Berry
emotional
hopeful
sad
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? Yes
4.0
“If music stops, and art ceases, and beauty fades, what have we then?”
“The most ordinary mortal bodies are housed by spectacular souls.”
“The first casualty of war is the truth.”
What I loved most about this book was how theatrical it was. I could envision the entire story taking place on a stage and I really hope someone adapts it into a play one day. The narration by Greek gods was a lot of fun and I feel like it's a structure that you don't often see in novels today. However, I found that it made it really engaging. All of the characters, even the gods, were sweet and endearing (perhaps with the exception of Ares). I appreciated that most of this story took place over the course of World War I. It gave similar vibes to stories set in World War II while not actually being during that time period. (Although, it's fairly close.) I also really liked the inclusion of black American regiments. Those are often perspectives that aren't told. I think the author balanced writing more diversely (by including the perspective of black soldiers) while not centering narratives that weren't her own as a white woman. Aubrey's story was equal parts heartbreaking and hopeful but he was only one of four perspectives in this story.
This story was quite sweet and the writing was excellent. If you like historical fiction and Greek retellings, this would probably be right up your alley. If those things don't appeal to you, this could be really boring. It was a little slow-paced at times and quite angsty. But overall, I really enjoyed my time with this novel.
“The most ordinary mortal bodies are housed by spectacular souls.”
“The first casualty of war is the truth.”
What I loved most about this book was how theatrical it was. I could envision the entire story taking place on a stage and I really hope someone adapts it into a play one day. The narration by Greek gods was a lot of fun and I feel like it's a structure that you don't often see in novels today. However, I found that it made it really engaging. All of the characters, even the gods, were sweet and endearing (perhaps with the exception of Ares). I appreciated that most of this story took place over the course of World War I. It gave similar vibes to stories set in World War II while not actually being during that time period. (Although, it's fairly close.) I also really liked the inclusion of black American regiments. Those are often perspectives that aren't told. I think the author balanced writing more diversely (by including the perspective of black soldiers) while not centering narratives that weren't her own as a white woman. Aubrey's story was equal parts heartbreaking and hopeful but he was only one of four perspectives in this story.
This story was quite sweet and the writing was excellent. If you like historical fiction and Greek retellings, this would probably be right up your alley. If those things don't appeal to you, this could be really boring. It was a little slow-paced at times and quite angsty. But overall, I really enjoyed my time with this novel.