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Lovely War by Julie Berry

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Title: Lovely War

Author: Julie Berry

Publisher: Penguin Books 2020

Genre: YA Historical Fiction

Pages: 480

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Modern Mrs. Darcy 2020; Monthly Theme - June

They are Hazel, James, Aubrey, and Colette. A classical pianist from London, a British would-be architect turned soldier, a Harlem-born ragtime genius in the U.S. Army, and a Belgian orphan with a gorgeous voice and a devastating past. Their story, as told by the goddess Aphrodite, who must spin the tale or face judgment on Mount Olympus, is filled with hope and heartbreak, prejudice and passion, and reveals that, though War is a formidable force, it's no match for the transcendent power of Love.

Another selection from the Modern Mrs. Darcy Summer Reading Challenge. Overall, I ended up really enjoying this book. I loved following the interconnected stories of James, Hazel, Aubrey, and Colette. I loved reading about their experiences in World War I and the trials their endured. It was a good book that kept me interested throughout. I did have to keep reminding myself that this was labeled as a young adult novel and as such, didn’t get as serious as i would have liked. The frame story with the Greek gods was inventive in the telling of the story. The story did start fairly slow and I didn’t get hooked until we crossed the 100 page mark. And the last 25 pages or so, I could have done without. But it was a good book that was very infortative as to life during World War I.

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Next up on the TBR pile:

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tags: Julie Berry, Modern Mrs. Darcy, young adult, historical fiction, 4 stars, Monthly Theme
categories: Book Reviews
Friday 10.16.20
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
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The Amaranth Enchantment by Julie Berry

Title: The Amaranth Enchantment

Author: Julie Berry

Publisher: Bloomsbury 2009

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 308

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library; YA; April Read-a-Thon

I really enjoyed this book.  It had dashes of fantasy, dashes of romance, dashes of a coming-of-age story, dashes of action.  I sped through the book loving most pages.  It really reminded me of Howl's Moving Castle... maybe that's why I loved it so much.  There was lots of parallels from the lost little girl to the witch.  Although in this case the witch was a good witch.  The only part that I just couldn't beleive was the ending.  The crazy twist wasn't so crazy.  In fact, it was downright deus ex machina.  And if we remember my previous Top 10 Tuesday: Bookish Pet Peeves, I hate stories that end with a deus ex machina effect. Annoying!  I would have prefered a much more belieavable conclusion to the story line.

tags: 5 stars, fantasy, Julie Berry, young adult
categories: Book Reviews
Friday 04.08.11
Posted by Tobe Buffenbarger
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