Book Review: Lovely War by Julie Berry

 'Ello, there. This is my British male alter ego, Phil Michael, speaking, and he's here to welcome you to my blog again. Today I will be reviewing Lovely War, which is one of the best books I've read all year.

Lovely War is a YA historical romance. It's about Aphrodite being put on trial by her husband, and her calling three witnesses [also Greek gods], to tell about what she believed was some of her finest work. The actual story is set during WW1, and it's technically two romances. One is between Hazel, a reserved, shy, pianist, and James, a dreamy soldier who wants to be an archeologist, and the other is between Aubrey, an energetic musician, and one of the few black soldiers in the war, and Colette, a Belgian orphan with a traumatic past. 

What I Liked

-Oh my goodness, almost everything. Like I said, this books one of my favorites that I've read all year. I can't believe it took me this long to read it. *shakes head* It's amazing. 

-The characters.

We all know how much I get attached to fictional characters. All of them were so well-written, and likable. I won't say anything more, because I don't want to spoil it. 

-The ships. 

Ah, yes, the ships. The romance was really well done in this book, and, ahhhh, I ship both couples so hard.

-The aesthetic.

Julie Berry did an excellent job describing certain places and I really felt like I was in the places with the characters. 

-The uniqueness

I haven't read that many books that were set in WW1, so that automatically made it unique, but the added touch of mythology made it even more unique. I love stories that are different from what I've read before, and I've never read a book like this. 

-The realness.

Even though this book is hopeful, it doesn't stray away from the horrible realities of having PTSD or being a black soldier in the late 1910s. 

-The hopefulness.

As I said before, it feels very real, but it also feels very hopeful, and it wasn't a complete downer, which I loved. 

What I Didn't Like

As the reigning Least Critical Movie Critic Who is Now the Least Critical Book Critic, I don't think there was anything I didn't like. It's fantastic, and I greatly recommend it. I mean, it's almost 500 pages, and I finished it in two days, soo.........uh, yeah, definitely read it. 

It's set in 1918, I believe, and, since it involves war, there is some violence and intensity, and maybe a swear word, but there wasn't much content at all. If you can't tell by now, I adored it, and would recommend it to everyone.

So, let's chat. Have you read Lovely War? Do you want to?