This should be a book I absolutely adored. Romance and Historical Fiction surrounding WWI and a few Greek gods thrown in for good measure? Um, yes please. Sign me up. That, along with all the hype I started seeing about it put it on my list of most anticipated books this year.

I wish it had lived up to the hype for me. I really do. The first couple of chapters I thought were really fun and interesting, with the way Aphrodite would nudge and finagle situations to get Hazel and James together. It had this whimsical aspect that I wasn't expecting when I picked the book up.

In a way, and I almost hate to say this because for the most part it is NOTHING like this book, but the way the author told the story of these mortals through the eyes of gods reminded me of Death narrating The Book Thief. Aside from that and the fact that it takes place during a World War, there really aren't a lot of similarities, but I think if you like the kind of quirky narration of one you may like the other.

As far as the setting goes, I found that all really well done. I haven't read many books about WWI, and it was obvious that the author had done a ton of research into not only the war, but also the state of society at that time.

Probably my favorite part of the book is how music plays into the lives of these characters. One of our main characters, Aubrey, is a young Black American man who is a highly gifted jazz musician and also a member of an all-Black regiment sent to fight in Europe. Two of the other characters are also skilled musicians, and the audiobook had several musical moments. I kind of wish that had been even more present. It gave the story a cinematic quality. I could definitely see this being adapted into a film.

Unfortunately, there were things that kept me from absolutely loving this book.
One of which is the story itself, and perhaps specifically the way it was told. As much as I thought I was going to love the story from the POV of Greek gods, I found that it created a distance from the characters that made it difficult for me to really connect with their stories. I didn't really care about the little interludes we had of the 'trial' Aphrodite was on, and even though there are times when we're told that 'Character A is thinking this and Character B is feeling that' I never really feel like we got inside their heads in the way we would've if the story had been in 1st person or a more intimate 3rd person narration.

Also...and I'm sure this makes me an unfeeling monster, but because I never felt connected to these characters or their stories, nothing in here pulled at my heartstrings. I'd heard from so many reviewers that this book just ripped out their hearts and stomped on them and I finished the reading experience and felt very emotionally underwhelmed. I think part of that feeling comes from a moment about 3/4 of the way through the book where Aphrodite says

that they can end the story right there, where both couples are happy and content, and just pretend that that's the end of the story.

This implies that the real gut punches are about to happen. And I was ready for it. So ready. Leave-me-in-a-puddle-of-my-own-tears-curled-up-in-the-fetal-position ready. And then...nothing. I mean, there's SOMETHING, but it just didn't grab me like I wanted it to.

There's just wasn't much here for me to sink my teeth into. The relationships, which we're told are amazing and deep and so romantic, felt very surface-level to me. I never felt like we got a great foundation for either couple, and most of the scenes between them are very cheesy and melodramatic.

There is a part in the second half of the book where the author attempts to explore grief and PTSD and it wasn't bad, but I kind of wish that had been more of the book. Post-war PTSD is something soldiers today still struggle with, and it feels a little glossed-over here. Of course, that could be intentional, a result of the story being told through the lenses of an omnipotent being, but it feels like something that was tacked on for the specific purpose of throwing obstacles at one of our couples.

This is the first book I've read by Julie Berry. I'm not sure if/when I will try another of her books, but I'm not going to completely write her off, because this book does have merit and I could see why others rate it so highly.