Lovely War is the kind of book I would never have read had I not seen it all over Instagram. Yes, the cover is stunning, but a love story marketed towards young adults? So outside of my comfort zone.
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Regardless, I put the audiobook on hold. By the time it was available, I had read multiple rave reviews of Lovely War. And let me just say - this book did not disappoint.
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It is 1942. Aphrodite is with her husband, Hephaestus, and her lover, Ares. With the goal of explaining why love and war are so drawn to each other, she tells the story of four young people as they navigate love, WWI, tragedy, and friendship.
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So, yeah - that description sounds cheesy. This book is not cheesy. And it is more than a love story; it is a story within a story layered with prejudice and racism, music and prodigy, terror and trenches, trauma and hope.
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In a lot of ways Lovely War reminds me of The Book Thief: a glimpse into a war and the lives of regular people, with an unusual narrator (or in the case of Lovely War, multiple unusual narrators).
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This is a book I will definitely revisit - in fact, I already order myself a physical copy.