3.5 stars

Lovely War is a sweeping romance set during the turbulent years of World War One, and is narrated during World War Two by Aphrodite (the Goddess of Love) to her romantic partners/rivals Ares (God of War) and Hephaestus. Apollo and Hades also make an appearance during the story with their imput on different events. The story revolves around James and Hazel, two, young and innocent people swept up in war and trying to stay together, as well as Aubrey and Colete - a black American soldier and a white Belgian who fled to France following the massacre of her family by German forces.

I thought that this story was really beautiful, and I love the fact that it was narrated by Greek Gods, and how sometimes Aphrodite would be right there helping the couples along during different times whether it be an unseen presence or the waitress in the cafe on their first official date. James and Hazel are very sweet if not a bit strained and frustrating at times (kiss her man for goodness sake!), and on the other hand I found Aubrey and Colette lively and fiery and full of passion and chemistry. 

I don't know if this is an unpopular opinion but I definitely liked Aubrey and Colette's story way more than James and Hazel and I feel like they should have a lot more time and emphasis put on their love and relationship. Without Aphrodite narrating the story, James and Hazel would be very ordinary and so-so - which I don't like saying because obviously they were going through a war and I don't want to make that less than the terrible thing it was but James and Hazel had a very ordinary romance for the majority of the book and not really any obstacles in their way (besides the actual war) whereas Aubrey and Colette had a lot more to fight against (the war, racism, violence etc).

I think this story is worth a read though, even just for the beautiful narration. I found some of the descriptions really vivid and I really felt pulled right into the story alongside the characters.