The Women of Chateau Lafayette

Stephanie Dray provides a three-way split-time novel incorporating World War I, World War II, and the time of the American and French revolutions all connected through Lafayette's childhood home in her new work The Women of Chateau Lafayette.

While the name Lafayette is not unfamiliar, I had not read or studied much about his life beyond his service in the American Revolution. While his wife, Adrienne, has a more prominent role in this book, reading about their family and their contributions to French history have increased my desire to learn more about him. The characters featured in the World War I and World War II sections, who are fascinating characters many of whom also are based on historical figures, look to Adrienne Lafayette as a role model and for inspiration. There is almost a sense of "What would Adrienne do?" among the women in the later sections. In addition to the typical tension that occurs in a war novel, particularly one which involves World War II and the danger involved in hiding Jewish children, there is also a bit of mystery involving one of the main characters, Marthe, and her origins.

Dray does a marvelous job of intertwining the characters and the story particularly from World War I and World War II. As the reader jumps between time periods, Dray provides connecting points to help see where the characters and events intersect. These connections made the relatively brief time period between the two wars seem become even more apparent. The Women of Chateau Lafayette is very well-researched as evidenced by the remarkable details Dray includes as well as the extremely detailed Author's Note. Overall an excellent novel

I received a complementary copy of The Women of Chateau Lafayette from Berkley Publishing Group. All opinions are my own.

All the Ways We Said Goodbye

All the Ways We Said Goodbye by Beatriz Williams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

All the Ways We Said Goodbye is a three-way split-time novel written by three different authors Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White. This particular book ties the stories of three women who lived during World War I, World War II, and the 1960s. The three women are connected to each other through a variety of ways but I can't tell you more as that would ruin the story. The authors do a marvelous job of connecting the three stories so that the overall story continuously unfolds providing more information about the connections between the characters and so that it is one over-arching story. The book also provides a wonderful glimpse at the horrors of war for those who lived through it and for those who help others pick up the pieces afterwards.

I received an ARC via NetGalley and was not required to provide a positive review.

HIstory AND Science Combined

When the book description indicates Russia, Jews, and World War I, I'm sold. However, A Bend in the Stars has so much more to the story.

While set in Russia just before and during the early part of World War I and happening to have main characters who are Russian Jews, A Bend in the Stars centers on the eclipse that occurred in Russia on August 21, 1914 and a race to come up with the mathematical equation to prove the Theory of Relativity. This race to be in the right place at the right time and to obtain the photographs thought to be needed to prove the theory is hampered by the obstacles the main characters experience due to their religion and the war. Roadblock after roadblock stands in their way to achieving their goals. In addition to the scientific race, there is also a romance thrown in as well.

A Bend in the Stars is the first novel by Rachel Barenbaum. Barenbaum does an excellent job of vividly portraying the setting and hardships experienced by the characters. The characters, particularly Miri, are well-developed and likeable. There are also numerous twists and turns to keep the reader guessing throughout the book. I look forward to further novels by this author.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received A Bend in the Stars via NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.

A WWI Story Within a Story

When I first read the description of Julie Berry's new novel Lovely War, I immediately picked it up to read.

Berry weaves a wonderful World War I story which is told inside of a story set in World War II. The World War I story of an English soldier and his girl and a Belgian girl and an African American soldier keeps the reader interested. Berry pulls in the story of young first love and the horror of war both from the viewpoint of soldiers and their loved ones. Berry also explores the racism experienced by African American soldiers-particularly at the hands of southern soldiers and the work women were forced to take on during the war. Her research is impeccable as demonstrated by a thorough afterword in which Berry tells what parts of her story are based on truth and provides a length bibliography for further reading. Readers will be tempted to pull up early ragtime and jazz tunes as they are mentioned frequently.

The World War II portion occurs in December of 1942. The characters are Greek gods such as Aphrodite, Ares, Apollo, and others who are engaged in a trial. The World War I story is narrated primarily by Aphrodite during the course of the trial. This story within a story provides the opportunity for the various Greek gods to provide insight into the story of how they caused this event to happen and welcome characters to Hades.

While the story within a story construct provides the opportunity to bring in some interesting information about the Greek gods and goddesses, I felt this extra information weighed the story down. The explanation at the beginning of the story about the gods made the beginning chapters difficult to get through. When I came to the sections where the gods interacted during the trial scenes or added commentary to the story, I just wanted to get back to what was happening with our main characters.

Lovely War is a young adult novel geared towards readers 12 and up. While this book has no inappropriate physical interaction, it is a war story and war is horrific. As such I would recommend this book to older YA readers, 14 and up. Many adults who enjoy a good war romance will also enjoy this story so do not let the YA label keep you from enjoying it as well.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the book Lovely War from Penguin Group via NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.