Review: "Lovely War" by Julie Berry

I am sometimes bad at managing my TBR. And this was one of those times. D0 I have a bunch of Heyer and Dickens on my list that has been there for literally months? Yes. Did I only just hear about this one from Megan Chappie at the end of last month? Well, yes. Did I ignore the Dickens, Heyer, O'Conner, etc. in order to read this one? Again, yes. Am I sorry? Not in the least.

They are Hazel, James, Aubrey, and Colette. A classical pianist from London, a British would-be architect turned soldier, a Harlem-born ragtime genius in the U.S. Army, and a Belgian orphan with a gorgeous voice and a devastating past. Their story, as told by the goddess Aphrodite, who must spin the tale or face judgment on Mount Olympus, is filled with hope and heartbreak, prejudice and passion, and reveals that, though War is a formidable force, it's no match for the transcendent power of Love.

Worldbuilding/Writing Style
I thought the author worldbuilt very well--she must have done a lot of research! The details of life at the front especially, I thought, seemed authentic (albeit awful, y'know, as life at the front tends to be), and the experience of war came through very vividly. 

I also thought the overall worldbuilding of the prejudice Aubrey and the rest of his Black (squadron? battalion? whatever the name is for the group of soldiers) faced. I was not really aware of the extent of the prejudice and hatred that the Black population, especially Black soldiers, faced during WWI (and WWII probably, now that I think about it, since the Civil Rights Movement wasn't until what, the 60s?). It was horrible, but eye-opening.

The writing style was just right, and I really liked how the author changed voice, based on who was helping Aphrodite tell the story.

Plot
The plot was phenomenal. And there are so many ways that I could give spoilers that I can't say a whole lot more than that! 

I did think that it was the perfect mix between plot-driven and character-driven! 

Also, the last quarter has a bunch of twisty suspense that I was impressed and very much drawn in by. I stayed up at least half an hour past my bedtime reading to the end--it's been ages since a book has made me do that!

There was one part where something was foreshadowed that didn't really materialize, but that's a small quibble.

Characters
I don't even know where to start...I guess with the Greek god characters?

I liked Aphrodite a lot more than I was expecting to. Somehow, Julie Berry made her both herself and sympathetic, which I found very, very impressive. I loved the way she told the story, and the goal that she was heading for with the story, as well. I did have quibbles with some of her methods, of course, but, y'know. Aphrodite is not supposed to be completely likeable. 

Ares was just the worst. But then, he's supposed to be.

Hephaestus. I loved Hephaestus. Idk. He's just my kind of dude. 

On to the humans!

I loved Hazel's determination to do something, and her bravery in terms of the form that doing something took. Also, her persistence in believing in James, and her beautiful love for him...<3 <3 <3. 

Colette's internal turmoil and determination not to care about anyone or anything won my heart. And then her s l o w opening back up...

And the friendship between those two! It's not the focus of  the book, so it's a tiny bit in the background, but totally reminded me of Code Name Verity!

James is perhaps the closest I've gotten in a VERY long time to a book crush. He's such a gentleman, with phenomenal bravery under fire, and his love for Hazel...I can't. (Obviously I don't actually have a book crush on him, because he belongs to Hazel. But I have definitely adopted him.)

Avery's sass and cockiness were fantastic. I didn't like him quite as much as James, but he was a super interesting character to follow!

Romance
There are two (technically three, I suppose, but I'm not going to go into the third one, because #spoilers), and they are both adorable!

James and Hazel are just so sweet together, and as I said before, James is such a gentleman and I love him so much. I don't really have words to describe how much I love their relationship. (Like Megan Chappie said in her review: I was totally there with Aphrodite, fangirling over the two of them!)

The second romance is a bit spoilery, so *highlight for spoilers* I really enjoyed Aubrey and Colette's romance as well, but not quite as much? I think it got less screen time, so I was a little less attached...but it was still super cute. *end spoilers*

One of the things I really appreciate about both of these romances is that the characters quite clearly wait for marriage to do...marital sort of things. And before they get married, their romance is quite pure and beautiful and the way courtship is supposed to be. I didn't know any modern books did that. XD But I like it a lot!

Content
Some innuendo (not generally from the main/good characters), one inappropriate scene (non-graphic, and not from the good/main characters), one scene where a male character forces a violent kiss on a female character, extreme racism (again, not from the main characters, and portrayed as horrible), murder, death and injuries in war (fairly graphic), a bit of swearing, and some very irritating "riffs" by the Greek god characters on prayer/God. 

Overall Rating
I really enjoyed this one--I thought it was one of the most compelling and well-woven modern books I've read in a while. So I would happily give it four stars, except, I don't really appreciate some of the content, especially the irritating riffs on religion, so I'm going to go 3.5 stars.

Reminds me of...
The Percy Jackson series, in the use of the Greek gods, and Code Name Verity, in the war/friendships/relationships.

Have you read any other good books set in WWI recently? What's your favorite historical war? Are you good at managing your TBR?