The Light Over London by Julia Kelly ~ a Review

by Donna Huber

It's been a while since I read a WWII story, but I couldn't pass up A Light Over London when I saw it at Netgalley. It is a wonderful story told in two timelines.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

January 2019; Gallery Books; 978-1501196416
audio, ebook, print (304 pages); historical fiction

Cara is working with an antiques dealer outside of London, and while inventorying the home of the late Lenora Robinson, she comes upon a diary from WWII. The diary does not belong to Lenora and Cara is determined to discover the identity of the writer so she can return it. Part of her curiosity lies in the mystery surrounding her own grandmother's WWII service. So one timeline is present-day with Cara. As she reads the diary entries or discusses them with her neighbor Liam, who is also a history professor, the reader is transported to 1940s England and gets more information about Louise (the owner of the diary).

I was much more invested in the story of Louise, and I feel that storyline was a much larger portion of the book. I enjoyed Cara's storyline but it felt like a secondary plot. It would be fun to be in Cara's position of discovering the diary and researching the person. Though, I think Liam did most of the work on tracking down who Louisa was.

I enjoyed learning about the "Gunner Girls" as the females in the anti-aircraft artillery battalion were called. I hadn't read a story that featured them before so it was fun getting a glimpse of how females were employed by the Royal Army.

Louise and Cara were instantly likable characters and Kelly's a wonderful storyteller. The writing is compelling and I totally regretted that I didn't pick up the book sooner. I needed a bit of a reading break after finishing The Island of Always and I had a busy weekend so I didn't pick up The Light Over London until Sunday night. Immediately I wished I had started it earlier in the day as I wanted nothing more than to keep reading straight through. I hated that I had to wait until each evening to get back to the book. So I highly recommend you set aside a day and settle in with tea, cookies, and this book.

Buy Light Over London at Amazon

Susan also reviewed The Light Over London along with 4 other WWII novels coming out this month.

Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.

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