Source: TLC Book Tours
Paperback, 368 pgs.
I am an Amazon Affiliate
Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and the Great War by Jessica Brockmole, Hazel Gaynor, Evangeline Holland, Marci Jefferson, Kate Kerrigan, Jennifer Robson, Heather Webb, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig is a collection of short stories set during World War I, the Great War. Love is at the crux of each story, whether its a lost love or the love of a child lost to war, and these men and women are tested by the ravages of combat. These writers have a firm grasp of the subject and readers will never question their knowledge of WWI or the human condition. From a childless widow of German heritage living in France in “Hour of the Bells” by Heather Webb to a young wife left in Paris alone and estranged from her husband’s family in “After You’ve Gone” by Evangeline Holland, people are torn apart by war in many ways and those who are left behind to pick up the pieces are weary and forlorn. They must pick up their skirts or what remains of their lives and move on, despite the pull of the past, the future that will never be, or the emptiness of their homes.
“But the trick was not to care too much. To care just enough.” (from “An American Airman in Paris” by Beatriz Williams, pg. 244 ARC)
“Sixty years gone like a song, like a record on a gramophone, with the needle left to bump against the edge, around and around, the music gone.” (from “The Record Set Straight” by Lauren Willig, pg. 44 ARC)
These characters care, they care a lot, and even after the war is long over, the past still haunts them, at least until they are able to make amends or at least set the record straight. How do you get past the loss of loved ones, do you wallow? do you seek revenge? how do you hold on to hope? Sometimes the war doesn’t leave a physical reminder, but a mental and emotional one — scars that are harder to trace and heal. These stories are packed full of emotion and characters who will leave readers weeping and praising the hope they find.
Fall of Poppies: Stories of Love and the Great War by Jessica Brockmole, Hazel Gaynor, Evangeline Holland, Marci Jefferson, Kate Kerrigan, Jennifer Robson, Heather Webb, Beatriz Williams, and Lauren Willig takes readers on a journey through and over the trenches and to the many sides in a war — crossing both national and familial borders.
Rating: Cinquain
Connect with the Authors:
- Jessica Brockmole – Website | Facebook | Twitter
- Hazel Gaynor – Website | Facebook | Twitter
- Evangeline Holland – Website | Facebook | Twitter
- Marci Jefferson – Website | Facebook | Twitter
- Kate Kerrigan – Website | Facebook | Twitter
- Jennifer Robson – Website | Facebook | Twitter
- Beatriz Williams – Website | Facebook | Twitter
- Lauren Willig – Website | Facebook | Twitter
- Heather Webb – Website | Facebook | Twitter
I’m counting this as my Fiction Book Set During WWI.