Miss Violet & The Great War is the fourth novel in the Strangely Beautiful series by Leanna Renee Hieber. The novel follows Violet Rychman and William Page as they try and balance out the lives around them with the prophecies they’ve been handed. They live in a world full of muses and gods and goddesses. It probably goes without saying that it is a chaotic world.
I’ll confess that I totally goofed when I first picked this novel up. I was so enchanted by the premise that I didn’t even notice that it wasn’t the first one in the series. It was an honest mistake, and I probably should have stopped reading it the second I realized it (spoilers and all). But honestly. I had absolutely no trouble understanding the context of the story, and thus decided to continue reading.
I’m sure I missed some of the nuances of the plot, things that referenced back to the first three novels. But despite that, I really did enjoy this read. It was a beautiful world, full of interesting characters and an even more interesting plot. Once again, I know I should have put the book down, but I couldn’t bring myself to do so. Hopefully that’ll give you a good idea of my opinion on this book.
Miss Violet & The Great War had a way of blending the old and the new, so to speak. There are elements of an older world infused into a more modern one. This made the novel feeling oddly enchanting yet chilling at the same time. I immediately fell in love with the tone alone, but my fondness for the characters and plot quickly followed.
Violet is a young girl at the beginning of the book, though that does change over time. I rather liked watching her grow up and learn to deal with her visions. The visions I’m sure would be very traumatic for most of us – visions of a great future war. How far would you go to try and prevent it? What would you do to save your loved ones from that fate? These questions kept racing through my head as I read along.
I really loved the setting for this plot as well. I don’t know if it’s the same setting as the first three novels (I will go back and read them though!), but I certainly hope so. It helped to lend so much to the tone of the story.
I certainly missed out on a lot of details and backstory from the previous books…but honestly? Leanna Renee Hieber did a brilliant job of covering the essential bits as needed. Nothing ever felt like an info-dump (a personal pet peeve of mine), but likewise I never really felt like I was lacking anything that absolutely needed to know. To me that’s the sign of a well-written sequel. It made it safe for a new reader to pick up (but again, there’s going to be spoilers for the earlier books), but it isn’t so full of backstory that it’d turn off the fans either.
I’m looking forward to going back and reading the first three novels. I may even come back and reread this novel, to see what context I missed out on. I know that if the first three are anything like this one, I’ll enjoy the read!

It’s the end of an era. Leanna Renee Hieber’s newest release, Miss Violet and the Great War represents both the end of the Victorian era and the conclusion to her debut gaslamp fantasy series, the Strangely Beautiful Saga. Over the years, I’ve reviewed the rereleased versions of Strangely Beautiful and Perilous Prophecy. Now, after much trial and tribulation, the never-before-published final book has arrived. Miss Violet and the Great War comes out tomorrow, February 26. If you’re in the New York City area, be sure to join us at the release party at WORD in Brooklyn on Thursday.

Miss Violet and the Great War picks up with a new generation. Violet is the daughter of Percy and Alexi, who have settled into a normal family life after winning the war against Darkness in the Whisper World and relinquishing their supernatural abilities. Leaving the supernatural behind is never that easy, however. Violet is born with the ability to see visions of the future—and one vision in particular haunts her throughout her childhood. In her dreams, she sees war like the world has never known it before, with men dying by the thousands and bodies littering the trenches. Violet is determined to stop the war if she can, or else to do whatever it takes to bring peace and hope back into the world. It’s a lot for one young woman to take on, but luckily she has her family, her best friend Will, and a few ancient supernatural beings to support her.

If you’re familiar with the rest of Leanna Renee Hieber’s books, you know that she usually writes stories that take place in the latter half of the nineteenth century, the height of the Victorian era. But as she takes on the children of her earlier characters—first in The Spectral City and now in Miss Violet—we can’t help but move forward in time. At what point do we leave the Victorians behind? Technically the Victorian era ends with Queen Victoria’s death in January 1901. But things don’t suddenly change overnight. We can see the influence of the Victorians continue into the early twentieth century, even as new technologies and changing social mores begin to creep in. But the biggest, harshest changes were brought on by the onset of World War I—which Leanna presents as the definitive end to even the broadest definition of the Victorian era. Miss Violet and the Great War spans this period of awkward transition.

The story begins in 1897 when Violet is a young child. Several chapters in, we skip through the turn of the century to Violet’s teen years. Midway through the book, we finally reach 1914, the year in which most of the rest of the action takes place. During the time span covered here, Leanna takes us on a tour through a changing society, in which telephones are beginning to become the preferred method of long-distance communication, electricity is replacing gaslight, women are joining demonstrations for equal rights, and the great empires of Europe are starting to feel the strain of centuries of imperialism. I haven’t read much about this era before, and while it was sad to say goodbye to the eccentricities of the Victorians, it was fun to see how their society changed to more closely resemble the world we know today.

My favorite part of Miss Violet is a new character the book introduces, Will Page. The son of Percy’s friend from her school days, Will is born with a piece of darkness inside him—a remnant of the dreaded gorgon that Percy and her Guard defeated in Strangely Beautiful. In another author’s hands, Will might have grown up to become a villain, corrupted by the voice of evil that whispers in his mind. But for Leanna, Will represents the chance we all have to choose our own paths. His name is fitting, as it recalls the idea of free will and the strength of will that it takes for him to fight against his circumstances. Throughout the book, Will actively struggles to do what’s right and to defy his darker side. His plight mirrors the book’s overall message about humanity: the horrors of World War I prove that there is great darkness within humans, and we are capable of causing much harm and suffering—but we can always choose to do good, instead. Leanna frequently waxes philosophical in Miss Violet, and the tone of this novel may not appeal to every reader. But if you’re struggling to find meaning in dark times—particularly in today’s climate of seemingly endless bad news—Leanna has some reassuring answers. The book extols the value of things like love, family, and art. Even amidst the very worst of horrors and destruction, forming loving bonds and creating things of beauty are radical acts that kindle a little more light in the darkness.

Beginning tomorrow, you can find Miss Violet and the Great War wherever books are sold, or you can preorder it now online. If you’d like to support The Gothic Library in the process, you can buy a copy using the IndieBound affiliate link below. Once you’ve read the book, be sure to share your thoughts with me in the comments!

Miss Violet and the Great War has an interesting premise. She has visions of the war to come. But, something about the execution of the story wasn't right. Maybe it's too philosophical? Either way, I didn't connect with this story. Thanks to NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

It starts off slow and kind of dense, but once the action begins, it's hard to resist the story as it drives forward. It reads as a true epic, one that makes you feel the world really has been reshaped as you read it. Would recommend.

Assaggiato e abbandonato: non mi piace lo stile, non amo le smancerie, i personaggi sono poco interessanti e poco credibili insieme.

I received this book through NetGalley.

Hauntingly hopeful, <i>Miss Violet & the Great War</i> explores the tragedy of the first World War with poetic grace. I found this not to be a book to blaze through in one sitting, but one to savor and appreciate in little bites. That's not to say it's a slow read, either. This is a book that felt like immersing myself into a cozily hot bath.

I've read one of the related books in Hieber's world, <i>The Eterna Files</i>, and that was a few years ago now. I jumped into this fourth book in the current series and had no problem following along, and I immediately loved a number of characters. While <i>The Eterna Files</i> seemed to be more of a supernatural mystery to me, <i>Miss Violet & the Great War</i> comes across as more like a spiritual gothic in the very mode of early 20th century novels.

Though the book is about the horrific aspects of war, Hieber's main focus is on the goodness and creativity of humanity. I'm rather left in awe by the grace of how she handled that. Miss Violet grows up haunted by visions of the War to come throughout her childhood, and prepares herself with intelligence and practicality; so many books are plagued by impulsive protagonists, and it's refreshing to encounter one with such thoughtfulness and diligence. The latter half of the book is in the War itself, with battles of physical and spiritual natures.

I highly recommend this to readers interested in the Great War and historical fiction with a fantastical bent.

I would say that I was just the wrong reader for this book, there are good parts, but for the most part, I felt very disconnected when it came to what was going on. I liked the start when Violet was young, but the last 50-60% of the book was a true struggle for me to get through. I just never truly warmed up to the characters nor to the story which makes me a bit sad because I really loved the beginning of the book.