Reflections of War

Charlotte tells her life story of her life during the different wars that raged through out the country. I listened to the audio book about half way through, it was rather boring and I gave up on it and did not finish. I just couldn’t connect with this one.

Thanks to J. Lawrence Graham for writing the book, to Nan McNamara for the narration, to Greenleaf audio books for publishing it and to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of the audio book to listen to and review.

I enjoy historical fiction and I’m partial to military themes so the premise intrigued me. However, the book didn’t quite work for me and I’m not sure if that was me as a reader just being in the wrong frame of mind, but the book didn’t come to life For me. I was reading it at the same time. I was reading a book by a different author on a similar theme, which was phenomenal and possibly that colors this review. I will go back and try it again at some point in the future and will update this review . . It is, however a good solid story, if a bit long, and likely others will really enjoy it.?

#netgalley #charlotteswar

Charlotte's War follows Charlotte Fletcher's life.

Charlotte Fletcher grew up traveling with her parents on religious mission and spent much of her childhood in China. She is very smart and becomes one of few females in political science classes. Charlotte had to watch and handle her brother going to fight in WWII. He was injury and never really the same. Charlotte met and fell in love with her brother's friend. He is a pilot during the Korean conflict. After the war, he became an airline pilot and ended up having an affair with a stewardess. Their son Jack is drafted to fight in Vietnam. He is killed in battle.

Charlotte's War had so much potential and I normally enjoy books on this topic. I felt this book was too long and drawn out. Parts were still very interesting. I listened to the audiobook through NetGalley and made it through the whole 14 hours and 34 minutes. I would have DNFed the physical copy.

Thanks to NetGalley for an early audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

An exhilarating historical fiction novel that incorporated many elements/characters influenced by true events/people. The storyline woven through the telling of different scenes or economical events taking place was superb; I absolutely loved Charlotte and her family’s story throughout the novel. The history and contextual information was a bit lengthy for my liking and disconnected my engagement of the story at times throughout, although it did offer a greater understanding of the plot. Despite some of the longer historical tellings, I enjoyed the rawness, joyful and emotional moments and the reality of the novel.

The author’s notes at the beginning and end were great for giving additional reference. Highly recommend

Charlotte's War is a clearly well researched historical fiction novel by J. Lawrence Graham, I will admit that the structure of the book, alternating between historical details and a personal story, did take some time to get used to, however I enjoyed how the pieces of Charlotte's story was interwoven with history.