OMG, this book. I am sobbing! I just knew I was going to love this book from the synopsis and the fact that Mr Hussey has been a 5* author for me before, but I wasn't prepared for just how invested and emotional I'd become in the story.

It's probably not a perfect book, but the emotions that this evoked were just beyond what most books can manage for me. The author says it all in the acknowledgements: 'these boys were fighting for a country that despised them'. Just think of the bravery and patriotism that that takes.

I was given access to the audiobook by the publisher via Netgalley. I've got to say that the audio experience really enhanced my enjoyment. There are a few occasions where one of the characters sings and the narrator sung so beautifully and so in keeping with the character that it was in those moments that I realised how much I was loving this book. Pure audiobook perfection.

Highly recommend to everyone!

The Boy I love is a beautiful, tender and often brutal tale of love and found family in the trenches of WW1.

I listened to the audio version of this book and Alex Wingfield absolutely blew me away with his performance. Each character had their own accent and differences which easily enabled me to decipher between characters. And wow- the singing! Such a wonderful touch to this story.

The amount of names I called Captain Beddows throughout this story, and the times my heart leapt and prayed these boys would make it through shows the authors knack for writing fully fleshed out characters and situations.

I loved the bond the Manchesters shared and the camaraderie between the boys in the platoon, and the shenanigans of Robert and Percy really relayed the fact that these were really just boys sent to war.

I Will most certainly be Reading more from this author in future.

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to receive a copy of this audio book via Netgalley.

THE BOY I LOVE is a tender, bittersweet, and moving tale of love in the trenches of the First World War in the lead up to the 1916 Battle of the Somme.

This book depicts the horrors of the trenches - the slaughter and pitiful living conditions as well as the ignorance and pig headedness of senior commanders. We see the injustice and inequality, the senselessness of many of the deaths and attacks. It is a book that looks unflinchingly at the trenches.

At the same time, this book also shows the heroism and sacrifices of men who signed up (or were conscripted) to serve their country, fighting for freedom. It has examples of good leadership to balance out the bad and, at the heart of the tale, a tender love story.

It's a gripping read, hard to put down as the book marches onwards toward the Somme, looking at pain and war and death next to life and love. You know that there is going to be a cost, that some of the cast will die - and it hurts each time even though it's quite a short book so you haven't had much time with some of them, which was impressive.

But at the same time, you keep reading in hope that something good will come out the end of it, that the boys will find each other and live. It's a compulsive combination (particularly as someone who enjoys both a well written tragedy and a well written bittersweet ending, so either option was equally appealing!) I liked the ultimate ending, which recognised the many challenges facing the boys.

I don't read a huge amount of YA , but I make the exception for some authors, and Hussey is one of them.
So glad I did.
This book had me feeling all the emotions.
Happy, sad, excited, despair.... you name it, we went through it.
It captures the horror of war, without being gory.
It really brought home the absurdity of how young those boys were, and what they were expected to do.
The narration was excellent.
I'll think of Stephen and Danny often.