The Star of Camp Greene
By: Joy Callaway
Pub Date: May 6, 2025
Publisher: Harper Muse

5🎤🎤🎤🎤🎤
I was so excited to get this ARC. I come from a long line of military and following Calla Connolly and her impact with the soldiers at Camp Greene.
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Camp Greene was part of Charlotte, NC in 1918. (Definitely read the author notes) Calla finds herself touring American training camps, hoping to get to the front lines in honor of her fiancé. While at Camp Greene she gets the Spanish flu. She finds her signing talents helping soldiers. Since she is now confined to the camp, her former rival gets to continue her tour.
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She finds love and is entrusted with a secret which she knows will change several lives.
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I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and Calla’s journey. I am familiar with USO tours and I know how if lifted the spirits of so many in harms way for a few minutes or hours.

This was a wonderfully done World War 2 novel and had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed getting to go through this journey. The characters had that element that I was looking for and enjoyed how realistic they were. Joy Callaway has a strong writing style and was glad I got to read this. It uses the romance element perfectly and was glad I got to go on this journey.

THE STAR OF CAMP GREENE by JOY CALLAWAY is the bittersweet story of a grieving young singing and vaudeville star, Calla Connolly, who longs to take her act to France to bring joy to the troops, in memory of her fiance Casper, who was killed in the war. While she waits for permission from General Pershing, she is sent to Camp Greene in Charlotte to perform for soldiers in training. She is a wonderful character who believes her songs, while they cannot save soldiers from being killed, can send them off to fight with bravery and dedicatiion. I love to see her selfless and compassionate nature as she not only makes friends, but also trains talented soldiers to play their instruments and sing with her. Her mentor and thorn in theside, Lenor Felicity, is very different, only thinking of herself and how famous she is. …….
Colonel Jesse Erickson also wants to go and fight in France, but the powers that be will not release him to do so. He ia angry with Calla for overhearing sensitive information while she is in hospital with Spanish flu, and keeps her captive at Camp Greene. He comes to see how her happy, amusing and caring nature affects everyone around her, having started out feeling that her singing to the troops was a waste of time……..
It is 2018 and the Allies are having a hard time in France. The author has done a great deal of research into the history of the time. It is a beautifully written book where the characters’ emotions come through strongly. There is a feeling of redemption and God’s presence. There is also incredible fear which causes people to act rashly……..
I am not going to tell you any more for fear of spoiling your read.
I cannot recommend this exciting and inspirational novel strongly enough.
I was given a free copy of the book by NetGalley from Harper Muse. The opinions in this review are completey my own.

Set at an Army training base by Charlotte, NC in 1918, the soldiers are getting ready to fight in WWI in France. Calla Connolly, Broadway star is on a tour of bases to entertain the troops. If you wanted to know what life at a training camp is all about, now is your chance, read the book. Calla is detained on the base and brings a whole new dimension to the soldier's life. Calla's character is well developed and we laugh and cry along with her. Joy Callaway weaves historical information into the narrative which I find very insightful. This is another book by Joy Callaway that I could not put down. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

I have a confession: I am completely, utterly in love with Calla Connolly. If you’ve ever wanted to meet a character who leaps off the page, steals your heart, and becomes someone you never want to say goodbye to, then this book is for you. Calla is that rare, wild soul who craves the spotlight, is fueled by her gargantuan heart, and is utterly, magnetically alive. She’s the kind of woman who sings because she has to sing, dances because she can’t not dance, and is unapologetically herself in every situation—even when the universe seems determined to lock her away.

Set during World War I, Calla inadvertently overhears a top-secret conversation, and as a result, she’s ordered to stay at Camp Greene for the duration of the war. Now imagine a spunky, applause-craving, larger-than-life woman being told she must sit still and be quiet… Yeah, it’s as chaotic and heartwarming as you can imagine. The camp is her prison, but also her salvation, because it’s here where she finds the kindred spirits she didn’t know she needed.

What unfolds is pure magic. Calla doesn’t just exist at Camp Greene—she thrives. Through her, we witness the powerful bond that forms among the soldiers and musicians, who come together to create something beautiful in the midst of such turmoil. They make music that transcends war, creating a rhythm and harmony that fills the pages with so much joy and hope.

I couldn’t put this book down, and I didn’t want to. Calla is the character I’ve been craving—a woman who is full of fire, compassion, humor, and strength. And the friendships she forges in that camp? Don’t even get me started. The love and loyalty between her and her new “family” felt like a warm embrace, and I can honestly say Calla is in my heart forever.

This book is a love letter to music, to the human spirit, and to the unexpected connections that change us. And the best part? Calla is still singing in my heart.

This book made me laugh, cry, and cheer for a woman who refuses to be silenced. I want to be Calla Connolly’s BFF!!!!

Thank you NetGalley!!! My heart is full!!!

During WWI, Camp Greene in Charlotte NC is not where up and coming performing star Calla Connelly wants to be. She wants to be in France, in the action, to honor her deceased fiancé. But when recovering from the Spanish flu, she overhears sensitive information and must remain at the camp.

Joy Calloway has researched this book through soldier letters and we feel each uncertainty and patriotic duty. The main characters, Calla and Jesse, share sweet words and kisses but in uncertain times one never knows!
Joy’s words, through the eyes of the soldiers and main characters tug at our heartstrings.

Loved this story! I “might” have shed a tear! Out May 6, 2025.

Thank you to Joy, Harper Muse and Netgalley for the ARC!

Joy Callaway does it again! I absolutely adored this story of heroism both in service to country and following one’s dreams. I was immediately drawn to Calla Connolly’s story and couldn’t wait to see how it unfolded. This is my new favorite of Joy’s books!

This was a fantastic read that I couldn't put it down nor did I want to.
I absolutely adored the main character! I loved in getting to know her.
Calla is a wonderful person that loves to entertain and help keep up the soldier's spirits while in camp.
I really admired her for her selfless acts and even found myself rooting for her along the way. She's truly a joy to watch her come into herself.
I love that God is among these people as they struggle through everyday life and even the ones whose lives were torn upside down from the war and flu.
That's all I'll say because I don't want to give nothing else away.
This is a true test of friendship and faith that God is always near.