This is an excellent novel that depicts life in a small town during the late 1960s. The United States was in chaos with the anti-war movement but life in small towns was still untouched. This novel is about love but it's also about a town that is forced to join the chaos going on in the US. Really well done

Thanks for requesting that book...I will read it someday, I have so many books to read this year...

Have a great summer and take care!

Devastated by the loss of her older brother in the Vietnam war and determined to learn more about the war that cost his life, Charlotte Parsons joins a group of college women who are sending letters to soldiers. Through this program, she meets a young soldier named Joseph Russo and finds herself making fast friends with him. But, suddenly, only a few months into their correspondence, his letters just stop without any explanation. Two years later, Char begins attending college in her small hometown of Grand Falls. She's been dating her brother's best friend, Deke, for the past year. Deke is a senior at the college and very active in the anti-war movement. Char isn't quite certain exactly how she feels about the war but she does admire Deke's commitment to his beliefs. But, then, when she begins her classes, she meets a stranger who fought in the war, and he changes everything. She soon finds out that the mysterious stranger in her English and History classes is none other than her disappeared pen pal, Joseph Russo. Joe had not only served in Vietnam but had earned a Purple Heart for an injury that has left him with a permanent limp. When he was discharged from the military, Joe was determined to put the war behind him and decides to start over and attend college in the idyllic small town his pen pal, Charlotte, had written so much about. When he meets her in person, Joe finds himself even more drawn to Char, for her sweet personality, intelligence, and beauty.

I really enjoyed this sweet story. The author really does an excellent job of capturing the atmosphere of small-town life, as well as the protest climate, of the late 1960's-early 1970's. It certainly wasn't easy for our veterans to return home after facing such hellish circumstances, only to be called baby and killers, and even be spat upon. They truly faced what no other of our veterans had previously faced after risking their lives, and seeing many friends lose theirs, in service to our country. The characters were all amazingly well written, even Deke, who I thought was a complete jerk and not nearly good enough for Char. I did like that he seemed to mature a little as the story progressed, but he remained a cowardly jerk, in my opinion. Char, Joe, and Char's parents and friends were all wonderful and I would really love to read more books about them. This was the first book I've ever read by this author, but it will definitely not be the last.

This is an excellent novel that depicts life in a small town during the late 1960s. The United States was in chaos with the anti-war movement but life in small towns was still untouched. This novel is about love but it's also about a town that is forced to join the chaos going on in the US.

Charlotte lives in a small town in Illinois. Her brother was killed in Vietnam two years earlier and she isn't sure at this point how she feels about the war. As she starts college (still in her small town), the feelings against the war are growing on campus - mostly led by her boyfriend Deke. When she first sees Joe in her English class, she realizes that he is former military. He walks using a cane and wears fatigue jackets. After the tumult of his days in Vietnam, Joe just wants to find a perfect little town and start his life over again and hopefully find peace. As Charlotte and Joe get to know each other better, their romance is in direct contrast to the anit war movement going on in the town. Joe is looking for peace and Deke is trying to start conflict. Will Joe and Char be able to find love during this time of chaos?

As someone who grew up in the same period as the people in this novel, I want to commend the author on the fantastic job she did of depicting what it was like in American during this time. The love story between Char and Joe is perfectly played out during this time period.

Thanks to the author for a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions are my own

If you're looking for a fast paced, action packed story Night Music is not your book. Night Music is slow, gentle and melts your heart over time. I haven't read many books that talk about war veterans and I haven't read any that question war itself so this story was refreshing. The writing was beautiful and comfortable and I loved Joe and Char as characters so much. Despite their being so many significant moments in the book that talked about war and the movement to end it, I think what I liked most was Joe's attempts at rebuilding his life and the small moments here and there that he had with Char, like the first time he meets her after he returns from war.

I think what stood out the most for me in this book was the characters. Joe's struggle as a war veteran with a life long injury, Charlotte's inner conflict about the movement to end the Vietnam war, Deke and his radical opinions against war as well as Char's parents, who struggle with the loss of their son while still trying to provide a happy, stable and supportive home for their daughter were all so interesting and illuminating.

I haven’t read too many books about the Vietnam War, so that was a nice change from your typical WW2 books.
This book features Joe, who received letters from a stranger from a small town during the war. When he is wounded and sent home, he goes to this in this small town that seemed so idealistic and peaceful compared to what he is used to. He meets the author of the letters in real life, Charlotte. He falls in love with her,
It was interesting to read more about the United States controversial feeling on the war, especially those who were college aged. I found Joe’s character to be uninteresting though. The books was fairly slow, not that that is always a bad thing. I enjoyed that the love story was not Inst-love and progressed slow.
**There is non-detailed sex, suicide, and violence.

I read an advanced unfinished digital copy I received from the publisher through Net Gallery for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

I have read a couple of this authors books and loved them. This one is no different. It’s such a great story. I was a very small child during this war but had an older brother who was there and a cousin or two.

This is a very touching story. It pulls you right in and won’t let go. I truly loved it. I cried, laughed and felt a full heart while reading. It made me feel like I was right there with the characters. Some I didn’t care for but most were wonderful. Loved this book from start to finish. A must read.

Interesting storyline that kept me turning pages until the very end.

It feels so strange to read historical fiction for a time period that I actually experienced myself. Just like Charlotte in Night Music, I too was a college student in the early '70s. We were in the midst of the Vietnam War when protests were common on college campuses and young men were trying to avoid the draft. Unlike previous wars, soldiers did not receive warm welcomes upon their return. So many novels have been set during World War II, but it is rare to find any dealing with the unpopular Vietnam War. This was a bit of a departure from the other novels I have read by Deanna Lynn Sletten, but I enjoyed it equally well.

Last fall, I watched Ken Burns's documentary The Vietnam War. It was before my time, but 'too recent' to be covered in my history classes so I had little real knowledge of what went on during that time period. A number of novels have also been released recently which Susan has reviewed. When I saw Night Music on NetGalley I had to request it.

While I love historical fiction, I don't usually read books set in the 60s and 70s, but I'm curious about the Vietnam Era and sometimes fiction can be a safe place to explore a place or time. I didn't really know much about Night Music and I was relieved when it wasn't some highbrow literary novel (I have nothing against that genre I'm just feeling overload on it).

It is actually a very sweet novel. The feel of the story reminded me of John Heldt's stories making a pleasant, enjoyable read.

I liked the character of Charlotte (though it grated on my nerves that she went by Char). If you remember the television show American Dreams, she reminded me a bit of the main character Meg Pryor (without the American Bandstand references). She is a freshman at the local university and dating her brother's best friend Deke. Deke is the leader of the college's anti-war movement. Charlotte's brother was killed in Vietnam. Probably like a lot of young adults during that time, she wasn't sure how she felt about the war. To complicate things a bit, newly enrolled freshman Joe Russo just happens to be the Vietnam soldier she wrote to in high school.

Everything is a bit idyllic in small town USA. Actually, because everything does seem so perfect and knowing how turbulent that time period was I was looking for the conflict with every page turn - I knew the shoe had to drop sometime. Keeping with the light town of the story, when the conflict did happen it wasn't as big, or as devasting, as it might have been with a grittier novel.

I really enjoyed this novel but there were little details that would have really brought the story to life (like I'm pretty sure the college class wasn't called science but was biology or chemistry. Same goes for social studies - that's something you take in middle school, not in college instead it would have been civics or sociology). It didn't detract from the story and really is a minor issue.

What I got out of the story (besides entertainment) was really seeing that this is when Americans lost their innocence.

If you are looking for a light read or one set during this time period, then I highly recommend picking up Night Music.

When Char's older brother dies in the Vietnam war she starts writing to another young soldier, Joe, innocent young letters of her life in the small town of Grand Falls but after a few months the letters from him stop. After a couple of years she goes to college and is in a relationship with Deke who is very anti the war when a new student appears.... Joe who had been invalided our of the army..... how will his appearance change the dynamics in this small conservative town and how will Char cope with two such different men?

A good book, having visited Vietnam I am always interested in books about the Vietnamese war and it was an interesting book especially as it featured characters with opposing views

I’ve been reading and reviewing Deanna Lynn Sletten’s work for years, so when she asked me if I’d consider reviewing her latest novel Night Music, there was no way I was going to say no.

Set in the very early 1970’s this novel technically qualifies as a ‘period’ or ‘historical’ work, and yet, it feels absolutely contemporary, showing that young people nearly fifty years ago (wow, that was hard to write – I was born in 1970) had many of the same issues and conflicts that we do today when it comes to war – when is it appropriate, when does it go to far – and the way we treat veterans.

As the granddaughter of a career Army officer and the daughter of an activist, as well as someone who is an activist herself, I was steeped in the concept of “love the soldier, not the war,” from an early age, and I completely related to the issues in this novel.

And yet, what Sletten has written in Night Music is not a war story, nor is it a political treatise. Rather, it’s a lovely novel about love – the love of home, the love of family, and the love we feel for friends and romantic partners.

As well, it’s a coming of age novel. The three central characters, Charlotte, Joe, and Deke are all college students. Charlotte is young, and somewhat naive, and her journey is one toward confidence and a stronger sense of self, but Joe and Deke are also coming of age. The former, in processing his experiences as a young solider returned home injured from Vietnam, and Deke, a an anti-war activist.

As usual, Sletten has given us characters who feel three-dimensional, a setting that is almost its own character, and a story that entertains while also challenging us to think.

Goes well with a burger, a beer, and a stimulating conversation. Or maybe a Hemingway novel.

When you can hear the night music, you know everything is safe. It’s when it stops that you know the storm is about to hit!

In 1968, Joe Russo has been shipped off to Vietnam. He has done well to keep himself and his fellow soldiers alive. He doesn’t have any family and didn’t leave any friends behind, so when he gets offered a letter from a volunteer, he jumps at the chance. His pen pal is a young girl named Charlotte (Char) Parsons, whose older brother died earlier in the war. She writes to Joe of life in small college town that gives Joe hope after war. If he can make it back stateside, maybe he will find a small town like that to settle down.

Fast-forward to 1970, Char is just starting her freshman year of college. Her friends are envious because she has a boyfriend that is a senior, who is very outspoken about ending the so called “Vietnam War.” Char never really thought much about his opinions until she meets the new student Joe, who is a vet that was wounded in the war. Joe brings a new perspective to Char and she starts to question her relationship with her boyfriend. As the anti-war movement grows more intense, so do the emotions within Char who must decide the direction her life will go once and for all.

As usual, Sletten has crafted an emotional story centered with conflict that brings the characters to life. It happened so fast in this book, that the Joe, Char, and Deke had faces in no time. I could picture them with ease and I’m pretty sure that Deke looked like Geoffrey Blake from Forrest Gump. The conflict within Char was raw and made it feel very real throughout the whole story. I couldn’t help but root for her and Joe to be together and cringed when Joe kept Tony’s box because I knew what was going to happen and sure enough it did! Why Joe? Seriously, I can’t take things like that when I’ve fallen in love with someone’s relationship!

All that to say, if you enjoy romances written around the Vietnam war (or if you’ve ever read another Deanna Lynn Sletten book), I recommend this one as you will not be disappointed.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. The views and opinions expressed within are my own.

When I added this book to my goodreads list, I was pleasantly surprised to realize I had previously read a book by this author that I enjoyed. This was a sweet love story during the early 1970’s when the Vietnam War was underway. The author did a good job contrasting beliefs of patriotism, peaceful protesting vs. riots, and how Vietnam vets were treated upon their return to the states. What I enjoyed most was the innocence of love between Char and Joe. Eternal love before first sight and happy endings do exist. Thank you Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for my review.

Charlotte Pearsons lost her older brother in the Vietnam War so to help heal she becomes a pen pal with a solder currently in the war. This soldier is Joseph Russo and after she describes the town that she has grown up in, he decides to move there to find the ideal.

So as can be predicted from the beginning Charlotte and Joseph's lives collide and even in this small town the negativity towards the Vietnam war is strong and their lives are impacted by the protests and uproar. I was educated by this part - I enjoyed reading a perspective of how a small town was affected by the feelings about the war and how returning soldiers were caught up in the middle of it.

All in all this book was just a little to sweet and made me feel like I was reading a Hallmark movie pitch. I just couldn't get into the characters and their story and just needed a little more grit.

On a sultry March night in 1969, Joseph Russo and three comrades wait and watch. Having received word that a large group of North Vietnamese soldiers is approaching, the entire base is on alert. However, Joe is not worried; as long as he hears the “night music” of crickets and birds performing their nocturnal chorus, he knows they are safe. While they wait, Joe pulls an envelope from inside his shirt. The letter-writer is a girl named Charlotte who began a pen-pal correspondence with a soldier. As he rereads her description of her hometown of Grand Falls and compares the wholesome appearance of the pretty girl in the photo with the heavily-made-up girls in his native Bronx, Joe wonders if such an idyllic-sounding place really exists. Joe’s thoughts spark a conversation about small-town America—but the talk is interrupted by a sudden silence. Charlie has arrived, and the fight is on. However, for Joe, the battle is a short one; he receives a wound to his leg that earns him a ticket home.

On a September day in 1970, Charlotte Parsons and three friends arrive at Grand Falls University for their first day of classes. While each girl has her own goals for their college years, Char is a dedicated student who is excited about learning. Life is good for the young woman: she has loving parents, a boyfriend, Deke, and a devotion to the town where she grew up. (The only shadow is the loss of her brother, who was killed in Vietnam.) As Char and a friend settle into seats in their English class, the girls notice a man wearing well-worn army fatigues and, while young, has the wrinkles and gray streaks in his hair of someone older—and who walks with a cane. After a chance meeting, Char and the stranger become acquainted and soon discover that they have already “met” through correspondence.

Even though Joe is at the receiving end of Deke’s animosity (he is a dedicated anti-war activist who believes soldiers are responsible for atrocities against civilians), Char is fascinated by the veteran and his story. When Deke plays a cruel prank on Joe, it is more than Char can stand: she realizes the kind of person he is and ends their relationship. Yet, even though her blinders are off, Deke refuses to stay out of the picture and even tries to convince her to join his cause.

As Char and Joe discover they have much in common despite their different backgrounds and experiences—and grow closer than she and Deke ever were—for the first time in her life, the young woman is torn by the realities she is facing. And the sensitive veteran whose heart now belongs to her wants nothing more than to put the war behind him and look to the future. However, two shocking events prove that this is a difficult goal to achieve.

Deanna Lynn Sletten does an admirable job of telling the story through the eyes of both Char and Joe. Readers gain a sense of the reality of a soldier’s life during the Vietnamese conflict. The tension as the men await the enemy’s arrival is palpable. Equally convincing is the author’s portrayal of the serenity of Grand Falls and the girls’ diverse expectations of their budding college experience. All characters, major and minor, are realistically drawn. (A word of caution: sexual references and love-making scenes, while not explicit, make this a questionable book for young teens or readers uncomfortable with such content.) Even though a few events are a stretch, this is a well-written tale that helps readers understand a tragic chapter in American history—and its effects on soldiers and civilians alike. Yet, through everything that happens, the tone is positive and hopeful. As Joe—wise beyond his years--says, “As long as we can hear the night music, we’re okay.”

It's 1968 and Joe is a soldier in the Viet Nam war. He is pen pals with Charlotte, a stranger who lives in a small town in Illinois. Joe gets hurt, discharged and sent back home to the States. Charlotte had made her town sound ideal so Joe moves there and enrols in college. He meets Charlotte and they become friends. Her father gives him a part-time job in his hardware store as Joe doesn't have a lot of money.

Charlotte's brother had been killed in the Viet Nam war and she is now dating his best friend, Deke. Deke is against the war and extremely vocal about it. He's not happy when Charlotte and Joe become friends, especially since Deke sees all the Viet Nam vets as baby killers. This leaves Charlotte conflicted because she knows her brother wasn't a baby killer but Deke is so dedicated to his cause.

This is the fourth book I've read by this author and I liked it. I like the writing style and it is written in third person perspective. As a Canadian, the Viet Nam war doesn't have the same relevance to me as it does/did for Americans (I'm assuming) so I didn't really get caught up in that part of the story. I liked the characters and their small town interactions and 1960s innocence. I wasn't crazy about Deke (I'm not sure I was supposed to like him, though) and I had a hard time relating to his active in-your-face opposition to the war (again perhaps because I'm Canadian?).

I look forward to reading other books by this author.

3.5 - Enjoyable story for what it is. A love story set against the backdrop of the Vietnam war. Char and Joe meet through the letters she sends him from a pen pal program while she's still in highschool. She introduces him to the bucolic setting of small town life and he falls in love with the idea of it while in war torn Vietnam. After an injury sends him home with a medical discharge, he goes to the small town and decides to enroll in the college, ending up in the same college as Charlotte. She's dating a vehemently anti-war college senior but after a cruel "prank" ends their relationship, Joe and Char end up together. The book is mostly boy meets girl happiness from there, with a few rifts and mends needed to further the plot. There's no real meat considering the richness available just in the time period, but it's an easy read, the characters are likeable, and it's a cute story. Worth a read. *Thank you for the ARC, NetGalley!

Being of primary-school-age at the time, although I remember the Vietnam War
I had no idea how badly the returning soldiers were treated. They might reasonably
have expected some gratitude, & a decent job, rather than the very opposite. It may
not have been the general public's favourite war, but was that the fault of the soldiers?
Most of them were not there by choice, & it seems they got a raw deal both overseas
& back home. Those who did not go, had no idea what the soldiers had been through
- & naturally, the returning men had no wish to relive it by recounting it.
There was a further quandary for the families of those soldiers, especially those who
lost their sons : any other war, they could be proud of their sacrifice.
This is not a period I choose to read about ordinarily, so I appreciate this story educating
me on these matters. It is also a prompt that we can all do something, by corresponding
with serving soldiers who may have no-one else who takes an interest.
I was saddened by events near the end of the book, but the Epilogue helps restore
things to an even keel. If I had known what was in the book, I would not have chosen to
read it - but it is probably a good thing that I did do so. We have to be aware of the bad
things in history, in the hopes of learning the lessons & not repeating the wrongs.

Night Music is the sound that means everything is okay. It is when the world goes silent that danger is close. That is what Joseph Russo, a returned soldier from the Vietnam War, describes it at. After an injury to his leg that left him unable to serve anymore, Joe moves to the small town of Grand Falls to start fresh in a new, idealistic town a girl had so beautifully described to him in letters. Those letters had been sent by a specific member of a group of college students who wrote to soldiers. That girl was Charlotte Parsons, desperate to know more about the war that claimed the life of her brother. This novel is the story of what occurs after these short-term pen pals meet in person.

Joe is a kind-hearted and positive young man with both physical and mental scars. He stands out as a returned soldier by wearing his army fatigues and walking with a cane due to his injured leg. Because it is so obvious he has served, Joe has to deal with people who are against America fighting in Vietnam treating him poorly. Despite going through some traumatic experience and living with daily reminders of the war, Joe does a wonderful job of settling into school, working the local hardware store and creating a new life for himself.

Part of that new life is Charlotte, the author of the letters Joe received in Vietnam. Char is a sweet girl who has just started college with dreams of being a writer. The reason Char began writing letters to a random soldier was to find out more about the war her older brother, Jeremy, died fighting. Although Joe does not tell her much about the horrors he experienced in Vietnam via letter or in person, the two form a friendship that helps her see herself, others and the world around her in a different light.

The antagonist of the story is Deke - Char's boyfriend and Jeremy's best friend. He is one of those against American's fighting in Vietnam and taking their hatred of the war out on the returning soldiers, such as Joe. At the start of the book, we find out that Deke has been a part of peaceful protests against the war but, since they do not seem to make a difference, he is looking at doing something a little more radical. Thanks to this information, it was not surprising that approximately 60% of the problems that occur for our protagonists are caused either directly or indirectly by Deke.

Now for the story. I loved the story surrounding Joe - regardless of the war he fought in, he deserves respect for serving his country and the opportunity to live at least a semi-normal life. It was great that the story showed how different people deal with life after the war and it was great that Joe's was a positive story. I also liked that the story highlighted other outcomes of returned soldiers because people need to know that just because you cannot see a scar, does not mean there are no scars. Mental health is something many struggle with and it must be much harder when the mental scars are caused by what those poor souls must experience while at war.

I was not as keen on the other elements of the story, such as Deke and the protests, but I will admit it worked in the story rather well. Another element that bothered me is how the romance came to be. It is not about how it was written because I did like that is happened slow and naturally, but some of my moral boundaries were crossed in order for some of the pre-relationships key moments to occur.

While it was a great story in many ways and I liked reading it, I did not love it. It was a sweet, well-written story that flowed nicely for the most part, but I have never been a fan of stories that wrap up nicely regardless of how sweet it is or how deserving the characters seem. I will say that Night Music gave me a whole new appreciation for those at war, returned soldiers and the wonderful sound of night music, and for that I am thankful.

If you are looking for a lighter wartime romance that does not spend much time on battlefields, then I believe this is a good read.