A quite delightful story, similar in time and style to The Nightingale, although maybe not as dramatic. Told in alternating voices, one in the present and one during WW2, both from an English perspective, we see two women who have loved, been hurt, and learn whether or not they can love again.

If historical fiction and romance are your cup of tea, then this book should be on your list. Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my unbiased review..

Cara discovers a diary written in 1941 while she is helping sort an estate with her boss, Jock, who is an antique dealer. The unknown diarist strikes a chord with Cara. She wants to know who this person is so she may return the diary to the diarist's family. With the aid of her neighbor, Liam, she searches. It was difficult to put the book down as Cara and Liam track down the diarist. Read and enjoy the history and the romance.

I don't like it when a book is compared to other books in the same genre. This book is compared to The Nightingale and The Lilac Girls. The only similarity is that they are all about WWII. The Light over London stands on its own as another historical fiction WWII book about a little known group in England during WWII.

This is a dual time line novel and both stories are equally interesting and exciting. In the present day, Cara is working for an antique dealer when she finds a diary stuck into a drawer. She is intrigued and because of her love of history, she takes it home to read. She is living a solitary life after leaving her husband and her parent's deaths and her work is very important to her. As she reads the diary, she reaches out to her new neighbor who is a history professor for his input on who wrote the diary and to try to track down the family so that it can be returned to them. The other time line is in 1941 when Louise is waiting for her rich suitor to come back from the war. When she meets a dashing RAF pilot, she decides that she needs to change her life and pursue a life with Paul. While she is waiting, she joins the women’s branch of the British Army in the anti-aircraft gun unit as a Gunner Girl. When she moves to London and faces daily danger from the bombs being dropped on the city, it's only her love for Paul that gets her through her fear.

This is a wonderful book about the strength of women though adversity and their resilience in life no matter what is holding them back. The author did considerable research into WWII history to present this well written novel. If you enjoy WWII fiction, this one needs to go on your TBR list.

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

I’m a sucker for historical fiction and this book exceeded all of my expectations. This book follows the story of Cara, a recently divorcee who finds a WWII diary with the initials LK on it while at an estate. Cara starts reading the diary and connects with the writer. Who she later finds out is a woman by the name of Louise Keene who volunteers for ATS, a women’s auxiliary service to the British Royal Army and gets an extra special assignment.

The book itself bounces between Cara in 2017 and Louise in the 1940s. This allowed the reader to see both the story about Cara as well as the full story about Louise. Sometimes it can be confusing to the reader when the book flips between to main focuses but the author, Julia Kelly, does it perfectly.

This part was one part historical fiction, two parts romance and a dash of female empowerment. Check it out, available January 8. #netgalley #TheLightOverLondon

I received a review copy of this ebook from Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

The Light Over London tells the story of Cara, who is present day, working for an antique dealers & Louise, a woman who joined up to help the war during WW2. Cara finds a diary & delves into the story, determined to find out about Louise & her family to return the diary. With the help of her new neighbor, Liam, they trace Louise's story to living relatives.

The story switches back & forth from present day to past. Well written & engaging. I wish there had been deeper information on the characters back stories, but there is enough that you do get to know them.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review

Available January 8: The Light Over London
***** 4.5 stars, Loved it: Set in both present day and World War II, The Light Over London is a must-read.



Recommended readers:

If you like novels with WWII history and drama
If you like a historical read that ties into current times
If you like strong female characters
Here's my Rankings:

5/5 for characters
4/5 for plot
4.5/5 overall
REVIEW FROM BOOKS FOR HER:
Cara Hargraves is recovering from divorce after moving away from London and her big city world - when she discovers a diary in the home of an estate she's helping her new boss clean out. The old diary and items in the tin date back to World War II, including a picture of a young woman in a uniform that reminds Cara of her own grandmother's WWII service.

In this dual plot-line story - you'll step into two women's shoes: Cara, an emotionally wounded young woman, and Louise, a shy and timid girl growing up in rural England during WWII. Both stories are equally moving and especially Louise, as she finds her way to help during war efforts. The Light Over London is a great historical read - telling two stories of contrasting times. It's must-read for the New Year!

Available January 8: The Light Over London

In this duel storyline tale, readers will learn about the gunner girls of World War II and the modern antiques trade in England. In the historic storyline, readers will follow the story of Louise Keene. Louise long lived with a distant, critical mother and thanks to the war met a dashing pilot, Paul Bolton. When her pilot is transferred, Louise also leaves and joins the war effort. She finds herself training, and then serving, as a gunner girl. How will she manage during the war? How will the relationship with her pilot progress?

In the modern storyline, recently divorced Cara Hargraves is working in an antiques shop. While working on listing items for an estate sale, she uncovers Louise’s diary. Cara is driven to find the family and return the diary. However, Cara is equally drawn into Louise’ story and finds herself wanting to learn more. With the help of her neighbor, Liam, a professor, they embark on a journey of discovery, both of history and of themselves.

As a whole, I was disappointed by this novel. The summary sounded interesting, but the novel itself did not live up to my expectations. Both storylines seemed to be underdeveloped and lacked depth. I would have liked to dive into each story more. In regards to Louise, she left home in a hurry and fell for a man without knowing him long and we really do not know why. As for Cara, I felt I got to know her better, but her relationship with Liam could have been better and more deeply developed. I also would have liked to see more about Iris, Cara’s grandmother who made frequent appearances. That said, this was the first book (fiction or nonfiction) I read featuring the gunner girls, so that was an aspect of the war that I really knew little about and it provided information about how they trained and how the units worked.

Such a pleasure to enjoy stories of women who overcome issues and continued on bravely to be heroic! Cara (present day ) and Louise (1941); lost loves and an enjoyable story. Beautifully written - Gunner Girls! Thank you! #netgalley.com # TheLightOverLondon

Light Over London follows on the heels of several bestselling books about women in World War Two. Kelly's book brings to light the work of the women in the British Auxiliary Territorial Service group, work that will be new to most readers. The format of the book -- Cara, in the present, discovers a diary from WWII as well as the answers to some mysteries in her family's past while Louise, in the past, writes the diary -- is very popular these days as well. Given the subject matter, this book is fairly light while being informative. Recommend to readers of Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society as well as readers of The Nightingale and Lilac Girls.

Cara Hargraves, an antique specialist, found a WW2-era diary in an attic in a tin. Cara digs into the past on a quest to discover who wrote the diary and what happened to her.

This book pulls you into the women’s auxiliary and war time London. It is absolutely thrilling and the writing is superb. I finished reading it in two hours!

This the story in two parts. One is present day, Cara, who finds a normal from WWII and wants to find the owner. The other story is about Louise. She is the author off the journal that Cara had found.

Louise is a young woman growing up during WWII. She feels trapped in her mundane life. Trying to make her mother proud Louise can never do enough to make herself feel happy. Coincidentally, she cannot make her mother happy either.

Louise decides to go to a dance with her cousin, Kate. This might of been the best thing she's ever done in her life. She meets a young fighter pilot and her world changes.

This book took so many twists and turns that when I had to put it down I couldn't stop thinking about Louise.

This book is two stories entwined together. It's about Louise and get decisions and also about Cara and her life.

I highly recommend this novel! You will not regret your decision to read this one!

A very interesting story about WWII and the brave women in England. I enjoyed the history lesson as well as an interesting story that flips from WWII to present day. The author does a good job of bringing her characters alive with real emotions.

The Light Over London captured my attention from the very first page! I enjoyed watching Cara find herself as she unraveled both the mystery of the diary and her grandmother's long kept secret. It was interesting to go back and forth in time between the present and wartime London. I have not heard of the Ack Ack girls. That sent me to the internet to find out more - always the sign of a good book.

The Light Over London by Julia Kelly is a novel that is extremely well written. It has amazing character development. At its core the story is heartbreaking, beautiful, and so emotionally moving that you don’t want to put it down.

A very good Historical Fiction novel set in England. It's goes back and forth between a modern protagonist and an interesting World War II protagonist. Past and present combine when a personal diary is found a generation later at estate. The diary belongs to a woman who is a “Gunner Girl” in the RAF during the 1940's. The person who finds the diary is a young antique dealer who finds the diary in a secret drawer. The WWII woman is assigned to an artillery group staffed by women who target German bombers to keep them from bombing London. The present day Protagonist is a woman who is recreating herself after a tragic loss and a divorce.

The Light Over London is filled with illuminating history telling the story of just a few of the brave women that helped to win the war for the allies. The book was so interesting that I want to read more about these women. The “Gunner Girls” are smart, brave and unlike the average woman you would find in London in the 1940's. A wonderful read.

I would like to thank Julia Kelly, Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books Gallery Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really found this book interesting. It had the right mixture of fiction, history, and romance. Well written and good character development.

I loved this book. The author masterfully weaves the stories of two women, one from the present, the other from the past into an unforgettable story, The mystery of a found World War II diary leads to self discovery and romance for a young divorcee as she unravels the clues and finds answers to her own questions.

This was an enjoyable read about British girls during WWII. I was glad to learn about the gunner girls or the Ack-Ack girls and the part they played in defending England against the German air corps.

The layout of the plotting using a modern day antiquities dealer juxtaposed with our main character from 1941 was better than most written in this manner in that I could see a real relationship between the 1941 protagonist and our current protagonist. However, the romances, certainly the modern day one, were a bit over the top. The wartime romance made more sense – at least to me.

The story held my attention from the beginning. I would have enjoyed the book more if it had not been compared to The Nightingale and the Lilac Girls. Those were much deeper and more complex than this novel. Having the comparison in the advertisement kept me on edge waiting for something more or something deeper whereas without that anticipation I would have enjoyed the simple story just for itself.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The story has one of my favorite styles: dualing timelines, covering 2017 and 1941. The story opens with Cara Hargraves and her boss, a gruff antiques dealer, appraising an estate in Gloucestershire for a woman who just wants to get rid of everything. Inside a drawer, she finds a book-shaped tin. After prying it open, she discovers a World War II photograph of a woman with the initials L.K. and a diary.

The diary covers little more than a year, from February 21, 1941, until January 5, 1942. What she reads, shocks her, making her eager to return the red-bound diary to its owner.

Then the story shifts to 1941 to Cornwall. Louise Keene is nineteen years old, but wants more out of life. Her parents think she should sit around the house and wait for a boy she knows, but barely knows or likes, to return from the war. She meets a handsomely dashing Flight Lieutenant based nearby.

Louise can barely tolerate the dullness of the countryside while a war rages in nearby London. Against her parents’ wishes, she joins up, as a Gunner Girl, a member of the famed Ack-Ack Command, and is stationed as a gunner.

I loved learning about the Gunner Girls and the Ack-Ack Command. I had never heard of these terms before, but basically what they did was watch the English skies for enemy planes. Women weren’t allowed to fire the guns, only help scan the skies and help set up the machinery. Stationed in London, Louise learns, quickly, that the war is far more dangerous than she had ever perceived. She lives for the day when Paul returns and they can be married.

Fast forward to 2017, Cara, reeling from a divorce, has moved into a new cottage. She hopes to be able to find the person, or her family, to return the diary. Enlisting the aid of her new neighbor, the handsome professor Liam, they begin to search for the rightful proprietor.

The plot was good, a heck of a twist awaits readers, one that I saw only as it happened. Bravo, Miss Kelly. The two timelines did intersect, but it was rather disappointing. One thing that drove me nuts was all the acronyms that were never explained. For these last two reasons, “The Light Over London,” receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher, Gallery Books; through Netgalley. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

The Light Over London written by Julia Kelly was exceptionally written. It is heartbreaking at its core and breathtakingly beautiful. I usually only enjoy a book where there is a happily every after. Not to say this one did not end that way but it ends I suppose the way life usually goes.

The Light over London tells the story of two women, a generation apart yet with similar expectations and experiences. It begins when Cara Hargraves finds a diary from World War II in an estate she is working on as an assistant to an antiques dealer. Within the pages she discovers a picture of a young woman in uniform and a diary that tragically ends abruptly. With the help of her handsome new neighbor, Cara and Liam delve into the past of Louise Keene. A Gunner girl during the war. Her unfinished diary gives a glimpse into a love affair that illuminates a side of wartime love that rarely gets told. Cara's need to discover it's ending and return it to the owner leads her down her own path of discovery into her own families secrets.

The Light Over London is filled with Illuminating history telling the story of just a few of the brave women that helped to win the war, of past secrets that need to be brought into the light if one is to move on and of love stories both tragic and promising. Julia Kelly's book is beautifully written and emotionally stirring that will have you reading late into the night.

I will post my review on both Goodreads and Amazon.

Loved the two storylines -- both past and present -- that weaved throughout the book. Still thinking about the characters a week later. Always a sign of a good book.