Recently divorced Cara finds a photograph and diary belonging to a woman known only as L.K. With the help of her new neighbor, Liam, she uncovers the mystery of L.K. But is solving the mystery the only thing in store for Cara and Liam?

Louise Keene meets RAF pilot Paul Bolton and it changes the course of her life. As she falls in love with Paul will she find out there's more to him than meets the eye? Will she find out she's stronger than she ever thought?

The lives of two women who lived decades apart intertwine in this dual timeline book. I think dual timeline books are tricky for authors because they have to keep the reader's interest during not just one story but two. Julia Kelly kept my interest in these two stories from beginning to end. This book was an emotional read as I felt heartbreak, anger, and happiness right along with these characters. I was pulled into Louise's story through Cara's and I thought the author did an excellent job of switching back and forth to keep the story moving forward and keeping my interest. I enjoyed the author's writing style and how her descriptions made me feel as if I were there.

This book will appeal to readers of contemporary fiction or historical fiction. It has a nice balance of both and is a well-written story that has put the author on my must-read list.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and was not required to write a review. All opinions are mine.

Cara works for a guy that sells antiques from people, and she finds a diary written by Louise in WWII. It goes back and forth from Cara and her life and what she finds out, and Louise's diary and life. Cara had just gone through a divorce so a neighbor she just met helped her find out more information about the diary and if she can return it to the owner. Cara ends up falling in love with her neighbor, finding out more about her grandmother's history, and finding herself. Louise's story started out where she lived in a small village doing bookkeeping at the local store and wanting to be free of her life. Her mother wants her to wait for a local boy to come back from the War, but Louise wants bigger things. She falls in love with Paul, ends up joining the military, being asked to join the Ack-Ack team, marrying him, and finding out when he dies that he had married several other women. Cara finds out more to the story when she locates Louise's cousin Kate, with Liam. I really liked the story, but I wish there would have been a little bit more history in it.

Given that I'm a WWII Book junkie, I thoroughly enjoyed The Light Over London. It is one of those split-time-period novels, which may be common, but I still really enjoy this format.

In the current day, we have Cara, who works in an antique shop. She finds an old diary in a box that seems to be written by a woman who is shown in a picture in a WWII uniform. Cara decides she needs to find out who this woman is and return the diary to her or her family.

In 1941, Louise lives in a small village in the English countryside and seems far removed from the war, until she is swept off her feet by an RAF pilot, Paul. Their relationship is quick and intense, and when Paul gets shipped off to another post, they resolve to keep writing. Louise decides to join-up to help the war effort. She ends up scoring very high on tests and becomes a Gunner Girl, a dangerous assignment.

Part of Louise's story comes from the diary that Cara is reading and part from Louise's perspective herself. At times it is a bit confusing remembering that Cara doesn't know everything that the reader knows about Louise.

Cara's story is complicated by the fact that she is recently divorced and her parents were killed in a car accident shortly before that divorce. So we get that story in bits and pieces throughout the novel. Cara's new neighbor, a handsome, single gentleman, provides a potential romantic interest for Cara. Cara's grandmother also served in the war. Cara knows her grandmother has secrets because she heard her mother on the phone in an argument with Grandma right before her mother's death. Cara's grandmother is adamant that Cara not know anything about those secrets.

Louise's mother knows that Louise will marry the most eligible bachelor in town and settle down and have his children, like a good wife and daughter. Louise has no romantic interest in this man, and that is partly why she decides to escape her parents and her small-town life and join up.

The portrayal of these Gunner Girls and the atmosphere of London during the bombings is one of the most fascinating elements of The Light Over London. It is easy to feel the absolute terror and danger that they were in, firing anti-aircraft guns at Luftwaffe planes almost every night. Cara lives for Paul's letters, which at times are loving and at other times are somewhat angry about Cara's putting herself in harm's way.

The way Louise's story turns out is unexpected -- in a good way. I don't want to say too much more about it. Both of our main characters go through large, and believable, transformations. If you are a fan of WWII stores that put you in the thick of it and provide a dose of romance to boot, you should pick up The Light Over London. Also recommended to teens who enjoy the genre.

I was excited to read this book as my mother-in-law was a war bride having driven jeeps for officers....and also seeing this book compared to Nightingale and The Lilac Girls. In addition this book is a two time period book. I felt the book started out well with Cara finding a diary of Louise who was a Gunner Girl. Both Cara and Louise have “love “ problems. I enjoyed learning about the role the Gunner Girls played in World War II. For me, this book was more of a romance story than the level of historical fiction portrayed in Nightingale and The Lilac Girls. Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery Books for an ArC of this book.

Lindas Book Obsession Reviews “The Light Over London” by Julia Kelly, Gallery Books, January 8, 2019

Julia Kelly, Author of “The Light Over London” has written an intense, captivating, enthralling, intriguing and dramatic novel about World War Two. The Genres for this book are Historical Fiction and Fiction. There are two timelines for this novel, World War Two and the present. I appreciate how the two timelines do connect to each other. The author describes her colorful characters as complex and complicated.

Cara Hargraves deals with many antiques when going through people’s homes. Her boss wants her to sell them as quickly as she can. Cara discovers an old diary from World War Two in a old fashioned tin in one of the pieces of furniture. When she investigates further, she realizes that one of the pictures of a woman in uniform reminds her of her Grandmother, who also wore a uniform during the World War Two. Cara is fascinated by the unfinished diary, and also wonders why her Grandmother has never shared information about this time. Before her parents were in an fatal accident, Cara, remembers her Mom and Grandmother arguing about something in regard to this matter.

In 1941, Louise Keene is encouraged to go to a dance with her vibrant cousin Kate. Louise has a stressful relationship with her mother, who is always finding fault with anything she does. Louise meets a charming man Paul, a RAF pilot. When Paul is deployed, they promise to write letters to one another.

Louise is unhappy at home, and unhappy that Paul is gone, and decides to join the Woman’s branch in the British Army as a gunner girl. There is a tremendous amount of danger in this position, but Louise feels that she is doing something for her country. It seems that Louise is writing a diary of what is in her heart and mind.

Cara has this diary, and there isn’t a conclusion. With the help of her new neighbor, a History professor, they look to see if anyone in the present can help them with what happened in the past.

There are betrayals, and well-kept dark that can change many things. In both timelines, the women characters are strong and determined. I would highly recommend this story for those readers who enjoy Historical Fiction. I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

Cara Hargraves is a divorcee working for an antique dealer. They are going over the inventory of a recently deceased lady whose relative is wanting to dispose of it all. Cara comes across a tin with a diary and some other things from World War II. She only has the initials of the owner of the diary which is LK and becomes very interested in the diary. It is the story of Louise a nineteen year old from a small village who breaks away to work in the war effort. Cara meets her new neighbor who is a professor and together she and Liam work to solve the mystery of Louise's life during the war. I find it to be a touching story in present time and past.

Summary:

             Cara is in the middle of a massive life overhaul.  Dealing with a messy divorce and leaving a job she never cared for, she's back home working with antiques and spending time with Gran.  The job is one she loves- the beauty and mystery, and the ability to make sure a well loved object gets new life with someone that will treasure it.  Between work and Gran she doesn't have time for much else, but she's okay with that.  

When going through a house with her employer Cara finds a tin filled with odd treasures.  A movie stub, a small compass, a locket, a picture and a journal.  It calls to her and, with the family's permission, she sets out to learn more about the woman from the journal...

Louise isn't exactly adventurous.  Smart and serious, she keeps the accounts and works in a shop in her little Cornish village.  It has been decided that she will wait there for the solicitor's son, Gary, to come home from the war.  They will marry, and their mothers will be happy.  It isn't exactly the type of life she wants, but she can see no way out.  One night changes all that.  Her cousin, Kate, drags her to a dance and there's Paul.  Handsome, sophisticated and interested in her, this RAF pilot is everything she never knew to wish for.  A whirlwind, clandestine courtship ensues.  Paul gives her strength to look into the dreams she has locked away- travel, leaving home, being useful.... maybe someday going to California.  When he is shipped out Louise makes a command decision.  She and Kate will join the war effort.  When she becomes a gunner girl in the anti aircraft gun unit she is over the moon.  She's using her brain and making a difference.  Paul is less pleased citing the dangers... but there seems to be more to his objections.  Could it be that they don't know each other as well as she thought?...

The more Cara reads, the deeper she needs answers about Gran's time in the war- a time she refuses to address.  With the help of her new neighbor, Liam, she moves to uncover the secrets not only for the mystery journalist but her own family.

My thoughts:

        Kelly's book is being likened to The Lilac girls and The Nightingale, but I was getting vibes from one of my favorite historical fiction authors, Laura Madeleine.  The attention to detail used when merging the dual timelines, the character development and easy flow of the book was reminiscent of Where the Wild Cherries Grow.  All the wonderful things about historical fiction are here- the drama of the past, intrigue, description, amazing characters.  I could not put this book down!  The writing style was magnificent and the different timelines/plot lines merged seamlessly in a way that was believable.  So often an author will allow one plot line to take the lead, leaving the other to disappear, unneeded; but here you have two strong stories.  I loved that.  For me this is a five star book.

             On the adult content scale, there's violence, language and some light sexual content.  Nothing major and I would still hand this one over to my niece.  I give it a four.

I was lucky enough to receive and eARC of this book from Netgalley and Gallery books in exchange for an honest review.  My thanks.

I was disappointed in that this book is not what I expected it to be as it was described . It’s more of a romance taking place during WWII and I didn’t see ant real connection to Lilac Girls or The Nightingale. P

Present day, we meet Cara who hides herself in her work with an antiques dealer. While on a job site, Cara finds an old tin with a diary inside. She feels compelled to find out who wrote it.
Flashback, we meet Louise who feels stuck in her small village. And so the story begins. I liked the characters and most of the story, but Iris seemed thrown into the mix. Her actions were over the top for me, so I really didn't care for her. However, with out the drama of Iris, learning/reading about Louise was quite enjoyable.

**Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley in exchange of an honest review.**

I recently finished The Light Over London by Julia Kelly. When I saw this book I was sold because I haven't read a World War II book that I haven't enjoyed. However, when I started reading this book I found that it is a marvelous blending of a contemporary story and a war romance with several unexpected twists.

Author Julia Kelly uses a found diary as the bridge to combine the story of Cara, a contemporary divorced woman who works for an antique dealer, and Louise, the author of the World War II era diary. The diary also is one aspect which leads to Cara learning her Gran's never before told war story and serves as the connecting point for a blossoming relationship between Cara and her charming new history professor neighbor. Kelly seamlessly transitions from contemporary times to World War II and back again. The story is so well told that readers will be surprised by at least one of the three twists which occurs at the end of the story.

On an "appropriate scale" this book barely registers a blip. Foul language was pretty much non-existent. This is a romance geared toward adult readers so there were veiled references to sex but nothing tantalizing or descriptive. I would not hesitate to recommend this book to high school readers on up.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the book The Light Over London free via NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

The Light Over London is a dual timeline story that grabbed me from page one. I love historical fiction about strong women who buck the societal norms to make their own way in life! Julia Kelly’s latest work is a must read for historical fiction fans!

I am a huge fan of fiction novels set during the World War II time period. The Lilac Girls was one of the best reads in the past few years for me. There was a comparison of that book to this one but I think comparing them would not be doing this book justice. This book for me was completely different but not in a bad way. This is a historical romance that is heavy on the romance with a dash of mystery. It has two timelines that intersect but the book flows smoothly The history of the gunner girls was something new to me and it gave this book another star in my eyes. If you are looking for a book that flows and allows you to jump between times and try to solve a mystery this book is exactly what you are seeking.

This book has a gripping story and while it is not my normal type of read it was a good book. I would not put it in my top list right now but maybe it will make it there.

So, I normally would not pick this book to read since it was about WWII which while thinking about it doesn't make sense because I love watching WWII movies. Overall, I enjoyed the book. It was a story about two women decades apart both dealing with issues. During WWII Louise has an overbearing hag of a mother and her first "real" boyfriend which helps to set her on a path which results in her becoming an Ack Ack girl in London. Cara is hiding from romance due to her divorce and is trying to uncover a secret that her grandmother refuses to talk about that has something to do with her time in the war. I don't like books that go back and forth, but this one didn't bother me as much. I liked both women's stories but was left wishing for a bit more. Don't get me wrong, I liked this book but wished there had been more of an odd connection between them other than Cara pursuing this mystery as a way to get her grandmother to talk and a way of immersing herself in constant motion so she didn't deal with the fact that she was hiding from her life. Thank goodness Liam can help and that Cara begins to live again. I really liked Liam and would have liked a bit more there, too. It did flow slowly (necessarily) with Cara and Liam which seemed perfect.

The Light Over London is the story of two women living during different time periods. Louise Keene’s story is about a small-town girl in the 1940’s, chafing against the life her mother envisions for her. When Louise reluctantly attends a dance with her vibrant cousin Kate, she meets a pilot who opens the world for her beyond the sleepy village where she grew up. Louise’s story is told through a series of diary entries, and we learn of Louise’s strength and bravery when she is selected to serve in an Ack-Ack team for the RAF and is stationed in London.

Louise’s diary is discovered by Cara Hargreaves, an aspiring antiques expert appraising the contents of a house for an estate sale. Cara has been through a devastating marriage and divorce, the death of her parents in a drunk driver accident, and has settled in a little university town to start a new life as an antiques appraiser. When Cara discovers the diary, she is intrigued by the picture of the young woman in the RAF uniform, who reminds her of her grandmother who served in the RAF and won’t talk about her service. Cara takes the diary and strives to uncover who the diary belongs to so she can return it to the family.

The story alternates between Louise in the 1940’s and Cara in the present day. This is an enjoyable story that introduces a group of women who served in WWII that are not talked about much.

Fair warning! Tissues needed!

Positively touching, a sweet romantic slow burn sweep through two historical timelines. Separate, yet intertwined are the walks of two woman from different backgrounds and times, who want to follow their hearts and are thrown devastating challenges their way.

Moving back into her hometown to restart her life after a painful divorce, Cara Hargraves works on estate inspections, appraisals and sales. Her interest in all old things and historical treasures take up most of her time, as she studies over manuals and catalogs during work as well as on her own free time. Isolating herself from others and trying to make a new home, she hardly seeks time for socialization of any kind nor gives her new cute neighbor any thought.

At one of her on site assignments, Cara stumbles upon an old tin with a diary in it that was kept from the estate sale itself. With permission she is allowed to read the diary over the course of the next few weeks and she finds herself entranced by the strength, heartache, blush worthy and tragic moments told by a young woman who has run away from home to follow independence and love.

It’s the beginning of WWII, Louise is destined to be betrothed to a young man with a bright future as her mother sees fit and has planned it out for years…just as soon as he is back from his military duty assignment. But Louise is not happy. Not liking the confinement of her small town, she begins to dream big and of going to California to study math.

As her BFF cousin takes Louise to a dance one evening in town, she falls smitten with a young soldier that is on R&R for the evening. Cautiously they go on a few dates, always staying hidden away from the prying eyes in town. But as destiny has it, someone sees them and tells her mother. As the reprimands escalate, Louise decides to run away with her cousin to enlist in hopes of making a difference and creating a better life for herself other than the one her mother envisions.

It turns out, Louise accelerates on her aptitude tests with highest honor and becomes the special assignment of Ack-Ack girl along with 5 other smart and fierce ladies. As she is training and becoming close to her comrades, she keeps pen paling with Paul the entire time and keeping log in her diary. As the months pass, Paul and her are trying to meet up again, and after many unforeseen circumstances and canceled leave time, he surprises her and shows up at her duty station. One day later, they marry and consummate their new relationship…till they will see each other again.

Cara in the meantime is reading through the diary and her cute neighbor happens to be a history professor. As he inches forward in a neighborly way with a dinner to get to know her, Cara tells him of her work and the diary. Intrigued about the mystery couple and the abrupt diary ending, he offers to help her in finding out who the rightful owner of the diary is so they can return it to the family.

As the novel switches viewpoints between Louise and Cara, it becomes a connected network of similarities and revelations balanced with moments of the women’s relationships, failures and successes.

***

If you have been fooled like me by the blurb on the book that states: For fans of the 'Lilac Girls' or 'The Nightingale', let me say, that in my opinion that is not exactly true. I am an absolute fan of the 'Lilac Girls' by Martha Hall Kelly and the tragic story of the 'Rabbit-Girls' at Ravensbrueck, so much though, that I have done further reading on the subject and suggested readings from the back of that book. And this novel was nothing like the atrocities that happened at Concentration camp. For fans of 'The Nightingale' it may hold a bit closer of a match, but again the direct contact and influence of German soldiers in town and their violence was a missing piece in this novel.

However, 'The Light Over London' is a beautiful, romantic read that takes place around / during the WWII and holds it’s own for a great sweeping story that touches on the subject of woman in the military during the war. Specifically the Ack Ack Girls. This was a legitimate branch of ladies that was sent to assist gunners to target in on German planes to shoot them out of the sky from the ground. So as it goes, I went and looked up some info on these brave ladies and will attach it at the bottom.

To gather my thoughts and sum it up, this novel is beautiful and touching. The romance is sweet and slow, and I don’t read romance novels normally (…I fell for the blurb expecting something different). But I was pretty smitten. This book ended up being the one I wanted to read in the tub with some bubbly and the one that kept me up late at night reading.

The conclusion is sweet, not everything is a happy ending, but it checked all the boxes of closing the different plot endings…only for me to wish I could read on. So, already missed are the characters and this book will be one of my faves for its own flavor not to stand in the shadow of another.

Romance haters beware. Romance lovers embrace! This novel is beautiful.

Enjoy!

I received a digital copy of this title from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review. All opinions are my own. Thank you.


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When antiques appraiser Cara finds the long forgotten diary of Louise, a World War II girl gunner (London), she works to solve the mystery of her life.

This is an interesting dual storyline novel. In the present we have Cara, an antiques appraiser who is redefining her life after a messy divorce. In the past, there is Louise, who became a "girl gunner" after she became interested in a handsome and mysterious RAF pilot. The author, Julia Kelly, handles the dual storylines very well..

Cara was a particularly compelling character for me, as I also work with antiques and vintage items and have done appraisals in the past. I found the details of her work both accurate and fascinating. Louise was a more mysterious character, as we (as readers) know her through her diary entries and what she chooses to share there. I loved reading about her work and adventures with the British war effort.

Both women are involved in tentative romances -- Cara with her handsome neighbor, a kindly history professor, and Louise with a dashing but mysterious pilot. Both stories were told well but I just liked Cara's romantic interest, Liam, so much, that I was more involved in that story.

The historical details were particularly well done, and I think this book will be of interest to anyone who loves WWII historical fiction.

There has been a plethora of WWII books lately that focus on aspects of the war on the "homefront". Some are amazing, others are terribly boring and overly romantic or melodramatic. The Light Over London falls somewhere in between.

The characters are believable and endearing. I was captivated by Cara, the modern-day antique dealer trying to cope with life after a divorce, who is fascinated by a diary she has found. The questions of why her grandmother doesn't talk about her time during the war and the fight she and Cara's mother had shortly before Cara's mother died dovetail well with the story from the diary. Flashbacks are clearly defined by italics and chapter headings and the voices of the characters are so clearly delineated that there is no trouble distinguishing between 1943 and present day.

Although the plot has some predictable parts, there are enough twists to keep any reader entertained. It does have a bit of a "Hallmark Channel" happily-ever-after feel at times, but not overwhelmingly so. A pleasant read, plus I learned about the Ack-Ack girls of the British army. That was something new to me.

This the story of two women, Louise and Cara. One, Cara, lives in the present, and Louise was in her twenties in the 1940s. Cara finds a diary in an antique desk that was part of an estate that she and her boss are assessing to decide whether to purchase the lot. She decides to try to find the writer in order to return the diary to the owner’s family.

The publisher has classified this book as historical fiction and, yet, the author failed to develop the historical part of her book. Yes, she tells us about aspects of life in England during the early days of WWII, but she doesn’t show us anything about the period. Because Kelly told her readers what she needed us to know, I didn’t get a sense of the time or place. It has been suggested that this book would have been better classified as a historical romance. However, the romances were secondary to the plot and sometimes felt like they were thrown in without much thought to what role they would play. The bottom line, unfortunately, is that this really is neither historical fiction nor a historical romance.

The author’s writing is good, the storyline interesting, and characters likable. For a debut novel, this isn’t bad, hopefully, though Kelly’s writing will improve as she writes her next novels and she learns to develop her characters better and, if she continues to write historical fiction, she learns to make the reader feel like they’re living in the time and place like Jennifer Winspear, Charles Todd, or Anne Perry do.

Astonishing, charming and fascinating - are the words that come to my mind when I think of Julia Kelly's new novel "The Light Over London". I am a huge lover of historical fiction, and this book exceeded all my expectations.

After a not so pleasant divorce, antique dealer Cara throws herself in her work. Life after the divorce is hard, and Cara tries to pull herself together. But in order to "move on" one must sort out the past. And the only thing that bothers Cara about the past is a conversation she overheard between her Grandma and mother days before her parents died in a car crash. Unfortunately, Gran is one tough cookie to break.

One day at work, while clearing out an estate, Cara comes across a diary. And inside it, she also finds a photograph of a beautiful young girl in the uniform. Unable to stop her curiosity, Cara starts to read the diary and shares the story with her two new neighbors Liam and Rufus.

The story of nineteen-year-old Louise captivates the attention of two young people. After meeting and falling in love with a dashing RAF pilot, she runs away from her family home and joins the women’s branch of the British Army in the anti-aircraft gun unit as a Gunner Girl. Unfortunately, diary ends unexpectedly, leaving Cara and Liam with many unanswered questions that they are eager to resolve.

While chasing Louise's past, Cara also finds out the answers to hers. Delightful story, with a few plot twists that the reader would enjoy. Thank you, NetGalley, Julia Kelly and Gallery Books for a free and advanced copy of this marvelous novel.