As I began this book and saw the planning of the wedding I had to again look at the date, 1943, so I was surprised as to the life this young woman was leading. Didn’t have to wait long for the other shoe to drop, and things to get bad in Hungary.
We see what looks like she has an ideal life, her father has money, and she is about to marry a doctor who is at the front taking care of the wounded, but life can’t be smooth during war time, and we get to see what happens.
I loved the author’s notes, and see that this fictional story has roots in real people!
So much pain and evil prevalent at this time in history, and Eva meets her soulmate in Aleandro, a chance meeting, but a lifetime relationship.
The title of this read resonates, it was their summer, but was it, a lifetime of yearning for what cannot be, but each play their part in the life that is presented.
I do recommend this read, it kept me page turning, but beware it can be sad, we cannot change the past.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Atria Books, and was not required to give a positive review.

Title: When The Summer Was Ours
Author: Roxanne Veletzos
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

💭What I thought would happen:

I thought it was going to be a tragic loss at war historical fiction piece.

🗯Thoughts:

Give me a woman looking longingly into the distance in a fashionable period piece and you just know I’ll read the book.

While this wasn’t my favorite, I did enjoy the writing style, the story of Eva was beautifully tragic.

I knew nothing of Hungary in 1943, or truly in general. I love learning about the rich cultures and histories of countries. But anything set in WWII has me hooked.

I found I struggled to get through the book effortlessly but glad I did finish. It was quite heartbreaking.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I don’t know what it is about the beginning of books for me lately and why it takes me a bit longer to get into them. I’m glad I stuck this one out. World War II stories are never easy to read and this one is no different. Heartbreaking doesn’t even cover it. Frustration with decisions and secrets are woven with joy at the resilience and generosity of characters who have suffered through so much. There is sacrifice, love and hope and the acknowledgments at the end were enlightening.

I received an advance reading copy of this book from NetGalley.com in return for a fair review. This was an interesting novel that is very much based on historical facts and real people. The main characters are Aleandro Szabo, a Romani (another word for 'Gypsy') living in Hungary in the years leading up to World War II and Eva Cesar, a young girl who is dominated by her widowed father. Eva is engaged to a doctor, Eduard Kovaks, but falls in love and becomes pregnant by Aleandro, who is also a violinist and artist. When Hungary falls to Germany, Aleandro is sent to Dachau, while Eva has her child and then finally marries a forgiving Eduard. Aleandro, whose life is based on Latvian artist Kalman Aron, survives the prison camp because of his artistic abilities. Eva and her husband who is based on the real-life Dr. Andras Seibrigir, join the resistance. Author Roxanne Veletzos did a fine job researching and bringing her characters to life, but there were times I felt that the story was a bit contrived. I will say that I did learn about Hitler's persecution of the Romani. I had no idea that they, too, were forced into prison camps. Overall, this was a good book that kept my interest with likeable characters caught up in world that had gone mad.

I've started to love WWII fiction, and even enjoy reading it. But something about this one fell flat for me. I don't know if it was the characters are the setting.

“When the Summer Was Ours” is a captivating read! It is set in Hungary during World War II. Eva is engaged and lives with her wealthy father. She befriends a Romani gypsy and fiddler, Aleandro. We see their struggle to try to make a life together. I could feel their love and passion through the entire story. But as we know, life doesn’t always work out the way we want it to.
I love reading books set in this time period and it was interesting reading about what life was like in Hungary. This book does not shy away from the horrors of war. I couldn’t put it down!!
I received a complimentary copy of the book from Atria Books through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I couldn't get into this one. I tried a few times, but ultimately decided to shelve it. May try again another time.

I like to read about certain eras from different angles. So much of WWII historical fiction is from the Western European perspective. When the Summer Was Ours is set in Romania. It’s a beautiful love story of two people who share a brief moment and spend the majority of their lives past, intermingling sparingly because of distance and other circumstances. I had much empathy for one character because I think his feelings were often thwarted unjustly. A crescendo of emotion erupts several times throughout the story so keep a Kleenex handy.

This is a WWII historical fiction set in Hungary that revolves around two main characters and that highlights Hungary’s impact on the Romani people.

Unfortunately, this book just didn’t work well for me. There was something in the flow of writing and the execution that didn’t keep my attention until 3/4 of the way in.

I did, however, enjoy the ending and the fact that the story continues after the war. This allowed a glimpse into what post-war Hungary was like under Soviet rule (something I hadn’t previously read about).

It wasn’t a bad story, but just not the best I’ve read in the genre.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a wonderful book of historical fiction. I enjoyed watching Eva’s life and her interactions with several wonderful individuals. This is a great story of love and the losses often associated with truly loving someone!

A life of leisure and wealth was all Eva knew and what she would always know because she was going to marry a doctor.

Well…she was going to marry a doctor until she met Aleandro. She was drawn to the gypsy fiddler and couldn’t stop thinking of him. He was the love of her life and she of his.

As the war raged, her fiancé wrote every day, but Eva and Aleandro continued to meet and fell deeply in love. When her father found out she had been meeting Aleandro, he locked her in her room. Eva escaped, went to Aleandro, and ruined any chance of marrying Eduard.

WHEN THE SUMMER WAS OURS follows Eva and Aleandro throughout the war as Eva gives birth to their daughter and tries to live as best she can. The birth of their daughter is unknown to Aleandro and Aleandro's being in a concentration camp is unknown to Eva.

We also follow their lives after the war and share in their successes as well as heartbreaks. They never were out of each other’s thoughts.

As they live their lives with each other always in their thoughts, you will need some tissues.

You will love the characters…especially Aleandro for his pure heart and generosity.

Historical fiction fans will be taken to a different setting than the usual WWII places…this book takes place in Hungary along with the horrors of the war.

A heartbreaking but heartwarming read. 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When The Summer Was Ours is amazing! A story of a love so powerful and enduring set against the backdrop of World War 2 and the Hungarian revolution. This story will stay with you.

After the initial pages, I found myself not connecting with the story or characters, so I decided to pass on this book. Did not finish

This is definitely one of the bests books I have read in a while.  It is a historical fiction set during WWII in Hungary.  I read a lot of WWII stuff but not many take place in Hungary so that was an intriguing  change.  Eva is engaged to a Red Cross doctor and the summer before the wedding she spends some time on the family estate in Sopron.  There she meets Aleandro and a life long love affair begins.  It is a beautiful love story set in very turbulent times.  Very interesting, very touching, and hard to put down.  Mark this one a must read on your TBR list.

Ack! A brilliant piece of historical fiction told through the stages of two lives. It’s a story of hardship and at time’s opulence, a tale of war and a tale of peace, a tale of sacrifice and unending love. This one really pulled me in all directions, and it tells a story unlike any I’ve read before based around WWII. This is a must read.

Aristocratic Eva Cesar, Hungary 1943. Promised to Eduardo, Eva is drawn to Aleandro, a charming and passionate Romani fiddler. Their love is immediate and intense, but circumstances and war divide them. In Buda nor in Pest, there is no escape from the horrors of war.

During WWII, Aleandro is in Auschwitz, along with Jews and other undesirables. Aleandro has a gift. He is an artist. He has drawn portraits of Eva, for remembrance, and now he draws Nazi guards -- so they can send pictures home to their families. After his release from Auschwitz, his art is focused on his years there, and has become world renowned. But, always, he searches for Eva. "Her name was a destination across a vast sea he navigated without a compass."

Their lives, apart and together, set against the backdrop of the war and its aftermath, are tortured, but hopeful. This is a story of hope and overcoming obstacles, a story of love and misery and determination in a divided world.

Set in 1943, Sopron, Hungary a young socialite named Eva is engaged to be married to an aspiring doctor who is away doing his part during the great WWII. While Eva is spending time at her summer home studying to be a nurse in Sopron her purse is stolen by a young gypsy boy, however one day, a young man named Aleandro, a poor, Ramani fiddler and artist, finds and returns the purse to Eva. Aleandro is smitten by Eva and cannot stop thinking about her. Eva and Aleandro fall deeply in love while engaged to another man and Eva has to choose between a life with Aleandro where he has nothing to offer her or a more stable, financial life with Eduard. Will one summer night with Aleandro change the lives of both Eva and Aleandro forever?

WWII is one of my favorite time periods and the historical aspect of the Hungary/Russia cold war was a new adventure for me through this piece. The author had me completely engrossed with both Eva and Aleandro and their struggle of class differences. I felt their love from the beginning to the end. I felt their heartbreak from beginning to the end. My heart was broken with theirs. This was such a beautiful story of love and sacrifice.

Thank you to Atria Books and Netgalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! The author swept me away with her sublime prose and thoughtful human insight. This book reads like an endless sky, sometimes pristinely blue and unmarred by troubles, others navy and violet with intense storms and yet others with threatening clouds. Reading it felt like I was in a completely different world with no traffic noise, no covid, no problems, just letters and words arranged like magic.

Set in 1943 through the 1990s from alternating perspectives, this story is about sense of home and belonging, love, heartache, sorrow and family. Most of the story takes place in Hungary then later in America. Eva is spending time at her home in Hungary, preparing to marry Eduard, a doctor. Her favourite pastime reading medical books in hopes of becoming a nurse. However, her life becomes tangled the day she meets artist Aleandro in a town square. He is besotted with her and cannot stop thinking of her. But she is engaged to another man. Throughout the book the reader is taken on emotional rollercoasters as choices are made amidst the desperate anguish of the war. Lovers are ripped apart. Though war changes things, true love remains and, in fact, deepens. We are taken into the lives of the interesting characters for the next several decades as they navigate love and loss.

The cultural and historical aspects are fascinating and resonate with me to an extent as someone who lives part time near Hungary. The author notes she drew many aspects from real life stories and people...I just love that. It is obvious that much thought went into creating the characters. At times I wanted to shake them, others to hug them. But I was invested. This one really hit me.

For those who seek layer upon layer of depth and emotional impact in their reading, do pick this up. It is unmissable, especially for Historical Fiction readers.

My sincere thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this poignant and lovely book! It really moved me.

Eva is preparing to marry a doctor, Eduard, while WW2 is taking place in Hungary. The summer before her nuptials she meets Aleandro, an artist who sweeps her off her feet. When her father catches wind of her affair, he goes after Aleandro. Her father, and the war, separate these two and set them down very different paths during and after the war. Although they try to reconnect, life keeps them apart. When they do meet 10+ years after the war, so much has happened and their lives are now so different from one another.

I enjoyed hearing about WW2 from how it was in Hungary. Usually you hear about how it was in Germany, but hearing about Hungary and the Russians was a fascinating story to hear. I found the story going back and forth between Eva and Aleandro kept me interested. Although I found some of the story predictable, I enjoyed it. I teetered between a 3 1/2⭐️ and 4⭐️ rating because this year I’ve read some phenomenal WW2 books, but decided to give this one 4 because of its unique story that kept me interested.

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the e-ARC and the opportunity to read and review this book. When the Summer Was Ours is available 8/24!

This books was so beautiful and heartbreaking! This author did a wonderful job of bring the character to life!

A forbined love story taking place in ww2 between decades and social class! it’s enough to wonder how many real stories are out there just like this!

A must read!