“Ellwood smiled, and a sudden, dry bleakness spread over Gaunt’s heart as he thought of Hercules, and Hector, and all the heroes in myth who found happiness briefly, only for it not to be the end of the story.”


The Charioteer meets All Quiet On the Western Front in this haunting and elegiac debut novel that juxtaposes the horrors of war with a powerful love story. It’s a novel about love, survival, death, and the reality and the aftermath of witnessing and being participants in unthinkable violence. The idyllic landscapes and the trivialities of youth we encounter in the opening chapters belie the violence and pain that are to come, making those earlier moments all the more precious, all the more bittersweet. This novel broke my heart. It made me cry, it made me despair, it made me feel all of the feels. In Memoriam is a gut-wrenching novel revealing the brutality and the banality of war: time and again we are made to read of young men, boys really, dying in the most horrible and random of deaths, and we see how their bodies are merely replaceable cogs in the machine of war. But I am getting ahead of myself.

“He went there in the mornings, sometimes, and gave himself to that strange country rapture, that deep, bonewarming feeling that England was his, and he was England’s. He felt it as strongly as if his ancestors had been there a thousand years. Perhaps he felt it more strongly because they hadn’t.”


The opening pages transport us to 1914, to Preshute, the idyllic boarding school in the English countryside. Here we see the petty disagreements and secret entanglements between various students, most of whom have grandiose visions of the English Empire, of honor, of war. Despite their different temperaments Henry Gaunt and Sindey Ellwood are best friends. Their friendship is complicated by the unspoken feelings they harbor for one another. Each believes that their love is unrequited and that acting on it will inevitably ruin their friendship. So, they spend their days pining for each other and trying to hide, not always successfully, their true feelings. In this rarefied world, they spend their days talking about meaningless and meaningful things, yet, news of the war puts a strain on their days of idleness. Gaunt and Ellwood, alongside their friends, are particularly drawn to the ‘In Memoriam’ section of their paper, and while soon enough the names on those pages are of boys and men they know, these also seem to promise heroic tales that speak to them given that they are well-versed in the classics. Gaunt, however, who is half German, feels differently about these things from most of his peers. Yet, despite his anti-war sentiments he finds himself pressured to enlist by his mother and his sister after they reveal that it will put to rest rumours questioning where their family’s loyalties lie.

“Ellwood’s England was magical, thought Gaunt, picking his way around nettles. But it wasn’t England.”


Ellwood, a year younger, initially stays behind, keeping a correspondence to Gaunt that reveals the unbridgeable gap between his reality at Preshute and Gaunt’s one on in the trenches. They continue to yearn for one another, but their love is soon obscured by the horrors Gaunt experiences on the front. Class privileges continue to be felt in the army and Gaunt, a boy still, is in command of men who are twice his age and did not grow up in the sheltered walls of Preshute. Concerned for Gaunt, Ellwood eventually decides to enlist as well, and he is joined by most of his friends. Soon enough he realizes that his former visions of honor, glory, and England have little to do with the day-to-day reality of war. From the living conditions to the landscapes punctuated by bodies and gore. And always so much death all around them. Death that is not always a result of enemy fire. The men around him die because of infections, a literal misstep, or a mild malady turned deadly. They also die because they waver, and their hesitancy is deemed an act of cowardice. They are driven mad, by the violence they see, and the violence they do.

“It was the Hell you’d feared in childhood, come to devour the children . It was treading over the corpses of your friends so that you might be killed yourself. It was the congealed evil of a century.”


Gaunt and Ellwood’s love seems a foreign thing in a reality like this. Yet, their proximity to death is also what makes them now more than even desperate for the other.
Their relationship is a fraught one given the circumstances that have led to their coming together. Gaunt in particular being Ellwood’s superior, and haunted by his own actions at the front, is committed to keeping their relationship one of convenience, something that pains him as much as Ellwood. Ellwood, who still retains at this point an easy-going insouciance, tries his best to be of comfort to Gaunt, but, eventually, their paths diverge.
During the months and years following their enlistment, we watch them trying to survive but retaining one's body and one's mind in war is no easy feat. The more of his friends die, the more Ellwood begins to change, and his attempts to immure himself to pain see him turn into someone who is jaded, cruel, and angry.
Gaunt, who had for so long suppressed his feelings, and rarely allowed himself to feel things fully, is reunited with some old friends and their companionship, as well as the possibility of seeing Ellwood, spur him on.

Oh, my poor heart. At first, I was fooled by the beautiful prose and by the dazzling intensity of Gaunt and Ellwood’s yearning. Once we leave Preshute behind, there are only echoes of that earlier beauty. There are moments of kinship, of comradeship, between the men. Their banter is a temporary reprieve from the fear, uncertainty, and brutality of war. Against this unforgiving landscape, punctured by violence and agonizing waits, Gaunt and Ellwood’s feelings for one another, as well as their faltering relationship, appear almost as if bathed by a quietly luminous light.

“I wish I could be more articulate, but the English language fails me. It sometimes feels as if the only words that still have meaning are place names: Ypres, Mons, Artois. Nothing else expresses.”


Alice Winn doesn’t hold back from portraying the realities of war or from being critical of the British. Except for one character, Gaunt’s sister, the novel is populated by characters who for better or worse struck me as real. Given the period and depending on a character’s background, they would inevitably express troublesome views. Rather than indicting or condoning them, Winn allows her characters to be flawed, messy, and idiosyncratic. Notions of duty and honor, as well as cowardice, are recurring motifs, as we witness how these have shaped and continue to shape the characters. Some find themselves holding onto patriotic beliefs, others are unable to reconcile the realities of war with their lives so far. Some are driven mad, lashing out against their fellow men, or retreating inward, so inward that their physical body no longer matters. Time and again we are reminded of how young these soldiers are, and the myriad of banal ways their lives can be cut short. We see the disconnect between those on the front, and those who dispatch orders from afar, often sending hundreds or more to meet avoidable deaths.
But you keep on reading, hoping against hope for a miracle, a way for Gaunt and Ellwood to be brought back together…

“My dearest, darling Sidney, There was nothing else.”


In Memoriam really tore me up. Yet, the majestic prose, the urgency of the story, and the bond between Gaunt and Ellwood kept me turning pages. There are so many scenes and passages that are harrowing, raw, and unsparing in their brutality. And maybe those make those moments of stillness, of quiet, all the more agonizingly tender.

“Gaunt was woven into everything he read, saw, wrote, did, dreamt. Every poem had been written about him, every song composed for him, and Ellwood could not scrape his mind clean of him no matter how he tried. He thought perhaps all the pain would sour the love, but instead it drew him further in, as if he were Marc Antony, falling on his own sword. And it was a magical thing, to love someone so much; it was a feeling so strange and slippery, like a sheath of fabric cut from the sky.”


And the more I read, the more worried I became, as it was clear that no one was safe and everything goes. And it was fucking heartbreaking to see just how unrecognizable some of the characters become. They may not have died but they are certainly not living. And Winn succeeds in capturing that specific terror of being confronted with the possibility that someone you know, someone you love, is there but not. Their body is, it may even look eerily unchanged. But their minds are no longer the same. You may lie to yourself into believing that they will be restored to who they were, that time will heal their wounds, but eventually, you might have no choice but to confront the reality: that they will never be who they were.

The novel’s exploration of love, queerness, and of morality, definitely brought to mind works such as The Charioteer, The Absolutist, and Maurice. Winn’s writing has this pictorial quality and melancholy that really brought to mind the style of Mary Renault, so much so that even the way the characters speak, their inner turmoils, and the way they interact with one another, all made me think of Renault's work.
The characters are continually faced with difficult choices, but the rhythms of war and the chaos of a battle rarely allow the time for them to question whether what they are doing is right, wrong, or another thing altogether. What do you do when you know you are being sent to your death? What do you do when the people around you are losing their minds?

“Ellwood was surprised to find that he was not glad either, although his hatred grew and grew. But he could not hate soldiers. He longed to destroy, to hurt, to kill, but he wasn’t sure whom. Possibly the civilians.”


My one quibble lies in Maud, Gaunt’s sister. She is the kind of female character that you can find in Natasha Pulley’s books or other historical fiction featuring a gay romance, that is a young woman who is a source of conflict for the couple, and always finds a way to excuse their callousness and selfishness (often by reminding the other person of the limitations imposed on her by her gender). Her presence annoyed me. Winn does, unlike Pulley, try to make her readers feel for Maud, but I had a hard time ignoring how uncaring and sanctimonious she was, especially towards Gaunt. And she never seemed to listen or to allow for someone else’s perspectives, presenting herself instead as the wronged party. But maybe a re-read will make her character more tolerable...

“Ellwood had never been interested in ugliness, whereas Gaunt […] feared that ugliness was too important to ignore..”


The main characters, Gaunt and Ellwood are compelling, and so are their differences and similarities. Not only does Winn render the patterns of their thoughts, but is able to convey their voices: the way they speak, the kind of things they would say, and so. The cadences of their speech, and the way their minds work, however exasperating, Winn captures all of this, so that they both felt like real people. This makes the way they change all the more heartbreaking. Having grown to care for them, to see them become so unlike themselves, it was truly harrowing. Their feelings for each other are beautiful. They long for each other, but they are unable to articulate their love. Yet, they do form a love language of sorts, as they borrow the words of other men, quoting poetry and the classics to one another. Even at Preshute their love is clouded by worry, by the possibility that their feelings are unrequited, and later on, it is obscured by the war. Trauma changes them, and it changes the way they can love, and I cannot stress enough how that scene, that scene you were waiting for so long, has none of the happiness and warmth you’d expected. This may seem like an exaggeration but I felt bereft. But it would have been disingenuous to have that scene go any other way.
We encounter so many men within these pages. Some live, but a sentence, others live longer, but their safety is never a guarantee.

“How alive it all seemed, and how gracious—to die in an era when your death bought you a brief moment at the centre of something. To be important, rather than one of millions.”


Time and again Winn juxtaposes the beauty, the poetry, and the blissful freedom of their time at Preshute, with the newfound reality, which is oppressive, brutal, and bloody. In portraying Ellwood and Gaunt’s experiences on the front, Winn never takes the easy option, by making all of their actions and behaviors heroically selfless acts. Gaunt cannot wholly shake himself of his anti-war sentiments, nor can he ignore that he is fighting against the Germans, a people he still feels part of. Ellwood instead grows bitter towards that and those he’d loved, from the poets he admired to the civilians back home who easily speak of the war without even knowing its ravages first-hand.

“It was a common conversation. In 1913, you might ask a new acquaintance where he had gone to school, or what he did for a living. In 1916, it was this: what part of yourself did you most fear losing?”


The time period is depicted with startling realism. From showing the constraints experienced by Gaunt and Ellwood, their awareness of their difference from others, not only when it comes to their sexuality, but Gaunt is half-german and Ellwood has Jewish roots. We also see how Preshute both insulated them from the real world, but not wholly, as there they are still expected to obey certain hierarchies and traditions, and they are taught that displays of emotions are a weakness.

“He did not know that it was the first thing homesick little boys in their dormitories learnt at boarding school: how to cry in silence.”


In Memoriam is a novel that hits hard. It’s beautiful, theatrical, and romantic. It’s brutal, tragic, and devastating. It’s a book about war, death, trauma, and grief. It’s also a book about love: the love between friends, between brothers in arms, between allies, and, of course, between lovers. It’s by no means an easy read but it’s a gripping one. If you don’t mind sobbing, and feeling as if your heart was in your throat, In Memoriam is a soul-stirring and arresting read that has your name on it.

A symphonic meditation on love, brotherhood, masculinity, death, grief, and trauma, In Memoriam is a startlingly evocative and deeply excruciating debut novel that I am planning on losing myself into again and again.

That was such a delightful book!
I cannot put into words how much I enjoyed this book. The characters, the setting, the dialogues... 10/10. Can't want for the author's next books!

Wow what a book ! I am not going to relate the plot or tell you about the characters but instead record my reactions .

This was an incredible book which for me is up there with Birdsong and Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy. Like those books it deals with World War 1 and love. The writing is nuanced and the characters have massive ambiguities which makes it such a powerful read. Relationships are portrayed in a spectrum of colours and people's motivations aren't straightforward.

Loved it so giving it a rare 5 stars !

Sidney Ellwood and Henry Gaunt are friends at their prestigious boarding school who, along with most of their school, sign up to fight in the First World War. They are also in love with each other, though reluctant to admit it even to themselves. In Memoriam by Alice Winn takes its readers on a journey that will be familiar to anyone who reads fiction set in or around (or written during) the First World War. The slice of life we are served up is that of privileged public-school boys, devastated physically, or mentally, by their experiences in some of the most harrowing battles of the War. Along the way they lose almost all their school friends, and struggle to adjust to life back in Britain. The love story between the two boys starts to offer us a new (though not wholly original) perspective. The story of their romance is compelling and is the force that propels the narrative forward, constantly leaving the reader wondering if they will ever be able to admit their feelings and find love. The author’s acknowledgements give credit to several different sources of inspiration, but for anyone well-versed in the literature, memoir, or letters of the War there are a much greater number of moments borrowed from elsewhere that remain unacknowledged, including many parallels between the life and military service of Sidney Ellwood and Siegfried Sassoon; and the life of Maud Gaunt and Vera Brittain. Whilst most readers may not notice these influences, I found them distracting and disappointing when I wanted a fresh approach to a First World War story. The plot suffers from too many coincidences and is almost too neatly tied up at the end to be wholly satisfying or realistic. I desperately wanted to love this novel but found myself wanting more. What does shine through is Winn’s great talent of plotting and storytelling, and I look forward to reading future work from her.

We’re only two weeks into 2023, and this may just be my book of the year.

This book tells the story of two friends who become soldiers on the front line during WWI, but who are both head over heals in love with each other, but neither of them are willing to admit to the other (it was illegal at the time after all). This book is so much more about love and friendship and family than it is about WWI, that’s just the setting but don’t get me wrong - it impacts everything and everyone (naturally).

If you loved A Little Life, I think you’ll probably love this book. I haven’t been so in love with characters in the way I was with Jude, Willem, JB & Malcom until I met Henry Gaunt and Sidney Ellwood … and many others in this book.

The writing is just so beautiful, and we follow multiple characters points of view, the chapters flow from prose, to newspaper articles to letters. This book absolutely flew by even though it’s around 400 pages; my only gripe is how fast I read it and how I wished there was an additional 400 pages because you will become so attached to these characters and not want to let them go.

The story starts out with Gaunt & Ellwood at school, to ending up enlisting in the army, to being on the front line at No Man’s Land - the story is set over the First World War and beyond.

This story is utterly heartbreaking, devastating beautiful, wonderfully written and had my whole heart.

Not sure I’ve covered in this review what I wanted to say, but all I know is that this book is a triumph and possibly the best debut novel I’ve ever read.

Do yourselves a favour and read this book and join me in the official Henry Gaunt & Sidney Ellwood fan club!

This book ripped my heart out (in a good way) and then put it back again...It's 1914, and the war has just started. Henry Gaunt and Sidney Ellwood are friends at boarding school, leading privileged and sheltered lives. When Gaunt enlists and heads off to the trenches, Ellwood has no choice but to follow his heart.
This tale of devastating tragedy and forbidden love was so realistic, raw and beautiful. It will stay with me for a long time.

In Memoriam Arc review

This book is not something id normally pick up as I tend to try stay away from things I know will make me cry but I decided to give this arc a go and I absolutely loved it. This book is so well written, its insanely powerful, sad and brutal in its way it describes the war while also having this beautiful but devastating love story between two young men. The main characters Gaunt and Ellwood both have their flaws but that makes them feel so much more real in the book and makes it even more devastating reading about what they are going through and how they change due to the war. It explores the war but it also explores what it was like to be in love with another man during these times and the internalized homophobia which I think was done really well while also showing that love existed.

This story has a lot of violence, gore, cruelty as it is set in World War One so I would go into this knowing the body horror you are going to read and it feels even worse knowing this really happened and the gore described are peoples actual lives.

One thing that I did not expect from this was the amazing prose, I highlighted so many quotes in this book which was so beautiful. I think this book is just so well written that It could be enjoyed by so many even if the genre does not speak to them personally. It also has a lot of classical references and a lot of poetry as the book follows two boys from private school who are into poetry and classics so a splash of academia in there for the dark academia fans. Another thing that surprised me is the ending isn’t as sad as I thought it would be, not going to go into more detail with that due to it been an arc and I don’t want to spoil anything but even though its tragic its not the saddest ending I’ve ever read.

If you are looking for a book with a queer narrative with a bunch of tragedy and horror I would definitely recommend giving this one a go. If you want gut wrenching this one is for you. This story will stay with me for a long time and I can’t wait to grab a physical copy.

At the outbreak of World War I, Gaunt and Ellwood are pupils at Preshute, a minor public school in the Wiltshire countryside. Gaunt is infatuated with Ellwood, but believes that his feelings aren’t reciprocated, whilst Ellwood hides his own feelings from Gaunt.

Gaunt is forced to join up early to prove his loyalty to England, as his mother is German, and soon finds himself subject to the horrors of the Western Front. Much to Gaunt’s dismay, Ellwood quickly follows him to the Front, and we follow the story of their relationship through maelstrom of France and Belgium during WWI.

This is a well researched historical novel, that rawly conveys the horrors of the First World War. It is also a convincing love story, that doesn’t fall into typical saccharine romance tropes. A number of challenging themes are covered sensitively, including homophobia (external and internalised), classism, the glorification of war, PTSD and nationalism. The characters are well written and engaging, and story is extremely well paced, readable, and has a real emotional impact.

One that will stay with me a while!
Such a moving and emotional story of queer love during a time of war.

It’s very visual and at times graphic. Really capturing the horrific experiences that young men faced during ww1.

It was great to see quite a lot of diversity too, which can often be missing from war fiction.

Words initially failed me this book is beautiful and awful and such a fitting way of remembering all those young men who died in the First World War
I loved the main characters in this book immediately we meet them as teenagers at public school ,we know immediately that because of the accident of their year of birth that many of them will die in the horrors of the First World War .The comparison between school and its innocence and the brutality of war is heartbreaking I read as from behind the sofa hoping for their survival
The long lists of dead wounded and missing that appear in the book as if from the school magazine of newspapers of the time are hard to read .Amongst the names all so young we recognise more and more who we have met on the school playing field it is utterly wretched and gives you a tiny glimpse into what it must have felt to scour the lusts for your loved ones knowing that one day you might find their names
The relationships between the 2 boys is described so perfectly and beautifully the way that they struggle to admit their friendship may be more .So hard even today but in those days homosexuality was illegal so added peril in admitting
One of the boys has German relations and I felt this particularly bought home the futility and awfulness of war when you could come act I as boyhood friends as enemies in the trenches .The predicted meeting of cousins really adds to the story
The book is beautifully constructed the author has the ability to form a perfect novel subtle and achingly complete I loved it
I read an early copy on NetGalley Uk the book is published 7 th March 2023 by Penguin General Uk

Just before WW1, two idealistic boys meet at boarding school, they’re attracted to each other but don’t dare to admit it. In their world fumbling, casual sex between boys is sanctioned - as long as it remains hidden - but love’s completely out of the question. Worldly, Londoner Gaunt and innocent, country boy Ellwood are inseparable, sharing a fascination for poetry and the ancient Greeks. But then war breaks out and Gaunt’s German ancestry forces him to declare his loyalty to England by joining up and it’s not long before they’re both contending with the maelstrom of the trenches.

Alice Winn’s debut novel’s solid, well-researched, historical fiction with a queer slant, partly inspired by work like R. C. Sherriff’s Journey’s End. Winn’s narrative takes a while to take off, especially in the early stages when it moves between the boarding-school and the war in France. Inevitably too there are shades of Sebastian Faulkes and Pat Barker but Winn’s writing’s less self-consciously lyrical then Faulks and less considered than Barker’s.

Winn’s story’s very visual and quite dialogue heavy – her background’s in screenwriting. But it’s also unexpectedly inventive, an intriguing mash-up of genres from the literary to the cinematic, taking in the ripping yarns that inspired boys to fight and borrowing from the conventions of M/M romance to frame Gaunt and Ellwood’s unfolding relationship. It’s also pleasingly diverse highlighting the lesser-known groups who fought in WW1 from the Indian to the Algerian forces who served and, often, died on its battlefields. Some of this diversity can feel a little forced - Ellwood’s experience as a Jewish soldier, Gaunt’s German background foregrounding the losses on both sides - some of the characters can tip towards stock and some of the plot points are contrived. But as it unfolds the pace picks up and there are a number of surprisingly powerful episodes, as well as an entertaining Buchan-like air of derring-do driving later prison camp sequences. I’m not a fan of M/M romance so those elements of Gaunt and Ellwood’s love story didn’t really work for me, they felt a lot less authentic than Barker’s representations of queer experiences of WW1; and, like a lot of first novels, I felt this could have been edited down but overall, it’s a smart, vivid, fairly gripping piece that’s bound to have a wide appeal.

This was a beautiful emotional novel full of depth and nuance. I absolutely adored it even though in places it was incredibly hard to read. It was painful and heart-wrenching. This is also an incredibly well written novel that is expertly paced.

thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the advance copy for review.

content warnings: extreme gore & violence, war, death, murder, suicide, grief, homophobia (internal & external), racism, PTSD, panic attacks, trauma

i.. don't even know where to begin writing this review. i am astounded by the depth of feeling in this book and the way it made me feel; i finished it in one sitting and had to sit with it for 24 hours before i could even think to write this. i am still thinking about it.

what an absolute marvel of a debut novel. somehow, this book about war (and very horrifically about war, too - it does not shy away from atrocity) is one of the most tender and loving books i have ever read. alice winn's ability to take an absolutely horrific circumstance and turn it into something so beautiful is a gift. this book is visceral, and moving, and transformative. i will forever be thinking about sidney ellwood and henry gaunt, and their endless love for one another.

on a (slightly) lighter note, as far as tropes go, the pining in this felt so real; you could really feel the intensity of their love for one another even when the other didn't know it. i wish we had gotten more time with ellwood and gaunt together, but appreciate that the situations they were in did not let itself to fluffy, happy moments. i still loved the time we did get with them, and though they end the book in a good place, i was devastated by the knowledge of what comes down the line for them 15 years later.

i think this is my favourite read of the year and will be recommending it to EVERYONE.

In Memoriam is a tightly packed epic that revolves around a compelling love story, and yet refreshingly manages to entirely avoid all the saccharine imagery this rubric tends to conjure up. (And the sexual tension - oh, my!)

While Winn writes about war with excrutiating detail and honesty, I can't help but feel that the story itself - from major plot points to the more minor details - was a little deriviative. There were a couple of incidents I recognised as I was reading and there's a (fascinating, nevertheless!) section at the end of the book that acknowledges these real-life precedents. I would have been more interested to see Winn situate her characters in her own imaginative landscape rather than drop them directly into one that is ready-made, especially because their own personal narratives are so interesting. The standout sections for me were by far those that took place away from the sections that were lifted directly from history.

The two main characters have such depth, but the rest of the cast were so numerous and indistinguishable it was difficult to establish any sort of emotional connection with them. This applies particularly to the public school boys - so when awful fates befell them (as I'm sure you can imagine given the historical setting) events that should've been harrowing just... weren't. For a narrative that pays such careful attention to loss in relation to the main characters, this felt like a real shame.

Strangely, I think this one might appeal more to fans of dark academia, with (sometimes intrusive, I felt) Classical references and secret societies galore.

In Memoriam is a very well written story of young men at the time of the First World War.

Although it is ostensibly a love story, it is so much more, dealing not only with the uncertainty of sexuality, but with the uncertainty of living through each day.

Very well researched this book made me feel as though I was there. The horror of the trenches was equalled only by the horror of women handing young men white feathers, shaming them into joining up early or feeling ashamed to be home on leave, making them feel more isolated at home than at the Front.

Wonderful. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for this Advanced Reader copy. All opinions are my own.

5+++* Stars

Oh, my heart ❤️

I don't think I've ever read a book quite like this. It's an M/M story, but not one you'll recognise. It's set in the run up to, and during, World War 1. The MCs are a pair of privileged teenagers who are in denial of their feelings for each other - then war breaks out, and they leave behind their private educations to fight. The title comes from their school's newspaper, where the 'In Memoriam' section is referenced often during the book.

It's an incredibly poignant, raw, real, and moving read. I'll warn you that this book doesn't shy away from realism. There's a lot of angst, a LOT of death, gore and graphic descriptions of injuries, characters with severe mental health issues, and heavy use of weapons - but don't let this put you off. It's like a breath of fresh air to read something so real and something that isn't just mushy and romanticised. I think my generation especially have never known anything like what our ancestors went through, and the author does a great job of capturing this beautifully. Parts of it actually educated me, and I found myself reading up and learning more about aspects of the war that I'd never known about before throughout.

It's very well written - parts I'd even describe as poetic. This author is extremely talented and has clearly put a lot of effort into her research. The romance between the MCs is fairly slow burn and SO beautiful. They spend a lot of time apart during the book, and my heart broke SO much SO many times when they were thinking of and worried about each other 😭. This story is heartbreaking, and you will cry (a lot, if you're like me.)

I'd also say there's a slight sexuality awakening, although this is in part due to the expectations and pressures people would have faced during that time to marry. Something I REALLY loved about this story were the scenes where other characters reacted to learning of the MCs sexualities - there was one scene in particular that really stood out for me, and it was beautiful. My heart melted (if you've read it, you'll know 🥺). There are some steamier scenes too, not many I'll add, but they're really enjoyable and do a great job of portraying the connection and bond between the characters.

The pacing was also perfectly executed - I literally couldn't put this book down from start to finish - don't start this late at night, as you'll probably be reading it right through till Dawn 😂 This book deserves to become a classic, 5 stars doesn't feel like enough.

TL:DR - In Memoriam is a beautiful, heartfelt, poignant story of love and loss during WW1. While others have written about the war before, no other book is like this. It's like a breath of fresh air. If you read it, expect to laugh, cry (a lot), and go through a rollercoaster of emotions. You'll also most likely learn things about the First World War that you never knew about along the way. This is a book you simply can't miss.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with this ARC. This is my honest review.

Oh, I absolutely LOVED this book! An incredible, deeply affecting love story paired with a searing account of brutal warfare. Just perfection. I'm already excited to re-read it again in the future. The characters were rich and indelible, and this was clearly a deeply and intricately researched labour of love. Read it!

A love story about two young men effectively starting at the beginning of the First World War is at the core of this. Gaunt (half German) and Ellwood are safe in their English public school at the start. The school is "celebrating" its war heroes (dead and injured) in the school magazine. In a sense it seems exciting rather than anything else. As well as the war these two friends both have concerns with the friendship which neither of them are prepared to voice. They have been not having a relationship for some years! I have to be honest and say I wasn't sure if this was really the sort of thing I would read.

I found the start of this atmospheric. I also thought that it seemed authentic. The public school ideas/values seemed real to me. The undertones (and overtones) of homosexuality seemed credible too. While they are very good friends and have both had encounters with other boys, it is seen as something that is just a phase while they are at school. When they leave they will simply get married.

The war (or rather the length of the war) changes plans and ideas. After an encounter with a woman handing out white feathers Gaunt feels he has to enlist… This has an effect on Ellwood though generally he conceals it well. It also leads to an exchange of correspondence between them both - Gaunt from the trenches and Ellwood from school.

A significant part of the book is devoted to the time in the trenches and at, or close to, the front line. I'm sure there are some that will find this a hard read. However, in its way, that is a tribute to the author. I found it so powerful and poignant in places. There are exchanges of letters between the boys and other friends both those who have enlisted and those who as yet have not. One small comment which hit me was the letter which was returned simply as "recipient deceased".

I think there are times when any sensible person would simply stop read this. The grief and love are just so overwhelming. There is the inevitability of sadness, madness and despair but sometimes there are slivers of hope too. This book manages to be both tender and brutal. Are patience and tenderness a solution and who will survive?

All in all this book is one of the best I've read for a while now. For me it manages to tread a difficult line between love, war and life as a whole. I really like to read something else by Alice Winn.

Wow. What an incredible book. I was drawn to this book by the promise of a gay love story, but I think it might be the best WWI book I've read since Sebastian Faulk's 'Birdsong'. The scenes set in the trenches here are visceral, horrific, and utterly moving - Alice Winn gives all of her soldiers vivid souls that makes their almost inevitable deaths all the more moving. A beautiful, beautiful book

This novel was an incredible but devastating read, combining the sheer horrors of WW1 against the fluttering hope of a forbidden young love. Alice Winn captured the characters perfectly, even though I wasn’t sure I was a fan of Ellwood at first, it is testament to the writing that I found myself rooting for him.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC.