
Member Reviews

Historical fiction is a genre I enjoy and this book is a good one. Set at Camp Greene, a training camp for soldiers, during World War I it is the story of Calla Connolly, a Broadway star who is determined to entertain soldiers in order to give them a moment of joy in the midst of the horror of war. But General Pershing insists she entertain stateside before he will consider allowing her to visit the battlefields. Unfortunately during a performance at Camp Greene she is struck with the Spanish flu. This changes everything and forces Calla to remain at Camp Greene where she forms friendships and possibly more. This book explores friendship, loyalty, trust, love, and the loneliness of being in charge. I was drawn into the story and the relationships between the characters. Calla and Jesse had a connection that neither wanted and I enjoyed watching it evolve. I found this quote so true and important “When the real world is filled with death and calamity and war, it’s vital to fill your mind with happy things…”
I recommend this book to readers of historical fiction and to readers that enjoy stories about life and finding friendship and love in unexpected places.

Thanks to Harper Muse and Netgalley for ARC.
Ever since I was traumatized by Kristen Hannah’s The Nightingale I try to avoid stories that are set during WWI and WWII, but this was a unique setting; in 1918 a vaudeville/broadway star entertaining the troops in a training camp in North Carolina, Camp Greene. Calla Connolly wants to gain permission to entertain the troops on the front in Europe, driven by a promise she made to her late fiancé. Due to the unfortunate event of contracting the Spanish flu (every thing about this disease reminded me of COVID 19) and a misunderstanding with one of Camp Greene’s senior officers, she is unable to achieve her goal and is stuck on the camp. There she examines her life and relationships and finds love and friendship in the most unexpected places. I loved the progression of the friendship and romance between Calla and Jesse, the growing hope she imparts on him and others.
This was beautiful!
I was also fortunate enough to receive the audiobook and it was amazing. The narrator, Brittany Pressley, really brought the story to life and I found myself looking into all the historical references, political, social and fashion related too.

The Star of Camp Greene came out yesterday! I really enjoyed this historical fiction set at a World War I training camp in North Carolina. Thanks to Harper Muse Books for my copy and I enjoyed listening to this book thanks to @librofm!
Calla is a rising Broadway star who was touring the American training camps as a way to convince General Pershing to let her tour the French front to cheer the troops. When she becomes sick with the Spanish Flu and overhears top secret information while at the infirmary, she's ordered to stay at Camp Greene and becomes their resident performer.
In historical fiction, I'm always curious about the inspiration and real life connection. I enjoyed the author's note at the end sharing the inspiration and that she decided to make Calla fictional but there was a real life inspiration in Elsie Janis. And I much prefer more of the fictional vs a more autobiographical historical fiction!
I really enjoyed this book and recommend checking it out. I love Joy Callaway's writing and this was an interesting story.

I absolutely loved this book. I was drawn in right away and fell in love with Calla and her story. I love her heart for others and her heart for entertaining the soldiers and bringing some joy to them. While she was at Camp Green after surviving the Spanish Flu, she is exposed to military secrets and is ordered to stay at Camp Green. She is required to travel and be with the head Jessie. As time goes on, he grows on her. She begins putting together shows for the camp and using soldiers from camp and allowing them to showcase their talents. She has such love for them and wants to get them noticed. For their talents. Then there is a huge issue which results in her being arrested on base. Read the book to see what happens.
I loved this book!!!

A different type of historical fiction. In 1918, Calla Connolly is a Broadway star who loses her fiancé to war. To support the troops and work through his death, she volunteers to travel from camp to camp, entertaining the troops. In an unusual twist, she overhears top-secret war plans, so she must stay in Camp Greene. The historical facts are well defined, and the characters are three-dimensional. This is not my usual genre, but a friend recommended the book. It is as good as she said.

When a Broadway star touring American training camps performing for soldiers to provide them entertainment overhears classified information in a hospital while at Camp Greene in North Carolina when she contracts the Spanish flu, she is restricted from leaving and continuing her tour; Calla Connelly is an incredible heroine- I absolutely loved this beautiful story that Joy Callaway has created. Well researched and not only entertaining with a heartwarming second chance romance storyline there are twists and turns in the story that you won’t see coming. My new favorite read from Joy Callaway!

Part of the appeal of Joy Calloway’s novels come from the amount of research and heart she puts into her work. I felt like I was in Charlotte, NC in the early 1900’s. With references to the Spanish Flu epidemic, entertainment tours for troops and life in the military in that time.
The characters are impossible not to love , save for a few that you love to hate. You can feel the fear, the grief and the love of the women that are staying at the camp with her. The intel that Calla overhears lends a tense and heartbreaking element to her stay and communications with those that she is quickly forming bonds with. The enemies to lovers banter and relationship progression of Calla and Jesse gives the reader an even more tragic connection to the emotions Calla is dealing with.
This digital arc was sent to me via Uplit Reads for a campaign.
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Calla is a woman to root for! This book did start a little slow for me but it hooked me enough to keep going! We follow a Broadway star Calla, on her journey to reach the front of World War One to perform for troops and boost morale in attempt to fulfill her late love’s wishes. In the process, she is held up it seems at every corner and has to adapt her plans.
The characters in this book are easy to root for and they provide a sort of nostalgia that can only come from an author who KNOWS people. Calla is refreshing in that she doesn’t hold your typical star attitude. She loves to perform and she loves people. Not one character is perfect though which is exactly the way I like it.
The plot like I stated earlier starts a little slow but it hooks you all the same and you find yourself yearning for Calla to reach her goals and find love all at the same time. The true test of whether I’ll enjoy a book or not is the ensemble (see me using theatre words?) The side characters are what always shine for me and I was so happy with how everything came to be for them by the end. Joy did a great job of making sure their stories had purpose!

This WWI era novel inspired by true events, is set just a couple of hours from me in Charlotte, NC. Not much remains of the military training camp but I was fascinated that this camp ever existed! It was modeled after true European combat conditions and told through the eyes of a musical entertainer whose mission was to show appreciation and raise the morale of soldiers. It’s a beautiful story with rich characters and a powerful message of selflessness that transcends time.
Joy’s books are beautifully atmospheric and detailed with historical significance and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

As a reader with a musical background and family ties to the military, I could not have been more excited to read The Star of Camp Greene by Joy Callaway. My goodness, I loved this book!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is not your typical wartime novel. In her creative way, Joy gifted us with a new spin on the historical fiction carousel and I cannot recommend this book enough for those who appreciate the genre blended with romance and southern fiction.
Readers follow Calla Connolly (a Taylor Swift-esque musician with a soft spot for bringing joy to soldiers serving their country during WWI) and her adventures, setbacks, heart breaks, scandals, and successes! Even though she is forced to remain at Camp Greene after she overhead a secret, Calla is such a light and determines to shine as she scoffs at race "rules," calms and engages the masses, and wins the hearts of everyone caught in her rays.
With the majority of the action taking place in Charlotte, NC, Joy skillfully wove in bits of the city's history throughout the novel (detailed further in the brilliant author's note.)
Joy hooks you, keeps you, breaks you, and rebuilds you in this MUST-read tale of finding/being the silver lining even in the most challenging times.

Readers who like historical fiction will enjoy this novel set in WWI. Not much about the actual war but heavy on music. Calla was determined to perform at the front but after hearing classified information her plans changed. Interesting but not what I had anticipated.

This story has an interesting premise, but it just didn't resonate with me the way I had hoped it would.
While it was a storyline that I had not read about before (a musical starlet pushing to go to the front of WWI France to entertain the troops), it seemed to fall flat in places, and I found myself losing interest at times.
While the heroine Calla was loyal and brave in her quest to bolster spirits, I didn't feel like she was as well-developed as she could have been. And I actually became a bit annoyed at her doggedness to meet this goal because it was something her fiance wasn't able to accomplish (he was killed in action). Yes, her heart was in the right place, but I felt her fiance overshadowed too much of her ambitious undertaking. And unfortunately, I did not relate well to her new relationship within camp as I felt she was too easily thrown into baseless trouble by her new beau. While yes, she was brave and heroic in her quest, she felt a bit submissive to the men in her life. But of course, this is coming from a more modern perspective than the reality of women's lives at the time. One other caveat here was that I found the writing a bit stiff and at times meandering which caused me to be not as engaged as I was hoping to be.
Again, an interesting premise with a spunky heroine but with perhaps a few tweaks/more editing needed.
My thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Focus / Harper Muse for providing the free early arc of The Star of Camp Greene for review. The opinions are strictly my own.

The Star of Camp Greene is an engaging and thoughtfully written book that offers readers a memorable experience. The story is well-paced, with a clear beginning, middle, and end, and the author does an excellent job developing the characters and setting.
The writing style is accessible yet expressive, pulling readers into the world of the story. Whether you're looking for emotional depth, intriguing plot twists, or vivid world-building, this book has something to offer. While there may be a few minor flaws—perhaps some slow sections or underdeveloped subplots—they don't significantly detract from the overall enjoyment.

Now, this is my first book by this author. And even though I found it a bit too sweet in places. I did enjoy it.
While convalescing, Calla inadvertently overhears a sensitive Army secret and is ordered to remain at Camp Greene for the duration of the war while her former mentor and rival steals her tour out from under her. Having no choice but to stay at the camp, she becomes the resident performer and forms attachments to several musician and soldiers, one being the head of the whole camp, Jessie
I loved the setting of Camp Greene during WWI. There are not too many books that I have read lately during this time period. So this was definitely a unique setting for me.
Then there is Calla and Jessie. While I enjoyed Calla and her personality, I was not a fan of some of her dramatics. She was a bit over zealous about some things and that was a bit annoying 😂. Then there is Jessie. He is top notch! I loved his principles. He is a stand up guy and I fell for him!
The narrator, Brittany Pressley, did a great job. There was one voice I was not a big fan of. But it was a minor character. There are a lot of characters in here and she did a great job keeping them all straight and different.
This story has a little bit of everything…romance, secrets, drama and of course music!
Need a tale set in a great time period…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.
I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

very well written historical work with some strong ideas and good writing. will recommend the work. 5 stars. tysm for the arc.

A fantastic new take on a common topic in historical fiction, CAMP GREENE gives us insight into the american preparations for the war. Based on true stories intertwined into a new HF novel, I couldn't put this one down! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

I’m a sucker for historical fiction and for taking time to throw in my own little research while reading, especially if it’s an area I’m familiar with. The Star of Camp Greene by Joy Callaway depicts 1918 Charlotte, NC with incredible detail, nodding to quite a few locations that are still standing today. Not only did I love diving into local history, but I fell in love with the story of Broadway star Calla Connolly and her story of determination and selflessness.
Heartbroken by the loss of her fiancé, who died in the war, Calla is determined to carry on their dream as a couple of performing for the soldiers to boost morale, specifically around Europe. Her plans are derailed pretty quickly when she encounters the Spanish flu and inadvertently overhears classified information while at Camp Greene. We follow Calla as she’s determined to make the best of a situation by helping so many in need while holding fast to her own dreams.
Top tropes:
-enemies to lovers
-forced proximity
-found family
Buzz Worthy:
BookBub (Buzziest New Books Coming Out in May)
Town & Country (The Best Books to Read This May)
Positively Charlotte
Thank you Joy Callaway, Harper Collins, and NetGalley, for the advanced copies!

Another great book from author Joy Callaway! She obviously puts her heart and soul in researching and writing her books and this one is no exception! I would recommend this book to anyone that loves historical fiction and characters that are easy to fall in love with! Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review.

Joy once again draws us in with this new wonderful book about Camp Greene and many events that are well known in history. Her character development -and the deep relationships explored keep the reader hooked. I love when a book brings a smile and this one definitely does. And the narrator is fantastic too. Thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse Audiobooks for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The period surrounding World War I is one I really don't know a huge amount about but one I'm quite fascinated by. This was a very unique take on wartime life, as it is set in an army training camp as soldiers prepare to go to the frontlines.
This book pulls the world of Broadway and vaudeville right alongside the world of military and wartime preparation. It talks of showtunes and secrecy, lost love and starting over. It looks at a trying time in our country's history from a perspective I've never seen.
I like this book, but it was tied up a little too neatly for my taste. I'm as much of a sucker for a happy ending as the next person, but this just didn't ring wholly authentic for me.