Lovely War

New York City, 1942. World War II is at its zenith. A stunningly attractive couple meets in a Manhattan hotel room for a forbidden tryst. But these are no ordinary lovers. When immortals Ares and Aphrodite are caught by the latter’s jealous husband, the goddess of passion must justify her actions, or face judgment on Mount Olympus. To plead her case, she spins a tale that took place in Europe some twenty-five years earlier: the story of four mortals whose lives entwined in the crucible of World War I. They are Hazel, James, Aubrey, and Colette. A classical pianist from London, a British would-be architect-turned-soldier, a Harlem-born ragtime genius in the U.S. Army, and a Belgian orphan with a gorgeous voice and a devastating past. Their story—filled with hope and heartbreak, prejudice and passion—reveals that, though War is a formidable force, it’s no match for the transcendent power of Love.

Historical note. Selected bibliography.