Beth T. (eclaire291) reviewed on 3/10/2015 + 11 more book reviews

This book offers an interesting look into the Italian front during WWII -- something I wasn't very familiar with, even through the few years I spent studying the war in college history courses. I highly recommend the book for anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

The book has a few cons, though. First, the characters. It gets extremely bogged down with numerous characters. And then, how the characters are referenced (first name, surname, nickname) changes from chapter to chapter -- sometimes within the same chapter. It gets confusing and I needed to constantly reference the author's list of characters. Second, the plot. With a bunch of characters comes plots that somewhat interact with each other but largely stand alone. This is also conflicting for a reader and makes an already long book take a bit longer to get through.

In addition, the author opens with Renzo and Werner. Their storyline was the most interesting and I found myself looking forward to chapters including them. Other characters didn't have the same depth. If this book had focused solely on Renzo and Werner then this could have been a 5-star novel. Alas, it was a messy, long novel that had little direction.

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