Before The Fall by Juliet West

Before The Fall by Juliet West
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 1 day

Pages - 252

Publisher -

Source - it has been on my tbrm for ages I can't remember

Blurb from Goodreads

Guilt laps at me like a rising tide, but I won't let it seep in. Wicked or not, I can't be sorry. How can I be sorry when I feel like this, as if my life has started up brand new, sharp and colourful, a swirl of terror and bliss . . .

1916. Across the channel, the Great War rages; in London's East End, with her husband away fighting, Hannah Loxwood struggles to hold everything together. But when Hannah takes a job in a cafe, she discovers a glimpse of freedom away from her needy young children, her spiteful sister and desperately ill father.

While the conflict drags on, Hannah battles with the overwhelming burden of 'duty'. She has sacrificed so much for a husband who left her behind, a husband who may never come home. Then, when she meets Daniel - thoughtful, intelligent, quietly captivating - Hannah finds herself faced with the most dangerous of temptations.

As the war grips tighter and bombs fall down upon the streets, the stakes for the couple are raised ever higher. Soon Hannah and Daniel will realize just how precarious their happiness is, as their destiny rushes towards them . . .

Beautifully wrought, utterly compelling and with a twist that will leave you breathless, Before The Fall, inspired by a true story, hurls you into a London torn apart by the First World War and paints a vivid and haunting portrait of one woman's struggle.


My Review

London, war torn, world war one, 1916, we have two povs Hannah and Daniel. Hannah is a mum to two young kids, her husband is away fighting in the war, she is sharing with her family, it is cramped, money is tight. She gets a job, doing what she can to keep everything going whilst keeping out the way of her sisters watchful creepiness and her dad isn't well. When she meets Daniel he is different from everyone else, he is well read, into poetry and in a time when everything is at risk, death is everywhere would you pass up on the chance for true love even if it would cost you everything?

This book was absolutely different from what I was expecting. Hannah is trying to get by, her o/h is away to the war, her sisters husband is a creepy leech. When Hannah gets a job in a wee cafe she meets Daniel, Daniel is everything her husband is not. Present, educated, loves poetry, and the attraction between them is a once in a lifetime type of love. However Hannah is married, her hubby is off putting his life on the line for his country and hello it is the early 1900's so we all know how women are expected to behave.

Apparently this is based on a true story and so many people absolutely loved it, I liked it but didn't love it. I found the effects of the war really focused upon, the little things, getting through day to day, relationships, friendships, hardships, the threats of danger, the judgements like men exempt from war had people judging them and thrusting white feathers upon them. Even how they got Hannah's husband and others to sign up, the method used was an eye opener.

Then the affair, the cost it brought for "true happiness", navigating their new reality and the challenges that brought with it. I also thing there was a few things I wasn't expecting that especially pulled the rug from under me so to speak. I just wasn't expecting the book to be what it was nor the turns it took. I think this would be a great book for a book group and discussion as I imagine there would be a lot of mixed opinions on the choices and actions of the characters and plenty of food for thought, 3.5/5 for me and I think I will ponder over it for a while.

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