This novel opens up with Aphrodite being put on trial by her husband, Hephaestus, for cheating on him with Ares, when she pleads guilty due to feeling unloved and begins to share the story of 4 mortals whose paths cross during WWI. These mortals are Hazel, a pianist, James, an aspiring architect, Colette, a singer who lost her family due to German attacks, and Aubrey, a soldier in the jazz military band. Hazel and James meet at a ball that Hazel is playing the piano at, and they instantly fall in love, despite the fact that he would be going off to war in a few days. After he goes off to war, Hazel decides to volunteer at a YMCA camp and play piano for soldiers, where she meets Colette. Colette takes a liking to Aubrey after hearing him play piano and deems him the “King of Ragtime.” These characters stories continue to intertwine as they face conflicts and passion, posed by the gods and goddesses.
I would recommend this book because it combines the historical events of World War I with interesting plots of romance and friendship. I liked that it featured a frame story because it kept the plot interesting. This book is great for someone with a broad range of interests because it touches upon aspects of war and romance. I would not recommend this book to someone who enjoys reading simpler and more straight forward books, as a lot of events are happening simultaneously. Also, someone who does not enjoy longer books would probably not want to read this book. Overall, it was a great book, and I learned so much about the different perspectives people can have on the same situation.
-Anonymous
