by
Love is hard. Love and war is devastating.
England, June 1940. As the war intensifies in Europe, Elizabeth Lewis is laid off from her job as a photographer's assistant. Air raids and rationing turn her thoughts to working for the war effort while her cousin Dot dreams of dances and romance with a Royal Air Force pilot, despite Betsy’s warnings that a war is no time to fall in love.
But when Betsy meets Leonard Wilson, a handsome serviceman from Canada, she’s instantly smitten. After witnessing the perils of war firsthand, Leonard isn’t afraid to live in the moment, and he’s eager to correspond with Betsy when he returns to the front.
Betsy reluctantly agrees to continue her relationship with the good-looking private even though she fears this will only bring heartache. Against her better judgment, she takes comfort in Leonard’s letters, and after getting to know him, finds it impossible to deny her true feelings.
Will Betsy disregard her fondness for Leonard to protect her heart, or will she give in and find strength in love as the war rages on? A tale of love and war and a journey halfway around the world. Inspired by true events.
Friday, June 14, 1940
After returning home from work, Elizabeth Lewis placed her wages on the kitchen table while Mum tended to dinner at the stove. The coins landed a little harder on the wooden table than Elizabeth had intended, and she slapped her hand over them to stop them from spinning like tops, causing Mum to jerk around to see what the commotion was about.
“Sorry.” Elizabeth shrugged, not meaning to disturb Mum.
“Hullo, love.” Mum smiled before turning her head towards the back door. “George! Betsy’s home,” she bellowed. Dad must have been out in the garden. His favourite place to be most of the time.
Betsy took a seat. “I’m sorry it’s less than usual,” she said.
Mum raised her eyebrows.
“Mr. Grover’s closing the shop.”
Mum gasped. “What on earth would possess him to do that?”
“Business has been slow for months now.” Betsy glanced up from the coins on the table.
READ MOREMum had gone back to fussing with the soup on the stove. Even with rationing, she still managed to make the tastiest meals. “With what happened to the Italians here on Monday, he’s worried the Germans are next.”
Mum whipped around, wooden spoon in hand. A dollop of potato soup landed on the floor. “But Mr. Grover’s not German. He’s British.” Her brows furrowed.
“And so are his parents, but his grandparents came here from Germany.”
Mum’s eyes widened and her brows arched a little higher than their usual resting place. “Surely that shouldn’t matter.”
COLLAPSEGoodreads Reviewer on Goodreads wrote:"At first look this is a story of a young woman as she lives through the challenges of World War II in the small town of Toft Hill, a safe distance from London. But as the story progresses the lives of others are woven in until finally, there is a beautiful braiding of three people’s lives into a sweet, sometimes heartbreaking, but ultimately very satisfying story. I received a free copy of this book from Book Sirens for my honest review. The author has accomplished a masterful work juggling three visions of WWII with interesting detail. “Love Overseas” brings the story of Betsy, Leonard and Walt together into a lovely tribute to the author’s mother. I thoroughly enjoyed this book."
"Love Overseas is a delightfully readable story of love and dreams in a time of war. Based on experiences of the author’s grandmother during WWII, firstly growing up in England and later in Canada, we learn of the important role women played behind the scenes in the dangerous British munitions factories, and the dangers they faced, all the time surrounded in secrecy about what they were doing. We follow the story of Betty in England, with sprinkles of teasers threaded through as a secondary storyline, where we meet Leonard and his Canadian Army mates. Eventually the two threads combine and Betty and Leonard meet and fall in love and marry. The war continues its course and Betty and Leonard are separated, with all the stresses that go with a separation in wartime. Betty has the opportunity to travel to Canada to meet Leonard’s family as part of Canada’s War Bridges program … but no more about the story - you’ll have to read it yourself! Love Overseas is full of endearing characters, and was a pleasure to read. And make sure you read the fascinating Author’s Note at the end. Many thanks to BookSirens for an advance review copy - my review is voluntary and a pleasure to give."
