Roxanne Veletzos

Hungary 1943 to the tensions of the 1956 Hungarian uprising.

This epic tale filled with passion and hope takes places mainly during WW11 and focuses on the toll the war took on civilians.

Eva César, a young woman from an affluent family awaits the return of her fiancé and is counting down her last days being single when by pure chance she meets Aleandro, a Romani artist, and falls in love with him. WW11 is raging on and the two are torn apart at summer`s end.....Aleandro is captured and sent to a concentration camp. Eva stays put and gives birth to their daughter, a child Aleandro never knew of..... This is a summer they will never forget.

The author recreates the atmosphere in Hungary at the time while the couple struggled to survive in a world where the Romani people where considered less then rodents and suffered terrible treatment from everyone. This story is filled with tragedy during the war and long after when Hungary was under Soviet occupation. A good part of this story covers the uprising and what came out of it.

We also follow each of their life after the war and share in their success as well as in their heartbreaks. Even if they were apart for many decades, Eva and Aleandro love never faded.

The narrative is unique and the mellow tempo is steady for most of the book although picks up when the two are separated. We have a mix of suspense, some passion, lots of love, too much sacrifice...array emotions to break the heart. Although at time Eva choices were iffy...in a way it places you in her shoes...We have a gamut of players well drawn and true to life: Dora the maid, a domineering father, Eva’s two men in her life: Eduard and Aleandro and many more that crosses the pages.

In conclusion, the author’s notes tells us that her fictional story has roots in real people lives and has let her fertile imagination run free...

Thank you Atria Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book: these are my thoughts.… (more)

As I began this book and saw the planning of the wedding I had to again look at the date, 1943, so I was surprised as to the life this young woman was leading. Didn’t have to wait long for the other shoe to drop, and things to get bad in Hungary.
We see what looks like she has an ideal life, her father has money, and she is about to marry a doctor who is at the front taking care of the wounded, but life can’t be smooth during war time, and we get to see what happens.
I loved the author’s notes, and see that this fictional story has roots in real people!
So much pain and evil prevalent at this time in history, and Eva meets her soulmate in Aleandro, a chance meeting, but a lifetime relationship.
The title of this read resonates, it was their summer, but was it, a lifetime of yearning for what cannot be, but each play their part in the life that is presented.
I do recommend this read, it kept me page turning, but beware it can be sad, we cannot change the past.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Atria Books, and was not required to give a positive review.… (more)

Just when I thought I’d never read another WWII novel, this one comes along and steals my heart. A story inspired by true events in the author’s family history, this one will draw you in and won’t let go until you turn that final page in the wee hours of the morning. And even then, it keeps a firm hold on your senses.

Meet Anton and Despina, desperate for a family of their own, who can’t believe their luck when they have an opportunity to adopt an abandoned four-year-old girl, who was found on the steps of a nearby apartment building. Although disturbed at first, Natalia soon settles into a very happy life with her new parents, going to school, learning to play the piano. Natalia’s father Anton is charming and charismatic, and mother Despina is a beautiful and lively jewel, and they dote on Natalia, seeing to her every need.

However, darkness lurks on multiple fronts. The political climate is dangerous at best, as Poland supports first Germany and then switches its allegiances to the Soviet Union. As Anton has built up a successful chain of stores, the family finds their circumstances slowly but drastically changing, since the social winds are now blowing firmly against those seen as wealthy. In addition, Natalia’s birth parents are still looking for her, which leaves Anton and Despina, and eventually Natalia, with a weighty decision to deal with.

Unlike many stories of this era, this one is set in the Paris of the East, the beautiful city of Bucharest, in the Eastern Bloc country of Romania. While many of us Cold War babies are familiar with the mid-Century hardships of the Balkans, it seems in more recent years these have been largely overshadowed by tales of Germany and western Europe; it is heartening to see an author shedding light on this part of history again.

Grab a box of tissues, gird your heart, and after consuming all 340 pages, take a few minutes to delight in the photos of the real Anton and Despina in the novel’s notes.

Thank you, Ms. Veletzos, for a sweeping, engaging, and heart-warming story.

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