Gifts of War: A Novel – Mackenzie Ford (Historical Fiction)
When my Gifts of War ARC arrived in the mail, I wasn’t quite sure what to think… after reading the back cover copy, I thought “why the heck did I request THIS?”. Clearly the promo material for the book made it sound more exciting than what was written on the back cover. World War I? A man’s lost love? Another man & his quest to make a life with a certain woman during the war? *snooooooze* So, guess what I did? I put the book away & avoided it as long as I could. And I do mean as long as I could.
Finally, guilt got the better of me, and I picked it up. “Why are you reading that?” my husband asked, “Read something you’ll like, don’t waste your time.” But I had an obligation to fulfill, so I read it. And you know what? Even though it wasn’t my favorite kind of book, it kept me reading, and that has to say something.
On the whole, I didn’t really like the ending, but it made sense when I read the last page… the very last page, which changed everything for me. I don’t want to give it away, but that final page – as a writer and as a reader – made me gasp and say “Oh! How fascinating!” and left me with a good, warm feeling toward the book.
If you enjoy historical fiction, I think you’ll love Gifts of War. I really do. It has suspense, romance, and plenty of history from a war we often learn very little about (at least in the Canadian school system, we tend to focus on WWII). I liked learning more about WWI, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to someone whose reading habits lean toward historical fiction.
Rating: 3.5 coffees out of 5
Tags: books, historical fiction
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