April 27, 2009

Review: Fallen Skies by Philippa Gregory



In post-World War I England seventeen-year old Lily Pears is just on the verge of breaking out of the chorus line into a career as a solo singer when she meets the older distinguished war hero Captain Stephen Winters.

Wracked by nightmares of the war Stephen sees Lily as his saving grace with her angelic face and voice. He desperately pursues her yet she can only see him as a friend and nothing more. While away on tour Lily suffers from a tragic loss and with no one else to turn to she marries Stephen and is whisked away to the family mansion where the sole occupants are Steven’s dour mother and invalid father.

As time passes Lily begins to bloom and breathe life into the previously glum household but Stephen finds that his nightmares haven’t stopped. If anything they are worse and the shocking truth behind his heroic acts is close to being revealed.

The book started off really slow and with just over 500 pages I almost threw in the towel with this one but I stuck with it and it actually picked up pretty quickly after Lily’s tragedy. Through the rest of the book I was almost too anxious expecting something more sinister to be just around the corner so I was a little disappointed when nothing horrible happened but still thought it was a moving story. (See how jaded we've become LOL)

Gregory writes historical fiction with such amazing detail that you can picture the settings and background with stunning clarity. I’m new to historical fiction so I don’t have a lot to compare it to but I thought this was a great book.

2 comments :

Anonymous said...

I've only read "The other Boyleyn Girl" from Philippa Gregory, and I really loved the detail of it. This looks like a great read too! Good review. :)

If you step by my blog, you'll find an award waiting for you! :)

Ladytink_534 said...

I enjoy the occasional historical fiction and Phillipa Gregory is tops when it comes to writing it! She wrote The Queen's Fool and The Other Boleyn Girl both which I loved. I may have to see about picking this up :)