Title: This Lovely City
Author: Louise Hare
Publisher: Harper Collins Australia
Genre: Historical Fiction, Fiction
Year of release: 2020
Rating 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Release: 24th February 2020
Synopsis
The drinks are flowing. The music’s playing. But the party can’t last.
London, 1950. With the Blitz over and London still rebuilding after the war, jazz musician Lawrie Matthews has answered England’s call for help. Arriving from Jamaica aboard the Empire Windrush, he’s taken a tiny room in south London lodgings, and has fallen in love with the girl next door.
Touring Soho’s music halls by night, pacing the streets as a postman by day, Lawrie has poured his heart into his new home — and it’s alive with possibility. Until one morning, while crossing a misty common, he makes a terrible discovery.
As the local community rallies, fingers of blame are pointed at those who had recently been welcomed with open arms. And before long, London’s newest arrivals become the prime suspects in a tragedy which threatens to tear the city apart. Immersive, poignant, and utterly compelling, Louise Hare’s debut examines the complexities of love and belonging, and teaches us that even in the face of anger and fear, there is always hope.
Review
 With the war finally over, London  sends out a call for help rebuilding the big smoke. Caribbean native Laurie Mathew’s and his friends answer their plea heading over the high seas aboard The Empire Windrush hoping to make England his new home and build a better future for himself, upon  arriving on British  soil not everything has turned out as he had hoped, however  He meets and falls in love with Evie Coleridge the girl next door.
One day whilst making a special delivery, after finding work as a postman Laurie comes across a distressed women who leads Laurie to an unexpected and rather distressing discovery, threatens to derail Laurie’s future plans  as well as the future of those closest to him forever, the pressure is on to expose the truth can Laurie do this with prying eyes at every turn, hoping to witness any wrong doing that will send him and his friends on the first boat back home or worse.
The minute I finished the first page I was hooked until the very end, what convinced me too find a copy of This lovely City was firstly that beautiful turquoise cover and it’s lively dancers. I was blown away by the promise the synopsis held. I just had to read this debut novel from Louise Hare and I had to read it now.
This Lovely City offers it’s readers so much joy. Thanks to the beautiful writing  the reader is able to fully immerse themselves in this story and this era, plenty of books offer to hook their owners from start to finish I loved that for me This Lovely City delivered.
Already considered a highlight on my bookshelf I’m blown away by the hidden gems this book has to offer, I thought I figured this story out early on but the further I read the more there was to discover, the little details given to this book made this story shine.
Dual timelines were used well to highlight how much happens to both Laurie and Evie in just two years, because of this I felt I was able to really invest in these characters and their lives looking back on this I think it helped me to understand the characters decisions they made at the closing chapters of the book.
I loved that Laurie an inspiring jazz musician found a job as a postman to make ends meet, I think it’s nice to be able to relate to the characters in some way.  I found myself cheering Laurie and Evie on as a couple, they were so supportive of each other This lovely city has equally exciting and enjoyable minor characters, to keep any reader invested.
 Author Louise Hare has approached the issues  raised in the book with sensitivity and understanding whilst at the same time keeping in tune with the stories time period, it was a definite strength for me in this book as those topics aren’t always easy to tackle.
My highlights from this book
- The time period and location really suit this story
- The plot twist was well detailed throughout the book and resolved at the end
- The characters were likeable and easily relatable
- The bright cover makes it memorable
Readers who enjoy character based stories, with dual timelines and the1950’s era can expect to be swept off their feet by this story. I recommend this book to mature readers.
With thanks to Harper Collins Publishers Australia for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.