Review: The Things We Did For Love by Natasha Farrant

Tears. There were tears shed for this book. A lot of it.

It's that one moment when my heart lurched a little bit that I know this story will make me emotional. That one moment.

Title: The Things We Did for Love by Natasha Farrant
Release Date: January 1st 2013
Published by: Faber & Faber
Source: Publisher (Thanks Laura)
Buy: Amazon | Book Depository

Summary:

France: February, 1944.

As war rages in Europe, teenagers Luc and Arianne fall passionately in love. But German forces are closing in and Luc, desperate to atone for his family's past, is drawn into the dangerous world of the Resistance. Arianne will do almost anything to keep him safe, but someone else is secretly in love with her - someone who will stop at nothing to get rid of his rival...

It is a love story set during the time of Hitler's bloody conquest of the world. In a small town in France, Arianne fell in love with Luc, a boy belonging to a family who has done things that caused irreversible consequences to the lives of the townspeople. Arianne's father was captured on his tour of duty, and she didn't know what to do. She was lost, left to a family consisting of an aunt and a younger brother who does things that she will never approve of but was necessary in order for them to survive.

Based on true story or not, The Things We Did For Love is a heartbreaking read.

What kind of things can a person do for love? Anything. For the love of one's family, for the love of one person, for the love of a country.
 
To be caught up too much in Luc and Arianne's story, I almost overlooked just what this book really is about. If Luc is willing to lay down his life to serve his country, so do the Germans. Inexplicable horrors were reflected in the eyes of one soldier, who loves his country, but all he desires is to come back to his family and stop the senseless killing all for the sake of the war. What can this soldier do for the love of his family? To get back to them? The tragedy started to unfold itself at one point, and when it finally came I was at a loss for words. Reading the last few pages was the hardest thing that I had to go through while reading. Lives were lost, and suddenly you realize that this story was as much part of Luc and Arianne's story as it is with the townspeople, and the tragedy they all met.

Natasha Farrant's The Things We Did For Love is a coming of age tale set in tragedy filled, war torn France about one boy's desire to become something more for his country and a girl who just wants her family to be whole again. You see the hastiness of one's youth, the beautiful moments where you are at the threshold of being an adult and yet still a child, the experience you encounter in order to survive in such a place. There are rare, tender moments to be cherished and the love between Arianne and Luc was a great backdrop and distraction to the war, and the consequences and losses it brings to everyone. Stunned into silence by the way this novel unraveled, it is beautiful in its own sad, tragical way. The Things We Did For Love gives your heart a little squeeze as you read along, even at the final moments of the novel. My heart lurched at the ending.

Sad, but somewhat hopeful. If you are a fan of romance amidst dire circumstances, this book is for you. I loved it in a melancholic way.

Content (plot, story flow, character):
Not everyone might like to read sad novels, but I dare you to give this one a try. The last few pages gave me goosebumps unlike any other novel I've read. It's a powerful way to end the novel.

Shining: Worthy of a Goddess' Love!

Book Cover:
I love it, I think it depicts part of the novel somewhat.