At the dawn of the First World War, the French provincial village of Briecourt is isolated from the battles, but the century-old feud between the Toussaints and the de Colvilles still rages in the streets. When the German army sweeps in to occupy the town, families on both sides of the feud must work together to protect stragglers caught behind enemy lines. Julitte Toussaint may have been adopted from a faraway island, but she feels the scorn of the de Colvilles as much as anyone born a Toussaint. So when she falls in love with one of the stragglers-a wealthy and handsome Belgian entrepreneur-she knows she's playing with fire. Charles Lassone hides in the cellar of the Briecourt church, safe from the Germans for the moment. But if he's discovered, it will bring danger to the entire village and could cost Charles his life. First in a three-book series.
My Review:
Look to the East was a book with a solid plot. It also showed that the author did much research about World War II. Look to the East was the winner of Inspirational Reader's Choice contest, so I expected it to be good. Sadly, I was disappointed. It had no amazing points to it. At times, it dragged on horribly because the characters had the same worries over and over again with no resolution until the very end. The author's research won her the contest. The problem I had with the novel was that it was just so heavy with inconsequential minutiae of World War II. It was perfect in that it was historically accurate. For those who like fiction that have that element, then this is definitely for you. I like history. But, please, spare me the details.
The only thing that stood out to me was that Julitte, one of the main characters, seemed to have visions of heaven when somebody died. Charles, the man Julitte falls in love with, is a weak character. He starts out as weak, perhaps becomes a bit more honorable during the middle, and ends out being only slightly stronger in the reader's mind than before. But not much.
I was not impressed with Look to the East. However, after looking at this author's other books I would be willing to give her another chance.
I give Look to the East 3 out of 5 stars.