What do you think?
Rate this book
Love In War
Love in War is a new historical romance novel that portrays a passionate story of young love growing out of the cauldron of war. Based on a true story, it is being made into a feature film. The Spanish Civil War, waged in the late 1930s, was one of the most destructive in European history, pitting families against one another. The fascist regimes supported the Nationalists, who ultimately won the war, while the Soviet Union, and American and European artists and writers, including Ernest Hemingway, backed the Second Spanish Republic.
Prior to the war, Martí Cardo and Montserrat (Montse) Balaguer fell in love in the Catalonian town of Igualada, 70 kilometers from Barcelona. Montse, an accomplished artist, was the daughter of a wealthy banking family. Martí, the youngest son of a peasant farming family, trained to be a baker under the watchful eye of his godfather. Their romance, which blossomed with notes passed secretly through a wall, was opposed by her parents. Also at odds with their budding love affair was Felix Castell, the ruthless, violent son of a vineyard owner and the town’s politically well-connected mayor. The arrogant young man ignored Montse’s rejections, and as a Republican Army officer in the chaos of the war, Felix used his power to try to kill Martí and possess his wife.
Love in War is a story of integrity and faith, courage and devotion amid the most trying of times, on a national and personal level.
Prior to the war, Martí Cardo and Montserrat (Montse) Balaguer fell in love in the Catalonian town of Igualada, 70 kilometers from Barcelona. Montse, an accomplished artist, was the daughter of a wealthy banking family. Martí, the youngest son of a peasant farming family, trained to be a baker under the watchful eye of his godfather. Their romance, which blossomed with notes passed secretly through a wall, was opposed by her parents. Also at odds with their budding love affair was Felix Castell, the ruthless, violent son of a vineyard owner and the town’s politically well-connected mayor. The arrogant young man ignored Montse’s rejections, and as a Republican Army officer in the chaos of the war, Felix used his power to try to kill Martí and possess his wife.
Love in War is a story of integrity and faith, courage and devotion amid the most trying of times, on a national and personal level.
549 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 9, 2023
10 people are currently reading
4 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 17, 2025
This is a pretty fair book - just a little too long and violent for my taste. I think it is intended to be more of a movie script than a work of literature. If you like, maybe wait for the flick and skip the temptation to flip the pages when you’re half way through.
July 21, 2025
Fulfilling as it is ambitious. Love in War is a history lesson wrapped in a love story.
I immediately drew comparisons to For Whom the Bell Tolls and 100 Years of Solitude. But what makes Love in War its own is how each character is drawn with such depth and grows over time. Paring down the lifetimes of a handful of characters over the course of a single book is a big challenge for any writer. Seeing how Mr. Lytle was able to draw from a real life story, yet add his own flourishes was beautiful. It is clear that he did a tremendous amount of research, even prompting me to interrupt my reading at times to do the same.
One of the strengths of this book is the juxtaposition of the warm, heartfelt moments of love and the gruesome, heartless moments of war. Both engulf the reader in their thoroughness. I specifically applaud the way Mr. Lytle portrayed the two sides of the Spanish Civil War as factions manipulated by fear of the other. How we saw common people—even children—swept up in the fervor, embracing barbarism toward their own neighbors simply because of their family's feelings toward the government. Some of the scenes from the book are seared in my mind; a haunting endorsement for this novel and condemnation of its historical background.
I immediately drew comparisons to For Whom the Bell Tolls and 100 Years of Solitude. But what makes Love in War its own is how each character is drawn with such depth and grows over time. Paring down the lifetimes of a handful of characters over the course of a single book is a big challenge for any writer. Seeing how Mr. Lytle was able to draw from a real life story, yet add his own flourishes was beautiful. It is clear that he did a tremendous amount of research, even prompting me to interrupt my reading at times to do the same.
One of the strengths of this book is the juxtaposition of the warm, heartfelt moments of love and the gruesome, heartless moments of war. Both engulf the reader in their thoroughness. I specifically applaud the way Mr. Lytle portrayed the two sides of the Spanish Civil War as factions manipulated by fear of the other. How we saw common people—even children—swept up in the fervor, embracing barbarism toward their own neighbors simply because of their family's feelings toward the government. Some of the scenes from the book are seared in my mind; a haunting endorsement for this novel and condemnation of its historical background.
September 23, 2024
Pretty good but I think I have read enough books about war for now. The story was interesting because it was true but it got kind of needlessly lengthy at times.
August 23, 2025
Excellent story. Knowing that it is true made even more fascinating.
September 6, 2025
A beautifully written love story that feels both heartfelt and timeless. Inspired by true events, it’s emotional, captivating, and lingers with you long after finishing.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews