The Summer Before the War

It took me forever but I finally finished my book group's pick for January - The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson.

Here is my Goodreads review:

My book group chose this book and once I read that it compared to "Downton Abbey," I was interested.

That being said, it took me quite a while to get into this novel. The characters, all British and all a bit stuffy, were difficult to fully understand. But slowly, as the novel progressed, the characters seemed to bloom and my reading speed picked up. 

Beatrice kept my attention as her story is one that any modern woman can relate to. Daniel seemed the stereotypical poet but soon displayed nice layers of depth. Hugh was a bit harder to like due to his stubbornness but soon I came around.