Reviewed by Cheryl K

TITLE: Dublin Bay

SERIES: Tides of Change book 1

AUTHOR: John Patrick

PUBLISHER: Nine Star Press

LENGTH: 348 pages

RELEASE DATE: October 26, 2021

BLURB:

In 1939, the world tumbles toward war and the lives of two young men will be forever changed.

James Brennan grew up in the poorest of Dublin’s tenements, turning adversity to advantage wherever he could. But he’s nearly a man now—with a good education at that—and wants more from life than what he can get as a day laborer or following his father into the factory.

Otto Werner is the privileged son of a German diplomat stationed in Dublin. Otto is destined for great things in the new Europe sure to arise after Germany’s victory in the war. But he’s a lonely young man, living in Ireland with only his father for company, cut off from friends and family back home.

The two teens meet by chance, and each sees in the other a means to advance his own interests. But they quickly become friends, and then—surprisingly, dangerously—more. As the globe spirals deeper into chaos, the love between the young men deepens; but their world is not a hospitable place for forbidden love.

As war comes closer and closer to home, everything they believe—about themselves, about each other, about the world around them—will be shattered. Will their love for each other survive the pull toward destruction in a world gone mad?

REVIEW:

This book, from new to me author John Patrick, was fantastic. Hit all of my geeky, history loving buttons. Throw in my love of stories set in Ireland and I was in story heaven. As mentioned in the blurb- the story starts in 1939, just as Germany invades Poland, France, and Great Britain. This story incorporates the War perspective from a group of young people living in Ireland.

The main characters Otto and James meet and become friends. The longer they know each other, the more conflicted James becomes about his feelings for Otto.  The boys are about as opposite as it comes.  Otto is from an affluent German family, with diplomatic connections. James is from a rather poor family.  As their bond builds, the world moves around them.  James helps Otto and his father, survive the harsh conditions of living in a colony of Great Britain.  As the war continues, Otto and James hide the depth of their relationship and connect with a forward-thinking Unitarian Reverend.  Howard counsels them and then enlists their help in saving refugee’s from the war.  Amongst all this James enlists help from a brother that is involved in the IRA, causing the action to level up a notch or two.  Mr. Patrick has constructed a world based on real events, that is so action packed and nail biting you wonder how Otto and James are going to survive the strife that continues to try and pull them apart. I started this book and became so entranced by the story, that I didn’t want to turn off my e-reader. Mr. Patrick has extremely well rounded main and side characters.  These characters move the story forward and become intertwined in the lives of Otto and James.  Side characters encompass all walks of life of the early 1940’s. Creating additional levels of intrigue and life changing events.  When one last spy game goes horribly wrong, will Otto, James, and all involved survive the potentially catastrophic events of war?  Will Otto and James be able to live and love in a world where being a homosexual is viewed as being as bad as being Jewish?  Will their goal of creating a better world for them to live in come to fruition?  All these questions are answered in one of the best written historical World War 2 fictional stories, I’ve ever read.  I don’t want to forget to mention, this is a MM romance story, and the sexy times are appropriately interspaced in the story and do not drive the plot.  The enhance it and don’t distract from the main plot lines.  I can not recommend this book enough; I wish I could give this one more than our usual 5 Star rating.  If you love historical fiction, you need to read this book.  I can’t wait for the next book in this series.

RATING:

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