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  • The Light over London

  • Written by: Julia Kelly
  • Narrated by: Lucy Brownhill
  • Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (70 ratings)

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The Light over London

Written by: Julia Kelly
Narrated by: Lucy Brownhill
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Publisher's Summary

Reminiscent of Martha Hall Kelly's Lilac Girls and Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale, this sweeping, entrancing story is a must-listen for fans of remarkable women rising to challenges they could never have predicted. 

It’s always been easier for Cara Hargraves to bury herself in the past than confront the present, which is why working with a gruff but brilliant antiques dealer is perfect. While clearing out an estate, she pries open an old tin that holds the relics of a lost relationship: among the treasures, a World War II-era diary and a photograph of a young woman in uniform. Eager to find the author of the hauntingly beautiful, unfinished diary, Cara digs into this soldier’s life, but soon realizes she may not have been ready for the stark reality of wartime London she finds within the pages.  

In 1941, 19-year-old Louise Keene’s life had been decided for her - she’ll wait at home in her Cornish village until her wealthy suitor returns from war to ask for her hand. But when Louise unexpectedly meets Flight Lieutenant Paul Bolton, a dashing RAF pilot stationed at a local base, everything changes. And changes again when Paul’s unit is deployed without warning.  

Desperate for a larger life, Louise joins the women’s branch of the British Army in the anti-aircraft gun unit as a Gunner Girl. As bombs fall on London, she and the other Gunner Girls relish in their duties to be exact in their calculations, and quick in their identification of enemy planes during air raids. The only thing that gets Louise through those dark, bullet-filled nights is knowing she and Paul will be together when the war is over. But when a bundle of her letters to him are returned unanswered, she learns that wartime romance can have a much darker side.  

Illuminating the story of these two women separated by generations and experience, Julia Kelly transports us to World War II London in this heartbreakingly beautiful novel through forgotten antique treasures, remembered triumphs, and fierce family ties. 

©2019 Julia Kelly (P)2019 Simon & Schuster

What listeners say about The Light over London

Average Customer Ratings
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Didn't Want it To End

Lovely story in two time settings. Both story lines gripping. Sweet. romantic and historically interesting. I will look for more Julua Kelly. Great narrator too.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Thoroughly enjoyable story!

This is a good story told against the backdrop of war. It’s not historical but rather an enjoyable mystery and gentle love story. Very entertaining and not heavy.

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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An easy listen..

…that kept me wanting to go back for more. My mom fell in love with a married man during the war too. Thankfully they stayed together after the war ♥️

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Captivating Story!

This story had my hooked at chapter 1! I couldn’t stop listening to find out more.

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1 person found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Good twist at the end

Kept my interest. I enjoyed the ending very much. Give it a read
Enjoy the book

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1 person found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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  • T
  • 2023-05-28

I had to give it up at chapter 20

This was just too simple, cliche, and soapy. Flat and disappointing. This story lacked depth.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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Very good story

I really enjoyed this story and the narration. I do not know if it is based on a true story but I can imagine that it could have been based on true events

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

It was sweet story but not my cup a tea

It was okay. I found it slow and predictable. But I did like learning about a new role women took on during WW2.

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  • Caliope
  • 2019-05-15

Never Forget

Light Over London is a story of a young woman working in an antique shop who finds a diary of another young woman who lived during WWII. Given permission by the shop owner to read the diary and try to locate the owner, the young lady becomes absorbed in the diary and curious about her own Grandmother who lived in Germany during the war. Between the diary and the Grandmother's story lies an interesting read for anyone who takes seriously the concept that we must never forget the Holocaust and the other horrors of that war. I have always been interested in knowing all I can about that period of time. This book doesn't necessarily tell the reader anything new unless the reader knows little or nothing about the war, but the way the story unfolds is charming and enjoyable. And there is pertinent truth in the words, Never Forget.

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45 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • RueRue
  • 2019-01-30

Historical romance

This is chick lit with WWII as a backdrop. This might sound like a condemnation, but actually this is a pretty good book as historical romances go....yes, there were some plot elements were totally predictable, but I enjoyed the alternating stories. And good narration, too.

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45 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Amy J Henson
  • 2019-02-08

Lovely

A compelling story about two women who find themselves during dark times. I couldn't put it down.

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28 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Susie Foster
  • 2019-05-31

Heartbreaking and Magical

There are not really words to explain the beauty of this book. The deep intensity of war time drama. The burden of grief and regrets woven from the present to the past and back again. Characters that are so real you desperately hope to get to know them better.

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22 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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  • Amy B
  • 2019-12-16

Boring

Just could not get into it. Had to keep going back to the beginning as it could not hold my interest.

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20 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Alexis Earls
  • 2019-07-09

Sort of Predictable

The narration was great. There isn’t a whole lot of actual war history in this book, but it’s a unique perspective. I found the story a bit predictable, but still a good read!

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17 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Chere Thomas
  • 2019-05-14

Kept me wanting more

This is a good story, well written and it kept me not wanting to stop listening. Although I had expected a deeper story of history, I found this story to be believable at a time when the world was in chaos and young men and women were looking to each other for comfort. Somewhere in the middle of the story, the narrator’s voice became very soft, almost a whisper, and I had to strain a bit to hear what she was saying. I found myself turning the volume up very loud. I don’t know if this was my device (but it’s not happened before) or if this has happened to anyone else. This is the only reason I gave 4 stars to the performance. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a historical love story and how women in England helped in the war effort. Bravo.

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13 people found this helpful

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • JUDITH
  • 2019-05-03

Interesting story

It’s an interesting story but not one that grabs at you or makes you sit in the driveway with the car running till the end of a chapter. And the reader is good but has a ‘whispery/breathy ‘ style that’s too much for me.

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11 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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  • Anonymous User
  • 2019-02-01

Very sappy and thin...soap opera. Disappointing. H

Very dissappointing. Sappy soap opera. Present ation was good just didn't l care the story.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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  • Barbara D Payne
  • 2019-04-25

Enjoyed this book

I must say that it took me a little time to settle into this story, but then I hot hooked. It was a bit of a soap opera but sometimes that is okay. I liked the narrator. She had a soft, pleasant tone though she didn’t distinguish among the characters too much. The story line was interesting if a bit predictable. The one thing that I found annoying was Cara’s forceful insistence that her grandmother divulge her past. I realize it was a literary device to move the story along, but it seemed unkind and wrong to do to someone who clearly didn’t want to talk about it, though the author tied it in. Recommended with reservations

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8 people found this helpful