Book Review: The Girl You Left Behind

This past weekend I zipped through the last half of The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes.

{via} $7.99 on Amazon Kindle

The Goodreads summary:

In 1916, French artist Edouard Lefevre leaves his wife Sophie to fight at the Front. When her town falls into German hands, his portrait of Sophie stirs the heart of the local Kommandant and causes her to risk everything - her family, reputation and life - in the hope of seeing her true love one last time.

Nearly a century later and Sophie's portrait is given to Liv by her young husband shortly before his sudden death. Its beauty speaks of their short life together, but when the painting's dark and passion-torn history is revealed, Liv discovers that the first spark of love she has felt since she lost him is threatened...

I have to tell you, I really liked this book. The first part of the book is only about Sophie, and then the rest of the book moves between present day characters, as well as back into the past as the story unfolds. 

This is the second book that I've read by Jojo Moyes and I really love her writing. She is SO good at getting you invested in characters, and the subtle way she makes you feel about each character is very smart. 

There was one part of the book, when it first switches to present day because it is SUCH a contrast to the story you just leave. But, I'm so glad that I kept going. The way the two stories unfold, and the similarities, despite the vast time and circumstantial differences is kind of magical. 

I will definitely be reading more from this author, and I highly recommend you checking out this book.