Book Review: When Skies Have Fallen

by: Debbie McGowan

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(From Amazon) For many in war-torn 1944, love blossoms in the dance hall, and airman Arty Clarke is no exception. He’s a thinker and a dreamer; however, it’s not the beautiful, talented dancer in his arms—his best friend Jean—who inspires his dreams. For when his gaze meets that of Technical Sergeant Jim Johnson, Arty dares to imagine a different dance.

Their love is forbidden, by both the armed forces and the law, but with Jean’s cunning and support, Arty and Jim try to bridge the distance between them and find true love despite the danger and a life-threatening disaster that could destroy Arty’s dreams for good.

Can the pair stand strong together, no matter how many skies have fallen? (End Copy)

While we take love, between two men or two women, for granted in this age of acceptance, homosexuality was a crime in the early nineteen hundreds.  People didn’t accept that two people, no matter their gender, could fall in love.  Just the idea of two men sharing a bed was revolting and could lead one or both to jail.  Worse then jail was the potential for forced aversion therapy, which included shock treatment.

Arty and Jim fell in love in one of the most desperate times of their lives.  Arty from Great Britain and Jim from the US were fighting Hitler’s war.  Two young men who dared to fall in love while others their age were dying all around them.  Risking dishonorable discharge and the potential for life altering therapy, they stayed true to their hearts.  Fortunately, for them, their closest friends became allies in their plight.

Both Arty and Jim had assignments that permitted closeness.  Intimacy became the challenge.  Where could two servicemen go that would not draw suspicion?  Ingenuity and a bit of desperation joined forces and provided just the place.  They found their love for each other tested on many occasions, but neither strayed from their vows.

After the war ended, they found their lives deeply intertwined in war torn England.   Would their love survive in an atmosphere where searches and arrests for people like them were carried out in force?

McGowan sucked me into the story.  She took me into the lives of men and women who found their lives disrupted by war, discrimination, prejudice, and death.  At first I was not sure I wanted to read the entire book.  I’m not good with death and torment.  But McGowan held my attention right through to the last words on the last page.  If you want an excellent book that will take you into a world that differs from ours in the most profound ways, then capture a copy of When Skies Have Fallen.

I gave When Skies Have Fallen by Debbie McGowan four stars.