The Last Waltz by Vandagriff begins in the world of Amalia a young almost twenty year old upper middle class debutante living in Austria right before the start of World War I, in the beginning of the story I was a little worried because Amalia's character seemed very shallow and did not seem to have any depth to her but as the her story unfolds and the young heroine must deal with heartbreak, death, illness, and disease, caused by the war, those she loves, and her supposed "friends." Her character transforms into a very noble and wise person who I really enjoyed getting to know as I turned each page.
The main plot line follows Amalia's different twist and turns with her family, and how World Wars I and II would affect them and their views on life as well as her ongoing love story with a certain young doctor that in different seasons of her life send her into very light and very dark places. It also follows other love interests that she turns to when things go badly with the doctor, and the plot outlines how sometimes the most lonely and horrific moments in our lives can be made into something that was for the better as far as our personal growth and character were concerned; Amalia discovers that maybe the one she really loved was standing right there beside her through the storms of life all along.
The main plot line follows Amalia's different twist and turns with her family, and how World Wars I and II would affect them and their views on life as well as her ongoing love story with a certain young doctor that in different seasons of her life send her into very light and very dark places. It also follows other love interests that she turns to when things go badly with the doctor, and the plot outlines how sometimes the most lonely and horrific moments in our lives can be made into something that was for the better as far as our personal growth and character were concerned; Amalia discovers that maybe the one she really loved was standing right there beside her through the storms of life all along.
I'm not a good writer so there is nothing I could possibly write to express how much I liked this book. My daughter won the book from the first reads giveaway, so we got the book for free, but it is definitely worth the price to buy it. I was pretty lost when it came to the political parts of the story, but that didn't hinder me from thoroughly enjoying every minute I spent reading it. The only thing I didn't like about it is that it ended. I would have liked for it to go on forever. The author is an excellent wordsmith and I will undoubtedly be reading more of her books.
** spoiler alert ** I was shocked at how fast I read this book considering its length. The book covers 25 years which can be good and bad, good that it is all in one book and you don't have to wait for a sequel to be released, but bad in that it can drag on. It was interesting to read about war time but I thought it really stretched the book to try to cover both world wars in one book. I also thought it strange that there would be three men in love with the main character at the same time, not that it couldn't happen but frustrating to see her get all three. It just doesn't seem fair to all of them and though she loves them all to some degree it just seems like she should have just ended up with the guy she loved but in order to make the book span 25 years she had to be with all three throughout so her love could conveniently rescue her over and over again. I did like reading a book that was very much like watching Sound of Music. Angry at the ending.
