Beyond the Clouds by Elizabeth Camden
352 pages | published by Bethany House
⭐⭐⭐
The Set Up: Delia and Finn fell in love as teens, but a betrayal tore them apart. Now, as the US enters World War One, Delia is volunteering for an organization sending supplies to the people of occupied Belgium, where Finn has just escaped from. He’s returned home a celebrated war hero, and now Delia and Finn are reunited and must work together to raise funds to keep the supplies from running out, despite their rocky history.
This is the first book I’ve read by Elizabeth Camden, and I would definitely consider reading more of her work.
Beyond the Clouds is a sweeping historical romance, but leaning heavily on historical fiction more so than romance. The story is emotional and hopeful, and definitely written to pull at your heartstrings a bit.
There was a lot of character development here. Delia grew a lot when it came to the risks that she was willing to take in her life. Finn came home from war very prejudiced against certain people, and I could see him begin to find humanity in all people by the end.
“Courage wasn’t the absence of fear; it was moving forward despite the fear.”
Of course, I knew that the war would come to an end eventually, but I was really invested in the fate of the characters, especially Finn’s Belgian allies.
I am embarrassed to say that it took me about 200 pages to realize that “Bertie Hoover” in this story is actually US President Herbert Hoover. It really clicked for me when someone mentioned he would do well as a politician.
What felt off to me about this book was the pacing, both of the story overall and the romance within it. The book almost felt like two separate books in one, the first two-thirds focused on their fundraising efforts in the US. The last third of the book felt distinctly different, and a bit rushed. In terms of the romance pacing, I didn’t feel like Delia and Finn’s reconciliation came at the right time. As a reader, I didn’t feel that they truly knew each other as adults yet before they were saying “I love you” to each other.
My final thoughts: An oddly paced but emotional historical romance.
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