Sophie is an American who finds herself trying to get into Spain during the outbreak of the Spanish civil war. She is only there to find her fiance who she has not seen in a while, fully expecting to marry him and then leave for home. Instead she is caught into the activities of the people of the country, in a world and culture that she is not used to. Sophie finds that the war has found her and ultimately her life is changed by it.

I think I enjoyed this book a lot more than the average person would because I’m a history major. There was LOTS of information about the war and the circumstances surrounding it, and how it leads up to WWII (thanks for doing the research for me Tricia! lol). I can see if you’re not a history buff how some of this info would be boring since this is not an American war. Like I said though, I really enjoyed learning as I read. I’ve read other books about the Spanish Civil war that don’t really give you any details about the war itself, they just send in Americans to save the poor helpless Europeans. Valley instead shows the pride of the Spanish people and allows the reader to immerse in the culture. You get caught up in the character’s lives, both Sophie’s and Phillip’s, as you read about the people they are seeing, the death happening around them, the run for safety. I really felt for Sophie when she finds out the truth about Michael and the lies she must now face. To me that was when her character has to grow up and makes the change towards maturity in the story. She is no longer on vacation in Spain, she is on a mission to survive. The only thing I didn’t like about the book was that I’m left hanging at the end of the story and I must wait till fall to find out what happens. Until then, I highly recommend this book if you like an excellent story with rich historical detail.