What a beautiful story! I think I liked it a tiny little bit less than The Island, probably because somewhere halfway through the book there were a bit too many war descriptions for my liking. Also, as with the Island, I thought the modern-day story wasn't very interesting and maybe a bit too much of it. I liked the Sonia-Miguel interactions though!

But, the largest part of the book was of course about the Spanish Civil War. I never knew much about it, except that it happened and that Franco played a role in it, and after enjoying The Island so much and going to Granada soon, I wanted to read this one as well. Except for some of the war-parts, I love the way everything is described, I could see myself being there, right with all the characters in the book. I loved how it was a history-lesson coming to life, and I was shocked at what the people of Spain have been through only so recently.

Spoiler

The part about Mercedes being Sonia's mom, I saw that one coming from the beginning, which is suprising, because normally I never know these things before they happen. That Miguel is Javier, wow, that was a shock!!