At the dawn of the First World War, the French provincial village of Briecourt is isolated from the battles, but the century-old feud between the Toussaints and the de Colvilles still rages in the streets. When the German army sweeps in to occupy the town, families on both sides of the feud must work together to protect stragglers caught behind enemy lines. Juliette Toussaint may have been adopted from a faraway island, but she feels the scorn of the de Colvilles as much as anyone born a Toussaint. So when she falls in love with one of the stragglers--a wealthy and handsome Belgian entrepreneur--she knows she's playing with fire. Charles Lassone hides in the cellar of the Briecourt church, safe from the Germans for the moment. But if he's discovered, it will bring danger to the entire village and could cost Charles his life.
At the dawn of the First World War, the French provincial village of Briecourt is isolated from the battles, but the century-old feud between the Toussaints and the de Colvilles still rages in the streets. When the German army sweeps in to occupy the town, families on both sides of the feud must work together to protect stragglers caught behind enemy lines. Julitte Toussaint may have been adopted from a faraway island, but she feels the scorn of the de Colvilles as much as anyone born a Toussaint. So when she falls in love with one of the stragglers—a wealthy and handsome Belgian entrepreneur—she knows she’s playing with fire. Charles Lassone hides in the cellar of the Briecourt church, safe from the Germans for the moment. But if he’s discovered, it will bring danger to the entire village and could cost Charles his life. First in a three-book series.
Average Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars(4.5 out of 5 stars)
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5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Barb Schmidgall (Mason, MI), October 16, 2009
Love this author -- all of her books have been good! She keeps a good story line going, along with enough romance to keep me interested.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Sharon A Lavy (New Carlisle, OH), October 12, 2009
When I read the reviews of others, they often just repeat what is in the blurb. I try to find something different. Often others have already said it better.
I like the thread where Juliette saw a bright light when someone she loved died. It gave her peace that her loved one was now with God.
One year my siblings were in a car wreck on Christmas eve. The driver was killed. At the time of the young man's death his face flashed before his grandmother's eyes. I know that God does sometimes give people "the sight."
When Juliette no longer needed "the sight" God took it away. But He did not leave her. That is my take home value from this book.
3.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by MJ (Porterdale, GA), September 18, 2009
*This is a review of an ARC version.*
Maureen Lang has a great way with words to weave into a story. I enjoyed this book. Historical Fiction is my favorite genre, although I like to stay in the happier romances. This book was filled to the brim of chill-bump romance and true love, but the entire tone of the book was sad and cold because of the war background setting. For me that brought the book down a couple stars, but that is only my book preference. As far as the character likability, the main characters Julitte and Charles were fabulous and extremely amiable. The antagonists both German and French were highly detestable. Emotions really run rampant with this novel and it reads almost like a two person diary. In my opinion, Maureen is an author to be watched. I just personally need to stick to happier time periods, yet even with that said, I will definitely be looking for the sequels to this series. The peace of God highly showed through in the characters thoughts and actions, and those that needed to grow were shown with heightening strength. Even the characters that were to "fall" as a reader you find yourself thinking of prayers for similar people in your life. It was a very powerful read, and besides the devastation of war a fabulous story.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Gloria Glider (Heber Springs, AR), September 18, 2009
The series gives us a look at the past and
how hard war is when it comes to your front
door. It also shows how conditions can challenge our faith.
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Martha Artyomenko (Kalispell), September 14, 2009
Do you love historical fiction that is written well? If so, check out Maureen Lang's new book, Look to the East! This well written book filled with historical facts and references, is well written and will keep you reading to the last page. You will feel the hunger with the characters as a village struggles to survive in the middle of war times and enemy take overs. Jullitte feels alone at times in this story as she is cut off from the rest because of her parents choices and where she had come from. You will not only experience war, small romance, but also the struggles with people's judgment even for things you cannot help. Maureen writes historical fiction that will imprint on your mind and your heart. This is one you will want to check out!
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Janna Ryan (North Platte, NE), September 13, 2009
Maureen Lang has written some good books. I enjoyed "On Sparrow Hill" which was a nice blend of historical and modern and then "My Sister Dilly" was a women's fiction with heart. But now she brings us "Look to the East", the first in The Great War series and I am very excited. While there seem to be lots of historicals written during WWII, I don't seem to find many that take place during WWI. This series looks like it will fill a gap in that era. And if "Look to the East" is any indication, then I think it will be a great addition to WWI historicals.
Julitte lives in a tiny village in France that has been split for generations by a Hatfield/McCoy type feud. She is the adopted daughter on one side of the feud and we meet up with her as the war has broken out and her father has already left to fight and her brother is leaving. She stays in the village and gets involved in hiding some soldiers from the Germans after their village is taken over. A couple years pass and now could Julitte have an effect on winning the war?
I really enjoyed this book, the characters and especially the era and setting. Very good and I really look forward to book two and seeing where Maureen will take us next in WWI.
3.5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by sarah katie (dallas, tx), September 12, 2009
For some reason this book didn't quite "click" for me. I'm not sure what exactly it was, but i just never got fully invested in the characters or the story. It still was enjoyable and worth reading - just not my favorite historical novel.
i did like that it had a slight Romeo & Juliet slant to the story!
5 out of 5 stars
Reviewed by Stephanie (upstate NY), September 09, 2009
I chose Look to the East because of the setting: a small, poor French village caught in the middle of the First World War.
Maureen’s story kept me turning the pages to see if the men trapped behind enemy lines would be discovered, if those villagers putting their own lives in danger for the sake of those men would also be caught, if the silly town feud would end in the midst of war, if Julitte and Charles would be together…
Maureen’s descriptions enabled me to picture the small village with its cobbled streets and town square and the neighbor’s peeking out of their small cottages in curiosity and fear. I could smell Uncle Guy’s bread and hear the thudding of the German’s hobnailed boots. I could feel the terror of guns at my back and booming cannons in the distance.
I empathized with each villager that had to choose: love or hate? Food or betrayal? Trust or suspicion? Work or death?
As I finished the last chapter, I was wishing that Maureen’s next book in her Great War series was already in my hands. Ahh, I will have to wait until its release next summer.
I really enjoyed Look to the East. And, although I believe it is quite historically correct that a small village such as this would have had a cure (or priest), I did not agree with many of the Biblical positions or applications.
Charles prays for faith… and then is portrayed as “saved” throughout the rest of the book. Julitte sees “light” every time someone dies. Sometimes the light is brighter for certain people.
Other than that, the story was wonderful. I’ve mentioned before that I like the whole would-I-could-I hide people in this kind of situation? That’s why I will almost always read a book set in the Civil War and WWII. I'm not sure I've ever read any books in The Great War era, and Look to the East was a great read!
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