Romance, espionage and WWII combine in the romantic thriller City of The Sun by Juliana Maio.
The back drop is 1941 and the Axis forces have the Allies on the ropes in North Africa. Rommel’s Afrika Korps are closing in on Egypt and the prized Suez Canal while Britain struggles to maintain control. The young King Farouk is crumbling under the enormous political and military pressure. The Muslim Brotherhood is gaining power and the seeds for the State of Israel are slowly being sown.
It is in this background that European Jewish refugee Maya Blumenthal arrives with her family in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis (translated as the City of The Sun). Her arrival coincides with the revocation of American journalist Mickey Connolly’s visa. Before he can be deported he is offered an opportunity that will change his life both personally and as a journalist. He is asked to go underground to locate Erik Blumenthal, a quantum physicist refugee from Germany. Mickey accepts their offer but he quickly realizes that his life may be in danger and the mission is not as simple as he originally thought as the Germans are also in Cairo looking for Erik Blumenthal. Romance begins to blossom between Mickey and Maya when they meet but Maya is hesitant to give out any true information about her life and family. Mickey begins to fall in love with Maya and would risk anything to win over her heart.
I completely fell in love with City of The Sun! Juliana writes in a way that draws you right into the plot line of war torn Cairo in WWII. She includes in depth detail that allows you to feel as though you are there in the war zone walking the streets of Cairo and Heliopolis. Knowing that Juliana was born in Heliopolis and was forced to flee during the Suez Crisis, you can feel how she brings her connection to Heliopolis through every turn of the page.
City of the Sun had me reading long in to the night – I just could not put the novel down! My heart went out to the characters in the novel – knowing how many people went through this makes it that much harder to put the novel down. City of The Sun is a definite must read novel.
Rating: 4.5/5
Juliana Maio was born in Egypt but expelled from the country with her family during the Suez Crisis. She was raised in France and completed her education in the USA. Julia practices entertainment law in Los Angeles. Prior to this she served as vice president of the worldwide corporate and business affairs for Triumph Films. Juliana co-founded Lighthouse Productions.
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Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
