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The Woman with No Name by Audrey Blake

4 reviews

velsbooknook's review against another edition

2.5

The story follows Yvonne/Jacqueline who joins the French resistance during WWII. The book has two POVs but I really had some trouble following the main character Yvonne/Jacqueline in the past during her training and also in the now, working for the French resistance. The pacing was very slow. I think the biggest issue for me was that the characters lacked in depth and made me not really care about their story. I also think that historical fiction set during WWII simply isn't for me. I often don't feel the horror people actually had too face - I had the same feeling while reading The Woman with No Name. When the big twist was revealed I already didn't care enough about the story so it didn't grab me.

Thank you to Audrey Blake, Sourcebooks Landmark and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

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carlack7's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The Woman With No Name went from being a 3-star, just ok book, to a 4-star with the author's note! I wish it was more obvious (maybe a note at the beginning or something on the front cover) that this was based on a real woman's experience and a lot of the events actually happened! I very rarely read the whole synopsis of a book, because I don't like to know the whole plot, and it doesn't say it's based on a true story until the very bottom!
All that said, any complaints I had about the storyline were largely assuaged by finding out that they were trying to stay accurate to the true story.
I listened to the audiobook and went back and forth on whether I thought it should have been read by someone with a French accent instead of the English accent it was read in. But I decided by the end that, since so many of the characters were French, it DID make it easier to differentiate the dialog and narration. Plus, the reader had a lovely voice and did a good job with the variety of accents.

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yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring tense medium-paced

4.25

Finished reading: February 27th 2024

"No reason to admit they'd said I was too old. Yvonne Rudellat might be forty-five, but I was Jacqueline Viallat now, my forged identification papers declaring me a spry thirty-three."

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Sourcebooks Landmark in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

It's not often that I come across my first name in books, so I was immediately curious when I learned that The Woman With No Name told the true story of Yvonne Rudellat. Add the fact that I have a weak spot for WWII fiction and resistance stories, and I knew I HAD to add this book by Audrey Blake to my list. I'm so glad I did now, because I ended up having a fantastic time with this historical fiction read!

The Woman With No Name is a work of fiction, but a lot of elements are based on true events and people. This made the story feel so much more authentic... Both Yvonne Rudellat and most of the people mentioned in this story were real people working for the French resistance during the war, and a lot of the key events really did take place. It's not the first time I've read about women being sent to France to help the resistance, but Yvonne's story is such an impressive one and it shows that people should never underestimate someone due to their size and/or gender. The story showed what it was like to live in France during the war, how the resistance worked and what obstacles they faced along the way.

The plot itself is divided into two timelines that are relatively close to each other. The present timeline follows the main character on her journey to and during her time in France helping the resistance. The other timeline tells us the story of Yvonne Rudellat in the time leading up to her recruitment as well as her training, and it helped giving more insight in her character. It also showed us just how much she blossomed over time, and I particularly enjoyed learning more about how they were trained. I do have to say that I enjoyed the present timeline more than the flashbacks, because they were simply more engaging.

It's the first time I read one of Audrey Blake's books, but I will definitely be back for more. This author duo not only has an engaging writing style, but it truly shows just how thoroughly they have investigated the life of our main character and everything she helped achieve during the war. It's true that the pace could be a tad slow in parts and she switching between the timelines could be a bit disruptive, but as a whole The Woman With No Name turned out to be an excellent piece of WWII fiction well worth your time if you enjoy the genre.

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ninjamuse's review

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adventurous tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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