Reviews

The Woman with No Name by Audrey Blake

readingwhilemynailsdry's review

adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense slow-paced

4.0

shesbecomingbookish's review against another edition

adventurous informative inspiring mysterious reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

nerdygnome's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring sad slow-paced

3.75

Mixed feelings on this one — 5 stars for placing a spotlight on the vital contributions of women during WWII, with a narrative based on the true story of Yvonne Rudellat; 3 stars for the flow of the book, with some back-and-forth jumping that made it a little harder for me to follow along and engage with the plot. I listened to this one on audiobook and may have been able to follow these jumps better in print. 

Following the bombing of her home in England, Yvonne feels unmoored from her estranged husband, adult daughter, and void where her home used to be. Seeking purpose, she looks to a new life as she enrolls with the war effort. Thanks to her gender and her unassuming age in her 40s, she's recruited to be Britain's first female special operations executive with boots on the ground in France. Yvonne quickly proves herself as an explosives expert, embarking under great personal danger to slow down German initiatives during the war. As with all books that involve the Holocaust, this is not an easy story to read, but an important one nonetheless. 

Thank you to RB Media and Audrey Blake for providing an advance copy for review.  

kirstin_anne's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I can already tell this will be my favourite book of the year. It was a fascinating read about a very compelling woman, which had me reading late into the night. Beautiful writing.

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Death, Animal death, Infidelity, and War

danapr's review against another edition

adventurous informative tense slow-paced

3.5

akg12's review against another edition

adventurous informative inspiring tense slow-paced

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

3.75

cathy1969's review against another edition

slow-paced

3.0

This book captured me at the beginning but it somehow lost my attention as it went on. I'm entering this 1 week later and not remembering much about the book either. I do remember liking it when I read it, but it just didn't stick with me.

cherilynn's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

3.0

mommyandme_bookclub's review against another edition

adventurous dark inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

This was a fascinating read, especially during Women’s History Month. Based on a true story, The Woman with No Name follows Yvonne Rudellat who served as Britain’s first female sabotage agent during WWII. 

This book was clearly well researched and appears to stay true to actual events. Overall, I liked this book. However, I did find myself losing focus during some of the slower paced sections of the book.

I alternated between the ebook and the audiobook which was narrated by Amy Scanlon. I highly recommend the audiobook! Amy’s performance was stellar and kept me more engaged. She was a dynamic storyteller with unique accents/voices for the various supporting characters in the book. I had a great listening experience. 

𝘔𝘺 𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨: 3.5⭐️ (4⭐️ on audio!)

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲:

🚲 WWII historical fiction 

🚲 Strong mature female heroine

🚲 Espionage and suspense

🚲 Dual timelines

🚲 Stories about finding purpose and resilience

Thank you @NetGalley @bookmarked and @recordedbooks for the advanced copies for review. Opinions are my own.