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laheath's review against another edition
inspiring
mysterious
tense
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
5.0
Wonderful account of a middle-aged woman who trained with the SOE to fight in the French resistance during WWII. Her dedication, bravery, and leadership were remarkable and she helped to pave the way for other female operatives. Great cast of characters. I also enjoyed the interjecting chapters from the POV of the Nazi officer pursuing her. I appreciate the inclusion of the interesting author's note in the audiobook.
bookishnookish's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I love historical fiction, especially when it is based on real events and real people, real heroic women, especially is my favorite topic. Yvonne Rudellat was an SOE agent who fearlessly rebelled against the Germans during WWII.
I liked this book for the most part, but the back and forth timelines weren't the best when listening to the audiobook. My attention kept slipping. I loved the present timeline though. Really inspiring!
I liked this book for the most part, but the back and forth timelines weren't the best when listening to the audiobook. My attention kept slipping. I loved the present timeline though. Really inspiring!
bethreneereadsbooks's review
4.0
The Woman with No Name shines a light on one of WWII’s lesser-known heroes in the dual-timeline work of historical fiction. Yvonne Rudellat is a woman struggling to find her place, with an estranged husband and grown daughter. She wants to do her part for the war effort, and not in some on-the-sidelines sort of way. She works her way up to being Britain’s first female sabotage agent.
Lots of adventure, lots of intrigue, and the weight of history make this an interesting and worthwhile read.
Amy Scanlon did a nice job narrating the audiobook.
Thank you Audrey Blake, RB Media, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.
Lots of adventure, lots of intrigue, and the weight of history make this an interesting and worthwhile read.
Amy Scanlon did a nice job narrating the audiobook.
Thank you Audrey Blake, RB Media, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.
fireplacebookworm's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I really wanted to love this one, but it fell flat for me.
Yvonne and all the other characters lacked depth, and emotion so I could connect and root for them. They didn’t feel real thus making it so hard for me to care. That and the lack of plot is why I’m rating this one so low. The plot felt discombobulated. I know it’s based on true events but I felt it could have taken more of the historical fiction route and been meshed together more still keeping the root of the story. I don’t know how the prologue fit within any of the story. As neat as this story could have been, I’m really sad that it was this much of a let down.
Yvonne and all the other characters lacked depth, and emotion so I could connect and root for them. They didn’t feel real thus making it so hard for me to care. That and the lack of plot is why I’m rating this one so low. The plot felt discombobulated. I know it’s based on true events but I felt it could have taken more of the historical fiction route and been meshed together more still keeping the root of the story. I don’t know how the prologue fit within any of the story. As neat as this story could have been, I’m really sad that it was this much of a let down.
hawful's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
1.75
This was a little slow, but what bothered me was how uneven it felt. I wish we'd stuck to linear storytelling. I really think that would have helped considerably.
carlack7's review against another edition
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death and Car accident
alexatthelake's review against another edition
4.0
I have loved the previous 2 books from Audrey Blake I've read immensely, so I had quite high hopes for this book. Unfortunately it didn't live up to the expectations, but there are a few reasons for that, I think. First, I listened to the audio and while the narrator was fantastic, I don't think I paid as close attention as I should have to fully grasp the story and understand what was going on. The second was how different the previous books were and how original the stories were, where as with this book it feels like there's been many books with a similar storyline. It didn't feel the SAME as all the other books, but just similar.
For the good parts, because there were a lot - the writing was fantastic as usual from Blake. I found there were a lot of characters that were a little hard to keep track of, especially on audio, but once I could straighten them all out, it was much better. I thoroughly enjoy historical fiction novels that are based on real events/people and this one hit the mark in that sense. The author's note really caps off the book, make sure to take a minute to read it!
For the good parts, because there were a lot - the writing was fantastic as usual from Blake. I found there were a lot of characters that were a little hard to keep track of, especially on audio, but once I could straighten them all out, it was much better. I thoroughly enjoy historical fiction novels that are based on real events/people and this one hit the mark in that sense. The author's note really caps off the book, make sure to take a minute to read it!
marilynw's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The Woman with No Name by Audrey Blake
Narrated by Amy Scanlon
I was aware of the work of Yvonne Rudellat during WWII because I have read so much about the women who were part of the SOE (Special Operations Executive) during this time. Yvonne, who chose the codename Jacqueline, so she'd always have her daughter's name with her, was the first SOE trained woman to go to France in order to help French Resistance groups by supplying them with weapons and equipment. One of the many unusual things about tiny Yvonne was her age, early forties, and for that reason, while her fellow men and women parachuted into France, Yvonne had to boat into France due to what the SOE considered "fragile bones".
Up until her notice by SOE, Yvonne had felt that her life was worthless and she was literally ready to end it when she drew the attention of a recruitment officer for the SOE. After passing all the hoops to be jumped to be allowed to train for the SOE, Yvonne excelled at certain skills such as bomb making and sabotage. Her determination to become a SOE agent had her going the extra mile in training, even doing what needed to be done to pass the swimming/water part of the training despite not knowing how to swim and being deadly afraid of water.
This story stays true to the real life people involved in Yvonne's life and I knew about so many of the people she worked with in France. In addition to what I knew, the story goes into detail about some of the little, but really so important things that Yvonne trained others to do in order to hinder the Germans in any way possible. Such resourcefulness in using what was a hand to make explosive devices and also Yvonne's willingness to place herself in sure danger, had her making headway against the enemy, as she trained others to do so, too.
Many times it seemed Yvonne and her cohorts were fighting not only the Germans but each other and those who should be on their side. The chance of discovery and capture was constant and Yvonne and her fake French husband/collaborator became known to and hunted by the Germans. Life was hard, Yvonne had only one set of clothes and underwear, not only was she doing the hard work of sabotage and training, she also spent lots of time sitting around wearing nothing, while her only set of ragged clothing was drying after being washed. So many little things such as this are brought to our attention and for the first time I feel like I have a much better understanding of Yvonne. There was nothing glamorous about the work of the SOE agents and although Yvonne kept reminding herself she was determined to live to the end of the war, she knew that the chances were slim and that she had a much greater chance of capture, and the horror that came with capture, by the ruthless Germans hunting for her.
The story is told in first person and Yvonne's story is taken from Yvonne's real life. I was aware of so much and it was hard to read this story, wanting things to end in a way that I knew could not take place because history was already written. Brave people putting themselves in such deadly situations but they were fighting for themselves and people who had lost everything and had no hope without the help of people like Yvonne. Her work and the sabotage she was doing put both herself and those around her in danger but that danger was ever present anyway, no matter what she did. Even after she could no longer teach others, she left them with tools to keep on fighting. Amy Scanlon does her usual fine job of narrating this story and brought Yvonne to life for me.
Thank you to RB Media, Recorded Books, and NetGalley for this ARC.
Narrated by Amy Scanlon
I was aware of the work of Yvonne Rudellat during WWII because I have read so much about the women who were part of the SOE (Special Operations Executive) during this time. Yvonne, who chose the codename Jacqueline, so she'd always have her daughter's name with her, was the first SOE trained woman to go to France in order to help French Resistance groups by supplying them with weapons and equipment. One of the many unusual things about tiny Yvonne was her age, early forties, and for that reason, while her fellow men and women parachuted into France, Yvonne had to boat into France due to what the SOE considered "fragile bones".
Up until her notice by SOE, Yvonne had felt that her life was worthless and she was literally ready to end it when she drew the attention of a recruitment officer for the SOE. After passing all the hoops to be jumped to be allowed to train for the SOE, Yvonne excelled at certain skills such as bomb making and sabotage. Her determination to become a SOE agent had her going the extra mile in training, even doing what needed to be done to pass the swimming/water part of the training despite not knowing how to swim and being deadly afraid of water.
This story stays true to the real life people involved in Yvonne's life and I knew about so many of the people she worked with in France. In addition to what I knew, the story goes into detail about some of the little, but really so important things that Yvonne trained others to do in order to hinder the Germans in any way possible. Such resourcefulness in using what was a hand to make explosive devices and also Yvonne's willingness to place herself in sure danger, had her making headway against the enemy, as she trained others to do so, too.
Many times it seemed Yvonne and her cohorts were fighting not only the Germans but each other and those who should be on their side. The chance of discovery and capture was constant and Yvonne and her fake French husband/collaborator became known to and hunted by the Germans. Life was hard, Yvonne had only one set of clothes and underwear, not only was she doing the hard work of sabotage and training, she also spent lots of time sitting around wearing nothing, while her only set of ragged clothing was drying after being washed. So many little things such as this are brought to our attention and for the first time I feel like I have a much better understanding of Yvonne. There was nothing glamorous about the work of the SOE agents and although Yvonne kept reminding herself she was determined to live to the end of the war, she knew that the chances were slim and that she had a much greater chance of capture, and the horror that came with capture, by the ruthless Germans hunting for her.
The story is told in first person and Yvonne's story is taken from Yvonne's real life. I was aware of so much and it was hard to read this story, wanting things to end in a way that I knew could not take place because history was already written. Brave people putting themselves in such deadly situations but they were fighting for themselves and people who had lost everything and had no hope without the help of people like Yvonne. Her work and the sabotage she was doing put both herself and those around her in danger but that danger was ever present anyway, no matter what she did. Even after she could no longer teach others, she left them with tools to keep on fighting. Amy Scanlon does her usual fine job of narrating this story and brought Yvonne to life for me.
Thank you to RB Media, Recorded Books, and NetGalley for this ARC.