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novellearts's review
3.0
I don't know. This book kind of just irritated me. It wasn't bad but I think the characters annoyed me too much to rate it higher?
harleyrae's review
3.0
2.5/5 Stars
Unfortunately this book just didn’t live up the expectations I had formed in my head. The ending wasn’t as wrapped as I was wanting. It started fine but then the author threw in a curve ball within the last five pages.
The romance was also a little instalove. It felt incredibly rushed and not real at times.
This book was also incredibly slow paced. I had a hard time keeping my attention on this book.
Unfortunately this book just didn’t live up the expectations I had formed in my head. The ending wasn’t as wrapped as I was wanting. It started fine but then the author threw in a curve ball within the last five pages.
The romance was also a little instalove. It felt incredibly rushed and not real at times.
This book was also incredibly slow paced. I had a hard time keeping my attention on this book.
moonystwin's review
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
juliabittorf's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
scifi_sama's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
3.5***
Rosalind Porter worked on the Manhattan Project as the only woman physicist. But now, in 1950, she’s selling antique jewelry at Marshall Fields. Her job at the lab had ended abruptly just after her love affair with colleague Thomas Weaver had also ended abruptly. Heartbroken and depressed she left science behind and moved on with her life. But now Weaver has contacted her again and wants to re-establish their relationship. FBI agent Charlie Szydlo also wants her to see Weaver again, because the FBI suspects Weaver has been passing secrets on to the Russians and they want Rosalind to spy on him.
This work of historical fiction captured my attention from the beginning, and the twists and turns in the plot kept me turning pages. I wasn’t always in Rosalind’s camp. She seemed very vulnerable and far too easily swayed. There were times when she showed her intelligence and courage, but other times when I wanted to just shake her. I loved Charlie, though I found it hard to believe he’d be accepted into the FBI given his obvious PTSD and disability resulting from his time spent as a POW in a Japanese camp during WW2.
I’m not sure how this book came to my attention, but I noticed that both Ann Patchett and Elinor Lipman (authors whose works I’ve enjoyed) praised it.
Rosalind Porter worked on the Manhattan Project as the only woman physicist. But now, in 1950, she’s selling antique jewelry at Marshall Fields. Her job at the lab had ended abruptly just after her love affair with colleague Thomas Weaver had also ended abruptly. Heartbroken and depressed she left science behind and moved on with her life. But now Weaver has contacted her again and wants to re-establish their relationship. FBI agent Charlie Szydlo also wants her to see Weaver again, because the FBI suspects Weaver has been passing secrets on to the Russians and they want Rosalind to spy on him.
This work of historical fiction captured my attention from the beginning, and the twists and turns in the plot kept me turning pages. I wasn’t always in Rosalind’s camp. She seemed very vulnerable and far too easily swayed. There were times when she showed her intelligence and courage, but other times when I wanted to just shake her. I loved Charlie, though I found it hard to believe he’d be accepted into the FBI given his obvious PTSD and disability resulting from his time spent as a POW in a Japanese camp during WW2.
I’m not sure how this book came to my attention, but I noticed that both Ann Patchett and Elinor Lipman (authors whose works I’ve enjoyed) praised it.
shannon_reads_books's review
3.0
I felt like this was trying to be a spy story and a romance, and fell just a little short on both.
carolyn0613's review against another edition
4.0
Rosalind Parker is working at a jewellery counter in a department store in the 1950s but during the war she was a key member of the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb. She is traumatised by the bomb in japan and also by the betrayal of her lover, Thomas Weaver. Weaver suddenly turns up in her life being shadowed by an FBI agent, Charlie Szydlo who persuades Rosalind to report Weavers movement to him as he is a suspected Russian spy.
Rosalind is portrayed well as a fragile personality with a tragic past. It is a romantic story but the background of the atomic project and the period are very interesting and well written. I very much enjoyed this book
Rosalind is portrayed well as a fragile personality with a tragic past. It is a romantic story but the background of the atomic project and the period are very interesting and well written. I very much enjoyed this book