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jesscl's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
yoteach's review against another edition
2.0
1.5 stars. Almost DNF. I love historical fiction as a rule but I just could not get into this book. I wasn’t interested until about 200 pages in and even then it was only a mild interest.
I didn’t feel like the characters were developed at all. Some sections had almost no dialogue and just described a useless passage of time - repeatedly!
In some cases I could hardly get through certain paragraphs because there were so many commas it interrupted the flow of reading. Why so many commas? I’ve never seen such a thing.
Some of the best writing was actually in the “Postcards from Berlin” and the final newspaper articles.
I read The German Midwife and thought it was a unique concept and I enjoyed it. That led me to give this book a chance. But with so many WWII options out there I do not think I will read another Mandy Robotham book again.
I didn’t feel like the characters were developed at all. Some sections had almost no dialogue and just described a useless passage of time - repeatedly!
In some cases I could hardly get through certain paragraphs because there were so many commas it interrupted the flow of reading. Why so many commas? I’ve never seen such a thing.
Some of the best writing was actually in the “Postcards from Berlin” and the final newspaper articles.
I read The German Midwife and thought it was a unique concept and I enjoyed it. That led me to give this book a chance. But with so many WWII options out there I do not think I will read another Mandy Robotham book again.
carolineg77's review against another edition
4.0
So beautifully written, and bringing important stories to life. I’ve learned so much about Berlin on the brink of war, and foreign reporters.
tonyriver's review against another edition
4.0
Nicely written and engaging story. Georgie makes a great lead and the cast of mainly reporters around her are suitably colorful and interesting. Set at a turning point in our history - on the lead up to WW2 - it is a reminder of the horrors inflicted on so many in the long fight shrines fascism, that started well before the war.
Highly recommended
Highly recommended
hundredacreofbooks1990's review against another edition
5.0
Robotham paints a descriptive Berlin with just enough information to satisfy a reader’s curiosity and imagination without losing the audience’s attention. This read did start off a little slower than this reader would’ve liked, but now having read right till the very end I can appreciate the slow burn approach taken in the beginning chapters, I believed this really built up the suspense towards the conflict and resolution portions of this fast-paced novel.
Read my full review here
https://hundredacreofbooks.com/index.php/2020/12/15/the-berlin-girl/
Read my full review here
https://hundredacreofbooks.com/index.php/2020/12/15/the-berlin-girl/
fawnponzar's review against another edition
3.0
This was a good story marred by unforgivable errors and a lackluster, cliche ending. I can’t blame the author for the errors, as I can imagine how easy it can be to make typos. I do blame her editors, the publisher, her agent, etc. Did no one proofread before printing?! If I were her, they’d all be fired. There was at least one error on every two pages (or it seemed). I stopped reading to find out if I was reading a translation. Seriously lazy and sloppy. Not only errors, but standard formatting of quotations following punctuation was completely ignored. This is how 9th graders write dialogue! The story up until the last twenty pages was good. The marriage proposal in among the turnips in the back of a truck was cringe. I also am uncomfortable with his ‘white savior’ this ended up being.
dogearedandfurry's review against another edition
5.0
I do love a good WW2 story, and this one didn’t disappoint. Vivid characters I connected with, and who I genuinely cared about as the story and danger developed. Would recommend for anyone who likes their WW2 spy/romance stories. I won’t spoil the ending, but I did appreciate the epilogue with follow up news snippets showing what happened…
I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review. Many apologies for the lateness of this, I hope the 5 star good review is still welcomed!
I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review. Many apologies for the lateness of this, I hope the 5 star good review is still welcomed!