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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Kate Quinn brings us a stunning and authentic portrait of a legendary sniper. I thought it was interesting that Mila Pavlechenko's narrative voice assumes that we as readers agree with her wholesale acceptance of Soviet life and philosophy, despite the inherent dangers of life under Stalin. I enjoyed seeing how Mila's journey from factory worker to hobby shooter to sniper grew her to expand her motivations from trying to be the best single mother she could be (which would have been a worthy enough goal by itself) to defending her country and way of life from fascist invaders. It was satisfying to see how she gained the confidence to tell off her (almost) ex-husband and find the courage to fall in love with people who really knew and cared about her. I wanted more of Kostia (not sure of the spelling since I listened to it) on the page, but perhaps it is fitting considering his quiet nature and constant presence. Mila's defeat of not only the marksman but Alexei at the end was incredibly satisfying to read, and I appreciated that Quinn allowed us to see Mila silence her enemies with the skills they doubted from the beginning.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Blood, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Grief, Gaslighting
Minor: Suicide
adventurous
dark
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow, just wow. I don't think I've been this absorbed by a book in a very, very long time. The book kept pulling me deeper and deeper into the story. I will say that I think it's worth reading the author's notes, as these help clarify how she chose to craft certain characters and how she tried to stay true to the Mila's memoirs while also filling in the blanks and crafting a compelling story. Highly recommend.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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:
No
Russian sniper during WWII
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
emotional
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:
Yes
adventurous
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:
No
I thought that I was just going to read this in between the other two books that I am working on right now, but I ended up bingeing it over the last three or so days. The writing is really good and Quinn sets up her scenes really well so that you can see where she is clearly in your mind. I think that she does a great job of showing what it is like to have to compartmentalize in order to be able to do a difficult and taxing job.
I really enjoyed this and I really liked the ending.
I really enjoyed this and I really liked the ending.