Reviews

The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

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the_heather_martin's review against another edition

5.0

I’ve always thought of myself as a thriller/mystery reader. And to be fair, this is the genre I read most. However, I’ve really been loving historical fiction, especially from Kate Quinn. So far I have loved every book of hers I’ve read. I don’t always have the historical backstory, but every book feels so well researched and is beautifully told. Every one leaves me with a book hangover…I’m sad when each book ends…and TDE is no exception.

lindsaydrue's review against another edition

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I couldn't get into it. My mind kept drifting and I wasn't keeping the story straight in my head.

bookhoarder76's review against another edition

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3.0

Very well written but I have found that WWII fiction is NOT my thing! I did love this character though! She's pretty Bada$$! The last few chapters were by far my favorite and once you read this I'm sure you'll agree!

kelly_inthe419's review against another edition

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4.0

The Diamond Eye was another great Kate Quinn! She’s definitely an auto buy author for me and this was easily a 4-4.5⭐️ read. As usual, Quinn delivers with a smart, strong woman who is unafraid to stand up for herself, her family and those she loves.

Mila is a trained sharp shooter for the Russian army battling Nazi invaders during World War II. It was a bit ironic to be reading this book when Ukraine is currently fighting for its life against Russia. But in this story, Ukrainian born Mila, who was from Kiev, was fighting for Russia in the same territory.

Mila’s character, in fact Mila herself, is a real woman who really did have the most kills for the Russian army during the war. I can’t imagine the amount of research and fact checking that goes into Quinn’s stories.

I did think was a bit of a slow start but it definitely picked up as the war progressed. When she faced absolute sorrow, my heart broke. Her tour around the US and her unlikely friendship with Eleanor Roosevelt were so interestingI

The side characters were an important part of Mila’s story. Her lover Lyonya, her best partner Kostia, and her detestable husband were well drawn.

If you’ve read the Huntress, you’ll be happy to see Nina (my favorite character in that story) make a brief appearance as well!

As always, the author’s notes at the end of Quinn’s books - and most historical fiction really - were intriguing and full of tidbits that parsed out fact from fiction in the story.

The Rose Code is still my favorite of Quinn’s novels. I was actually in two buddy reads for this and I think everyone agreed it was worthy of at least 4 stars!