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pam2375's review
5.0
This story grabbed from the start and did not let go until the end! I highly recommend.
Many thanks to Netgalley and St Martins Press for this advanced readers copy.
Many thanks to Netgalley and St Martins Press for this advanced readers copy.
booksadoodle's review
4.0
This one was a surprise for me, and although I have always loved historical fiction, I found myself way more drawn to this story than I thought I would have been, which is always a great thing! Moreover, I learned so much more about the race for atomic energy and atomic warfare regarding The Manhattan Project than I knew before, and love how it was presented within the story so it didn't feel like cumbersome learning. This is story of courage and friendship, loyalty, and patriotism. Nathan is a Jewish, German-born intelligence officer in the American army during WWII, and is partnered with Dr. Allison Fisher, a prominent young female physicist, with the incredibly dangerous task to travel to Berlin to interrogate and ascertain the credibility of a notorious German scientist who wishes to defect. Felt a bit long at times, but it's full of intrigue and suspense, well written, engaging, and with sympathetic characters. This is definitely one to check out for lovers of WWII historical fiction! Thanks to Ronald H. Balson, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this arc.
melgovies's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
5.0
ae_kay's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
3.75
marilynw's review
3.0
An Affair of Spies by Ronald H. Balson
Nathan Silverman grew up in Berlin in the 1920s but his parents are able to get him sent to the US in the late 30s, as the noose tightens around the Jewish community. Nathan's dad is a theoretical scientist, and his work and the protection he thinks he gets from the work he does, keeps him from getting the rest of his family out of harms way before its too late.
In the US, Nathan joins the military and he's specially trained to lead others through German territory since he knows the language and the area. He's pulled away from his unit for a special mission. He's to escort a French speaking scientist into Germany so they can help a nuclear physicist defect. What this physicist knows could be very important to the Allies war program and the Manhattan Project.
This story seems more like a cozy WWII spy story than most historical fiction that I read. We get a lot of history and science and it's heavy handed as characters will bombard each other with facts that often the other characters already know. Many facts are given to us in an almost infomercial manner. Both Nathan and Dr. Allison Fisher, the scientist he escorts into Germany, seem to be more immature than their twenty eight years of age when it comes to decision making.
Nathan can't remember to call Allison by her alias and calls her Allison, instead. He gives away vital information that puts the people fighting for our side in great danger, all because he wants people to contact him about his family. Allison does a little sightseeing on her own one morning, they both do more sightseeing together, and they manage to get into situations they should not be in because they aren't discrete. They don't focus on the mission but instead stray off course.
The story is clunky and the characters didn't seem to act naturally to me. Nathan seems so ill suited for what he is sent to do but then everything seems a bit off. I do appreciated how any attraction between the characters is handled.
Pub September 13, 2022
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.
Nathan Silverman grew up in Berlin in the 1920s but his parents are able to get him sent to the US in the late 30s, as the noose tightens around the Jewish community. Nathan's dad is a theoretical scientist, and his work and the protection he thinks he gets from the work he does, keeps him from getting the rest of his family out of harms way before its too late.
In the US, Nathan joins the military and he's specially trained to lead others through German territory since he knows the language and the area. He's pulled away from his unit for a special mission. He's to escort a French speaking scientist into Germany so they can help a nuclear physicist defect. What this physicist knows could be very important to the Allies war program and the Manhattan Project.
This story seems more like a cozy WWII spy story than most historical fiction that I read. We get a lot of history and science and it's heavy handed as characters will bombard each other with facts that often the other characters already know. Many facts are given to us in an almost infomercial manner. Both Nathan and Dr. Allison Fisher, the scientist he escorts into Germany, seem to be more immature than their twenty eight years of age when it comes to decision making.
Nathan can't remember to call Allison by her alias and calls her Allison, instead. He gives away vital information that puts the people fighting for our side in great danger, all because he wants people to contact him about his family. Allison does a little sightseeing on her own one morning, they both do more sightseeing together, and they manage to get into situations they should not be in because they aren't discrete. They don't focus on the mission but instead stray off course.
The story is clunky and the characters didn't seem to act naturally to me. Nathan seems so ill suited for what he is sent to do but then everything seems a bit off. I do appreciated how any attraction between the characters is handled.
Pub September 13, 2022
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.
sarah_reading_party's review
4.0
Ronald Balson's novels always draw me in, and An Affair of Spies was no exception! This WWII spy novel was the perfect mix of history, war, science, and character development. Nathan's character was so well developed - he was a young German Jew who managed to leave Germany just before the war, yet returned home as a US soldier turned spy to gather information about Germany's nuclear weapons program. On the way, he falls in love with a US scientist and tries to learn about the family he left behind in Germany. This book was fast paced and absolutely addictive. I rated it 3.75 stars, rounded up... the slight downgrade from 4 stars was because all the scientific jargon became a bit of mumbo jumbo to me after awhile. Great book!
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced ebook copy. All opinions are my own.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced ebook copy. All opinions are my own.
jlblumenfeld's review
4.0
It was cute, they did a lot of dumb things that were mildly infuriating but it was still an entertaining read.
jessicasilfenroy's review
3.0
This was almost a DNF for me but the well-narrated audiobook helped me stick with it! My main struggle is that I found the story too heavy on the nuclear science aspect, and rather integrate these pieces into the story naturally, it felt like factual over load. Despite the science heavy parts, I enjoyed the action, twists and turns and the side romance storyline. If you are a fan of the author’s previous books, or enjoy spy thrillers set during WWII, give this one a try! !
ornery_librarian's review
adventurous
lighthearted
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? No
2.0
I thought from the title that this would be spicy. But it was not. 1943 Nathan and Allison are sent to Berlin by way of Paris to extract a nuclear scientist. Fake ids tricking gestapo agents ensue as they make their way across Europe. However they are not very good at it, and seem to be weirdly impatient that things aren't running on schedule and somehow there is a bakery with fresh coffee and pastry conveniently at every corner. Nathan(Jewish) is also looking for his family as he was send to America alone before the rest could escape. The premise of this book is great, but didn't love the execution of it. If you're looking for a "lighter" book about spies. I guess this is it.