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pam2375's review
3.0
This is the story of a 17 year old girl that survived the bombing of her home in Dublin, Ireland in 1941. She loses her family and moves to England to live with extended family and try to pick up the pieces of her life.
Once in England she begins to work to help in the war effort. The writing was just OK with many twists and turns that were pretty predictable. It seems that this will become a series that, quite frankly, I probably will not continue.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books for this advanced readers copy. This book released October, 2021.
Once in England she begins to work to help in the war effort. The writing was just OK with many twists and turns that were pretty predictable. It seems that this will become a series that, quite frankly, I probably will not continue.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Avon Books for this advanced readers copy. This book released October, 2021.
trudyd's review
4.0
Her Secret War was not a quick, easy read. Her Secret War was a detailed story of Sarah, a survivor of a Dublin bombing. As the lone survivor in her family, her uncle asks her to move to Southampton area in England where she can get a job working for Supersubmarine. For her it is a way to get revenge on the Germans and a way to start over.
The reader gets to experience some of the struggles she experiences as and Irish citizen trying to make it in England. She is young. She is naive. She is susceptible to the influences of others. She will do anything stand up to the Germans. It will put her at risk as she thinks she is taking down a spy.
The reader gets an overview of what it was like in war torn England as factories try to keep ahead of demand. My mom talks about the rationing, the shortages but I never grasped the challenges until I started reading more and more Historical Fiction. I have learned so much that was never taught in schools. They need to stop glossing over what happened. We need to learn. We need to remember. We need to never, ever repeat what happened.
The reader gets to experience some of the struggles she experiences as and Irish citizen trying to make it in England. She is young. She is naive. She is susceptible to the influences of others. She will do anything stand up to the Germans. It will put her at risk as she thinks she is taking down a spy.
The reader gets an overview of what it was like in war torn England as factories try to keep ahead of demand. My mom talks about the rationing, the shortages but I never grasped the challenges until I started reading more and more Historical Fiction. I have learned so much that was never taught in schools. They need to stop glossing over what happened. We need to learn. We need to remember. We need to never, ever repeat what happened.
joli_folie's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
readwithjackalope's review against another edition
5.0
Sarah is a girl living in Dublin, with her younger sister and drunk, abusive father. She survives the North Strand Bombings in 1941 Dublin. After losing her family, she heads to England to live with her uncle and his family. There she finds work as a tracer for the engineering plans of the Spitfire at the Supermarine. There she has access to the secrets that Germans want to get their hands on. Soon she's recruited as a spy which involves some twists and turns. It was a fast-paced read, and interesting to read a different perspective of the work some took on for the war effort. I loved Sarah and her uncle and family were warm and wonderful. Definitely recommended, now on to the next in the series.
redhead_haze's review against another edition
3.0
Genre: historical fiction, war spy novel
Tropes: WW2, found family, spy, uncovering traitors
Series: Her Secret War #1
Cliffhanger: Yes
Rating: 3.25 ⭐
I started this book because I have received as ARC "Her Last Betrayal", which appears to be the sequel for "Her Secret War". I didn’t know this when I've requested it, but, since I have received the ARC and I wanted to leave a review, the sensible thing to do was, of course, to read the first book as well. And it sounded good and captivating, so I was happy to do it. Unfortunately, my expectations weren't really met.
》》Ups and Downs《《
It wasn't a bad book and it was enjoyable enough in its own way, but:
❌ The action was too slow paced for my taste and I couldn't really connect with any of the characters. There seemed to be an abundance of details and scenes that didn’t really help the plot and I was constantly waiting for the real action to begin.
❌ The big plot twist wasn't really surprising either, but, in it's defense, there were definitely some unexpected details.
✅ The ending was the best part of this book, which makes me excited to start the ARC "Her Last Betrayal". I feel like the action is starting only there and that the entire book was just a dreadfully long prologue.
‘It is your courage in the face of that tragedy that has sparked our interest, Miss Gillespie. Courage and resourcefulness.’
Sarah chuckled and Northcott’s eyebrows shot up once more. ‘I’m sorry, sir, but I’m no heroine in a Gothic romance. A survivor, perhaps, but no more.’
✅ Sarah Gillespie was an interesting heroine and I liked her well enough, but a nice female MC isn't enough to make a story a page turner.
✅ I liked some side characters as well, which is something I always appreciate in books, with special nominations for Martin, Gladys and Miss Whitaker.
‘You let me know if anyone says anything. I’ll sort them out.’
‘Thank you! I’ve always wanted a knight in shining armour.’
‘Happy to oblige.’
✅ I appreciated having found a fresh perspective on WW2 novels, as they were usually set in France, either with women doing brave things at home, under the occupation, acting as spies or hiding British pilots, or fighting with the Maquis or other rebellious acts. This novel was set in Ireland and England and was more about what people could do from afar to help the war effort.
Sarah exhaled slowly and met Colonel Everleigh’s steady gaze.
‘When do I start?’
All in all, it was a different sort of WW2 novel and I welcomed the change, but its slowness bugged me a lot. I'm intrigued by the ending and I'm definitely happy I have the second book lined up as, FINALLY, I am curious about the course of action and the way things will go.
Tropes: WW2, found family, spy, uncovering traitors
Series: Her Secret War #1
Cliffhanger: Yes
Rating: 3.25 ⭐
I started this book because I have received as ARC "Her Last Betrayal", which appears to be the sequel for "Her Secret War". I didn’t know this when I've requested it, but, since I have received the ARC and I wanted to leave a review, the sensible thing to do was, of course, to read the first book as well. And it sounded good and captivating, so I was happy to do it. Unfortunately, my expectations weren't really met.
》》Ups and Downs《《
It wasn't a bad book and it was enjoyable enough in its own way, but:
❌ The action was too slow paced for my taste and I couldn't really connect with any of the characters. There seemed to be an abundance of details and scenes that didn’t really help the plot and I was constantly waiting for the real action to begin.
❌ The big plot twist wasn't really surprising either, but, in it's defense, there were definitely some unexpected details.
✅ The ending was the best part of this book, which makes me excited to start the ARC "Her Last Betrayal". I feel like the action is starting only there and that the entire book was just a dreadfully long prologue.
‘It is your courage in the face of that tragedy that has sparked our interest, Miss Gillespie. Courage and resourcefulness.’
Sarah chuckled and Northcott’s eyebrows shot up once more. ‘I’m sorry, sir, but I’m no heroine in a Gothic romance. A survivor, perhaps, but no more.’
✅ Sarah Gillespie was an interesting heroine and I liked her well enough, but a nice female MC isn't enough to make a story a page turner.
✅ I liked some side characters as well, which is something I always appreciate in books, with special nominations for Martin, Gladys and Miss Whitaker.
‘You let me know if anyone says anything. I’ll sort them out.’
‘Thank you! I’ve always wanted a knight in shining armour.’
‘Happy to oblige.’
✅ I appreciated having found a fresh perspective on WW2 novels, as they were usually set in France, either with women doing brave things at home, under the occupation, acting as spies or hiding British pilots, or fighting with the Maquis or other rebellious acts. This novel was set in Ireland and England and was more about what people could do from afar to help the war effort.
Sarah exhaled slowly and met Colonel Everleigh’s steady gaze.
‘When do I start?’
All in all, it was a different sort of WW2 novel and I welcomed the change, but its slowness bugged me a lot. I'm intrigued by the ending and I'm definitely happy I have the second book lined up as, FINALLY, I am curious about the course of action and the way things will go.
100pagesaday's review against another edition
5.0
After Sarah Gillespie's family home was bombed while on neutral Irish soil and her remaining immediate family killed, Sarah leaves Dublin for her Uncle's in England. Sarah settles into her new family well and begins a new job as a tracer at Supermarine where her Uncle and cousin Martin also work designing Spitfire planes for the War. Sarah is excited to help the War effort after the German's bombed her town and family; however, Sarah is soon approached and blackmailed into uncovering a traitor within Supermarine. Sarah must find a way to get a tracing of a Spitfire to the spy so he can be caught without losing her position or her honor.
Her Secret War is an exciting historical spy novel set during World War II. From the beginning, Sarah is an appealing character who I could easily relate to as she made decisions and acted equally with her heart and her head. The writing created a good sense of place, especially when describing the destruction of the bombing of North Strand in Dublin and the estate that Vickers Supermarine took over in Hampshire. The pacing of the story was excellent and I continuously wanted to know what was happening in Sarah's life especially after she was recruited by Northcott. I was impressed by Sarah's decision making process and how she kept her head on straight while completing her task for Northcott. While I was able to predict some of the spy mysteries early on, there is a huge unexpected twist at the end that tells me that we haven't seen the last of Sarah Gillespie.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
Her Secret War is an exciting historical spy novel set during World War II. From the beginning, Sarah is an appealing character who I could easily relate to as she made decisions and acted equally with her heart and her head. The writing created a good sense of place, especially when describing the destruction of the bombing of North Strand in Dublin and the estate that Vickers Supermarine took over in Hampshire. The pacing of the story was excellent and I continuously wanted to know what was happening in Sarah's life especially after she was recruited by Northcott. I was impressed by Sarah's decision making process and how she kept her head on straight while completing her task for Northcott. While I was able to predict some of the spy mysteries early on, there is a huge unexpected twist at the end that tells me that we haven't seen the last of Sarah Gillespie.
This book was received for free in return for an honest review.
markreadsbooks_sg's review
3.0
I got Her Secret War by Pam Lecky, from NetGalley for free for a fair and honest review.
Her Secret War tells the story of a young woman, whose father and sister were killed in the accidental bombing of Dublin the Capital city of the Republic of Irland by the Germans in World War 2
Despite being neutral throughout the second world war.
So to strike back at the Germans Sarah decides to go and live with her aunt and uncle in Britain and help them in their war effort.
Her Secret War is at it’s heart a spy novel set in Britain during World War II, however with its central location being around the company that built the RAF fighter the Spitfire, the espionage side of the war.
While Her Secret War, is a well written component, say novel, with characters that had enough character depth for the story, which allowed the reader to understand why the character took the actions they did.
If only at the end of the story.
The novel felt as if it had been edited to an inch of its life.
Which may account for the while engaging main plot of the story, it did feel that their could have been more twist and turns.
In addition, what could have been fleshed a bit more was the aspect that Sareh was working for a county which her parents’ generation had fought against, to gain their independence.
If either one of these had been expanded upon then I think it would have taken the novel up several levels.
Having said that Her Secret War by Pam Lecky, is a competent enjoyable spy novel, the perfect book, to while away a few hours.
Her Secret War tells the story of a young woman, whose father and sister were killed in the accidental bombing of Dublin the Capital city of the Republic of Irland by the Germans in World War 2
Despite being neutral throughout the second world war.
So to strike back at the Germans Sarah decides to go and live with her aunt and uncle in Britain and help them in their war effort.
Her Secret War is at it’s heart a spy novel set in Britain during World War II, however with its central location being around the company that built the RAF fighter the Spitfire, the espionage side of the war.
While Her Secret War, is a well written component, say novel, with characters that had enough character depth for the story, which allowed the reader to understand why the character took the actions they did.
If only at the end of the story.
The novel felt as if it had been edited to an inch of its life.
Which may account for the while engaging main plot of the story, it did feel that their could have been more twist and turns.
In addition, what could have been fleshed a bit more was the aspect that Sareh was working for a county which her parents’ generation had fought against, to gain their independence.
If either one of these had been expanded upon then I think it would have taken the novel up several levels.
Having said that Her Secret War by Pam Lecky, is a competent enjoyable spy novel, the perfect book, to while away a few hours.
laurc's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
2.5
agustinap's review against another edition
2.0
I received a copy from the publisher based on my historical fiction liking. I have never read anything by Pam Lecky before and was excited to read this book. The plot sounded interesting but to my disappointment it seemed very slow...I kept on reading without getting to the meat of the plot, nothing that made me want to continue reading...I started skipping sentences, then whole paragraphs and finally, decided to put the book down. I admit I never got to the part of her becoming a spy but I read just around 35% of the book before putting it down.
I probably wait for the audiobook to see if it's more tolerable that way.
I probably wait for the audiobook to see if it's more tolerable that way.
jazzy_____26's review against another edition
The book is very slow paced, but I do plan on finishing it in the near future. I want to take a break from it.