Scan barcode
hanyaya's review
adventurous
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Hate crime, Murder, and War
About spies infiltrating Nazi groups in America, obvious trigger warnings for racism against anyone not "Aryan". It humanizes the American Nazis to make a point about how they aren't monsters but people who choose evil, and how we must be aware of how those ideas spread. As one of the characters says, "nice isn't the same as good, they can be kind to you while spreading evil ideology", but it can be difficult to read the sympathy towards some of the characters or Veronica realizing how by being under cover and repeating the evil she can see how someone would believe it.jhbandcats's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was a great story about women spies infiltrating the Nazis in LA in 1940. However, it’s so poorly written that I despaired of ever finishing it.
This is at least the eleventh book by this author so I’d have thought she’d have worked out the kinks or would have an accomplished editor. Instead I was confronted with ongoing minor, nitpicky issues that jerked me out of the story, leaving me annoyed and frustrated.
The book is just over 300 pages. In that time, the daughter refers to her mother as her North Star, her guiding light SEVEN times. They used the Latin for “don’t let the bastards get you down” FIVE times. The mother exclaims “ye gods and little fishes” FIVE times. Maybe if these were fairly ordinary terms I wouldn’t have noticed but the repetition drove me nuts.
And the anachronisms! “Bait and switch” first used 1962. “Am I chopped liver?” first used 1964. The 22-yr-old daughter bristling at being called a girl, insisting on being called a woman.
The daughter gives speeches to her mother about patriotism - completely unrealistic conversation. The mother explains that women have had the vote for only twenty years - as though the daughter just old enough to vote in her first election wouldn’t know this.
There was more. Overall I was so disappointed. The history here was fascinating but this is not the best book to learn about it.
This is at least the eleventh book by this author so I’d have thought she’d have worked out the kinks or would have an accomplished editor. Instead I was confronted with ongoing minor, nitpicky issues that jerked me out of the story, leaving me annoyed and frustrated.
The book is just over 300 pages. In that time, the daughter refers to her mother as her North Star, her guiding light SEVEN times. They used the Latin for “don’t let the bastards get you down” FIVE times. The mother exclaims “ye gods and little fishes” FIVE times. Maybe if these were fairly ordinary terms I wouldn’t have noticed but the repetition drove me nuts.
And the anachronisms! “Bait and switch” first used 1962. “Am I chopped liver?” first used 1964. The 22-yr-old daughter bristling at being called a girl, insisting on being called a woman.
The daughter gives speeches to her mother about patriotism - completely unrealistic conversation. The mother explains that women have had the vote for only twenty years - as though the daughter just old enough to vote in her first election wouldn’t know this.
There was more. Overall I was so disappointed. The history here was fascinating but this is not the best book to learn about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Grief, Death of parent, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Violence, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, and War
onmalsshelf's review against another edition
tense
fast-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
4.5
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a galley in exchange for an honest review.
If you know me, you know I love Susan's Maggie Hope series and if you've gotten to her most recent release there, you'd see that this similar to what Maggie finds herself in, minus our favorite British characters.
I had no idea that there was an American Nazi presence in LA during WWII and I admire the research that Susan did here to share the story of real women who went under as spies.
I did find this a bit clunkier and more repetitive than her writing in the Maggie Hope series, so I'm rating this a 4.5 but rounded up here.
If you know me, you know I love Susan's Maggie Hope series and if you've gotten to her most recent release there, you'd see that this similar to what Maggie finds herself in, minus our favorite British characters.
I had no idea that there was an American Nazi presence in LA during WWII and I admire the research that Susan did here to share the story of real women who went under as spies.
I did find this a bit clunkier and more repetitive than her writing in the Maggie Hope series, so I'm rating this a 4.5 but rounded up here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Racism, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Hate crime
kimveach's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
At first, I was disappointed when I realized this book was not part of the Maggie Hope series (Mr. Churchill's Secretary.) But I loved this book! This tale of a mother and daughter trying to infiltrate Nazis in Los Angeles in the late 1930s was exciting, scary, and fascinating. If you love the Maggie Hope series, you will love Veronica and Vi Grace's story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Deportation, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Sexism, Racism, Alcoholism, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Classism, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Racial slurs, Violence, Vomit, and War
More...