Reviews

A brilliantly written exploration of a great premise - what life could have been like had Britain acquiesced to Germany in WW2. The storyline was fluid but I wanted more from the ending. The characters were great - complex but clear, demonstrating the full range of personalities and coping mechanisms you might find in the general population at a time such as this.

rosemaryandrue's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

In a 1953 England under the control of German forces, life is good for Rose Ransom, a member of the privileged Geli class - or at least as good as life can be for a woman in the oppressive regime. But when she is given the task of infiltrating Widowland in search of possible subversives, she comes to learn she might have more power than she always thought.

The premise of this book caught my eye immediately. I haven't really read alternate history books before, but the idea of how the world would look had another action been taken at a critical point in time has always fascinated me. Here, the different action is the British government continuing appeasement instead of declaring war on Germany.

The writing was poetic and evocative, plunging me straight into the tired grey world of occupied Britain. I loved how the author wove plenty of historical figures and the details of Hitler's vision for the future into the world-building, and showed how thoroughly the British populace was brainwashed into accepting this new version of their country. I also appreciated the exploration of how literature can be used to both control and inspire its readers through Rose's occupation.

However, I thought that the plot took too long to build - Rose's investigation in Widowland does not take up much of the story at all. Instead, it's more about how Rose's worldview begins to change as she becomes more open to questioning the Nazi regime, and this I didn't think the author did very well, considering how swiftly and arbitrarily it seems to occur. I was also underwhelmed by Rose's romances and felt blindsided by the ending, which leaves us before we can witness the fallout of the climax. I suppose it is addressed in the sequel, but I'm not invested enough to read on.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

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