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3.64 AVERAGE


2.5. I don't think spy books are my thing. If I continue with the series. I will need to check out the library book and reread this one. I don't know what was going on with this story.
adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

This book gives me hope that spies are really as cool as in the movies. I will definitely be reading the next books in the series.

g/vg

An exceptional spy novel. I could have done without the romance, but other than that, the book was riveting.

Got a little long in some parts that I had to push myself through, but overall a great book and a great read

Really enjoyed this book, great thriller with plenty of twists and turns. Interestingly has a recipe at the end of each chapter!

Now a major motion-picture featuring Jennifer Lawrence and Joel Edgerton as the lead characters, Red Sparrow is a gripping American/Russian spy-novel with lots of great back-and-forth narration from both sides. There were spies, double-agents, espionage, stings, and a slew of acronyms that kept me trying to remember who was who. As the reader I was constantly aware of more than either the Russians or the Americans but it never felt frustrating like can often happen in similar situations. I think this was partly because the characters were all very smart (with a few exceptions) and caught on to their current events quickly.

The writing in this book was great. It was both descriptive and concise (which seems contradictory). I believe this was the author's first book which is very impressive. One of my favorite things was realizing that a recipe was included at the end of every chapter based on some food that was eaten during that chapter. Once I realized that this was happening in every chapter I started to try to guess which food or meal was going to be listed at the end. I'd actually like to try to make a few of these.

A few gripes with the story (sort of spoiler-ish but not really):
The main story line started off great, but I feel like it got sort of derailed towards the middle. A secondary plot was introduced and wrapped up pretty quickly which felt a little too easy. It wasn't really necessary to the main plot and could have easily been replaced with almost anything else.

The "Sparrow" in "Red Sparrow" refers to the "Sparrow School" attended by Dominika, the main character. The actual title "Red Sparrow" is supposed to refer to Dominika (post-school) however no one really calls her that. Being the title of the book, you'd think this whole Sparrow business was a major part of the story but it really wasn't. I'd say after the first quarter or so of the book it was hardly even brought up anymore. Dominika does have a different nickname (asset name) which she is often referred to by, so I don't know why the book wasn't given that title, (or conversely Dominika's asset name should have been "Red Sparrow").

what an excellent cookbook


is Dominika a woman or a horny man's fantasy?
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i loved the movie so when i saw the book on sale i was like why the fuck not... they are not the same. just watch the movie.

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adventurous challenging tense slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

very well written but quite slow. i didn’t care for the romance and the plot had a few flaws but i can def get behind this book. not the best spy thriller i’ve read but not the worst