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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
adventurous
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Slow to get going, fast paced at the end
Spy novel meets romance
Beatriz Williams delivers another page turner. Great characters and good evocation of Cold War era. Tension between twin sisters could be from any age. A few quibbles on some repetitive scenes and an unlikely plot twist at the end, but overall an engaging book
Beatriz Williams delivers another page turner. Great characters and good evocation of Cold War era. Tension between twin sisters could be from any age. A few quibbles on some repetitive scenes and an unlikely plot twist at the end, but overall an engaging book
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Beatriz Williams tends to be hit or miss for me, but this one was just okay. I found Iris to be annoyingly naive and silly, while Ruth was caustic and selfish. It's hard to love a book where you hate the main characters. Iris at least has some growth, but who finds out their boyfriend/husband is doing something pretty bad and just shrugs their shoulders?
I kept waiting for the plot to pick up and it finally did...about 80% of the way through. It’s basically domestic drama about two sisters who flee Italy to separate countries as WWII starts. Marital drama ensues as one sister discovers her husband is a spy. That could be exciting, right? So much time is devoted to the graphic descriptions of what people look like instead of actual things happening. They go to parties, people have affairs, A husband is doing spy work in the background, still not exciting. Once a baby is added to the story, we get to read, in detail, about everything he does at least once per page. Not really, but almost.
The last 20% picks up but more in a sense of “actually, this whole time something sneaky has been happening!” Why not just include that throughout instead of making me slog through. A lot of people seem to be enjoying it and as an historical fiction, I guess it’s ok. But I picked it up for the promise of a spy story, and this was a huge miss for me.
The last 20% picks up but more in a sense of “actually, this whole time something sneaky has been happening!” Why not just include that throughout instead of making me slog through. A lot of people seem to be enjoying it and as an historical fiction, I guess it’s ok. But I picked it up for the promise of a spy story, and this was a huge miss for me.
adventurous
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
I love books about female spies and I love Beatriz Williams novels, so imagine my excitement when I received a digital ARC of this book!
This book follows the twins Ruth and Iris as they navigate life through WWII and after. They get tied up in affairs with Russia and the US. And affairs of the heart. I enjoyed so many aspects of this book - the strong female leads, Ruth's personality, the relationships, the LGBTQ representation, the way Williams can transport us into the 1940s and 50s with the amazing way she writes, the twists....
An exciting historical fiction novel!
I received an ARC via Edelweiss. All opinions expressed are completely my own.
This book follows the twins Ruth and Iris as they navigate life through WWII and after. They get tied up in affairs with Russia and the US. And affairs of the heart. I enjoyed so many aspects of this book - the strong female leads, Ruth's personality, the relationships, the LGBTQ representation, the way Williams can transport us into the 1940s and 50s with the amazing way she writes, the twists....
An exciting historical fiction novel!
I received an ARC via Edelweiss. All opinions expressed are completely my own.
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
tense
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:
Yes