Reviews with content warning for Death - The Alice Network

Saskia Maarleveld's narration made me finish the audiobook, she is so talented with all the different accents!! <3 I wish the story had contained more historical elements (=facts about the world wars, as I'm such a war nerd myself). This is rare for me to say, but I enjoyed the romance between Charlie and Finn more than anything else in the story (damn does my heart melt just thinking about them). Overall the book was a nice experience of travelling through time, though it also felt a bit dragging at times — I wouldn't have minded if it had been shorter.

Content Warnings

thebranchlibrary_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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angelofthetardis's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This one was recommended to me ages ago by someone at work (so long ago, in fact, I can't actually remember who it was!). It tell the intertwined stories of Charlie, an American society girl in 1947, and Eve, a bitter drunkard. But she wasn't always this way. Charlie is trying to find her cousin, missing since the war, and Eve's past service during WW1 might just hold the key to finding her.

Firstly I would say this reads like a very well researched, deeply respectful retelling of a little known story. While our main characters are fictional, the supporting cast is comprised of real women who undertook unbelievably dangerous roles during the occupation of France between 1914 and 1918. It has definitely made me want to read more on the subject (yay for the recommendations at the back of the book!) to establish the line between fact and fiction. But I suspect even the fictional plot line is very plausible.

This book does do time jumps and perspective swaps; the chapters alternate between Charlie in 1947 (written in the first person) and Eve in 1915/16 (written in the third person). While you do need to keep your wits about you a little, these changes don't actually have that much of an effect on the overall flow of the piece - I only 'noticed' it once. It's eminently readable!

There's a nice little bit of romance tagged on for good measure. It's not integral to the overall plot (I think you could take the relationship out all together and it wouldn't have a huge impact), but equally it's just another nice little subplot that gives the warm-fuzzies after some of the darker scenes. It fits well and doesn't feel overly forced, although as usual for books people seem to fall very quickly!

While there aren't any huge plot twists or major reveals, the mystery does keep you reading; the structure drip feeds information about Eve's life (which is the more interesting thread), but each time leaves you wanting more. That's not to say Charlie's part of the story isn't interesting, but that is more of the vehicle through which we get this amazing fictionalised version of history.

The only reason I haven't given this book 5 stars is because it's not sparked a visceral response in me. I like it, and would definitely recommend/read again, but there's nothing in me screaming that I must go and buy this book asap. I'll pick it up when I see it for a good price.

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lindsayslibrary22's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Quinn’s use of suspense is excellent in this book. By alternating between the past and the present in the context of the story, she keeps the reader turning the pages to see what will happen next. The narrative voice is strong, and the parallels drawn between the two main characters are well executed. She shows the realities of war, espionage, and sexism in a clear light with an exciting and adventurous spirit.

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anulaa's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring 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? No

5.0

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sabrina_d_arcy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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cadybooks's review against another edition

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adventurous dark inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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lilifane's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Loved it, but it was too long. Hear me out.

This book is told from two perspectives in alternating chapter.
In 1915, we follow Eve, who is trained as a spy and sent to Lille in German occupied France to gather and pass on information to the Alice Network, a network of British and French spies during WWI.
In 1947 Charlie, a pregnant college student from the US, is searching for her cousin Rose who disappeared in France during WWII. She hires Eve to help with her search, and their stories intertwine more than expected.

When I say, the book was too long, I mostly mean the first half. Charlie's story, especially compared to Eve's, feels really underdeveloped in the beginning. I like that we get to know the characters slowly and in a natural way during their travels together, and the payoff is really great in the end. But it was still hard to stay invested in Charlie's parts for at least the first 200-300 pages, because nothing actually happens.

The rest of the book is just fantastic. The character work is amazing, so many strong female characters. I literally felt the tension during all the spy business scenes. Reading the author's note at the end, which explains which characters, events and details were real, made me realize how great their portrayal was in the book as well. Facts and fiction fit perfectly together.

I liked how all kinds of aspects of women's lives during the wars/post-war are shown, the relationships between the characters, the focus on their mental state. I also think it was great to have a protagonist with a speech disorder who uses this weakness and turns it into a strength. But there are several scenes that were hard to read. Kate Quinn does not shy away from detailed descriptions of gruesome and bloody scenes. So yeah, definitely check out trigger/content warnings.

Lastly, one of the things that is really hard to pull off is a satisfying showdown/ending. And I think it was done masterfully here. A lot of times the showdowns in books are either too abrupt or too slow for me. This one is perfectly timed. I love the setting, the characters involved, the emotions, the dialogues, the action, the execution and resolution. All the little details come together nicely.
And after the showdown we get an ending that's neither too short, nor too long. I'm really impressed.

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