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spongefoot's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Ableism, Sexual content, Suicide, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, War, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Abortion, Rape, Misogyny, and Murder
saliwali's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Pregnancy, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Torture, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Abortion, Confinement, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, War, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Grief, Misogyny, and Racial slurs
emjen16's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Alcohol, Gore, Grief, Torture, Pregnancy, Death, Gun violence, War, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Cursing, and Blood
Moderate: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Child death, Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Rape
laceylollipop's review against another edition
Graphic: Classism, Hate crime, Abortion, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Cursing, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Torture
cadybooks's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Violence, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Police brutality, Blood, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, War, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
lilifane's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Alcohol, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Abortion, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Blood, Child death, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, and War
mmalone's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Violence, War, Abortion, Alcohol, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Alcoholism
madmantha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Both narratives blend together seamlessly in the final arc; everything comes full circle.
One of my favorite epilogues ever written; really pulled on the heart-strings.
Graphic: Ableism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Cursing, Gun violence, Grief, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, War, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault, Classism, Colonisation, Genocide, Outing, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Stalking, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Antisemitism, Confinement, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting
Minor: Toxic relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Miscarriage, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Infidelity, Infertility, Religious bigotry, and Self harm
hadley_w's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Abortion, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
Minor: Antisemitism, War, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical content
travelthrupages's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Abortion, Body horror, Cursing, Medical trauma, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt