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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: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
myahstover's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Abortion, and War
maddiet425's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Blood, Excrement, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
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, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Eating disorder, Genocide, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Stalking, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Religious bigotry
karolinaz'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Excrement, Vomit, and Classism
whatcassiedid'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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Blood, Abortion, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
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: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Alcohol
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Suicide attempt
book_perk'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
2.5
This is a very specific pet peeve of mine, but why did Charlie have to be good at math as one of her defining characteristics? This added nothing to the story and Charlie never really relied on her mathematical abilities except to calculate tips and keep track of the money throughout their travels. The analogies of 'solve for x' were overused and frankly used incorrectly. Also, Charlie supposedly studied mathematics in university and when given the opportunity to talk about something she was passionate about with Finn she chose the Pythagorean theorem? Of ALL the beautiful mathematical theorems, results, and proofs... she chose the Pythagorean theorem? I really wish authors would stop writing about mathematics with a basic high school understanding. Eve and Finn are the saving grace of this novel and their story lines kept me reading until the end.
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Violence, Grief, and Murder
1undercover'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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Child death and Confinement
tatitos'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
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Abortion, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Rape, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Murder