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nturner2810's review against another edition
5.0
Based on the real life of Lee Miller and many other important women war correspondents who have often been pushed aside in favour of men, almost lost to history, Lester presents an impact full tale of women and war, bringing some of their stories back into he light.
Jess May is a rising model at the beginning of the story, betrayed by her partner and relegated to the edges of model-society. Instead of giving up, she delves into writing and photography which leads her to the front of the seemingly endless war and into history as one of the women correspondents who pushed boundaries to bring home the ugly truths of war.
***Trigger warning: there are mature themes in the novel as Lester shines a light on the common mistreatment of women during and resulting from war.
As per the Author Note, Lester is able to lay hands and names on the inspirations for this story and justify her use of real characters in a fictional setting as well as explain where different scenes came from. I found this very interesting.
A queen of foreshadowing, making it a subtle art throughout her story, Lester builds characters that grip your heart. Despite the dual storyline, I was always surprised when we moved from Jess's story to (relatively) modern-day and D'Arcy's perspective. Jess and Dan are the stars of this story, by design and although the ending is bittersweet, it was good to see how they had lived their lives and never compromised their good character.
Jess May is a rising model at the beginning of the story, betrayed by her partner and relegated to the edges of model-society. Instead of giving up, she delves into writing and photography which leads her to the front of the seemingly endless war and into history as one of the women correspondents who pushed boundaries to bring home the ugly truths of war.
***Trigger warning: there are mature themes in the novel as Lester shines a light on the common mistreatment of women during and resulting from war.
As per the Author Note, Lester is able to lay hands and names on the inspirations for this story and justify her use of real characters in a fictional setting as well as explain where different scenes came from. I found this very interesting.
A queen of foreshadowing, making it a subtle art throughout her story, Lester builds characters that grip your heart. Despite the dual storyline, I was always surprised when we moved from Jess's story to (relatively) modern-day and D'Arcy's perspective. Jess and Dan are the stars of this story, by design and although the ending is bittersweet, it was good to see how they had lived their lives and never compromised their good character.
akf_'s review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
hankelpet's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the book a lot, it details two stories from different time periods (the present and WWII). A little slow in the beginning but picks up in the middle. I wish I had had a trigger warning for the later half of the book (assault, rape, abuse) as it was difficult to read and became an important part of the story. The ending was a bit stark and wasn’t as satisfying as I expected it to be. All of that being said, it was a compelling historical fiction novel!
laurenqt's review against another edition
3.0
Up until the last few pages I would have rated it a 4 but the ending was not my favorite. It felt like the author gave herself 5 pages for an ending and just tied everything up the easiest way possible.
I did love the look into journalism during WW II and women’s roles in the field, as I hadn’t thought about that topic before.
I did love the look into journalism during WW II and women’s roles in the field, as I hadn’t thought about that topic before.
rhodaj's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
dispositionpictures's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- 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? No
4.25
readbooks_fightpatriarchy's review against another edition
5.0
I finished this book in two days- it was long but really captivating. I'm worried I'll give away too many spoilers, but to say a little bit: it was an extremely well-researched book that encouraged me to research female reporters of WWII and I'll be looking into the books mentioned by the author in the note at the end. My second book by this author and I can't wait to see what's next.