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seraphjewel 's review for:
Rebel Spy
by Veronica Rossi
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not affected by the free copy.
Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres because I'm one of those people who enjoy learning about different points in history and how others lived, worked, and viewed the world. I don't really know if this worked as a historical fiction novel. I admit I disengaged from the story and ended up giving up halfway through, so it's possible I missed stuff.
Not a lot is known about Agent 355. I looked her up and there is much speculation about who she was, so I can't really fault the author on taking artistic license. The problem is that the author chose to put this girl with an alcoholic stepfather and a dead mother who was ostracized for being a "shamed woman" (meaning she was accused of sexual immorality). The stepfather then decides he's going to marry Frannie, after the narrative mentions he'd been groping her. I'm aware that this sort of thing happened, but why was this the choice for the main character's backstory? The author could have chosen any background for the main character and she went with this.
It gets pretty unbelievable at times, too. Frannie escapes her stepfather by taking on the identity of a dead high-class girl. Somehow Frannie isn't immediately discovered even though she's had a completely different upbringing. I honestly feel like the author overcomplicated things by not having Frannie already in the upper class and already familiar with influential people who would be involved in the Revolution. Not only does Frannie have to learn proper etiquette and how to behave like this girl she's impersonating, but she also has to learn who all these people are, how to relate with them, and what to say so as not to expose herself as a fraud. There's a scene where they talk about another woman freeing two hundred prisoners, and I couldn't help thinking "I wish I had read about that instead".
There was a pretty good conversation she has with another character about loyalty. It was also really nice that she prayed and believed in God, which is accurate for the time period. I will also give this book props for exposing me to Agent 355. Any time we can celebrate the overlooked women of history is good to me. I just think this particular way was overcomplicated and I really didn't like the backstory the author chose for her.
Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres because I'm one of those people who enjoy learning about different points in history and how others lived, worked, and viewed the world. I don't really know if this worked as a historical fiction novel. I admit I disengaged from the story and ended up giving up halfway through, so it's possible I missed stuff.
Not a lot is known about Agent 355. I looked her up and there is much speculation about who she was, so I can't really fault the author on taking artistic license. The problem is that the author chose to put this girl with an alcoholic stepfather and a dead mother who was ostracized for being a "shamed woman" (meaning she was accused of sexual immorality). The stepfather then decides he's going to marry Frannie, after the narrative mentions he'd been groping her. I'm aware that this sort of thing happened, but why was this the choice for the main character's backstory? The author could have chosen any background for the main character and she went with this.
It gets pretty unbelievable at times, too. Frannie escapes her stepfather by taking on the identity of a dead high-class girl. Somehow Frannie isn't immediately discovered even though she's had a completely different upbringing. I honestly feel like the author overcomplicated things by not having Frannie already in the upper class and already familiar with influential people who would be involved in the Revolution. Not only does Frannie have to learn proper etiquette and how to behave like this girl she's impersonating, but she also has to learn who all these people are, how to relate with them, and what to say so as not to expose herself as a fraud. There's a scene where they talk about another woman freeing two hundred prisoners, and I couldn't help thinking "I wish I had read about that instead".
There was a pretty good conversation she has with another character about loyalty. It was also really nice that she prayed and believed in God, which is accurate for the time period. I will also give this book props for exposing me to Agent 355. Any time we can celebrate the overlooked women of history is good to me. I just think this particular way was overcomplicated and I really didn't like the backstory the author chose for her.