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pkm48's review
- 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
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Abortion, and Alcohol
mbrogs2024's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Drug use, Gore, and Rape
fedoratheexplora's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Suicide, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Child death
emileemaree's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Abortion, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Excrement, Grief, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
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, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, and War
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: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
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: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, and Suicide attempt
laceylollipop's review against another edition
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Xenophobia, Abortion, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
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: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
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