Reviews

Code Name Hélène : Inspired by the gripping true story of World War 2 spy Nancy Wake by Ariel Lawhon

alisebarr5's review against another edition

4.0

World War II novels are always engaging reads in my book. This was was no exception. I won’t soon forget Nancy and her adventures, fortitude, and her love story.

bhunsberger's review against another edition

5.0

I received an advanced copy of this book.

This WW2 story is based on the real life of Nancy Wake who worked as a spy during WW2. I recommend reading this story without knowing much about Nancy first because of how the story unfolds and you start to learn more and more about the type of work that Nancy does, and how she got to the place she ended up in for the war efforts. The last 25% of the book had me unable to put the book down - Nancy was a strong woman with so much courage, and I'm happy to get to learn more about her.

ericweitzel's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

kiwikazz's review against another edition

5.0

Fabulous book. Historical fiction at its best. WW2, resistance and based on a real person. A great combo. Loved it!

paulaw1874's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

5.0

jessicasilfenroy's review against another edition

5.0

SO SO good!

rlshnhn's review against another edition

5.0

I seem to have read a few WW2 stories recently. This one is the best. The main character is an incredible woman and to find out at the end she was real was such a bonus.

katieproctorbooks's review against another edition

5.0

This was incredible!!

melluzzofinke's review against another edition

3.0

This book is more like a 3.5 stars for me. I actually won this book from a Goodreads Giveaway! The real life accomplishments of Nancy Wake are truly amazing, and the research required by Ariel Lawhon to compile her life story into a novel must have been time consuming and difficult, so I do give the author a lot of credit for taking this on. It seems like from the Author's Note that she did try to stay as close to Nancy's real life as possible. Unfortunately, as a reader, I can't say this is one of my favorite WWII/ female espionage books. As I said, the true story of what Nancy did during the war is incredible, but in this novel, for some reason, I didn't find myself as emotionally connected to the main characters as I'd hoped to be. The book also seemed to drag on at certain points. For me, it was good but not great.

oadelman5's review against another edition

3.0

i got like halfway through when I realized that I had already read this book and just forgot about it lmao. Its a compelling story because the historical context is compelling. if u romanticize the french then have at it