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charrrchar's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, and Sexism
hannaws's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Love is a choice. It is the active choosing of good for another person. But like? It is a gift and it cannot be forced.
As a very first thing I would like to establish the fact that I did not know anything about Nancy Wake before reading this book. I will say that it is a huge hole in my knowledge about history and I will go on and study about her as much as I can because this is a woman with capital W.
I never really know how to review historical fiction. It is about someone's life in the end. And it always feels like I am kind of judging how someone lead their life back in the days. YES, I am very well aware that this is historical fiction but there is always the seed of truth there, you know.
Anyway, back to the actual book at hand here. I really liked this one! Not much of a surprise since I did like Lawhon's other historical fiction as well. But what made me lower the rating with half a star was the way this book is written. I am really not a fan of a book that keeps on jumping back and forth in time. I just can't keep up with the dates and times in these cases and sometimes it causes a confusion. It was no different with this one. I could not keep up with the constant change of timelines. Especially when you throw in Nancy's different aliases. So you're trying to keep track of the months and years and also about the personalities.
As the story went on, it did become a little easier when you have actually got to know all the different personalities. So it was a lot easier to know when and where you were. But I will not lie, I did sometimes have to go back and check where and who we were at the time.
But I did like the writing otherwise. And the book in general. I loved all the characters (well duh, those all are real people, well most of them) as well and this does get very emotional at times! With this book it did get even more emotional, knowing that these horrors really were their reality for a long time. These things really happened.
All the back and forth jumping does keep you on your toes though. You never know how one storyline continues before you have finished reading the other one.
I feel like this whole review is one back and forth mindless jumping. I'm tired and it is hard to keep a hold on my thoughts.
But all in all I really enjoyed this book! The characters and story itself is well written and it does hit you in the feels. It is horrible, sad but also sometimes quite happy and funny. As is life, right?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Torture
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Rape
candiabell's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, War, Sexual assault, and Genocide
khaleesiofrivia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
This portrayal of the real life Nancy Wake is wonderfully written, engaging, and emotional. I wish the story had been written in consecutive order though rather than mixing different times of her life from one chapter to the next, I felt that it took some of the impact out of certain situations knowing where the character is at 6 months down the road alread. That is my only critique in a book I overall very much enjoyed. Nancy was bold and inspiring and a powerful woman in a men's war.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
pugreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and War
rharris86dc's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- 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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Genocide, Grief, Murder, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Torture, and Violence
curatoriallyyours's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Well-written and fascinating historical fiction about Nancy Wake, also known as The White Mouse, an Australian living in France at the time of Hitler’s rise to power who became a spy and military leader in the French resistance. I listened to this as an audiobook and remained gripped by the story throughout.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Grief, Gore, Medical content, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual content, and Torture
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
daralexandria's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Genocide, Gun violence, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Rape, Gun violence, and Violence
emertbyrne's review
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Buddy read I would maybe not have picked up on my own, was recommended a lot on the Currently Reading Podcast. It was a really good yarn, with adventure, a sassy heroine, great clothes and then all the hardship of war. I was so impressed by Nancy, who was a real woman, but still found her a little annoying. I also found the timelines in the book a bit out of rhythm at times. You build to quite a devastating moment in the book and then the next chapter you’re back in training a couple of years earlier. I also found some scenes very gratuitously graphic and couldn’t find evidence they were based on real events. It was not mentioned in the authors note but maybe they’re real. It made me a bit angry to think it was being a bit sensationalist for effect even though of course terrible things happened in WW2. Overall a good story but uneven.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
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