kkaste's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mdepriest09's review
5.0
I’ve never really been a fan of Marilyn, but I love Godbersen’s writing so much and she didn’t disappoint. You’re never taken out of the story, except to match the historical connections made, of which there were many. The characters become more than what you can read in old newspapers, the conspiracy filled in like tissue between truth. The final sentence gave me goosebumps. A very well-written story.
bookshy's review
2.0
Ugh, so disappointing. I love all of Anna's previous novels so I was surprised to find a large departure from her writing style in the blonde. I was def not looking for high brow literature here, but I just did not find it entertaining either. Hoping that a bee series ( what she does best IMO) will be forthcoming.
barbie16's review
4.0
Marilyn Monroe: what a person she was and yet I'm wondering if any of us will really ever know her.
I really didn't have a problem with the way this book portrayed her. I thought the author did a fantastic job of mixing real history with fiction here. So much mystery surrounds Marilyn and the Kennedy's - who's to say this book is any more far fetched than some of the conspiracy theories? Did Marilyn work for the KGB? Probably not, but the author makes it plausible, and connects her life just so to make it work. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
I also love the idea of Marilyn's life turning out completely differently. That's the beauty of her - because she died so young and remains this elusive icon, we can picture her any way we want to. Maybe her life wasn't this exciting, maybe she really just died of an overdose, but the great thing about fiction is none of that matters, authors can create whatever they want! I think Godbersen wrote a well crafted interesting story that does justice to Ms Monroe without mocking her. RIP.
I really didn't have a problem with the way this book portrayed her. I thought the author did a fantastic job of mixing real history with fiction here. So much mystery surrounds Marilyn and the Kennedy's - who's to say this book is any more far fetched than some of the conspiracy theories? Did Marilyn work for the KGB? Probably not, but the author makes it plausible, and connects her life just so to make it work. I don't think there's anything wrong with that.
I also love the idea of Marilyn's life turning out completely differently. That's the beauty of her - because she died so young and remains this elusive icon, we can picture her any way we want to. Maybe her life wasn't this exciting, maybe she really just died of an overdose, but the great thing about fiction is none of that matters, authors can create whatever they want! I think Godbersen wrote a well crafted interesting story that does justice to Ms Monroe without mocking her. RIP.
eliseofsoleanna's review
2.0
This book did not deserve that ending. Absolutely freaking not.
The Blonde's premise is basically that of a history buff's fanfiction; Marilyn Monroe is actually working for the KGB in the early 1960s and her assignment is to get close to JFK and learn a secret and report back. Naturally this does not happen and instead Ms. Monroe proceeds to fall in love with JFK and attempts to escape her handler in the hopes of having a happy ending with her new Presidential loverboy.
I should say this book was written very well but it just...it honestly just wasn't interesting for me. And I'm pretty sure the only way I got through this book was by disassociating Marilyn Monroe and JFK from themselves, and I think that sums up this book's problem for me. I would have liked it more if this book was pure fiction; if the story had been about a beautiful actress who was being run by the KGB but fell in love with her target then yeah this would have been great. But it was held down by the fact that it was trying to characterize these two impactful historical figures. I hated Marilyn for at least 3/4 of this book and JFK is about as despicable as he was in real life (probably) so I didn't start rooting for these characters until after I convinced my brain to stop picturing Marilyn Monroe and JFK themselves and instead as fictional people called Marilyn and Jack. And the other issue was that it was so painfully slow. It wasn't until maybe the 3rd quarter that I became invested, and that is just way too far along for me to give this book a good rating.
Also can someone please explain to me why Walls was even a character to begin with? Like...what was his purpose again? There was absolutely no point to his character (nor his perspective chapters) except to be there at the end of the book and be a foil to Marilyn (?) and this would have worked out so much better if he hadn't been there at all. This was Marilyn's story to tell, and he was awkwardly trying to get some of the spotlight.
The Blonde's premise is basically that of a history buff's fanfiction; Marilyn Monroe is actually working for the KGB in the early 1960s and her assignment is to get close to JFK and learn a secret and report back. Naturally this does not happen and instead Ms. Monroe proceeds to fall in love with JFK and attempts to escape her handler in the hopes of having a happy ending with her new Presidential loverboy.
I should say this book was written very well but it just...it honestly just wasn't interesting for me. And I'm pretty sure the only way I got through this book was by disassociating Marilyn Monroe and JFK from themselves, and I think that sums up this book's problem for me. I would have liked it more if this book was pure fiction; if the story had been about a beautiful actress who was being run by the KGB but fell in love with her target then yeah this would have been great. But it was held down by the fact that it was trying to characterize these two impactful historical figures. I hated Marilyn for at least 3/4 of this book and JFK is about as despicable as he was in real life (probably) so I didn't start rooting for these characters until after I convinced my brain to stop picturing Marilyn Monroe and JFK themselves and instead as fictional people called Marilyn and Jack. And the other issue was that it was so painfully slow. It wasn't until maybe the 3rd quarter that I became invested, and that is just way too far along for me to give this book a good rating.
Also can someone please explain to me why Walls was even a character to begin with? Like...what was his purpose again? There was absolutely no point to his character (nor his perspective chapters) except to be there at the end of the book and be a foil to Marilyn (?) and this would have worked out so much better if he hadn't been there at all. This was Marilyn's story to tell, and he was awkwardly trying to get some of the spotlight.
brittanysavoie13's review
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
4.25
Great story about Marilyn and JFK if Marilyn had been working as a Soviet spy.
cayv97's review
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
rjlackie's review
3.0
3.5 stars, thanks to a very enjoyable take on Marilyn Monroe's voice and a thrilling conclusion I didn't expect. This was exactly what it wanted to be and I quite liked it.
sparklesandnargles's review
4.0
As a self-confessed Marilyn/Norma Jeane devotee, I truly enjoyed this one. I think one of the reasons why Marilyn remains immortal is the fact that people are still so interested in her and thus, stories such as this come to life.
You have to read this one with a grain of salt, though, and remember that while it is based on true events, not everything about it is true. Godbersen did a remarkable job in rehashing past events and putting her own spin to it.
There were some parts that were quite...how do we put it? Slow-paced? But all in all, this novel was such an entertaining read--and a good way to see Marilyn through a different set of eyes.
You have to read this one with a grain of salt, though, and remember that while it is based on true events, not everything about it is true. Godbersen did a remarkable job in rehashing past events and putting her own spin to it.
There were some parts that were quite...how do we put it? Slow-paced? But all in all, this novel was such an entertaining read--and a good way to see Marilyn through a different set of eyes.