Caroline 6.5
Likes stories based on true events and hearing about women in history that you have never heard of before. Thought it interesting that radio operators can be identified by their fist print and had heard the same thing about keystrokes on cell phone. Was irritated with Marie for leaving her daughter behind, and for passing up a chance to fly back to England. Wondered what purpose the love stories served. They were both so quick. BOOM! They're in love. And what was the purpose of Grace trying to piece together what had happened from the States years after the fact? Thought it interesting how the two separate storylines meet up at the end.
Artie 6.5
Liked it at the beginning, but his enjoyment diminished as it went on. It was a good idea but the plot was too thin. Thought it odd that they would just train and go immediately into service. Found it to be a page turner for a while. Thought that the author belabored the point that women are just as good as men at things. Aren't we past that yet? A lot of convenient coincidences occur. Grace bumps into Tom not once, but two times in NYC! Found it implausible that Eleanor sweet talks her way into an interview with the high level Nazi with a brief stop at Dachau.
Maggie 5
The storyline kept her engaged. Wanted to know who betrayed the SOE. The soapy sentimental love stories were completely unnecessary. Found little to no difference between Marie and Grace. Not in their characters, nor in their voices which should have at least reflected some British and American differences, yet both came across as very modern day language. At one point the QEII plays a role, which hadn't been built yet. Wondered where Josie hid her hand grenade on the train. At the beginning, why on earth did Grace take the photos from the suitcase? This is never properly addressed. Throughout the whole story she wondered who pushed Eleanor to her death on the NYC street? We never find this out. No one pushed her? Really? Feels that the author missed an opportunity to tell a really good story.
Becky 4.5
Thought that the author spelled everything out for you in the first couple sentences, and then spoonfed you the rest just in case you missed it. Thought Marie was childish when dropped off in the field. Immediately starting arguing with Vesper and it was made known that she thought he was good looking and she hated him so you knew she was going to fall in love with him. Marie was told not to go back to her flat, but does and gets captured. Wondered with all Marie's incompetence if she was trying to get Vesper killed. Found it unbelievable that the head Nazi guy would just give Eleanor a key (that he's somehow managed to keep hidden) after a 15 minute interview at Dachau. It could have made for an interesting story but got lost.
Letitia 5
Didn't find it easy to read. Had tried reading once before and put it down. Didn't like the beginning. Who on earth would steal pictures from a suitcase? Didn't like Grace's voice. Found both Grace and Marie weirdly rude to their men. Isn't she a romance writer? They just weren't interesting. A good story was buried. Thought the bit with Marie getting aboard the train with Vesper without getting searched by telling them she was on her period, while Vesper had said she was pregnant was well done and thought there should have been more of this and less romance. The Grace storyline added little. Thought that Marie's character should have been developed more.
Sandy 4
Hated this book. Would read two pages and fall asleep. Took forever to get through. Grace was flat, boring, and unlikable. The SOE story was such a drag. Everyone was so rude and mean to Marie. Why? Weren't they fighting for the same thing? On page 124, "Seeing him in Washington would be a mistake, which is why she had to say yes." OMG! Was there a single rule that Marie followed while on assignment? Can't imagine the weight of the world on leader's shoulders during this time.
K'lynn 5
I typically really like historical fiction, because I learn something new that I didn’t know. When I read that this book was about a group of female spies in WWII I was super excited. But, I found this story a bit unbelievable. At first, I thought it was because I didn’t know very much about women spies during WWII. I was wrong.
Starting with Grace finding the suitcase in Grand Central after witnessing a car accident. She doesn’t connect, right away, that the two might be relate? But she opens it anyway, and steals the photographs. Then discovers that it was Eleanor’s who ran the branch that used females as operatives? How did she make that connection? She likens herself to Nancy Drew, and my first instinct was What? Nancy Drew was not invented yet. I googled it, she first appeared in 1930- so I was wrong about that.
The timeline here was a big off for me. It seemed like the creation of the women’s division to the deployment of trainees is about 3.2 seconds. And Marie, seriously, after her 3.2 seconds of training gets dropped off in the middle of enemy territory and is basically like “Hey guys, I’m British pretending to be French, can someone help me find the secret hideaway and the radio they’re supposed to be dropping off in order for me to tell you all your secrets?????
I would’ve preferred to read a lot of women’s experiences (or at least Josie’s) in order to counterbalance the indifference I felt for Marie. This book had so much potential and other historical things to focus on, but this book felt like a pretty chicky option in historical fiction. And the instant love between spy and the grizzled widow who ran the entire operative in Paris?? Really? Too much!!
Pat 3
I thought the book dropped the ball when it came to spycraft and intrigue. Like Sandy said, was there a single rule Marie followed? And like Artie, I thought it started fairly strong, but once Marie is dropped in France and begins to shout at her connection and bitch about sleeping in a shed, it got bogged down. Parts rang true. I liked when everyone was feasting on bacon because it wouldn't keep much longer and here they were so let's enjoy the moment. But it fell apart for me with the love story and I never recovered much interest after that. I wanted Marie to send important messages! I wanted her to use her wits to survive. None of this ever came to pass and she just bumbles about France getting people killed. Eleanor in NYC never rang true and Grace's strange obsession is never explained or resolved. Good ideas but there's much better executions of them out there.
Comments