carolesrandomlife

This review can also be found at Carole's Random Life in Books.

This was an excellent novel. I found myself really getting hooked by this book more and more as I read. I knew that I wanted to read this book as soon as I read the summary. Historical fiction that focuses on female spies during World War I was just too interesting to pass up. It did take me a little bit to really get into the story but once I did there was no looking back. I am so glad that I decided to pick up this wonderful book.

This book is told in two different timelines. The first timeline is in 1947 just a few years after World War II and the second timeline takes place during World War I in 1915. So many times when a book is laid out in this manner, I find myself enjoying one timeline more than the other. That was not the case at all with this book. The shifts between the time periods flowed remarkably well. There was never a time where I wished the book would stay in either timeline a little longer. I was really very equally interested in both times and I thought that the way they worked together was flawless.

The characters in this book were amazing. Charlie is the first character that makes an appearance and she is the focus of the 1947 timeline. She is young but very smart and I thought she had a lot of spunk. Eve is really the star of this book. She is the character that brings the two timelines together. She is the focus of the 1915 time period and her character plays a very important role in 1947. I think that seeing the changes in her over time really added a lot to the story. I also really enjoyed Finn, Lili, and Violette. Everyone in this story plays an important role and each of the characters felt very realistic.

I loved that this book really made me feel for the characters. This story is set during two very rough periods of time historically. There were points in the story that I really felt the character's fear, uncertainty, and frustrations. Some parts of the book were heartbreaking and terrifying. I also liked that the book took a positive turn and ended with hope. There is even a bit of romance that really worked well for me.

I would highly recommend this book to fans of historical fiction. This story took a subject that I knew very little about and brought it to life. I am completely impressed by this book and will be checking out other novels written by Kate Quinn soon.

I received an advance reader edition of this book from William Morrow Paperbacks via Edelweiss.

Initial Thoughts
This was a great book. The dual timelines worked together perfectly and each period told a very interesting story. The characters were wonderful and the story was exciting. Definitely a book worth picking up.