Source: Publisher
Description: Ava thought her job as a librarian at the Library of Congress would mean a quiet, routine existence. But an unexpected offer from the US military has brought her to Lisbon with a new mission: posing as a librarian while working undercover as a spy gathering intelligence.
Meanwhile, in occupied France, Elaine has begun an apprenticeship at a printing press run by members of the Resistance. It’s a job usually reserved for men, but in the war, those rules have been forgotten. Yet she knows that the Nazis are searching for the press and its printer in order to silence them.
As the battle in Europe rages, Ava and Elaine find themselves connecting through coded messages and discovering hope in the face of war.
Genre: Fiction - Historical
Why I Picked This Book: The Last Bookshop in London by this author was one of my favorite books of 2021 and I thought this sounded wonderful.
My Impression: This story introduces the reader to two amazing women in two different but dangerous situations. Ava is a librarian who finds herself in supposedly neutral Portugal. Her awareness of the refuges desperate journey to get to safety, the constant scrutiny of the Nazis in the supposedly neutral country and the hard work the Resistance is doing in France. While in France, Elaine has been chafing under the German occupation and been desperate to do something for the Resistance despite her husband's insistence that she stays out of it and keeps her head down.
The book alternates POV so we go from Ava to Elaine as the war progresses and the tension increases. Martin does a good job of not glossing over the horrible things that are happening around the two women but at the same time keeps it from being emotionally too much for me. There were tears in my eyes at the end of this book and I was sad to say goodbye to these extraordinary women.
Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Absolutely! I have loved both books that I have read by this author and will pick up anything else she writes.
Would I Recommend this Book? If you enjoy Kate Quinn or other World War II era stories but aren't quite up to something quite as emotionally grueling but still want depth than I think you will love this book.
* I received this book in exchange for an honest review. As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *
Would I Recommend this Book? If you enjoy Kate Quinn or other World War II era stories but aren't quite up to something quite as emotionally grueling but still want depth than I think you will love this book.
* I received this book in exchange for an honest review. As always my opinions and impressions are completely my own. *
Elaine and Ava are bada**es — their stories in this sound so epic! (From Verushka at Pop. Edit. Lit.
ReplyDeleteGlad you loved this one Katherine; I've been eyeing it as lately historical fiction is appealing to me a bit more.
ReplyDeleteI loved Kate Quinn's book The Rose Code and I think I need this book in my life!
ReplyDeleteI glad you enjoyed this one. I have to look for it. It sounds good.
ReplyDeleteI've heard such good things about this book. And now another wonderful review.
ReplyDeleteI really loved The Last Bookshop in London, too! And this one sounds equally good. Can't wait to read it. Great review. :)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds absolutely fantastic! I will have to look it up.
ReplyDeleteGood to hear it lived up to The Last Bookshop in London which I loved. This sounds really good and will keep it in mind when I am ready for another WW2 book, at the moment with the war going on in Ukraine not quite ready for it.
ReplyDeleteI've got this one on hold at the library. Cannot wait until I get it.
ReplyDeleteOoooooh this sounds soooo good. Will keep an eye out for a copy!!
ReplyDeleteLovely review Katherine.