During the first half of this book, I was determined to give it no more than 3 stars. The writing seemed decent, but the two plots were sluggish which didn’t work well with the depressing tone, and flat backdrop of German-occupied France (WWI & WWII).

I felt that the emphasis on misogyny and reproachful attitude towards women in the early 20th century was being utilized to make the book ‘Sexy’ in a James Bond fashion. The trailblazing woman reclaiming her bodily autonomy with a bunch of unnecessary overly descriptive sex scenes. This is the keystone to the central 1915 plot where Evelin is sleeping with her French employer who was an ally to Germany -a repugnant chauvinist who called her “My pet”- to gain information. One of the takeaways from this relationship was, “[I loathe this man, I don’t want to sleep with him, but I also like it]” because he is sophisticated and rich and looks good and smells good and knows how to please a woman. “[So I can endure, endure, endure, in order to further the cause]". Yuck. SO triggering. I don’t know, make what you will of it. It kind of grossed me out.

Also, let it be known: This book contains a massive spoiler for another book; I will never forgive You, Kate Quinn, for ruining Anna Karenina (which I was planning to read this year).

This was very minor for me, but I could also do without some of the techniques used to express the characters’ mid-sentence pauses. Instead of saying “she blinked” it would often just go “dialogue…blink… dialogue….stare…dialogue…exhale” without the use of any pronouns. I don’t know if there is a proper term for this method, It just felt blocky and robotic and took me out of the story.

All that being said this is a fairly large book at 500 pages and In the second half of the novel the plot picked up quite remarkably. I began to really appreciate the writing and found it was stylish and intelligent. The characters went from quirky and cartoonish in the beginning to emotionally compelling, and deeply human. The parts focused on PTSD were both heartbreaking and beautiful. You also find out later that Louise de Bettignies (Lili) was a real person, who was a French spy in WWI, gave her life in the line of duty, was posthumously awarded 3 medals of honor, and made an officer of the order of the British empire. It’s hard to imagine. If I was being subjected to torture under interrogation I could never be as brave as these women were. I love the maternal and buoyant personality constructed for Lili who we know very little about personally, IRL. It brought a historical figure to life, made her real, lovable, and inspirational. YAY for female role models!

I do prefer the 1915 storyline to the 1947 storyline, but I also think they balanced each other out enough to justify the latter. I also think I have a soft spot for Charlie because her brother died, and I can relate to this, as I too have lost a sibling. Her family not understanding her actions and her trauma responses are very relatable for me, and the character displays honest thoughts and feelings I have experienced as well.

After the halfway mark I found myself wanting to pick up this book twice as often. The climax and breakdown to the final moments were very exciting. Near the end, I couldn’t put it down, and so my premature three-star rating has been upgraded to 4 stars. And I am very much looking forward to reading the Rose code, and the Huntress!