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shelfreflectionofficial 's review for:
The Alice Network
by Kate Quinn
This book was just okay for me. I bumped it up from 2 stars because reading the author’s note at the end I had to give her credit for the way she utilized and expounded on true events. I thought her combination and addition of characters was clever. But overall, not my favorite.
Liked: the plot, particularly the 1915 storyline, but also how it came to fruition in the 1945 storyline. The first line of the book: ‘The first person I met in England was a hallucination’- I thought was an interesting and curious start.
Disliked: pretty much all the characters. They weren’t likable. I had high hopes for Charlie when she was introduced as a math person but that trait did not fit in with the rest of her words, actions, and personality. It was not a believable part of her. Young Eve was okay, but I didn’t feel like any characters were written in a becoming or ‘rootable’ way. I’m not sure about all the ins and outs of the 1945 era but the writing and dialogue for those portions seemed questionable as to era-accuracy. The 1945 storyline dragged on too long. Hardly anything of significance happened until the end. The 1915 story was the meat of the book and everything else was a little like pulling teeth.
I’ve read quite a few historical fiction books from a variety of wars but I would recommend several others over this one. It had potential but fell flat.
Book Review Blog: www.shelfreflection.com
Pinterest: @shelfreflectionblog
Liked: the plot, particularly the 1915 storyline, but also how it came to fruition in the 1945 storyline. The first line of the book: ‘The first person I met in England was a hallucination’- I thought was an interesting and curious start.
Disliked: pretty much all the characters. They weren’t likable. I had high hopes for Charlie when she was introduced as a math person but that trait did not fit in with the rest of her words, actions, and personality. It was not a believable part of her. Young Eve was okay, but I didn’t feel like any characters were written in a becoming or ‘rootable’ way. I’m not sure about all the ins and outs of the 1945 era but the writing and dialogue for those portions seemed questionable as to era-accuracy. The 1945 storyline dragged on too long. Hardly anything of significance happened until the end. The 1915 story was the meat of the book and everything else was a little like pulling teeth.
I’ve read quite a few historical fiction books from a variety of wars but I would recommend several others over this one. It had potential but fell flat.
Book Review Blog: www.shelfreflection.com
Pinterest: @shelfreflectionblog