Codebreaking is probably my favorite ww2 subject, and this is a first to read about both U Boats and the Merchant Navy, so all the away around, a refreshing subject matter and really interesting. Loved both Millie and Karl as characters as well, and I thought the aspect and character development of a german Nazi who wasn't evil and fanatical was a humanizing take, especially the way the story came together at the end.

It was a fascinating progression, being that the first book in the series (Heirs of Falcon Point) was written in time periods before and after this point in the story, so you knew some of what was going to happen with the Lang family. I think it added to the intrigue and adrenaline towards the end of the book, which also had me in tears. Really well pulled together, and the character development and story progression were excellent.

I do wish there was a little more emotional description in it, but there was plenty of thought and intellectual description that it still held fine for pulling you into the story and making you part of it, as opposed to some books that keep you only observing.

I loved the way the author showed how selflessness and sacrifice have rippling effects generations down the road. I enjoyed this one quite a lot and look forward to what I assume will be the rest of the historical series to come, and the other suspense series track.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are mine.

Brilliant

2.5⭐️ rounded up. While I had initially thought a WW2 setting in Belgium would be a good new perspective, the writing was very 2-dimensional, clunky and mostly void of emotion and description.

Without the detail and description as a whole it felt very surface level. To follow the interaction and dialogue, you didn’t know what the characters were really feeling most of the time, which made their conversation feel stilted or jump back and forth without any continuity, or just plain odd. You had to sort of infer what they were all feeling at any given moment. And the whole situation with Matteo and Lily was both confusing and felt petty and juvenile. Without that emotional context, it made it sound like she didn’t love Nik at all and was in a loveless marriage, but then it’s stated towards the end she did…?? Which then made her character super distasteful to me.

Also so many weird discrepancies or lack of context that felt unrealistic: Hannah was in the resistance in Germany for years but at the first opportunity shared every possible name and info to Lily. The carelessness of the ID situation, the lack of vetting for their members and complete lack of being covert, other careless or deliberate situations (so as not to spoil it) etc.

I wish I enjoyed this more as l have others of Ms Jennoff’s but I was not a fan.

4.5 ⭐️ rounded up. This is actually the 2nd book I’ve read about the Friends of New Germany and America First in LA. (I don’t know how much of this particular book’s events are true as the audio didn’t have an authors note, but the overall concept is true). Such a fascinating story of spy rings and terrorism on US soil that seems like it’s gotten swept under the rug for as little as we’ve heard about it.

Even though I knew of the overall story of FNG and AFC, as well as Leon Lewis, this book focused on the early 30’s where my point of reference was late 30’s, early 40’s so this fleshed out nicely for me.

The book was well written and had me wanting to know what was happening next. I enjoyed the character development and progression of Leisel’s character, not determinedly taking a side initially with anti-semitism but being silent for too long to dig herself out of easily, and with much damage being done relationally by not speaking up. But later in doing what was necessary for her children as a job, was then exposed to the truth around her. It was also fun trying to figure out who Agent 13 was the first half of the book.

Lots of great energy and movement, and great concepts on forgiveness and second chances as well. I did hope there was more on the relationship side of things with Leisel by the end - it sort of felt unfinished.

While the book was very interesting and had good information it was so long and felt a little unfocused and repetitive. By about 70% I felt done.

It not only focused on the women involved in code work and cryptology and minute details about how the decoding worked, but it went into the WAACS, WAVES, WW2 events in general, how women in the army and navy divisions were looked at in a general sense, etc. It also highlighted a number of the women on a personal level which I would have enjoyed except they were all interspersed tiny bits at a time and by the next time a name was brought up again I had no idea who we were talking about.

I’ve read some fictional books on the Codebreakers and liked the extra light this gave the women working within it as well as the environment for them during and after the war. But it would have been a lot better if the book left out some of the peripheral things and focused a little more or compartmentalized the women a little better so you could follow them.

Well… this was a very long book that ultimately made me feel like I both missed the point and wished I hadn’t received the one I got.

Initially I thought the book was going to be enjoyable, I’ve been to or lived in the places in Upstate NY Vivian had and the theater in NYC in the 40s was an interesting concept, and *was* honestly interesting at times.

Unfortunately, much like the 2 main foundational points of the book - the Title and the format of Vivian writing to Angela about her relationship with her father - that really had very little real estate in the book and were more like peripheral items to the story, the book was all over the place and not at all what it claimed to be.

The “City of Girls” was a play they ran for a short time and it never held any other thread in the book like titles would otherwise do. It was just one play among many others. Yes a bunch of crap hit the fan during it but it wasn’t the show itself, nor did it continue to be.

As for the recurring point of it being a letter about Angela’s father, he isn’t brought in until about 85% outside of a blip in the middle of the book, that yes, is revisited but still, very little. Everything else was about Vivian herself, not her relationship with Angela’s father.

It was like the longest way around the mountain to get to the supposed bottom line, that isn’t even the bottom line. The book just went on, and on, and the central theme, or at least main thread, of the book was ultimately Vivian’s sex life and sexual experimentation. Not a fan. I kept listening, thinking it would get better but it did not. The statement Vivian made in the book of how she defined herself was that she “had made the pursuit of sexual pleasure one of the guiding forces of my life”. That about sums up the book. I’d get it if it was a minor happening and moving on but it was quite literally a focal point.

Ultimately, the real story felt like I got unknowingly coerced into by the end.

Such an inspiring story about the horrors Cilka had to live thru and endure, yet how she constantly have to others. The only reason I lowered a star for it is that I wasn’t a huge fan of the writing style.

Fun and sarcastic and sweet. It was short but a great story. Loved the family and friends supporting Cooper and Angie as well.

It was a nice mix with a small mystery rather than simply the Christmas romance aspect. Sweet and heartwarming and kept my attention.