An avid reader whose current interest lies in mysteries and thrillers. Line 'em up!
Also personally love fantasies and any stories to do with magic, and a sucker for the occasional (good) romance.
Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where they discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each others’ posts.
DECEMBER 31: REFLECTING ON YOUR 2021 READING/BLOGGING YEAR (Rukky @ Eternity Books)
What did you accomplish reading and blogging wise in 2021? What are you most proud of? What are you most disappointed by? If there’s something new you tried in 2021 with your reading or blogging, what was it and how did that turn out? How do you think you’ve grown as a reader/blogger? What would you advise yourself as we look to 2022?
The year 2021 is where we really tried to post content constantly here on DTRH, and adhere to a schedule and try and get into a habit of things. And overall, I really do think that we accomplished this and I’m definitely proud of us for coming this far. It’s not easy to just add commitments to your schedule and actually stick to it for a whole year, and I am so glad we had the chance to do that this year in 2021.
One of the things I am proud of was being able to read so many books this year. I only set a goal of about 50 books, but I managed to surpass this in the end. Normally I don’t keep track of how many books I read, but I’m glad that I committed to reading a certain number of books and executed on it. The best part was that it didn’t even feel like a chore, and I genuinely enjoyed reading all these books. Hopefully I will continue to have time for this hobby in the upcoming year(s) as well.
I was definitely disappointed in some books that I randomly picked, but I suppose that’s the danger of random picking in the first place. I may, in the future, want to look into a book more before just reading it. While I have found some great treasures this year just picking one off the shelf, there were probably more times where I was underwhelmed and expecting much more.
As stated earlier, I’d say the commitment to posting as often as we can and trying to engage with the community was really something we worked on this year and really hope turned out well. We have both definitely grown here at DTRH this last year, and not only purely because of reading and blogging as well. It has been a hard year for most, but struggle really does invite growth.
Our post yesterday gives some insight into what we looked back on in 2021 and how it feels looking forward. For 2022, I hope we can continue to enjoy reading and blogging, and continue to grow with the community. Of course, we will also make new goals to try and reach next year, so stay tuned for those.
In an enthralling new historical novel from national bestselling author Kate Quinn, two women—a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947—are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption.
1947. In the chaotic aftermath of World War II, American college girl Charlie St. Clair is pregnant, unmarried, and on the verge of being thrown out of her very proper family. She’s also nursing a desperate hope that her beloved cousin Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France during the war, might still be alive. So when Charlie’s parents banish her to Europe to have her “little problem” taken care of, Charlie breaks free and heads to London, determined to find out what happened to the cousin she loves like a sister.
1915. A year into the Great War, Eve Gardiner burns to join the fight against the Germans and unexpectedly gets her chance when she’s recruited to work as a spy. Sent into enemy-occupied France, she’s trained by the mesmerizing Lili, code name Alice, the “queen of spies”, who manages a vast network of secret agents right under the enemy’s nose.
Thirty years later, haunted by the betrayal that ultimately tore apart the Alice Network, Eve spends her days drunk and secluded in her crumbling London house. Until a young American barges in uttering a name Eve hasn’t heard in decades, and launches them both on a mission to find the truth…no matter where it leads.
Welcome back to another buddy read at Down The Rabbit Hole! Today we have another Kate Quinn for you: The Alice Network. Having massively enjoyed The Rose Code in our last buddy read, we were excited to try yet another one of these fantastic historical fictions. As you may already be able to tell, this one did not quite meet the mark in the same way. Nevertheless, below we will take turns explaining our views on various aspects of the book. Hope you enjoy our dual take on this story!
Historical Elements
A: If I could name a highlight for this book, it would be the well researched history into WWI that made this book feel alive off the pages during certain moments. I was excited for any tidbit of spycraft work our protagonist took part in during the war, and the attention to detail could definitely be seen. I don’t read a whole lot of world war fictions, but I must say, I’m pretty sure the effortless feel of bringing me back to the mid-1910s was due to an excellent writer knowing her research material well.
F: For me, I’d have to say that once again Kate Quinn delivered on the historical elements. The very same things I fell in love with in The Rose Code were definitely present here. The elements of historical realism were very convincing, and you really do feel like you’ve been brought back 80-100 years. I loved seeing all the interactions of the past and how different life was just in the little things, and contrasted with the present really makes for a sharp boundary. Nothing but praise for Quinn’s masterfully researched and executed historical elements in this novel once again.
Characters
F: If the historical elements are the shining glory of this novel, then I would have to say the characters come second to that. This is mainly a character-driven book, taking place in the POV of our two protagonists, in the present and in the past (World War I/II era). Unfortunately, we don’t get to witness as much of “The Alice Network” in the past as I’d like. However, the characters were overall very well-written, particularly Eve, and I felt that the relationships (or the allusions to) were fairly well done and played out naturally. Of course, this also left me wanting a little bit more from the plot since the characters and historical elements were good.
A: Of the two protagonists, I’m particularly more fond of Eve as well. She was a complex lady, and we definitely see her character development arc come out from the naive, enthusiastic girl who signed up for spycraft, to the bitter old woman we meet in the present day. Obviously, this was due to whatever happened to her and the Alice Network, but we only get to piece things together slowly. I had a little more trouble loving Charlie since she felt a little too single-mindedly focused in finding her cousin that nothing else really shone through about her character. When you take away this one element about her, there’s not a lot left to feel super interested in her story.
Plot and Suspense
A: The pacing wasn’t as good as I had hoped it would be. I didn’t love the present day chapters as much since it mainly focused on the hunt for Rose. The historical POV from Eve was the best, but even then, I had hoped for more action as part of a spy network. Unfortunately, we were denied a lot of that since her mission focused on a singular task more than playing a larger role in the network. And though there was hints of an underlying betrayal to the network, I found how it all came to light super anti-climactic and would’ve preferred a bunch of other theories I came up with.
F: Unfortunately, this is where the story really fell flat for the both of us. I also mostly enjoyed the historical POV from Eve, but it left me wanting more as well. Maybe I’m comparing too much with The Rose Code, where I really got a glimpse into the whole spy network and all its workings. I definitely felt that the modern day POV was not that exciting and therefore the drive wasn’t really there for me to propel me forward through the book. I wanted more and more of Eve’s historical POV, and the modern day one just felt too unimportant in comparison.
Overall Thoughts
F: I really enjoyed the setting overall as well as the characters. That being said, the plot and suspense really fell flat for me. In that sense, it was a bit forced, though I would say the plot generally supported the growth of the characters. I would rather have the characters’ growth driving the plot though, rather than the plot being used to supplement character growth. This is all personal preference though, so you may very well enjoy what I’ve just described. If you are into character-driven historical fictions, this may be the book for you!
A: We really wanted to love this one, but my expectations were so high after The Rose Code. If it had balanced out better between a plot-driven story and a character-driven story, I think things would’ve been a lot different.
Some things I would change if I could, if I may? (So sorry if you loved this book as it is).
Have different betrayer(s) than what the story went with
Include POVs from Lili, the leader of the Alice Network so we would actually see the bigger picture of what they did in the war
Give Charlie another story arc in addition to her hunt for Rose
That being said, we appreciated the areas that I know deserve the praise. It just could’ve been more after the high bar I’ve come to associate with Kate Quinn. I can see why so many loved it, but our expectations got the best of us.
Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where they discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each others’ posts.
DECEMBER 24: WHY DON’T PEOPLE READ? (Mikaela @ Mikaela Reads)
What do you think puts people off reading? If you had to recommend a book to someone that you think would turn them into a reader, what would it be? Have you ever been a non-reader and then been converted??
We’re so close to the end of 2021 everyone! Welcome to another week of LTB here at DTRH. Today’s topic is an interesting one, as I’m sure there are a plethora of reasons why people don’t read. I guess the question then becomes, how can we encourage people to read more?
I think for some people, it’s the visual aspect. Being able to sit back on a couch and watch TV, or enjoy the cinematography of a movie, are just very different ways of absorbing media content from reading books. Most people vastly prefer one over the other. I tend to enjoy reading because my imagination from reading tends to be more vivid than what is portrayed on screen. However, for something overly long and descriptive (you know who they are), sometimes I find a movie can just be easier to take in than having each blade of grass described to me.
Ironically, a friend of mine yesterday just told me that she had trouble getting back into books recently, saying they weren’t able to hold her attention. I think this is actually a really big reason why people don’t read. Most people are able to pick up a book upon suggestion (and indeed, aren’t we all forced to read at some point during school), but the main problem becomes maintaining focus and interest.
At that point I wonder if it’s really just about finding the right book for each person. I have met many a non-reader who still reads one specific genre, or series, or author. I don’t find people are generally adverse to reading books, just that if they aren’t interested in going through with a book, they are more discouraged from picking one up the next time. Even people who say they “don’t” read often read something sometimes. Books are just treasure troves of knowledge, and I think it’s overall hard to avoid them completely.
I have always been someone who loves to read and indulge in my imaginations. That being said, reading is one of those tasks that is almost impossible to multi-task during. Letting a TV series play while cooking, or listening to music while working are just a few ways in which society has told us to be “efficient.” I think this has been one of the main reasons in the rise of audiobooks. But either way, if more people are “reading” through audiobooks, I think that is just as great.
I totally understand the appeal, as it leaves your hands free to do something else, and even leaves your eyes free to watch over something else (food, children, Zoom lecture (just kidding), etc.). I find that personally my eyes get tired way faster than my brain or energy, and so even if I have the time, sometimes I just don’t have the physical strength to read for very long. I do try my best to fit it into my schedule though, of course.
What do you all think? Why don’t people read? And what are good ways to encourage them to read? Do you all have any recommendations for “non-readers?”
