buddy review

Buddy Review: The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

Fives @ Down The Rabbit Hole

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).

  1. Have different betrayer(s) than what the story went with
  2. 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
  3. 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.

top ten tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday: Best Books I Read in 2021

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

I told you I would be back with my Best list after posting my Hit or Miss list yesterday for 2021. These books are my 5-star reads, the crème de la crème, the ones I wish more people would read if they haven’t already.

I know not everyone may agree with all the books here, and I appreciate and respect your opinion. But hopefully, if you haven’t read some of these, this will encourage you to find a new read for 2022.

Are you ready?

1. If I’m Being Honest by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka (review)

If you stopped by my other post yesterday, you would know I couldn’t stomach these real-life married couple’s most recent release. Yet the pleasant surprise of finding I absolutely ADORED this story loosely based on Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew almost makes up for it. The protagonist isn’t necessarily likable (initially), but her character development and growing attraction for THE most unlikely boy was wonderful to witness.

2. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder (review) / Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson (review)

I’m sure these 2 books need no explanations. I’m a little bit later in the game with the first book, but out of the YA mystery genre, Holly Jackson is hands down the queen. I couldn’t put these down. In fact, I pulled all nighters to finish them in one sitting. Written with interview formats, investigative notes and interesting maps, I’ve heard the audiobook is like a true crime podcast. In book form, it’s a masterpiece. And the storytelling is 100% gripping, twisty and heart wrenching at the same time. You MUST read!

3. Hot British Boyfriend by Kristy Boyce (review)

Who doesn’t fancy a British boyfriend? At least, I wouldn’t mind. This cute romance story about a girl escaping everything about herself after a humiliating rejection from a boy tries to redefine who she is in order to impress the British guy who’s taken an interest in her at boarding school. Little does she know, is he really the right guy for her? I loved the romantic angst and interesting secondary characters that helped drive the story.

4. The Rose Code by Kate Quinn (review)

OMG, this really shouldn’t require any introduction, but this might just be THE #1 read of my year. Fantastically balanced between an excellently researched plot about codebreakers, mostly women, in Britain who helped decode enemy messages in WWII and a char active driven storyline of the 3 women we followed, I couldn’t put this book down even if my life depended on it. I was sucked into the past that brought the 3 women together in war, and the present day mysterious betrayal that rocked their tight knit group. I can’t rave enough about this book except that it surely is a MUST READ for anyone, even if you don’t fancy yourself a historical fiction kinda reader.

5. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood (review)

While it’s literally EVERYWHERE in the book community, the hype really lives up to its name. I particularly loved this so much because I’m a scientist and experienced the life of a lab rat in school. I felt so seen by the protagonist (and the author). But even if that means nothing to you, it was still a great fake dating romance story that most definitely will pull the heartstrings as these 2 unlikely characters fall in love with one another.

6. Dreams Lie Beneath by Rebecca Ross (review)

A gorgeously written tale about breaking a century long curse and a girl willing to go to great lengths to win back what was her family’s, this was an unexpected love for me that blew me away. I don’t know if it’s just that I love seeing a protagonist fall for someone who doesn’t know their true self because they’re in disguise, but this book was excellently done for this trope, and the lore surrounding the world it was set in was beautiful to slip into.

7. Lore by Alexandra Bracken (review)

Think The Hunger Games meets the Percy Jackson where the gods are being hunted so that special selected humans could become gods themselves. The premise was super intriguing, and the mystery surrounding which god could be trusted definitely made it all the more interesting to continue. It’s also a standalone fantasy, which is rare these days, but everything worked so well in this one book because of it. It’s the whole package and I just couldn’t put it down!

8. Influence by Sara Shepard and Lilia Buckingham (review)

I guess I’m in (or close to) the generation of heavy social media user so this book both felt realistic to me and also intriguing to follow the super influencers everyone else looks up to. Plus, I love a good mystery so when it changed tones that included a murder, I was only hooked even more. What dangers lurk in the glamorous lives of influencers? Find out in these pages!

9. The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn (review)

Disclaimer: I have read the expose released in 2019 about the author and his past that led to this publication. I don’t endorse any of that kind of atrocious behaviour, and only read this book because it was before I learned of this article. If you feel uncomfortable reading this book because of it, I fully understand.

You may have heard this title recently as it was finally released as a film featuring Amy Adams. (Don’t watch that by the way, it definitely was nowhere near as good as the book). I liked the psychological aspects of the book, focusing on an agoraphobic woman who was also a psychiatrist herself. When you don’t know who or what perspective to trust, it gets particularly thrilling to unearth surprising twists coming at every angle. I can appreciate that in this writing even if I don’t like Finn.

10. Game Changer by Neal Shusterman (review)

I have read Neal’s other books but this standalone is quite different from those types of stories. It’s a hallmark of a good writer to still create something different than his usual genre, and this piece borne out of a pandemic writing period reflected the diversity in thoughts. This novel asks one question: if your life changed just in ONE particular way, would the outcome of your future completely change as well? Would those futures be better or worse than the one you had on track for you? I love the way it makes me think and reflect, carries a good message, and is the type of book to start discussions.

So yes, this is the last TTT of 2021. It has been a wonderful year of joining TTT and I look forward to doing more next year. I hope you find something interesting to choose from for future reading in this list.

Until next time, in 2022!

recommendations, Uncategorized

Hit or Miss Reads of 2021

Andge @ Down the Rabbit Hole

I know a lot of posts like to focus on the BEST of the best reads we’ve had in the year as a way of reflection, but I don’t want to only focus on that. Don’t worry, I will do one of those posts soon, but for this one at least, I want to look back at books I unexpectedly LOVED and those I also unexpectedly didn’t.

The “hit” books may not have fallen into the BEST books I read, but they definitely were memorable and deservedly gets the attention. Likewise, the “miss” books I don’t quite hate, but these may be an unpopular opinion or worthy of discussion.

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong (review)

I’m sure this one is by no means a surprise, but I rather enjoyed this Romeo & Juliet retelling with an Asian spin. The characters were delightfully complex and the mysterious ailment impacting the city of Shanghai in the early 1900s surely drove me straight through the book as fast as I could get through it.

Continue reading “Hit or Miss Reads of 2021” →