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mariearoon's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
tense
4.25
hollytotheg's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
lisahaemmerle's review against another edition
4.0
This is the first WWII historical fiction book I read that featured a Russian protagonist. While slow at first, the story was certainly interesting. I didn't know about the use of snipers on the front lines before this book. Towards the end the (fiction) story really picked up and I didn't want to put the book down. It's not one of my favorite books, but I'd recommend it for an interesting read.
joystoner's review against another edition
4.5
This was a pleasant surprise in the World War II topic - there's definitely no shortage of books covering this time period, but it was so refreshing to read it from a different perspective. I'm not as familiar with the Russian/Ukrainian stories during that time so I enjoyed diving into this.
The author weaves the story in a dual timeline way that allows us to understand current happenings better because we slowly discover the main character's past.
The author weaves the story in a dual timeline way that allows us to understand current happenings better because we slowly discover the main character's past.
sueemmy's review against another edition
5.0
Another exceptional book of historical fiction from Kate Quinn who can turn a story of a Ukrainian/Russian sniper into a riveting novel. Mila Pavlichenko, a pretty tiny history student, evolves into Lady Death, a renown Soviet sniper with officially 300+ kills who tours the U.S. in a solidarity tour and becomes friends with Eleanor Roosevelt. All that is fact. Quinn creates another interesting secondary story of an assassination plot on FDR. Highly recommended.
jemmma4's review against another edition
5.0
I was so engrossed. The fact that Mila was a real person, with only two true fictional characters incorporated into the book, was inspiring. That she could go from a history student to a sniper really shows that women can do anything. The entire story line was thrilling and captivating. 100% recommend and so far is my favorite of her books. I also loved the shout out to some of my other favorite characters, in particular the amazing night witches.
ashleykate_b's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
As a WWII historical fiction, this felt very unique. The novel is largely based on the true story of Mila Pavlichenko, a Soviet sniper on the Eastern Front also known as Lady Death. The first half felt a little bit slow to me, but the buildup was worth it! I enjoyed the dual timeline, the characters were well developed, and the romance subplots were not overbearing. I feel like every other historical fiction I’ve read from this era focuses on the Western Front — so while the Russian names were a bit hard to follow in the audiobook format, I appreciated this new perspective.
imqs's review against another edition
5.0
I really liked it a lot! The MC had a very impressive life and was so interesting to know how she got the nickname of Lady death, her romances (very sexy I would say
eclaires81's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this a lot better once I realized how much was based on a real person, but timing wise, it was hard to read about a Russian heroine considering all that is going on right now. If I could push that aside, I’d say this is one the best KQ books I’ve read