Ok this is a fandom blog so I don't usually post about this stuff, but damn if Kate Quinn's ww1/ww2 historical novels aren't some of the best pieces of literature I've ever had the pleasure to read.
Like I've always been a history enthusiast and I do consider myself pretty well-read regarding historical fiction novels, at least as far as the Greek market is concerned anyway, and her books easily stand out. I've never seen an author so meticulously bring to life some of the most intriguing and mostly unknown events of the period, the amount of care and research she's done is truly amazing. The plot, her method of storytelling, the characterization of her female characters is fascinating. And I've never seen an author so skillfully handle non-linear narrative.
I read The Alice Network and the Rose Code last year and I've just finished The Huntress yesterday. I'm looking forward to The Diamond Eye to be translated in greek.
I 100% recommend her books. Truly an amazing reading experience.
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I feel really good about my bottom two and top four, but some of the middle ones may be more smushed. Also if my Goodreads stars don't always seem to line up with my rankings, it's because I reserve the right to change my mind at any time.
26. The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay.
Date reviewed: Jan. 25, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 3 (apparently i averaged it bc i thought the writing was good, though now i can't remember why)
1-sentence review: Every time I read a thriller, I'm like Jason Bateman pulling the bag labelled dead dove out the freezer, looking at it, and going, "I don't know what I expected."
25. Royal Diaries: Isabel: Jewel of Castilla by Carolyn Meyer
Date reviewed: Jan. 11, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 3, but 2.5 were for Beatriz de Bombadilla
1-sentence reivew: Isabel is insufferable and I want a biography about Beatriz de Bombadilla.
24. Love, Hate, and Clickbait by Liz Bowery
Date reviewed: Nov. 9, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 3
1-sentence review: The characters are terrible but it's still a good way to pass election night.
23. A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske
Date reviewed: June 2, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 3
1-sentence review: Main couple great, sex scnes are steamy, plot reasonably creative, but overall moves slowly and most of the side characters are terrible.
22. Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton
Date reviewed: Nov. 8, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 3
1-sentence review: Hollywood is TOXIC and I hope Tom's living his best life in England with his brothers and his dog.
21: The Woman Who Would Be King by Kara Cooney
Date reviewed: March 1, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 3
1-sentence review: Hatshepsut was a boss, but Cooney's writing style could be livelier.
20. Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero by Michael Hingson
Date reviewed: Sept. 27, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 4 (was probably generous)
1-sentence review: Super interesting memoir that taught me way more about blindness and guide dogs than about 9/11 (which is fine).
19. Husband Material by Alexis Hall
Date reviewed: Aug. 16, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 3
1-sentence review: Same hilarity, more emotional maturity, but Luc and Oliver didn't seem happy with each other's friends and somewhat traitorously (because I know this is the exact OPPOSITE of the point of the book) I kind of wish they'd gotten married.
18. Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey
Date reviewed: April 20, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 3
1-sentence review: We stan one leading lady. (Dude was ... fine I guess.)
17. Graphic Classics Romeo and Julie by Gareth Hinds
Date reviewed: Oct. 25, 2022
Goodread stars I gave it: 4
1-sentence review: Turns out graphic novels are a good way to read Shakespeare plays.
16: Four Queens: The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe by Nancy Goldstone
Date reviewed: March 15, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 3
1-sentence review: Goldstone's historical writing is great as always, but she should have written about French queen Blanche of Castile instead.
15. Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall
Date reviewed: April 25, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 4
1-sentence review: Here's to the book that made me silent-laugh so hard in a restaurant that I had to put my mask back on to keep the other customers from staring at me.
14. If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy
Date reviewed: April 22, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 4
1-sentence review: Adored everything except the love interest, who seemed to have misplaced his personality.
13. To Marry and to Meddle by Martha Waters (audio book)
Date reviewed: May 5, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 4
1-sentence review: My favorite so far of the Regency Vows series and I didn't even get embarassed listening to an actor read the sex scenes aloud. (admittedly i was alone in my car, but still)
12. Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake
Date reviewed: June 21, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 4
1-sentence review: A lovely little w/w romance with great supporting characters and a fantastic sister-subplot that was arguably as engaging as the love story.
11. Lore Olympus Volume 1 by Rachel Smythe
Date reviewed: Jan. 24, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 3
1-sentence review: Greek mythology and breathtaking artwork -- what's not to love?
10. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
Date reviewed: Aug. 10, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 4
1-sentence reivew: If you're like me and you love dark, eerie fairy tales, then this is the book for you.
9. The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
Date reviewed: July 27, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 3
1-sentence reivew: I liked Wilbur and corgi-breeding stalker better than I liked Robby, which I think is what God and Katherine Center intended.
8. I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston
Date reviewed: Sept. 16, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 4
1-sentence review: What starts out as a seeming scathing take-down of certain John Green novels with shades of gay Mean Girls thrown in turns into something completely unexpected and wonderful and warm and welcoming.
7. Royal Diaries: Cleopatra: Daughter of the Nile by Kristiana Gregory
Date reviewed: Jan. 19, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 4
1-sentence review: Yes, I am being indulgent ranking this so high, but she has a pet leopard and insults Roman officials in their own language.
6. Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell
Date reviewed: Sept. 23, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 4
1-sentence review: A thoughtful and engaging take on how language shapes cultures within communities, with sometimes insidious intent.
5. Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Date reviewed: July 23, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 4
1-sentence review: Hallmark villains in love with NYC to the point of delusion make the best protagonists.
4. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
Date reviewed: Sept. 23, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 4
1-sentence review: Reading this is like walking into a sunlit room on a Sunday morning.
(Note: I actually switched this to rank above Book Lovers, which is a VERY big deal for me because I love Emily Henry.)
3. Signal Moon by Kate Quinn
Date reviewed: Aug. 20, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 4
1-sentence review: Combining World War II AND time travel (sort of) is like hitting all my tragic romance buttons at once.
2. The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn
Date reviewed: June 16, 2022 (I don't think GR has this right -- I got an advanced copy and reviewed it not long after reading it. I posted a review on Facebook on Feb. 28, 2022)
Goodreads stars I gave it: 5
1-sentence review: Amazing writing, a bombshell of a heroine, and a story that makes me see, smell and hear the Eastern front -- I'm not kidding when I say this is Quinn's best book so far.
(Note: I wrote that line when I hadn't read No. 1 on the list yet.)
and finally....
The Rose Code by Kate Quinn
Date reviewed: July 4, 2022
Goodreads stars I gave it: 5
Entire review because I have no self-control:
Earlier this year, I said I thought The Diamond Eye may be Kate Quinn's best book. I am revising my opinion. THIS may be Kate Quinn's best book. I read it in one day, basically didn't put it down except to do work. I think the last time I did something like that, I was reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince the day it came out. And I was 13.
The Rose Code has all the usual Kate Quinn Hallmarks -- great heroines, wartime stakes, swoonworthy love interests, engaging side characters, and cameos from real life historical figures (in this case folks like Alan Turing and Winston Churchill, plus a snide reference about Ian Fleming's womanizing) -- while also having a tighter story (unlike in, say, The Huntress, Quinn isn't having to juggle multiple flashbacks in this book) and what I felt was a slightly less over-the-top climax though ... it was still pretty over-the-top. I think by the time I got to it I was just in a jubilant state.
Anyway, just read this book.
Also, for a spoiler that will make you happy (but is a spoiler nonetheless) ... yes, Beth reunites with the dog.
I started this last night and reached page 32 in no time, I hope it will continue to be that easy to read till the end and all the glamorous reviews turn out to be true.
I woke up a bit too early this morning so continuing with it.
This is exactly why epistolary is one of my favourite narrative devices. Like people don’t talk like this, but they write like this and I am fucking swooning. 😭
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"... I loved Francis Gray, and to me he was perfect, and that’s proof I didn’t know him very well at all. I never got to realize all the ways he wasn’t perfect. I didn’t get to reach the point where the song he whistled while shaving drove me mad or learn how rainy days made him short tempered. He never got to realize that I’m not some great wartime love, just a shallow cow who lives for pretty shoes and library novels. We never got to quarrel over the milk bill or whether to buy strawberry jam or marmalade . . .”
Kate Quinn has done it again! Impeccably researched, impeccably told, wonderful characters, a strong central mystery and frame story, and an autistic MC to boot! Possibly the saddest and darkest of her WWII novels, though. Lots of grief and trauma, among other things.
