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ClareR (5879 KP) rated Nightshade in Books

Jan 15, 2023  
Nightshade
Nightshade
Annalena McAfee | 2020 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Thriller
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
As much as I loved reading this book, the main character Eve Laing is not a character to like. She’s self-centred, driven and oblivious to anything other than her work. She’s an artist,, but better known as the muse to an infamous male artist, much to her disgust.

Eve seems to be set on self-destruction, and over the course of a night walk through London (she’s braver than me!) from her former family home to the studio she now lives in, Eve tells her story. She’s an unlikeable and unreliable narrator. I will admit that I did feel some sympathy for her when her young lover shows his true colours.

And I kept thinking: why shouldn’t she want more? Because she’s married? Because she’s in her 60’s? Because she’s a mother? She’s clearly not a happy person and envies the life she imagines that she could have had.

I don’t think I’m giving too much away when I say that this is a book that can’t end well. And it may well say something about me when I say that I rather liked the ending.
  
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Merissa (12911 KP) rated A Lightness in My Soul in Books

Jan 18, 2021 (Updated Aug 7, 2023)  
A Lightness in My Soul
A Lightness in My Soul
Annette Oppenlander | 2020 | Biography, History & Politics
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A LIGHTNESS IN MY SOUL is a fictional novella based on a true story, one that happened in Germany many years ago.

Just like the British evacuated their children, so did the Germans, although not everyone was put into homes, but camps instead. This is a heartbreaking and harrowing tale, told in the first person, as Arthur goes to a KLV camp. You stay with him as he begins to question just what is going on, then the Americans arrive, and you stay with him in the aftermath of that.

The conditions Arthur has to face are very well-written, managing to give the reader the horror and hopelessness of the situation without making it gruesome or unnecessarily violent.

For anyone with an interest in the history of WWII, especially if you are interested in the German perspective, then this is definitely one for your bookshelves. A one-sitting, engrossing read highly recommended by me.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 18, 2021
  
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Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Silence Before Dawn (WW2 Resistance Series Book 1) [Audiobook] in Books

Oct 9, 2022  
The Silence Before Dawn (WW2 Resistance Series Book 1) [Audiobook]
The Silence Before Dawn (WW2 Resistance Series Book 1) [Audiobook]
Amanda Lees | 2022 | History & Politics
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook which, although a work of fiction, is based on the true stories of women secret agents during World War II.

As you can imagine, there is an abundance of tension as the Resistance and SOE (Special Operations Executive) undertake their dangerous missions with the ever present threat of being discovered by the Gestapo.

The main character of Marianne is excellent and such a strong character as, in fact, are the rest of the cast. What I particularly liked is that the central focus is on the female protagonists and it depicted their bravery, commitment and sense of duty excellently.

The story, as you can imagine given the subject matter, is intense but riveting and compelling and I cannot praise the narrator enough - what an excellent job Sofia Zervudachi has done; there are quite a lot of characters, both male and female, and she made each one unique.

This is the first in a series and I very much look forward to finding out what happens next and I must give my thanks to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of The Silence Before Dawn.