Welcome to Litsy!

Book haul! I have the audible of both of these and haven't listened to them.... But I realised I wanted to read them first.

Not a bit of room left on my shelves for these right now ooops 🤔

Also finished this one up last night - great, in a totally different way. The parallel lines of WW2 Spy Craft and Early Days of the BBC were solidly in my wheelhouse.

This was my #doublespin for April @TheAromaofBooks
As usual I enjoyed this slow but easy readable story by Kate Atkinson. But I feel like I might have missed something at the end, because everyone seems to be confused about it and I wasn't so I might go back to reread that.
379 pages.

Enjoyable WWII and after novel of spies and spies.

I feel like I'm going to have to try another Kate Atkinson novel to see if this was just a dud or if I really do dislike her writing. The novel was super immersive, and I liked Juliet as a character, but the final plot twist felt like it was dropped out of nowhere. Detrimental to the whole story, imo. #historicalfiction #spyfiction

Alternates between two main timeframes: the first is 1940 where our heroine Juliet, anxious to take part in the war effort, is recruited by MI5 as a transcriber, listening to bugged conversations between a supposed Gestapo officer (actually a British double agent) and a group of Nazi sympathisers. The second is 1950 and Juliet is now working as a radio producer for the BBC when dark secrets from her wartime past return to haunt her. Excellent.

The last short story from Amazon's Out of Line collection. (not in the litsy database)
I was really enjoying this one. The main character is relatable and sarcastic. But that ending was super unexpected! 😳

I love almond down to my villages book phone box. There‘s always something good to pick up when I drop books off. Today this book which I heard about on a podcast recently. Finishing off a good morning with a Brie and Bacon sandwich and cappuccino from my favourite place 😊

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ So good! Okay, Kate Atkinson can basically do no wrong in my eyes, but the humour and inventiveness - really such a good read!

Our Overdrive here is lacking many classics and many overwhelmingly popular releases, but sometimes it does have something relatively new and relatively obscure that I've been dying to read! Loving it so far!

I‘d forgotten how much I enjoy Kate Atkinson‘s writing. Thoroughly enjoyed this. Largely set in the war years; although the story line move about in time like her other novels.

The primary character is Juliet Armstrong, a young woman recruited to work for MI5, initially transcribing recordings from staged meetings with Nazi sympathizers. She goes on to work for the BBC, but MI5 doesn‘t let go easily.

Great twist at the end! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#marvelousmay
Went out for a drive yesterday. We drove to a nearby town and walked along the lake. It was so good for the soul! 🌸 🐶 🤗
Listening to the tagged audiobook was an extra treat.

This is so good! Between listening and reading I‘ve blown through about half of it today.

I‘ve grown weary of WW2 historical fiction. This, however, is a different take. Spies. And oh I do like the spies. 🙂

There were a few reviews on here that scared me off this a bit. I love Kate Atkinson and I didn‘t want to be disappointed. I wasn‘t. I still love her. I love how her words fill up my head. How her stories seem to be fuller than others. This crazy tale of espionage had twists and turns, it made me laugh and gasp and my heart race. I want it to be a show. What a binge fest that would be

Will be staying in this very neighborhood in 3 weeks. I may have to go to Harrods and buy the same groceries for dinner

Long weekends mean reading, reading, reading ❤️

Fin8shed this at the airport.
Whilst it was quite amusing in its mocking tone at times, I still found the plot too inteined to follow at times. But am still pondering over whether this is because of the tablet reader...

I'm undecided... I've read heaps of hers and really enjoyed them. This one seems to be trickier to follow, possibly the characters are almost interchangeable. Or it may be that I'm reading on a screen which not used to and finding it a challenge to flick back to see who is who!

Loving the fact that I can read at odd times die to being away.
So as one book finishes, another starts. I've liked most of the previous ones by Atkinson so looking forward to reading this.

Interesting, but at times disjointed.

Definitely a letdown, especially since I was really enjoying it at first! But it got quite tedious & drawn out around the halfway point, Juliet started grating on me (esp. since she is no different on the page from 18 to 28), & the “twist” ending was just stupid IMO. I was intrigued to read about the more humdrum side of spy shit, b/c I bet that monotony was very true to life. But that didn‘t last. Still wanna read other stuff from her tho. 2/5 ⭐️

Okay, I‘m enjoying this so far but this is one of my biggest pet peeves in books, WHY DOES SHE KEEP RANDOMLY USING HIS FULL NAME??? I hate when authors do this. He‘s a major character, he‘s mentioned on almost every page so far. It‘s not like we‘re gonna forget who he is. So why the full name every six or seven mentions? AUTHORS. DO NOT DO THIS.

Honestly I‘m kind of 😑😑😑 about WW2 historical fiction at this point, but since this one takes place in other time periods as well, I‘m hoping it won‘t seem like more of the same. It doesn‘t have the best average rating on Litsy or GR though, so...we‘ll see, heh. #nowreading

This is my second Kate Atkinson and I haven‘t fallen in love with her yet. This took me a bit to get into because I found it kind of boring and I didn‘t engage with Juliet as a protagonist. The “surprise” ending was confusing and I had to re-read and do some Googling to figure what exactly had happened. I do really enjoy Atkinson‘s prose, so will give her other works a try. ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

A hearty breakfast to accompany my first 📖 of #readathon #MrBook1inaMillion. It‘s cheese grits with scrambled egg & ham on top, yum! 🍳

#LitsyPartyofOne
#24B4Monday

My first Atkinson and I liked it but didn‘t love it. Some bits really caught my imagination but others left me cold. I don‘t want to say too much about the plot, but I have mixed feelings about the resolution. Glad I read it though

Current library book read!

Listening to this while my teething baby naps on me. I do love Atkinson‘s prose. I do not love sharp little baby teeth.

There were more twists and turns in this book than a corkscrew. I loved the character of Juliet in 1940. She was so funny with her romantic yearnings. 1950s Juliet was a bit confused as was I the reader. It wasn‘t until the end that it ironed itself out. Three quarters of the way through the book I began to get tired of it. Too many characters and nonsense. I was often referring back in the novel. I‘d give a 4 for the overall vibe but ⭐️⭐️⭐️

#AyUpAugust Day 18: The ending of this novel is refreshingly unexpected – and makes one applaud and question the entire concept of the unreliable narrator. While a niggling part of me wants to re-read it immediately, the length and the pace are quite discouraging. Regardless, I enjoyed reading this British novel of female spies, double agents, #pillowtalk and reinventing one‘s self during times of war. My review: https://wp.me/pDlzr-ktZ

This was a well written book but it definitely wasn‘t a favorite for me. I‘ll have to check out her other books.

Now on to this one.

This was hard going. It‘s very well written and some of the turns of phrase and period details are great. However the positives stop there I found the protagonist difficult to engage with and the plotting gappy. Not for me really

3/4⭐ Not sure what I just read other than someone was murdered and it was after World War II. I didn't want to DNF since I was intrigued by the story and wanted to find out what was going on but never happened. I'm quite disappointed. (Listened via Overdrive/Libby)

@Mitch @ErinSueGreads @MicrobeMom @phatsallylee @blair @Blaire @wanderinglynn it‘s been an odd couple of weeks. Thanks for bearing with me and keeping me sane! This week I have done a great job with my food and reading goals but not nearly as active as I would like #bfc

All done! Overall I enjoyed this one, but there were a few things that made it less-than-optimal. The reveal was a little slower than was comfortable and there were a couple of red herrings that irritated me. Or maybe I just didn't read closely enough. I do like the way Atkinson plays with identity and how we decide whom to trust and what to believe in. Is the meaninglessness of life depressing or freeing? (Rhetorical, but feel free to answer.)

"Final refuge of the uncommitted"? Ouch.

If I had read the Amazon ratings before I picked up this book, I wouldn‘t have read it. I did like the WWII aspect, but wasn‘t crazy about Juliet, the protagonist. She was definitely an unreliable narrator and I couldn‘t figure out her motivation for many of the things she did. The story flipped back and forth in time and not necessarily in ways that always made sense. There were several plot points that weren‘t wrapped up at the end. 3.0⭐️ #2109

Sorry but I just can‘t go on with this book.
#audiobook #dnf

Book #5 in Modern Mrs Darcy‘s Must Read mystery list! Another Kate Atkinson story that is set during WWII. An 18 year old girl name Juliet is searching for a job and is surprised to find herself plunged into a world of espionage. Her past seems to chase her and threaten the life she tries to make years after the war. It takes a few chapters to get oriented but after that you won‘t want to put it down! Atkinson is a fantastic writer!

I enjoyed this traditional spy story with humor and witticisms deftly woven throughout as Atkinson uses the story to explore what constitutes “real“ and the idea that our choices and our actions all have a price that must be paid through the eyes of Juliet Armstrong. This was my first novel by Kate Atkinson, and it won't be my last.

Beautiful Missouri night for some deck reading

#bookfitnesschallenge
Slow week; too much rain. Sun came out today but worked until 6:30 so under a mile today. Not my usual 2 mile walk. Loved the carved wooden bear.

Weekly summary:Did not meet my goals this week for exercise. Goal was 6 miles. I only walked appx 2.9, way off. Met book goal: read one book.

#BookFitnessChallenge #LitsyWalkers
Today‘s stats. Goal: 6 books, 6 miles, 6 weeks.
Beautiful day- sunny, breezy.

#coffeeandbooks
Treating myself to cinnamon muffin & coffee after hearing that my “nerve bruise” (for lack of a better word) that has my whole right arm burning may last a few more months. When I gave blood last February,Red Cross stuck a nerve. would be more tolerable but it‘s my right arm & I am righ handed- it‘s amazing what we do with our arms that either I cannot do or increases pain. Like texting. Thanks for listening my Litsy friends!

A story of espionage during WW2 sounds like it's going to be a winner, but in reality I found that "Transcription" was a little boring and slow-paced for my liking. I liked the premise, but the story didn't impress - 2 stars.

My full review is up on my blog now ?