Historical fiction at its best. While narrative form is not my favorite the story will draw you in quickly and keep you reading.

4.5 stars

Fields’ writing flows like a river — one phrase into the next, taking you on a journey that feels like a conversation between author and reader. Her prose is refreshing, especially after reading some books I really struggled to get through in terms of writing style.

Rosalind is such a rich character; she carries guilt from her involvement in making the atomic bomb, love for her family despite their flaws, resentment towards the world she finds herself living in after the war, and heartbreak over Weaver’s abrupt dismissal of her love years earlier. Her regret over creating the bomb wars with her passion for the science she no longer participates in and her conflicted feelings after being reunited with Weaver are raw and real. While working with Charlie, she is drawn to his kindness and honesty.

Once Rosalind is recruited by Charlie, parts of the story are told from his point of view. His flashbacks to being held prisoner by the Japanese are violent and heartbreaking. Despite his pain and suffering, he is still a good man who cares for his family and admires Rosalind. He is charmed by Rosalind's brilliance and compassion, but he has an ex-lover of his own who clouds his mind and judgment.

Rosalind finds herself drawn deeper into Weaver's treachery, which endangers her life and her sanity. Charlie feels an intense need to protect her -- but can he protect her from the Russians?

Highly recommended for readers who like strong female characters or stories of brilliant women who are stifled by the constraints of their time. Fans of WWII fiction, love triangle romances, and espionage historicals will also enjoy this fantastic novel. I can't recommend this book enough; it was an extremely enjoyable read. I didn't want it to end!

Roz is a physicist, or rather, she used to be. Now she sells antique jewelry at a department store. She greatly misses her lab work. But, she was let go after the Manhattan project because of a terrible report about her. This had damaged her from other lab jobs. Enter Special Agent Charlie Szydlo. He wants her to spy on her old lover. And boy…does that open old wounds.

I fluctuated between 4 and 5 stars on this one. I settled on 4 just because there are some places in the writing where I felt the conversations could have been better. Just a little overdramatic in spots. Now, this is not enough to even worry about..just my opinion and my thought process. Other than that little hitch…this book is wonderful. I love Roz. She is strong and smart. Two of my favorite aspects in a character. She did turn dumb….as some women do…when it comes to an old flame. You will have to read this to find out.

Then there is Charlie. This is a person who has been through so much. He is damaged from the war and he just doesn’t know how to channel the damage. His war experience is a favorite part of this read. His tale had me captivated, cringing and crying. When he meets Roz, he struggles to overcome this experience and let her in.

This book has just about everything…love, romance, espionage, suspense, murder. It is all in one package! Oh…and I love the science spattered throughout this read! Grab your copy today!

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

"Atomic Love" is so much more than a historical fiction novel. It is a mystery, espionage, love story and a story based on fact. From the first page to the last I was hooked and did not want to put the book down. I highly recommend this book as a must read!!!

I DNF'd at 35%. I thought this was going to be more of a spy noir novel but it was more of a love triangle with characters I did not care about. I really disliked how easily Rosalind dropped back into bed with Weaver.

In 1950, thirty-year-old Rosalind Porter is selling antique jewelry at Marshall Field's department store in Chicago. During the 1940s, she had been a respected nuclear physicist who worked with Enrico Fermi and others on the Manhattan Project. At the time, Roz fell for a handsome and charming colleague, Thomas Weaver, who later betrayed her trust. Considering Roz's high IQ, she is not particularly savvy when it comes sizing up men. Now, she drinks too much, avoids dating, and dreams of someday using her exceptional knowledge to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Roz is shocked and confused when, after an absence of four years, Weaver unexpectedly contacts her and begs for forgiveness. Meanwhile, Charlie Szydlo, an FBI agent with a tragic history, enlists Roz to spy on Weaver. Charlie was once a captive in a Japanese prison camp, where he and his fellow American soldiers were treated brutally by their sadistic captors. Now he has PTSD and feels very much alone, in spite of his sister's unwavering support.

In "Atomic Love," Jennie Field touches on such themes as the horrors of war; the pain of unrequited love; America's obsession with rooting out communists during the McCarthy era; and the sidelining of working women after the GIs returned home. Unfortunately, the novel is weakened by its melodramatic developments and the author's heavy-handed prose ("She looks up into his eyes and is bathed in his belief in her."). Its flaws notwithstanding, this work of historical fiction should appeal to readers who enjoy a fast-paced, romantic, and engrossing tale about a conflicted heroine who faces life-changing decisions.

The setting for Atomic Love has a special place in my heart, Chicago, and, more specifically, The University of Chicago, and it was the reason why I picked up the book in the first place. The book takes place in 1950 and follows two POV's: Special Agent Charlie Szydlo (a former POW turned law graduate and FBI agent) and Rosalind Porter (a former physicist who worked with Fermi on The Manhattan Project). Five years after being let go from Fermi's team and being dumped by her boyfriend, Thomas Weaver, another physicist on the team, Rosalind finds herself working at Marshall Fields. Rosalind continues to grapple with the guilt she has for the role she played in the dropping of the bombs when Weaver reaches out to her out of the blue. She at first refuses to meet with him but is persuaded when Agent Szydlo convinces her to become a spy for the government to find out what nuclear secrets Weaver may have sold to the Russians. Rosalind's life is turned upside-down as she is pulled into the crosshairs of the Cold War. Her love for Weaver blinds her to the possibility that he may have betrayed state secrets. Still, as events unfold and her friendship with Agent Szydlo becomes stronger, Rosalind's allegiance to Weaver begins to falter.
 
While this book was meticulously researched, I had a hard time dealing with Rosalind's feelings for Weaver. It was borderline psychological abusive how Weaver had this control over her. Her inability to make rational decisions when in his presence was not romantic in the least bit. I struggled to get through the parts in which Weaver's character was present, and it was harder to deal with Rosalind's fantastic ability to block out Weaver's betrayal of state secrets. She was in total denial, and it overshadowed the fact that she was supposed to be this super brainy physicist. Look, I get it, as women we can be smart AND have personal issues, but this was just insanely overdone. Maybe she was dealing with a level of PTSD as she was drawn into this huge ordeal, who knows. Putting aside the character flaws, I would still recommend this book to anyone interested in Cold War fiction.

This book tells the story of Rosalind Porter in 1950s Chicago five years after she worked as a physicist on the Manhattan project alongside her former lover Thomas Weaver. She is trying to rebuild her life away from science now that she is riddled with guilt over the lives that were lost due to atomic bomb she helped build. One day her ex, Weaver shows back up in her life and she wants nothing to do with him. At the same time, she notices she’s being followed by a tall man who ends up being an FBI agent. This agent believes Weaver is involved in selling secrets to the atomic bomb to the Russian government and wants Rosalind’s help confirming it. The rest of the book tells the story of love, heartbreak, crazy government secrets and FBI investigations. It was a good read! When a lot of historical fiction is focused around WWII, I thought it was so interesting to read about that time in history for a change. 4/5

Hooked by page 1. This has everything: history, romance, mystery, suspense... all sewn together with decent writing and strong characters. Loved this.

*I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley.

Atomic Love is a captivating historical fiction novel with a hint of mystery about the women who played a role in the Cold War. The characters are well-written, bold, and strong but flawed, making the story flow smoothly and quickly. The story is sure to take you on a journey of discovery and pull you in from the beginning.

For fans of HANNAH'S WAR and THE ATOMIC CITY GIRLS, ATOMIC LOVE has the pacing of a spy thriller, the steaminess of a romance novel, and the emotional depth/character development of literary fiction. Set in post-World War II Chicago, Fields weaves together elements of these sometimes disparate genres for a page-turner that will keep you up past your bedtime.

I read the historical fiction in ONE day! Usually I like to take breaks and spread out my reading when its a historical fiction but this was such an enjoyable read. I love the lead is a female nuclear scientist!! We need more of that represented in fiction. The narrative was descriptive and engaging. The story flowed naturally even with the flashback memories. I sometimes find that it can make novels a little confusing to follow but not Atomic Love. So well written and the fasted historical fiction book I've read since Next Year in Havana! Even if you aren't one to read historical fiction often, I would pick this one up as it is special. Full disclosure, some parts are heavy when the author discusses the abuse, torture, and harassment when they were in POW camp. I think it was presented appropriately and it isn't found throughout the entire book. I enjoyed the historical aspect when they discuss the red scare, life before and after the bomb, and society during this time. I enjoyed this book so much and it is a new historical fiction novel I will recommend to others!

I'm a big fan of espionage and intrigue and have been reading a lot of wartime stories lately, but the love triangle never really clicked with me. I've always found them frustrating.

The description of Atomic Love was right up my alley, but the story was not engaging at all and I found the main characters all to be unlikeable. I am really sad that this didn't turn out as I wanted it. I love a good historical fiction/romance but this just wasn't for me.

As a female scientist myself, I found the premise of this novel and the protagonist to be very interesting. I chose to read this book because it is about a woman who worked on the Manhattan Project. She lost her job and is now working in the more traditionally feminine profession of selling jewelry in a department store.

During her time on the project, she was involved with another scientist and he was, unbeknownst to her, entangled with the Russians. He is also the reason she lost her prestigious job as a physicist. The complex love triangle aspect of the storyline was also interesting. The protagonist is torn between her traitorous ex-boyfriend and an FBI agent with his own backstory.

I would have enjoyed more actual scientific content, but very little was included aside from her guilt associated with contributing to the invention of the atomic bomb. There were a couple of disturbing POW scenes that were not for the faint of heart.

The main character showed herself to be a strong woman at the end of the novel. I expected a predictable conclusion with the happy couple riding off into the sunset, but this did not exactly happen. I was tempted to give this novel another star just for this refreshing ending.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The 75th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima seems an appropriate time to review Jennie Fields’ historical/romance/espionage novel set in the years following the end of WWII. Rosalind Porter was the only woman physicist working on the Manhattan Project in Chicago. Thinking the bomb would merely be used as leverage, Rosalind suffered deep regret when its destruction was ultimately unleashed. Compounded by her British colleague’s decision to end their affair, Rosalind suffers a nervous breakdown. Post-war, Rosalind is fortunate to find work in a department store.

Now her former lover, Thomas Weaver, is back in Chicago, seeking to resume their relationship. But FBI agent Charlie Szydlo (who carries his own war scars) has enlisted Rosalind to pass along to the Bureau evidence of Weaver’s leaking nuclear secrets to the Russians.

I wished there had been more science in the book. Either as a historical novel or spy novel, it didn’t go as deep as others in the genre. In my opinion, the romance aspect predominated. Nevertheless, it is a quick, easy read; predicable, yet still enjoyable.

Perhaps because the story does move quickly and touches on multiple issues, this would make a great pick for book clubs. There is much to discuss: the wisdom of using the A-bomb; career versus marriage; women in science; regret over the path not taken. If you liked “The Secrets We Kept” or “The Girls of Atomic City,” this book may be for you.

The premise of this novel was interesting - a female scientist recently fired by the Manhattan Project in Chicago is heartbroken by the break-up of her romance with a fellow scientist. She's followed by a mysterious man and has to work at a department store to pay the bills, despite her expertise and education. However, the book just didn't grab me, The characters were fairly shallow and undeveloped. The intrigue that could have taken place in the book just didn't get off the ground. This book needed a couple more drafts.

Summary:
Five years after her work on the Manhattan Project and her romance with fellow scientist Thomas Weaver ended in catastrophe, Rosalind Porter, the heroine of Atomic Love, lives in Chicago and works behind a jewelry counter. At the request of FBI agent Charlie Szydlo, Rosalind agrees to spy on her former lover who is now expected of selling atomic secrets to Russian spies.

Review:
In the first chapter or so, I thought I had a handle on the tone of Atomic Love. The number of times heroine Rosalind remarks on the color of FBI Agent Charlie Szydlo’s eyes in a single paragraph clued me in—this, I thought, was a romance novel masquerading as women’s fiction. As someone who adores and defends the romance genre whenever possible, this was by no means a detrimental assumption. But, as I kept reading, I found none of the charms of romance. Nor did I find the tension of noir, which often uses romance tropes to deliver subversive messages about society. Instead, Atomic Love sort of split the difference, becoming too dour to be a satisfying romance and too conventional to be an engrossing noir.

The author certainly does not shy away from heavy themes. The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagaski. Japanese prisoner of war camps. Geopolitics at a time when authoritarianism was happening at home and abroad. But the characters and prose Fields crafts aren’t weighty enough to bear this history. This is a novel where people say whatever pops into their head, usually in the most dramatic way possible. This is a novel where “Noooooo!” is rendered on the page (six o’s in no—I counted). This is a novel where the romantic lead–despite the attempt at a love triangle, we know he’s the romantic lead because we get his point of view–thinks things like, “Women. He’s so bad at this,” but his base-level misogyny is fine because he loves his sister and has a comically evil ex.

There are some nice historical touches and Rosalind, though she never gets to do any science on-page, does maintain a love for it. The author’s note makes it clear that the novel is meant as a celebration of female scientists and the city of Chicago, and those aspects do come across. Though not enough to make up for the tonal inconsistencies and lack of tension. This is not a subtle novel. It’s the kind of story I could see working okay on screen with actors good enough to sell the illusion of characters thinking deeply about the traumatic and weighty subject matter (or going the opposite direction and selling an effervescent pastiche of it). Not so much when we’re in the characters’ heads realizing there’s nothing going on under the surface.

WOW! This is a beautifully written novel written in WWII about love, science and spies. I loved everything about this novel and would highly recommend.

Rosalind Porter is a physicist at a time where women are being pushed out of the workforce as men come home to reclaim their lives after war. She is pushed out for many reasons and ends up working on a retail store, but once she is approached by an FBI agent, she is brought back into her past that she may not want to revisit. She was a part of building the bombs that hit Japan that aided in ending the war and is still feeling the effects of watching something she created destroy so much.

This book was an interesting love story with a weird love triangle. Rosalind was a great character to follow through this story because she wasn't a woo is me heroine, instead she was a woman who had gone through some shit and was trying to pick herself back up, but ultimately will need to truly confront the past to move forward.

My favorite part of the book was trying to figure out which character worked on what side of the law. There was definitely some underhanded things happening and I loved questioning the truth of each character.

I haven't read many books about the atomic bombs and even with that this felt so unique as it was the emotional aftermath of contributing to science that brings to a tragedy to a country.

I liked this book and am now interested to look into her backlist and see where I should go next.