Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC! I have to say, it was difficult to get into this book in the beginning chapters...but keep reading! It got really good later on, and I finished the other 75% of it in a couple days.

Notable lines:

“It didn’t sound so bad, but the mirror told me that it wasn’t just the weight, it was the alterations made by motherhood. The two bundles of joy had wreaked havoc on my frame . . . I was a piece of art.”

“The point is, feeling sorry for yourself will do nothing but make the world a worse place.”

“Even when the world was growing dark in your mind, New York refused to agree. She always kept a light on for you.”

“ . . . thank you for overlapping your world with mine for a little while. Whatever this story was, it added life to my life. And I loved it . . .”

I had quite high hopes for this book, and in the end I thought it was just... fine. The plot didn't draw me in as much as I'd hoped, although the writer is obviously skilled. All the elements were there, but for some reason it didn't come together to make a story that swept me away. I'm glad to see from the other reviews that this wasn't the case for most people, so I will still be recommending the book to those who enjoy historical fiction and women's fiction.

Can women have it all? It’s a question that has been asked for decades. On the outside, Katharina does seem to have it all — a glitzy Fifth avenue apartment, a successful husband, and two adorable kids, but she can’t help but feel like she’s not living up to her potential. When she is approached by the FBI to spy on communists, Katharine jumps at the chance. Will Katharina finally take charge of her life?

As a historical fiction lover, this book was on my radar for 2021 — that cover! It was a solid historical fiction — albeit a slow start. However; some of the characters — especially Tom — were so insufferable and that made the story lag a little bit. Regardless, it was an enjoyable read and I look forward to sharing this book with our audience. 3.5/5 stars.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy of A Woman of Intelligence in exchange for an honest review!

Katharina fights the battle still going on....can women have it all? And if a tour-de-force like Katharina can't have it all then who can?
Katharina trades her life as part of the United Nations for the upper crust society life. But not all women were ok trading their WWII life in for the post-war domestic boom of the early '50s. Being a member of society is just as hard as her work life. And supporting the star member of her family, her husband, starts to wear at her.
Great pacing on part of the author gets us to her new phase in life, undercover agent. But secrets have deadly consequences.
I just loved this novel. I must admit I am little burnt out on WWII historical fiction. So this novel is perfect for those of us loving historical novels and wanting something new. The oxymoron of New Historical is made possible and this novel proves it. I will find more of Karin Tanabe to read.

Katharina seems to have it all. In 1950's New York she lives in a beautiful apartment with her rich pediatric surgeon husband and two healthy toddler boys. She stays home and takes care of them all day while her husband is at the hospital all hours. Underneath the surface Katharina is very unhappy. She used to live a life where she, after earning a degree from Columbia, she worked as a translator for the United Nations and went out drinking and dancing with the girls and spending time with different men. Now she spend her days tending to children and staring out the window at the world passing her by. Until a man from the FBI approaches her about a college friend that they know works for the KGB and is a communist. They want her to spy on him and get more intel. Rina jumps at the chance, and starts to feel alive again, but at what cost?
This book takes a close look at what it means to be an intelligent woman unable to use it. Women who are surrounded by little kids all day will connect with Rina's life. Other women may connect with the drive to do something more with their lives than they are already doing. The books starts out strong, but gets a little slow in the middle before it picks back up. While I enjoyed the book, Rina's lack of gumption within her home life got a little tedious. That honestly could just be a bi-product of my living in a modern world where women have more say.
Overall this was an interesting read that I believe most women will enjoy. It definitely makes you pause and think about what you want out of your life and how to go and get it.

A Woman of Intelligence pulled me in from the very beginning. At first glance, Katharina seems to be a typical mother of young children struggling with the day-to-day tedium that this can bring. But, oh, she is so much more! Tanabe does an excellent job of meshing tales about Katharina's pre-baby life with her current situation. Katharina is a strong female protagonist who is willing to sacrifice her comfortable life for excitement, adventure and for her country.I sat up at night reading to find out what would happen next in Katharina's secret life. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a mix of mystery, intrigue, and historical fiction.

This book had all the ingredients for a great read—a woman not living up to her potential, spies, red scare, love story, marital relations, etc. And while the author and the main character, Rina, attempted to put it all together and tie it up into a neat package, it just didn’t work for me. The concepts and circumstances are intriguing and some sections of the book were equally intriguing. But there were way too many coincidences, the characters and their actions didn’t ring true and the ending was a bit contrived. Parts of it were very engaging and if it dug a bit deeper into the characters and their motivations, it could have been a very good read. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me a complimentary copy of "A Woman of Intelligence" by Karin Tanabe in exchange for my honest review.

This interesting work of historical fiction combines several elements to create a fascinating novel. Rina suffers from the difficulties of being sole caregiver to young boys, while her husband is involved in his career, ignoring her. She is bored and miserable. The novel captures the unfulfilling life of a housewife, GRR. it also folds this in to the social and political issues of the 1950s.

So, Rina a woman of rare intelligence and ambition, becomes an FBI recruit, dealing with a very different kind of intelligence. Her reawakening is fascinating, as the author elevates this to a political novel. I have enjoyed Tanabe’s prior novels but this one is so rich in material that highly recommend it to book clubs.

Thank you Netgalley for this very fine novel that combines so many elements.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this Arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I enjoyed this book; the main character was easy to relate to, and I loved watching her journey. The book did slow down in certain areas, but I felt that it didn't last too long and quickly pick up again—all in all, a delightful book that I would recommend to others.

DNF. I read about 1/3 of the book and started to lose interest. To be honest, I felt the beginning of the book with the mom and her two young sons a little unbelievable. Her interactions with her husband didn’t ring true for me.
Sorry to say I just was not compelled to finish. I will not post to Goodreads since I didn’t finish the book.

I love historical fiction and A Woman of Intelligence was just what I needed to get my historical fiction fix. I really enjoyed reading about how this powerful woman adjusted to life and remained a bad ass even after becoming a mother, when the world expected her to be something else. This is an amazingly well done look into the way women were (and sometimes still are) treated in the male-dominated work forces.


Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review!

When Katherina Edgeworth marries her handsome pediatric surgeon, she gives up an independent lifestyle to become a 1950’s housewife.

Before her marriage, Katherina works as an interpreter at the newly formed United Nations Building in New York. She loves the challenge of her job, her friends, and an exuberant nightlife, but then she meets Tom Edgeworth and falls in love.

Though more chaotic, what with the commitments required by Manhattan’s upper class and her daily commute, Katherina makes it work until she becomes pregnant and is forced to give up her career.

Trapped by a life she doesn’t want, Katherina accepts the opportunity to escape the bonds of motherhood- if only for a few precious hours- to become an undercover spy for the FBI. A man she once knew intimately in college is a high-ranking official in the Soviet Union and Katherina is tasked with gaining his trust as a courier delivering ‘stolen‘ US documents to the KGB.

Danger lurks around every corner, but Katherina has never felt more alive. With tensions rising at home, an illicit attraction tempts her to make a decision that will change her life forever.

This story highlights the expectations of housewives in the 1950’s, but more than that, it puts a spotlight on post war strain, the fear of communism, and racial tension.

Altogether an absorbing read!

“I voluntarily read an ARC of this book which was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.”

I really enjoyed this book. It was interesting and intriguing. I do feel there are some loose ends that could have been better tied up but a very fun read.

Let me start off by saying this, if you love the subject of history, this may be the book for you. Me, not my thing. I do enjoy a good historical fiction novel when I do not feel like I'm back in 9th grade history class. This one just wasn't quite the one for me. When I read the book summary, I was extremely excited for this book. Going into it I was expecting a kick butt "finding herself as a FBI spy" and I feel like I received tiny little sparks of that at little random times. For the most part, however, I felt like I was so bored with so much fluff of who is doing what, when, where, at this time, and all these random side characters that it just fried my nerves. Don't get me wrong, Katharina was a kick ass protagonist but after that I just didn't get into it.

'A Woman of Intelligence' combines New York City post-war storylines, and no shortage of strong women who don't back down from a challenge. The double meaning of 'intelligence" in the title is perfect - highlighting Katharina Edgeworth's considerable education as well as her foray into helping 1950s government agents. She has what would seem a charmed life on the surface, but the author doesn't sugar coat her struggles. It's a great read, and I'm betting one that will be on many airplane/beach lists this summer.

A Fifth Avenue address, parties at the Plaza, two healthy sons, and the ideal husband: what looks like a perfect life for Katharina Edgeworth is anything but. It’s 1954, and the post-war American dream has become a nightmare.
This was a historical novel that takes place in New York City in the early 1950's. Rina Edgeworth is married to her rich husband Tom who is also married to his job as a pediatric surgeon. He comes from old money and he thinks his wife should be doing a better job as a mother of two young children, Gerrit and Peter. Before her marriage she was a translator at the United Nations but now she is just a mom and she doesn't feel like she's good at being a mom. When a stranger approaches her with a proposal to help the FBI find out information about a former lover that is a Soviet spy Katharina says yes,
The writing is exceptional for women's fiction. I truly enjoyed this book!

Oh, to be intelligent and well educated can be such a blessing, yet often a curse. Such is the realization of the lead character in author Karin Tanabe's, "A Woman of Intelligence".

The year is 1952; the place - New York City.
Katherina West Edgeworth ("Rina" to her friends) - Vassar grad with a Columbia masters, speaks four languages and had been a translator at the fledgling United Nations. That is until her unavoidable change to "motherhood". Her pediatric surgeon husband was well enough off that he felt that she should stay home to raise their children. Rina acquiesced with the caveat that she may go back to work when the children are old enough. For many women, this would be a wonderful situation in which to find oneself. For someone whose educated mind is no longer rigorously challenged and who longs for adult dialogue, this could be the death knell of the person they once were. We observe Rina's struggles, hope and determination and ache alongside her as she finds her way.

Tanabe's writing style is highly descriptive and quite humorous at times. She has captured the New York City "edge" exceedingly well. There's a lot to chew on in this story - subjugation of one's intellect in order to raise children, fear of rising communism in America and family dynamics across the socio-economic spectrum. For the most part, Tanabe handles this well with only the occasional dragging of plot. Her extensive historical research is apparent and solid in the writing. However, it was exceedingly difficult to relate to the main character as frankly, her behavior is not as one would have expected from someone of her academic background. (The perceived boredom seems out of character for someone with Rina's knowledge and previous interests. Loneliness - yes; boredom - no.) That lack of connection and empathy with the main character made it difficult to stick with the story. Yet by the story's end, the characters evolved for the better and satisfying closure is achieved.

I am grateful to Ms. Tanabe and St. Martin's Press for having provided a complimentary uncorrected digital galley of this book. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

Many thanks to NetGalley and for the advance review copy of this book!

First of all, who could walk past that cover without picking up this book? STU. NING.

There were a lot of strong theme choices in A Woman of Intelligence that I expected to clash (motherhood, life in D.C., life before/after the War, Communism, wealth & class, female friendship), but surprisingly didn't. What started out ostensibly as a spy thriller quickly morphed into what I imagine is a pretty terrifyingly realistic depiction of early motherhood and the prison of domesticity. Which, oddly enough, completely worked when married to the undercover FBI agent narrative vehicle. Rina was such a compelling character; I loved her fairly racy backstory and intellect.

There were some cheesy lines that annoyed me a little ("no matter what language one spoke, laughter sounded the same the world over"), but all in all it was unreserved, at times cleverly caustic, writing. However, one detail did truly bother me about this book, and I can find no other way to describe it than the scene with the sh** stained dress. The idea is that Rina is having a horrific, chaotic morning, right? A lot of things go wrong, but the pièce de résistance is that her baby has an explosive bowel movement on her dress, which she describes as extremely visible. Shortly after this, some important things happen, but to avoid spoilers, I'll just say that Rina goes to the park and sits for a while and watches a nice family, and then later has an entire meal with an important character in a restaurant/café. Unless I missed something, she has not returned home. Is she...still wearing the dress??? The sh** stained dress?? Would people not be staring and trying to move away from her? I was very distracted by this detail.

That's all I have to say on the matter. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

I recieved this book through NetGalley, but this is an unbiased review.

This book was so well written. Since I began the book I found myself so excited to pick it up again and keep the story going. I love period pieces like this that are able to take you back into a different world and this author did just that, her description of Los Angeles and New York was so lovely. She does an amazing job describing the scenes and really pulling you into each scenario. I love her use of prominent characters during that time, such as celebrities. I loved the character development of Rina, she went from being a party girl, independent, loving life to a mother stuck in a world that she cannot relate to.

The only thing that missed the mark for me in this book was the ending, I feel like it was way too rushed. It was an Intresting progression into what could have been a more twisted plot line and it really fell short of becoming a great book vs. a good one. I appreciate the time I spent learning about the characters but I would have really wished we went more into Turners background and what Jacob and Ava were really fighting against. It just lost the luster for me in those last few chapters. I hope that maybe this author will bring out a second book to fill out some of those plot holes.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3727462296

I loved this book. The plot is beautifully written and rich in detail, in an era that is fascinating to me. Katharina definitely went against the norm of what is expected of women during this time. The story was fast paced and suspenseful.
Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.