As a fan of historical fiction, I'm partial to the stories from WWII. Most set in Europe, this one is set within Tennessee giving it a different take. Lillian hasn't heard from her sister for some time after she left her job at an Army base. She receives a phone call from her sister Eleanor's boyfriend telling her that her sister is missing, and so begins her struggle to find out what happened. She learns that to get answers, she actually needs to assume her sister's identity (easy to do as they are twins and she is mistaken for her upon her arrival), and soon finds herself enmeshed in the pivotal scientific discoveries of WWII. This was well written and engaging, but sometimes I found the characters a little lacking and would have liked to see more character development. I do think this was an interesting premise with regards to a historical fiction read, and one to check out for fans of the genre. Thanks so much to Sarah James, the publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this e-arc.

This was a debut book from Sarah James and I enjoyed the story from the beginning to end. I was surprised that there was a element of mystery involved and the story has a satisfying end. Also had a historical byline about the Oakridge facility in Tennessee. I look forward to reading more books from this author.

The book is based on an interesting premise of being set in a secret military facility during WWII and having twins of whom one impersonates the other. I have read nothing like this before. It hooked me as a reader!

This book touches on American World War Two history by telling stories that have not been largely talked about. The untold stories coming to light are what drew me to this book, but sadly I did not enjoy it. The book is nothing but trope-filled characters, and that is disappointing. I feel that there were better directions that could have been navigated and made for more developed characters. I finished reading the book for the story, but I disliked every character.

Lillian and Eleanor are identical twins, and there the resemblance stops. Lillian, brainy and introverted, is determined to become a physicist, and nothing will stand in her way. Eleanor is outgoing and social, and dreams of performing in the theater. Lillian, for whatever misguided reasons, thwarts her at every turn, even impersonating Eleanor if it suited her purposes. Eleanor follows her boyfriend, Max, to Oak Ridge, Tennessee to work on a government project which turns out to be the Manhattan Project, the development of the bomb.
Max calls Lillian one day to tell her Eleanor is missing. Lillian gets on a bus and travels to Tennessee, convinced she can sort out the whole mess and do it in less than a week. When she arrives there, she is mistaken for Eleanor. Eleanor is well and truly gone and Lillian is left to figure out what really happened. Along the way she meets Betty, whose boyfriend has also disappeared. Together, they along with a Dr. Ennis, work to figure out what really happened.
The timeline was somewhat hard to follow, flipping between 1944 and 1945, from New York to Oak Ridge, and at times, I found it difficult to figure out if Lillian was really Lillian or if she was impersonating Eleanor.

GOOD:
- It was interesting to read a tad about physicists, the development of the atom bomb, and radioactive materials during the '40's.
- Lillian was an interesting character.

THE BAD:
- The title has nothing to do with the book. Sure, Lillian is a twin, and the shadow reference is probably referring to the shadows of atom bomb victims in Japan. But that's a real stretch. And the Japan bombing do not occur in this book.
- The novel does take place near the end of WWII, but to me it didn't feel like a WWII novel. Contrary to other references her in this review, it was more of a relationship, family, love story, mystery kind if novel.
- In reading the Author's note regarding true facts and historical research, it's my belief that certain facts were grossly exaggerated for the sake of the novel's short timeframe.

CONCLUSION: Worth a beach read day, but don't expect anything to historically or emotionally highbrow.

Interesting historical fiction. Intriguing but also a degree of mystery and romance. It was fun to read prior to a trip to Knoxville.

4 stars! As a major historical fiction fan I really enjoyed this novel.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me take a peek at an early copy. My views are my own.

This book just goes on and on, it is overwritten, the character is overwrought and there is no way she took Advil in 1945, ibuprofen was only discovered in 1961! I kept reading thinking it would get better, then just wanting to know if it would all come together and make sense…disappointed on both counts.

Interesting concept and storyline. A few too many far-fetched events for my preferences, but completely worth finishing. Enjoyable quick read.

I really wanted to like this book, but I eventually DNF'd after two months of putting the book down and picking it back up. The idea was good, however the book couldn't grab my attention. The writing was good.

I want to start off by saying that I received a complimentary ebook copy. In return for my honest thoughts and review. I haven’t read anything from this author before. I do plan on adding more of this authors book to my tbr. I know this book is already released. But I still wanted to get my review up everywhere. I knew I had to read this book I have twins in my family. I love to historical fiction and this book has twin sisters. Yes I am reading. I like that this book had two different time lines. It’s where Lillian was thinking back about her sister. Some of Lillian actions kinda threw me off. But I don’t have a sister and I know that having a sister they do things because they curious how the other lives. When Lillian learns that no one has see or heard from her sister Eleanor. Who went to Tennessee for a top secret military base with her boyfriend. Lillian decides to go and find her sister. But Lillian discovers there more going at the military base then they are leading on. when her sisterYes this book did take me longer to read. But I needed to know what happened with Eleanor. I wish the ended was different but it was still a good ending. I do still recommend this book. I loved all the historical and twin part of this book. Thank you to netgalley and the author again for allowing me the opportunity to read such amazing book. I love the strong female characters in this book. My reviews will be posted on amazon and goodreads and bookbub

A great debut by Sarah James. Historical fiction meets thriller in this WWII book set in Oak Ridge, TN around working at one of the secret facilities associated with the Manhattan Project.

1945 New York and Tennessee. This is about twins who had a very close relationship, with the "older" one feeling the protector. After a huge confrontation, the younger one, Eleanor, goes to Tennessee to work and find her boyfriend. Later, when she disappears, her boyfriend contacted the other twin, Lillian, to help find her. The location is on a secret military base where they are developing the fusion bomb. Spies, danger, murder, love, hatred, psychological twists, higher intelligence thinking all flow over one another. Lots of raw feelings exposed. Keeps you hooked as the story unfolds in a way that keeps you guessing to the very end. Not the nicest people, but there are moments of soft feelings and vulnerability.
I received this book free from the publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

#TheWomanwithTwoShadows #SarahJames #NetGalley #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #HistoricalFiction #SourcebooksLandmark

I read this book in less than a 10 hour span. That in itself says a lot about the book since my average time with a book is 5 days.
The first 1/3 section of the book intrigued me even though it started a little slower than what I would have liked. The middle 1/3 made me almost put it aside due to the unnecessary cursing and lull in the storyline. The ending 1/3 became so odd that I just had to finish it to see how the author decided to end it. I was not particularly excited or satisfied about the ending. The thing that kept me reading was the suspense and my insane curiosity.
The only thing that made the 1940’s timeline make sense was the author’s note at the end. Most of the incidents throughout the book seemed present day. It was like the author was writing in a dual timeline but not letting the reader in on it.
Anyway, my 3 star rating reflects the nice suspenseful detective like feeling throughout the book.

I was given an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The bones of this story are good, taking place as the first atomic bomb is being developed in 1945. There were lots of opportunities to explore important issues like the morality of creating a bomb with such killing potential, like plutonium testing on mostly unsuspecting people, even like the difficulties faced by women wanting a career in physics. Unfortunately, none of those were examined with much depth so the novel felt lightweight. The characters were well developed; the unlikeableness (is that even a word?) of each did add to their believability.

Thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC to read and review.

A murder mystery woven with a historical fiction, the characters are involved in scientific advancements that have been cloaked in secrecy. This story offers some unpredictable plot twists.

A fantastic gripping America's World War 2 story with expertly crafted story line and characters by the author Sarah James. Eleanor Kaufman is missing after she left home in New York for a mysterious job at an army base somewhere in Tennessee. Lilian Kaufman's non identical twin sister Eleanor was supposed to return home in December just about the time when Lillian was to bid Farewell to Columbia University forever and go to much greener pastures of Harvard to do her doctoral program with real research involved. The location were Eleanor left to was so secretive and not an address given. Lillian was talented, brave, Intelligent and ambitious practicing for winning the Allerton Prize. If she wins the Allerton prize she gets to go to Harvard. Nothing and no one could stop Lillian from winning a full scholarship to Harvard. As the late news was the end of the battle of Berlin, the death of Hitler - celebrations in the streets of Europe had lined the NEW YORK TIMES for a week and a half. What was Eleanor doing at the Army base. Lillian didn't hear from Eleanor. Lillian had no interest in joining the war effort. Her mother needed care. Eleanor avoided responsibility by disappearing.

Lillian and Eleanor grew up together, spending every second together. Although they had differences in the way they behave and silent feuds that go on for days they had looked similar. On an unexpected phone call from Max Medelson who was half the physicist she was anyway, she learns that Eleanor is missing, Lillian takes a train from New York down to Oak Ridge to find Eleanor and clear up the matter. Max had courted Eleanor and Lillian hated it. Eleanor well being brought petty jealousy to Lillian.

The story is about a town and its people that officially never existed and the secrecy behind one of the Manhattan Project's top-secret cities responsible for creating the atom bomb used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. James's debut is wonderfully written and captivating. An unputdownable book with plenty of mysterious twists and turns in the story creating suspense along with history.

I just reviewed the book, The Woman with Two Shadows by Sarah James, Thanks to the publisher Sourcebooks Landmark and Netgalley for an advance copy for my honest review.

“I don’t think there’s anything quite like humanity’s capacity to delude ourselves if it makes us feel better.”

The Woman with Two Shadows takes you to a critical moment in the development of nuclear weapons for the United States military during WWII. The story progresses from unpacking the drama between identical twin sisters Lillian and Eleanor Kaufman, tracking down clues for suspicious activities at the Oak Ridge facility, and the inevitable moral backlash of developing and detonating nuclear bombs, However, the underlying narrative is a study in human ambition and the ways that people can justify errors in judgement and even violent mistakes when driven by a belief that the ends justify the means.

I really enjoyed the setup, storyline, surprise twists, and psychological/moral dilemmas presented, as well as the chance to learn about the Oak Ridge nuclear facility in Tennessee. The development of large-scale weaponry is an interesting but important moral conundrum sadly relevant to our modern world. I only wish that Lillian’s cold, calculating character were a little more relatable,

The Woman with Two Shadows offers a fascinating and involving look at the work that was done in Oak Ridge, Tennessee during WWII. Readers will find themselves quite involved with the history, the story and the characters.

Here we have twins who, while the same in many ways, want different things. What happens when one needs to assume the other’s identity?

Lillian strives for a prestigious math prize. The author says that she wants to go to Harvard which is a bit off, so a small criticism here. I think that, at that time, female students went to Radcliffe. Still, that should not spoil the story for readers.

Younger twin Eleanor wants to be an actress but this is not happening so she takes a job in Oak Ridge, TN, only to disappear. Ironically, Lillian who doesn’t want to act, takes on the biggest acting job imaginable when she has to pretend to be Eleanor. What has happened to Eleanor? How will Lillian manage her new life and what will she learn?

I recently read a book called The Physicists’ Daughter. It was different from this title but shares with it the work that led to the development of the bomb in WWII. Each of these novels offers a sense of history, engaging characters, twist and turns, and menace. They can be read as bookends.

Readers will be drawn into the story. Fans of historical fiction, take a look.

Many thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for this title. All opinions are my own.