I loved this book! It's well-written, enjoyable, and a great read. The author did a great job of writing in a way that captures the readers attention, and makes you not want to put it down until you're finished! I would highly recommend it!

"**The Librarian Spy**" by Madeline Martin is an extensively researched and eloquently crafted work of historical fiction. The novel sheds light on the often-overlooked contributions of librarians during World War II, intertwining espionage with the narrative of a strong female lead. It is an ideal choice for readers who appreciate narratives set in historical periods, featuring empowered women and intricate spy tales. Although some may find the narrative's progression measured, the depth of detail and emotional depth ultimately enrich the reading experience.

To summarize, "**The Librarian Spy**" stands out in its literary category for its insightful portrayal of the courage and resourcefulness of librarians and spies during the war. The novel's fidelity to historical events, coupled with its engaging narrative, makes it a commendable recommendation.

This was a different perspective than most other WWII stories I’ve read. I liked that about it. It took me a while to get into it but it was well done.

Well researched with descriptive detail, this story draws you into the struggle of the human heart when faced with such dark times and the triumph of light over darkness.

I am a fan of World War II fiction, so this was a no brainer for me! I loved the writing style, and the alternating perspectives was a great way to tell this story. I felt so connected to the characters, right up until the end. Librarians and spies and history all rolled into one, sign me up! The author did a great job of showing the strength and passion of these women working so hard during such a terrible time in history. I had never read something that took place in Lisbon before, so that was new and very engaging for me. This was also my first time reading a book by this author, and I am happy to say I will be looking into her other books as well!

I was given an advanced reader's copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own

I was expecting The Librarian Spy to be just another World War II story, and there are alot of them out there, but reading about how Lisbon played a part in the war was a new angle for me. I cared deeply for the characters and appreciated that they did not all have a happy ending in keeping with the realities of that period in history. I highly recommend this book.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the alternating points of view. I felt like I had to hold my breath through a lot of this book. It was definitely suspenseful in spots.

This is a great example of WWII historical fiction done right. I loved the Lisbon setting and the focus on two female protagonists. A great option for readers who loved The Nightingale or The Rose Code.

I loved reading this book and could not put it down. I have read plenty of books on World War II but this one is written on a very different aspect It is a page-turner.

The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press for the ARC copy for my review.

This was based on real events and was well researched. This story took place during World War II in Lisbon, Portugal and occupied France.

The author does an amazing job of showing us the cruelty of war and the strength of the women doing their part during the war.

Very much looking forward to reading her next novel.

#NetGalley #TheLibrarianSpy

While the title of The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin intrigued me, its plot was perhaps too dense for me to fully appreciate. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Saskia Maarleveld which wasn't the ideal format as I confused some of the character details and plot points that may be easier to track in print.

This World War II story featuring a French resistance worker and an American librarian is well researched. Ava is a librarian at the Library of Congress when the US military offers her an opportunity to serve as a spy in Portugal, aiding efforts to track German activity. Elaine is French and a member of the resistance, assisting with printing and distributing an underground newspaper. Told in alternating chapters, Ava and Elaine's lives intersect through their anti-Nazi activity.

The story, inspired by true events, shared insights into the daily hardships of wartime in an occupied country contrasted with the relative luxury of life in neutral Portugal. The treatment and plight of war refugees was also included in a subplot.

Thank you to Hanover Square Press and NetGalley for the review copy of this novel.

Thank you to the publisher for a free netgalley.

Though I think the WW2 novel market is over saturated, what drew me to this one was the unique premise of librarians assisting, as well as, the setting of Lisbon. We are heading to Portugal this summer so I finally picked this one up.

I really enjoyed Miller's writing and liked the dual plots. Both women's stories were interesting and I loved how it all came together. I plan on reading more books by this author and I am sorry it took me so long to get to this galley!

WWII historical fiction? Librarian to spy? Count me in!

While I typically enjoy reading a historical fiction World War Two book from time to time, I found this book to simply be an okay read. The storylines fell a bit flat, there was nothing captivating to make me want to continue reading and find out what happens to the characters, the entire thing just had an average historical fiction feel. However, this is just my personal opinion. If you enjoy WWII history and librarians turned spies, then check this book out.

Ava Harper is a librarian at the Library of Congress. She is eventually sent to work at a library in Lisbon to spy on the Germans who reside there. Shortly after her arrival, she receives a coded message from Elaine, who works for the Resistance at a printing press, to help a Jewish mother and son find safe passage to America. Ava immediately agrees to help. Elaine and Ava are determined to risk everything-including their lives-to save the mother and son.

Ava is a fascinating character. She is a woman who has a traumatic past. She was an orphan, and her only relative is her brother, who is currently fighting in the war. In order to save her brother, she is determined to become a spy. I really adore Ava’s love for her books. Her books are her comfort and strength. I also like how Ava is very kind, compassionate, and selfless. She is very brave and often puts herself in danger. Thus, Ava was a compelling character.

I found Elaine to be a more intriguing character than Ava. She joined the Resistance to help save her husband who was captured by the Germans. She is also selfless, empathetic, and caring. She cares for both her friends and strangers. She is very courageous and takes many risks of being captured by the Germans. Thus, Elaine was a more engaging character, and I wanted to know how her story ends.

Overall, this novel is about friendship, loss, and hope. The message of the book is that no matter how dark and hopeless it seems, there is always a silver lining. While I found Ava and Elaine to be well-developed characters, the other characters are very cliché. I loved Elaine’s storyline more than Ava's because it is very action-packed and shows the cruelties of war. Ava’s story had very little action until the end. Her story did not focus on her role as a spy but was heavily focused on romance. The main plot of the story does not start until halfway through the book. Therefore, I would have enjoyed it better if there was more focus on Elaine’s story and Ava had less chapters. Still, I liked the setting of neutral Portugal and war-torn France. The writing style is very simplistic and easy to read. The Librarian Spy is an absorbing read for those who love reading about WWII. Even if you are tired of reading WWII novels, it is still worth a read because of its unique setting. I recommend this novel for fans of The Codebreaker’s Secret, The Rose Code, and The Girl from Guernica!

The Librarian Spy written by Madaline Martin is another in a long line of historical novels being written about books, libraries and the Holocaust. Martin also wrote The Last Bookshop in London and The Keeper of Hidden Books both books about the role books and librarians played in World War II.

In this novel we meet two different women who lives were changed by World War II. Helene who as a young married woman moves with her husband to Lyon, France from Paris. There she is just a housewife as her husband tries to protect her from the horror of a war unfolding. When he does not come home one evening from work, after they argued in the morning, Helene does not know what to think. When she finds out her husband was a leader in the Resistance, she regrets the arguments they had before he left. Taking on a new persona, Helene becomes Elaine and starts to work for the Resistance. She is determined to make a difference in the war and help end the atrocities.

Meanwhile living a different kind of life, Ava Harper leaves her job at the Library of Congress in the Rare Books room to come to Lisbon, Portugal to help the United States uncover what is happening in Europe. She works reading the local newspapers and sending messages back to the US. A coded message catches her eye and she gets involved in trying to rescue a young Jewish mother and her child in their effort to escape to America. Ava also finds herself anxious to help the people who are being persecuted at personal risk to herself. She must be careful when she finds the man across the hall ahs been taken away by police. Then she is being followed and she realizes someone has been coming in her apartment looking throuogh her things. It is a race against time to help Sarah and Noah get on a ship to the US

Based on a composite of real people and real events of World War II, Martin has created characters who are living the lives experiences she imagines were happening in Portugal and France in 1943. This is a well researched novel that will leave you amazed by the bravery and caring of these characters.

This is my first book of the year and oh my goodness, it's fantastic. It languished in my TBR stack for far too long and I am so glad I finally picked it up. Libraries, books, and espionage. How can you resist that?

Ava is a librarian at the Library of Congress and is offered a chance to work in Lisbon with the military, gathering intelligence, which comes in the form of newspapers. The papers are read for information the allies can glean about the Germans.

Elaine is a member of the French Resistance, publishing forbidden resistance news. When her paper comes into Ava's possession, these two brave women ultimately connect through coded messages and a young Jewish family.

The dual stories in the same timeline worked well and I kept anticipating when they would merge. In the meantime, their individual stories were captivating.

The author does not shy away from the atrocities of war and what happened to those who resisted. I can't even imagine what it was like to have to live it. I also had no idea that Portugal was considered a neutral territory and that so many refugees found themselves there, waiting for transport to Britain and America.

The story is well written with beautifully descriptive prose. It features strong, resilient women who understand what is at stake with this war and lives that are affected. These women see a need and are driven to take action. The female resistance fighters working with Elaine are amazing. Nicole, Denise and Manon have their own reasons for resisting and they give no inch. Truly, the men and women who survived in Europe during the war were stellar and brave.

The author's note taught me so much about the librarians who worked in Portugal and the history there. Her research was meticulous and it shows in the writing.

This is a matter of it's me not the book. I have just read too many WWII books and even more resistance books lately. While the topic is important and valuable, I have found my tolerance for yet another WWII backdrop book is low. This book had all the promising factors of a good book with strong female leads, historical fiction and solid writing. But at the end of the day, I just didn't love it, because frankly, I've just read too much WWII. I wish this favorite backdrop for books would change.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for the e-copy of this book.

This is a dual storyline WWII novel. It follows Ava who is an American in Lisbon, Portugal collecting newspapers and other materials to copy and send back to America to help track the war and provide possible intel. The other storyline follows Elaine in Leon, France who joins the resistance effort and helps with their newsletter. In some ways this felt like two completely different stories/books. Their storylines only overlap in the sense that Ava is receiving copies of the newsletters that Elaine is producing and, at one point, they both help a mother and son try to get to America. Since it felt like two separate stories, I wanted more from both. The Elaine story tries to create a villain in a specific Nazi, but he's really just mentioned by name as a ruthless man who tortures his prisoners. I wanted to have more experience with him to really see him as a threat in the story where I truly celebrated his demise. I wanted characters further developed to really connect with them and more insight into what the resistance was doing. As for the Ava story, aside from copying the newsletters, I didn't really feel like they were being spies. There is a small part about her with a British spy, but even that felt underdeveloped in terms of espionage. It almost felt more like a romantic interest rather than spy work. Each story could have been a book on its own, so I wanted a little bit more to raise the stakes in each story. It all worked on a whole and it created an interesting novel, but I found myself wanting a little bit more suspense, especially if we're dealing with spies and the resistance. Elaine's story had more suspense/threat than Ava's.

On a whole it was an enjoyable book. It was interesting to learn about the librarians' efforts to record materials and to learn about WWII Portugal. However, come the end, the novel on a whole was not overly memorable in a sea of WWII fiction. I would not dissuade someone from reading it - it was a good book - I'm just not rushing off to tell everyone about it.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

A interesting take on civilian side-espionage during World War II with well-developed characters. Each have their own distinct voice and personality and the story is interesting, if similar to other WWII espionage tales of late.

4/5 ⭐️
Anything that has to do with World War 2 and the Holocaust are a automatic read for me. This was no exception. I really loved this story of these two women.