I think working for the Library of Congress would be a fun, yet quiet job! Getting the opportunity to travel sounds even better.... but being a spy? Yeah, I'm not sold on that... However, this was a different time and serving our country was important to people. I love that Ava found a friend and was able to find a friendship during this difficult time in life because I can't imagine how lonely her job must have been. Books like this really give me the feels and I can't stop reading them. I feel like I'm transported to another time and place.

I was not familiar with any of Madeline Martin's previous works so I was not sure what to expect.

This is a dual point of view story about two women during WW2. Ava, a librarian at the Library of Congress, is asked by the military to move to Lisbon, Portugal. Elaine, in occupied France, has taken a job as an apprentice for a printing press for the Resistance.

I felt like the writing was fine but the story development was weak. There was really no spying going on. I often felt like details were dropped from the story that would have helped make it a more solid story. Often, I found myself questioning if something had been accidentally omitted because of the missing details of the storyline.

I feel like the genre is so strong especially in WW2 historical fiction that the mark is set high. For me this book just fell mighty short.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

I'm a little bit of a World War II nerd, and I believe I am not alone in this considering the plethora of options in the genre. Given that, I read a lot of books about . This is the first book I have read about Lisbon, Portugal during the war and the resistance efforts using newspapers. I don't know how I have missed such a wealth of information, but I'm so glad to have started with The Librarian Spy



Like a lot of these novels, The Librarian Spy is absolutely heart breaking. What I loved about the story Madeline Martin told was her distinct honesty. She did not flinch away from the atrocities of war. She allowed the narrative flow to build but also didn't exaggerate descriptions simply for shock value. She really respected the lives and deaths of the victims of Hitler with her poignant words.

The Librarian Spy is a superb example of the power of historical fiction.

F0r fans of historical fiction, The Librarian Spy is a must read. This captivating tale grabs you from the first page and holds you to the end. From its rich characters to its clever, historical plot, readers will be delighted.

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Can't go wrong with highlighting female characters (especially a libarrian!) operating in lesser-known aspects of WWII.

While well-written and very well researched, I did not really love this one. The pace of the story dragged and nothing about it really stood out. I was disappointed that the two main characters don't interact until the very end of the novel..

Like her first mainstream historical novel, Madeline Martin’s The Librarian Spy (a title designed to catch attention) is set during WWII. While continuing with her theme of the power of the written word, she moves her locale from London to Lisbon and Lyon, France, in her portrait of two women battling Nazi oppression, as well as the invisible thread that connects them.

In 1943, Ava Harper, though content in her plum job as a rare book librarian at the Library of Congress, finds herself recruited into a higher purpose due to her work ethic and facility with languages. In Lisbon, in neutral Portugal, she becomes responsible for acquiring and microfilming international news sources for shipment back home. As a librarian, it was cool to read a novel in which microfilm (which is becoming an outdated technology) was in such high demand!

While eager to help the Allies, Ava’s used to a more sedate lifestyle and is somewhat unworldly. She gets nervous when her neighbor is arrested and dragged away in the middle of the night; did a careless statement of hers get him in trouble?

One day, while browsing one of the papers she obtains, Ava notices an apparent encoded message that turns out to be a cry for assistance, though few details are given. This note forms the link between Ava and Elaine Rousseau – not her birth name – a Frenchwoman living under the Vichy regime in Lyon who joins the resistance. Through Elaine’s story, which is the more suspenseful of the two, readers view the courage and altruism that drives Elaine and her fellow resistance members to risk their lives. Secrets are prevalent, even amongst couples and families, and the deep love between Elaine and her husband Joseph, who has gone missing, is sensitively revealed.

There are many new novels focusing on resistance activities during WWII, and on this topic, The Librarian Spy didn’t stand out from the pack for me. That said, I appreciated the angle on covert publishing and information transmission during the war and the focus on day-to-day life in the less familiar setting of wartime Lisbon.

Hello, all!

Today I bring to you The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin. I was graciously given a copy by the publisher and as of yesterday, it's now available!





Book Summary: From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Bookshop in London comes a moving new novel inspired by the true history of America’s library spies of World War II.

Ava thought her job as a librarian at the Library of Congress would mean a quiet, routine existence. But an unexpected offer from the US military has brought her to Lisbon with a new mission: posing as a librarian while working undercover as a spy gathering intelligence.

Meanwhile, in occupied France, Elaine has begun an apprenticeship at a printing press run by members of the Resistance. It’s a job usually reserved for men, but in the war, those rules have been forgotten. Yet she knows that the Nazis are searching for the press and its printer in order to silence them.

As the battle in Europe rages, Ava and Elaine find themselves connecting through coded messages and discovering hope in the face of war.



Read on for an excerpt from the book! :)






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EXCERPT:

April 1943

Washington, DC

There was nothing Ava Harper loved more than the smell of old books. The musty scent of aging paper and stale ink took one on a journey through candlelit rooms of manors set amid verdant hills or ancient castles with turrets that stretched up to the vast, unknown heavens. These were tomes once cra­dled in the spread palms of forefathers, pored over by scholars, devoured by students with a rapacious appetite for learning. In those fragrant, yellowed pages were stories of the past and eternal knowledge.



It was a fortunate thing indeed she was offered a job in the Rare Book Room at the Library of Congress where the ar­chaic aroma of history was forever present.

She strode through the middle of three arches to where the neat rows of tables ran parallel to one another and care­fully gathered a stack of rare books in her arms. They were different sizes and weights, their covers worn and pages un­even at the edges, and yet somehow the pile seemed to fit to­gether like the perfect puzzle. Regardless of the patron who left them after having requested far more than was necessary for an afternoon’s perusal.

Their eyes were bigger than their brains. It was what her brother, Daniel, had once proclaimed after Ava groused about the com­mon phenomena—one she herself had been guilty of—when he was home on leave.

Ever since, the phrase ran through her thoughts on each encounter of an abandoned collection. Not that it was the fault of the patron. The philosophical greats of old wouldn’t be able to glean that much information in an afternoon. But she liked the expression regardless and how it always made her recall Daniel’s laughing gaze as he said it.

They’d both inherited their mother’s moss green eyes, though Ava’s never managed to achieve that same sparkle of mirth so characteristic of her older brother.



A glance at her watch confirmed it was almost noon. A knot tightened in her stomach as she recalled her brief chat with Mr. MacLeish earlier that day. A meeting with the Librarian of Congress was no regular occurrence, especially when it was followed by the scrawl of an address on a slip of paper and the promise of a new opportunity that would suit her.

Whatever it was, she doubted it would fit her better than her position in the Rare Book Room. She absorbed lessons from these ancient texts, which she squeezed out at whim to aid patrons unearth sought-after information. What could possibly appeal to her more?

Ava approached the last table at the right and gently closed La Maison Reglée, the worn leather cover smooth as butter be­neath her fingertips. The seventeenth century book was one of the many gastronomic texts donated from the Katherine Golden Bitting collection. She had been a marvel of a woman who utilized her knowledge in her roles at the Department of Agriculture and the American Canners Association.

Every book had a story and Ava was their keeper. To leave her place there would be like abandoning children.

Robert floated in on his pretentious cloud and surveyed the room with a critical eye. She clicked off the light lest she be subjected to the sardonic flattening of her coworker’s lips.

He held out his hand for La Maison Reglée, a look of irrita­tion flickering over his face.

“I’ll put it away.” Ava hugged it to her chest. After all, he didn’t even read French. He couldn’t appreciate it as she did.

She returned the tome to its collection, the family reunited once more, and left the opulence of the library. The crisp spring DC air embraced her as she caught the streetcar toward the address printed in the Librarian of Congress’s own hand.



Ava arrived at 2430 E Street, NW ten minutes before her appointment, which turned out to be beneficial considering the hoops she had to jump through to enter. A stern man, whose expression did not alter through their exchange, con­fronted her at a guardhouse upon entry. Apparently, he had no more understanding of the meeting than she.

Once finally allowed in, she followed a path toward a large white-columned building.

Ava snapped the lid on her overactive imagination lest it get the better of her—which it often did—and forced herself on­ward. After being led through an open entryway and down a hall, she was left to sit in an office possessing no more than a desk and two hardbacked wooden chairs. They made the seats in the Rare Book Room seem comfortable by comparison. Clearly it was a place made only for interviews.

But for what?

Ava glanced at her watch. Whoever she was supposed to meet was ten minutes late. A pang of regret resonated through her at having left her book sitting on her dresser at home.

She had only recently started Daphne du Maurier’s Re­becca and was immediately drawn in to the thrill of a young woman swept into an unexpected romance. Ava’s bookmark rested temptingly upon the newly married couple’s entrance to Manderley, the estate in Cornwall.

The door to the office flew open and a man whisked in wearing a gray, efficient Victory suit—single breasted with narrow lapels and absent any cuffs or pocket flaps—fashioned with as little fabric as was possible. He settled behind the desk. “I’m Charles Edmunds, secretary to General William Dono­van. You’re Ava Harper?”

The only name familiar of the three was her own. “I am.”

He opened a file, sifted through a few papers, and handed her a stack. “Sign these.”

“What are they?” She skimmed over them and was met with legal jargon.

“Confidentiality agreements.”

“I won’t sign anything I don’t read fully.” She lifted the pile.

The text was drier than the content of some of the more lackluster rare books at the Library of Congress. Regardless, she scoured every word while Mr. Edmunds glared irritably at her, as if he could will her to sign with his eyes. He couldn’t, of course. She waited ten minutes for his arrival; he could wait while she saw what she was getting herself into.

Everything indicated she would not share what was dis­cussed in the room about her potential job opportunity. It was nothing all too damning and so she signed, much to the great, exhaling impatience of Mr. Edmunds.

“You speak German and French.” He peered at her over a pair of black-rimmed glasses, his brown eyes probing.

“My father was something of a linguist. I couldn’t help but pick them up.” A visceral ache stabbed at her chest as a memory flitted through her mind from years ago—her father switch­ing to German in his excitement for an upcoming trip with her mother for their twenty-year anniversary. That trip. The one from which her parents had never returned.

“And you’ve worked with photographing microfilm.” Mr. Edmunds lifted his brows.

A frown of uncertainty tugged at her lips. When she first started at the Library of Congress, her duties had been more in the area of archival than a typical librarian role as she micro­filmed a series of old newspapers that time was slowly erod­ing. “I have, yes.”

“Your government needs you,” he stated in a matter-of-fact manner that broached no argument. “You are invited to join the Office of Strategic Services—the OSS—under the information gathering program called the Interdepartmen­tal Committee for the Acquisition of Foreign Publications.”

Her mind spun around to make sense of what he’d just said, but her mouth flew open to offer its own knee-jerk opinion. “That’s quite the mouthful.”

“IDC for short,” he replied without hesitation or humor. “It’s a covert operation obtaining information from newspa­pers and texts in neutral territories to help us gather intel on the Nazis.”

“Would I require training?” she asked, unsure how know­ing German equipped her to spy on them.

“You have all the training you need as I understand it.”

He began to reassemble the file in front of him. “You would go to Lisbon.”

“In Portugal?”

He paused. “It is the only Lisbon of which I am aware, yes.”

No doubt she would have to get there by plane. A shiver threatened to squeeze down her spine, but she repressed it. “Why am I being recommended for this?”

“Your ability to speak French and German.” Mr. Edmunds held up his forefinger. “You know how to use microfilm.” He ticked off another finger. “Fred Kilgour recommends your keen intellect.” There went another finger.

That was a name she recognized.

She aided Fred the prior year when he was microfilm­ing foreign publications for the Harvard University Library. After the months she’d spent doing as much for the Library of Congress, the process had been easy to share, and he had been a quick learner.

“And you’re pretty.” Mr. Edmunds sat back in his chair, the final point made.

The compliment was as unwarranted in such a setting as it was unwelcome. “What does my appearance have to do with any of this?”

He lifted a shoulder. “Beauties like yourself can get what they want when they want it. Except when you scowl like that.” He nodded his chin up. “You should smile more, Dollface.”

That was about enough.

“I did not graduate top of my class from Pratt and obtain a much sought-after position at the Library of Congress to be called ‘Dollface.’” She pushed up to standing.

“And you’ve got steel in that spine, Miss Harper.” Mr. Ed­munds ticked the last finger.

She opened her mouth to retort, but he continued. “We need this information so we best know how to fight the Krauts. The sooner we have these details, the sooner this war can be over.”

She remained where she stood to listen a little longer. No doubt he knew she would.

“You have a brother,” he went on. “Daniel Harper, staff sergeant of C Company in Second Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, in the 101st Airborne Division.”

The Airborne Division. Her brother had run toward the fear of airplanes despite her swearing off them.

“That’s correct,” she said tightly. Daniel would never have been in the Army were it not for her. He would be an engi­neer, the way he’d always wanted.

Mr. Edmunds took off his glasses and met her gaze with his small, naked eyes. “Don’t you want him to come home sooner?”

It was a dirty question meant to slice deep.

And it worked.

The longer the war continued, the greater Daniel’s risk of being killed or wounded.

She’d done everything she could to offer aid. When the ra­tion was only voluntary, she had complied long before it be­came law. She gave blood every few months, as soon as she was cleared to do so again. Rather than dance and drink at the Elk Club like her roommates, Ava spent all her spare time in the Production Corps with the Red Cross, repairing uni­forms, rolling bandages, and doing whatever was asked of her to help their men abroad.

She even wore red lipstick on a regular basis, springing for the costly tube of Elizabeth Arden’s Victory Red, the civilian counterpart to the Montezuma Red servicewomen were issued. Ruby lips were a derisive biting of the thumb at Hitler’s war on made-up women. And she would do anything to bite her thumb at that tyrant.

Likely Mr. Edmunds was aware of all this.

“You will be doing genuine work in Lisbon that can help bring your brother and all our boys home.” Mr. Edmunds got to his feet and held out his hand, a salesman with a silver tongue, ready to seal the deal. “Are you in?”

Ava looked at his hand. His fingers were stubby and thick, his nails short and well-manicured.

“I would have to go on an airplane, I’m assuming.”

“You wouldn’t have to jump out.” He winked.

Her greatest fear realized.

But Daniel had done far more for her.

It was a single plane ride to get to Lisbon. One measly take­off and landing with a lot of airtime in between. The bottoms of her feet tingled, and a nauseous swirl dipped in her belly.

This was by far the least she could do to help him as well as every other US service member. Not just the men, but also the women whose roles were often equally as dangerous.

She lifted her chin, leveling her own stare right back. “Don’t ever call me ‘Dollface’ again.”

“You got it, Miss Harper,” he replied.

She extended her hand toward him and clasped his with a firm grip, the way her father had taught her. “I’m in.”

He grinned. “Welcome aboard.”

***********************************************************************************************My two cents: I think this book had a great premise and will do very well. I don't like to be negative about books, and I will never be. However, this book wasn't for me. I was very excited about the subject matter but this one ran too slow for me and I left at about 39 percent. I really tried coming back to it a few times, but it just didn't grab me. BUT! That doesn't mean I don't think everyone will feel that way. I think a lot of people will love it.

I want to thank the publisher for the opportunity. I am always grateful for the chance to read new books and share them!

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:





Madeline Martin is a New York Times and international bestselling author of historical fiction novels and historical romance. She lives in sunny Florida with her two daughters, two incredibly spoiled cats and a husband so wonderful he's been dubbed Mr. Awesome. She is a die-hard history lover who will happily lose herself in research any day. When she's not writing, researching or 'moming', you can find her spending time with her family at Disney or sneaking a couple spoonfuls of Nutella while laughing over cat videos. She also loves travel, attributing her fascination with history to having spent most of her childhood as an Army brat in Germany.
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"The Librarian Spy" is a novel set in the midst of World War II, taking on rotating perspectives of two main protagonists. The first, Ava Harper, is an esteemed American librarian that has been sent to Lisbon, Portugal to work for the the IDC on the collection of printed material by the Axis forces, a never-ending and meticulous task that requires recording every document she can get her hands on. Her work soon expands far beyond her job description, however, as she becomes entrenched in the political intricacies of the city, narrowly avoiding the Nazi spies and Portuguese secret police. The second perspective is told from the perspective of Elaine Rousseau, a woman who's forced to shed her previous name of Hélène Belanger, in order to take her place in the Resistance in Lyon, France after her husband is arrested. She becomes involved with working the group's clandestine press, ensuring that anti-Nazi papers are printed and distributed safely - which is not an easy task given that the country has been taken over by the opposing Germans.

I have a soft spot for novels written during this time period, so immediately was immersed in the novel. Martin deliberately shows us two women in different countries and situations, both working towards a common goal using the strength in the written word. Ava's story was a new perspective for me, as I had previously been unaware of the involvement of American librarians in the cause, and the myriad of obstacles and challenges they had to face. Elaine's story was perhaps the one I gravitated to most - at the onset, she's beset by numerous difficulties, but nonetheless manages to overcome each one of them, even those of devastating pain and loss. The two women's stories briefly overlap thanks to a coded message and their shared common goal, and it was rewarding to see the aftermath of it in the epilogue.

My qualms with the novel are relatively minor, but I personally didn't enjoy the frequency of perspective changes, as it was jarring at times to go back and forth between Ava and Elaine's stories, especially given the number of characters to remember that surround them. I also had difficulty with Ava's character - there wasn't much depth or complexity to who she was as an individual until the later parts of the book, and some of her initial actions (ex. flirting with a stranger without knowing who he was) in the book came off as flippant and unrealistic, especially in the midst of a global war.

Nonetheless, I enjoyed this novel and Martin's research and new take on World War II!

The Librarian Spy is a great book! Both Ava and Elaine are willing to risk safety and security for the chance to contribute to the fight against the Nazis, and happen to end up working together. Even though they live across the world from each other and have very different roles, they are equally important to the cause. Fast paced, characters that you want to succeed, this story grabs your attention and keeps it throughout.

The book follows two characters- Ava is an American librarian sent to Portugal to look for info in published newspapers to help the allies and the war effort. Then there is Elaine, who lives in occupied France and joins the resistance after her husband is arrested.
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This was a gripping novel about two women making different sacrifices for the war effort. I loved how strong and smart both women were. A lot of World War stories show the strength of the characters, but I liked how this one focused on the intelligence of both women in different ways.
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CW: war, violence, torture, imprisonment, death of a loved one, suicide.

I had just visited The Library of Congress when I started reading this, which definitely felt like bookish serendipity. I always love multiple POV books and when it’s a new aspect of WWII historical fiction, I’m all in. I haven’t read The Last Bookshop in London yet, but it’s just moved up my TBR list after loving The Librarian Spy.

Thank you to @thoughtsfromapage and @hanoversquarepress for a digital ARC through @netgalley and @harlequin_audio for an ALC.

This was an interesting tale, but I found it to be a little too literary for my taste. There are several references to classic pieces of literature that a reader might not understand if they have not read the works themselves. I've read books with similar storylines that I thought were better paces and a little less dry.

Thank you to the publisher, Harlequin Trade Publishing, Harper Collins Canada and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ava, a librarian at the Library of Congress, is sent to Portugal to assist in a covert operation gathering intelligence to send back to the US. In occupied France, Helaine’s husband disappears and when she finds out he has been arrested for helping the Resistance, she decides to join them under the name Elaine and starts working at a printing press that prints underground newspapers. When Elaine seeks a way to help those fleeing France, she and Ava begin to connect through a series of coded messages in the newspapers, developing a friendship in the middle of the war.

The author has done a wonderful job of bringing Portugal and France in the 1940s to life. The narrative had a very authentic feel to it and it is evident how much research must have gone into this book. Setting aside, I love reading about codes and puzzles and there was plenty of that along with insight into how the Resistance printed their underground newspapers to spread news about the war and the truth of the Nazi occupation in France, which was something I hadn’t read much about previously.

Ava and Elaine were both strong central characters, and I enjoyed following their journeys as both of them stepped up to do what they could to help those fleeing persecution, contributing to the resistance effort in their own ways despite the danger it placed them in. Both had unique, detailed backstories, which made their arcs easy to follow even with the POV switching for each chapter.

I didn’t enjoy the pacing in the first half of the book much, the story dragged a lot and it felt like forever before something exciting finally happened. It took a long time for Ava and Elaine’s paths to cross but things did pick up in the latter half when they finally did and I enjoyed it much more from that point on. However, compared to other books I’ve read in this genre and era, this simply didn’t stand out for me in any way. I also found the title to be a bit misleading as neither of the women were actually spies.

Overall, this was an interesting read, and while I felt that it was not as gripping as some of the other novels I’ve read set in the same time period, I’m looking forward to seeing what this author’s next book will be! I would definitely recommend this book for all historical fiction fans, particularly those who enjoy WWII era novels!

BOOK📖REVIEW

#newbookrelease #WorldWarII #historicalfiction #Bestseller #ExtraordinaryRead #LoveThisBook

Book: The Librarian Spy
Author: Madeline Martin
Publisher: Hanover Square Press
Print Length: 401
File Size:1522 KB
Overall Rating: 5 STARS ( it deserves a bazillion stars)
Blog Rating: 5 Saltire flags

1943-1945
Set mainly in Portugal and France.

This book is divided between two women one is an orphaned American librarian, Ava Harper. She tragically had lost both of her parents to a plane crash, due to this devastation she develops a big fear of flying. This happened five years prior, where her brother Danny then raised her and even sent her to college. Now Ava has the perfect job in her home town of Washington DC, at the Rare Book Room in the Library of Congress as a librarian. Her brother Danny ironically is with the Parachute Infantry Regiment in The Airborne Division. She and Danny were total opposites when it came to planes. Her boss gives her a wonderful opportunity to serve her country. Furthermore, how could she turn it down when her brother was jumping out of airplanes every day in this ugly war, plus he had made so many sacrifices raising her after their parents death. However due to her knowing the French and German language and previous experience with microfilm she was going to Lisbon, Portugal gathering information from newspapers and texts in neutral areas to help get intelligence on the murdering Nazis! Of course she had to face her biggest fear: conquering the Atlantic with her enormous fear of flying!

Hélène Bélanger felt a need to do something after reading about all horrors the Nazi’s were doing day after day. The rations were minimal and everyone was hungry in France. Her husband Joseph wanted her safe and did not want her to join the resistance where she could be caught, tortured or killed. Although they argued over that she thought he was a pacifist but soon finds out he is very much a hero. Yet unfortunate events follow Hélène’s family and in her husband’s absence she does join the resistance. As much as Joseph was against Hélène joining the resistance only to keep her safe she think he would of been proud of her and the work she ended up doing. They all knew the risks but these are men and women who put their lives on the line to save the innocent people of France.

Many were Jews who were being taken to work camps putting their children in orphanages for protection, though many were discovered by the Nazi monsters and also put the Jewish children to work, starved and murdered at these concentration camps. Or they just died from horrible deceases living in these caged inhumane conditions similar to Anne Frank. As the Nazis used public humiliation tactics to degrade their victims and to reinforce Nazi racial ideology for the Jews. However the brutal Nazis would torture and murder anyone attempting to hide, protect and help the Jews escape France and get them to America or England where they would be safe.

It was a horrible time in the world. Helene had given her ID to a Jewish woman but was given a new identity now known as Elaine Rousseau, she also found out her husband was not the man she thought he was. He was a hero to many and saved many lives. Now Elaine Rousseau will be with small group of people where she will find out the truth about her husband and she is officially with the resistance and eventually learned how to run a printing press. This way they put out secret messages for their allie’s to see through underground newspapers. Saving hundreds of lives these men and women were heroes and heroines and knew the risks.

This book shows both in their new positions and how both Ava and Hélène (Elaine’s) help and actions helped others no matter the cost. They also form new friendships, their losses and the humanity of their allies during such a horrible time in the world and history. It also shows how both women fought blood, sweat and tears to try to help this one Jewish family to sneak out of France and bring to America. Except she keeps getting rejected where her and her husband have already been separated for years. This is how I am ending this review as I don’t want to spoil this phenomenal read for anyone. An action packed emotional book readers definitely don’t want to miss!

On a personal note: How people followed this madman Adolph Hitler, the biggest racist in history is beyond me! This book was also personal for me with a father who was an 18 year old American Captain who fought in France and in the Battle of the Bulge. He also watched all his boyhood friends die in WWII. My father didn’t even talk about the war to my mother for the first twenty years of their marriage. I don’t usually get personal in my reviews but I felt I had to for this special novel.

This book is not only extraordinary and an absolute masterpiece but one the best books I ever read! It took me over a week to write this review. I haven’t even been able to read another book as this book really stayed with me. I think I went through two boxes of tissues, so it’s definitely emotional at least it was for me.

This is a book that readers don’t want to miss! So grab a copy and your favorite beverage and your favorite reading area and enjoy! I can’t recommend this book enough it’s absolutely incredible!

I absolutely and unequivocally highly recommend this masterpiece. A book that will stay with you long after you have read it! I can’t recommend “The Librarian Spy enough! I can’t wait to see what this brilliant author releases next!

Disclaimer: I received an advance reader’s copy from Hanover Square Press. I voluntarily agreed to do an honest, fair review and blog through netgalley. All thoughts, ideas and words are my own.

Buy Links:
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https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-librarian-spy?utm_source=google_action

https://play.google.com/store/books/details?pcampaignid=books_read_action&id=mI89EAAAQBAJ

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-librarian-spy-madeline-martin/1140465639

https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-librarian-spy/id1581263995

https://www.harlequin.com/shop/books/9780369720207_the-librarian-spy.html

The Librarian Spy is very well written, and the story is one that takes hold and pulls you in. It is historical fiction, but it's so easy to see how well researched it is. The last book I read by Madeline Martin was The Last Bookshop in London, and given how much I read, you can imagine how much I appreciate the stories revolving around the written word. And when those stories are filled with wonderful characters in such well-drawn settings, it's a win. Through the lives of Ava and Elaine, we can step back in time from the safety of the couch or poolside or stretched out on the beach. So, if you enjoy WWII historical fiction, I'd suggest giving this one a gander.

I was reading the audio version of this because sometimes it takes some time to really get into historical fiction. However, It's hard to connect with the characters, there are a few and we have two different perspectives that feel like two different stories set at the same time. I know that these characters will eventually connect somehow but I'm just not interested anymore. I was a little curious about the small burst of romance we have and love the strong woman theme going on. There was a good description and an aspect of WWII that I have not explored previously. I really wanted to like this as I've picked up great historical fiction lately but this was not the story for me.

My favorite type of historical fiction is those that talk about the women who didn’t have to step in, but made the choice to take on jobs that were dangerous and put them far outside their comfort zones. These women were pertinent to ending the Nazi regime because they were jobs that men simply could not do. They could go places men couldn’t go and get away with it without being detected. The Librarian Spy was one of those stories.

We follow two women in this book, Ava and Elaine. Two women from vastly different walks of life that were brought to the center of World War II by situations mostly out of their control, but made huge differences because of their work. I really enjoyed both women. They were vastly different. Ava was a single woman librarian who was sent to collect and scan papers to give hints on what Hitler and his men were doing. Elaine was a married woman who had to endure some hard realities when her husband goes missing. She really was a housewife thrust into the center of the story. These women were written so well that I feel Madeline Martin had to have based them on women in her own life. They were real and vulnerable and likeable. You wanted them to come out on top. You wanted to see them succeed and I found myself holding my breath every time they were in danger. I enjoyed learning more and more about them as the story went on and Martin peeled back those layers as the characters developed.

I usually don’t love when there are two storylines going on at the same time, but separate. These two stories, however, were intertwined and slowly unraveled to reveal how these women so far apart were tied together. There were a few moments when I felt the story slowed too much and I was just about to start losing interest and it would pick up. I wish those lulls were not in there and the story just kept me edgy the entire time. However, I enjoyed reading the harsh realities of life at that time. I could picture the empty shelves at the grocers and feel the hunger pains those people felt when they had next to nothing to eat. I felt the shock refugees felt when they go to where Ava was and realized food wasn’t an issue anymore. Martin did a wonderful job of creating a picture in your mind of what these characters saw, where they lived and how they felt.

I am thoroughly impressed with The Librarian Spy and Madeline Martin as a writer. I loved the flow of the story and the climactic parts that kept you on the edge of your seat. I look forward to picking up more from her. While her story was heartbreaking, it was also beautiful and hopeful. A fantastic book for just about anyone.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Librarians, the sometimes unsung heroes of civilization! (I say this as an absolutely unbiased librarian, of course!) I liked that while this book was a "dual timeline", it wasn't that it was dual as in 2 separate times, but 2 locations at the same time. 1941, both Lisbon and Lyon, featuring 2 steallar women (Ava and Elaine) who are covertly working against the Nazis during WWII. Martin did a thorough job of immersing the reader in the locations with key details and snippets that made you feel like you were right there. The whole work is full of rich, carefully researched details that add to the trauma and nerve-wracking nature of the time. This is a well written, engaging novel.

Ava and Elaine are working towards the same ends during the dark days of World War II. However, it takes a strong act of fearlessness on both of their parts where the two brave women finally cross paths.

Ava’s job as a librarian at the Library of Congress is about to come to an end. Recruited by the US military, Ava is off to Lisbon where she will be undertaking a very difficult assignment, working as a spy for the Resistance. Meanwhile, Elaine is now working with a bunch of men in her apprenticeship job working on a printing press. They are printing an underground newspaper that includes coded messages with the intent of thwarting the Nazis and their brutal efforts.

Both women have their worries. Ava knows she is playing with fire. While posing as a librarian in this dangerous assignment, inserting coded messages and deciphering correspondence are among the activities that allow her to play a vital role during the war. For Elaine, she is overwhelmed at how she left things with her husband Joseph, and is devastated when she learns he has been arrested. Desperate to locate his whereabouts is only one of the things occupying her thoughts.

Elaine soon finds herself deeply involved with a Jewish woman and her young son. The woman’s husband has safely made it to America and she is desperate to join him. Elaine goes to extremes when it comes to helping this young woman. Although very busy working with coded messages, Elaine is determined to help this woman. This action is what eventually allows Ava and Elaine to cross paths.

What an amazing historical fiction book by Madeline Martin. Her research shone through in this touching and unforgettable read. This stellar book afforded me the opportunity to see World War II from another perspective. Having previously read The Last Bookshop in London by Ms. Martin I knew that I was in for a treat with The Librarian Spy as well. I am more than pleased to say that I was spot on and this book is one that I would definitely highly recommend.

Many thanks to Hanover Square Press and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Please enjoy my YouTube video review - https://youtu.be/ciQVLfQdBwQ