The title - libraries and spies - draws me to The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin. Although one of the main characters is a librarian, the story is not really about libraries or books. Nevertheless, the story is a compelling one of courage and of a common cause that unites people whose paths may never otherwise cross. It keeps me reading from beginning to end, and the history is one I am glad I learned.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2022/07/the-librarian-spy.html

Reviewed for NetGalley and the HTP Summer 2022 historical fiction blog tour.

Who can resist a librarian who is also a spy? As The Librarian Spy is published by a Harlequin imprint I was slightly worried that this would be more of a romantic WWII story rather than the more historically accurate stories that I prefer. Yet, I just couldn't pass up reading about a librarian spy during WWII.

The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin is a dual-point-of-view story. Ava is a librarian in the rare book section at the Library of Congress. As she has experience in research and producing microfilm, she is tapped to work for the war department to work at the U.S. Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal where people are tasked with collecting newspapers and other international texts of interest, photographing them for microfilm, and then shipping them back to the U.S. for analyses. Helene aka Elaine is a French housewife living in German-occupied Lyons. Her husband forbids her from participating in the Resistance, which leads to a big fight and Joseph storms out. Later he is arrested and Helene discovers his own Resistance work - providing forged documents to Jews - when a woman who looks similar to Helene comes to her home looking for papers. Wanting to help the desperate woman, she gives her her own identity papers and rations card. Now Helene has to turn to the Resistance and she becomes Elaine.

I didn't realize that Portugal was neutral during WWII. It became an international hub for European refugees, diplomats, and spies. It was a decadent oasis in war-ravaged Europe - food was plentiful and it was relatively safe. Germans, Americans, and the British mingled in an often elaborate web of espionage. With all the refugees, newspapers from around the world could be obtained, even some from the underground presses that printed the truth, exposing German propaganda lies. That there was a department tasked with collecting this information and analyzing it for its potential to aid the Allies was new to me too. I read a lot of WWII fiction and this was the first time I have run across such an organization.

Through Elaine in France, we get to see the horrors of war and the German occupation. Her work with the Resistance is to print the underground newspaper Combat. It is relatively safe work - as long as no one gives up the location of the printing press. But in an area where a person can be plucked from the streets, never to be seen again for the smallest infraction or perceived slight to the Germans, no one is truly safe.

While I was more familiar with Elaine's story based on other books I've read I still found her chapters interesting as the characters are wonderful and you want to make sure they are okay.

I did love Ava's chapters a little more just because the story was different than what I've read before. I really liked the chemistry between Ava and James. When Ava meets James on her first day in Lisbon, I worried that it was the start of a romantic WWII story. While there is some romantic tension between the characters, there isn't anything more than a stolen kiss while trying to avoid detection by the Portugal Secret Police.

I loved how the stories of the two women wove together and overlapped. While some of it was predictable because I read so much WWII historical fiction, it was still well-written. The details really made you feel like you were there with the characters.

I loved The Librarian Spy. I didn't want to put it down and read it in a matter of days. Martin has created superb characters - ones who you want to be friends with. I don't want to say goodbye to these characters. While I'm pretty sure this is a stand-alone novel there is a little leeway in the ending that so could be a jumping-off point for a sequel. If a sequel is published I wouldn't hesitate to pick it up.

If you love WWII stories and want to read about a different aspect of the war effort, then this is the book for you.

My review will be published at Girl Who Reads on Sunday - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2022/07/the-librarian-spy-by-madeline-martin.html

This was one of my anticipated reads of 2022, I really enjoyed the authors previous book The Last Bookshop in London not just for its bookish theme but reading another part of history I was unfamiliar with. The Librarian Spy follows suit in that it takes place in Portugal, which was neutral territory during the war.

Told from two different POVs with one being a French resistant worker in Lyons and the other an American sent to work in Lisbon, Portugal. I enjoyed reading about the historical details that occurred not just in Nazi occupied France but from the perspective of life in Portugal. It wasn’t just about the lifestyle there but the work that was done for the war effort was something new to me.

The Librarian Spy is a story of heartache, resilience and perseverance. It was well written and the author definitely did her homework with her knowledge of the time shining through. Reading the author notes and knowing the extent of her research made me appreciate that aspect of the story. However, for me it didn’t draw me in like I was hoping it would, there wasn’t a lot to separate this book from other WW2 novels, or maybe I have just read too many and my expectation level is elevated.

All in all I enjoyed my read and look forward to seeing what the author comes up with next.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for a honest review

4.5 Stars

Thanks #NetGalley @HarlequinBooks @HTPBooks @Hanover_Square @BookClubbish for a complimentary e ARC of #TheLibrarianSpy by Madeline Martin upon my request. All opinions are my own.

Ava loves her quiet and routine job at the Library of Congress. One day, she receives an unexpected offer from the U.S. Military to pose as a librarian in Lisbon while working undercover to gather intelligence. In France, Elaine works as an apprentice for a printing press run by the Resistance. Ava and Elaine find themselves connecting through coded messages in an attempt to help a Jewish family.

I jumped at the chance to read Librarian Spy when I saw it was by Madeline Martin. I loved The Last Bookshop in London and was eager and delighted to read her new release.

In dual timelines, we are introduced to two women suddenly caught up in war and espionage. I love stories of people who are living their everyday lives, find themselves in extreme circumstances, and exhibit extraordinary bravery, determination, and grit. Trust is always a challenge as Ava and Elaine work with others to make small but heroic contributions and are the difference makers in one family’s survival. It always makes me wonder what I would do and who I would trust under similar circumstances.

If you read my reviews you know that I love that perfect balance of character development and a page-turning plot. Martin does not disappoint as she introduces us to characters we can cheer for while including a side of mystery/thriller.

Strong Themes: hope, determination, trust, friendship, sacrifice, dedication, bravery and courage.

I completely enjoyed my reading experience, and I’m warmly recommending The Librarian Spy for fans of WW11 historical fiction, for readers who appreciate courageous characters and espionage in their storylines, and for book clubs.

For more reviews visit my blog www.readingladies.com where this review was first published.

Martin wrote a fantastic story. There has been an avalanche of WWII historical fiction And even I have begun to grow weary of it, but then I get sucked back in.
Ava and Elaine, both fighting the Germans, mostly using words. It was very interesting read about life in Lisbon since I knew nothing about Portugal during WWII except it was neutral.
It’s a good historical fiction read. My only disappointment was no author’s note at the end.

With her second historical fiction novel, NYTimes author Madeline Martin has stepped up her game. This WW2 book checks all the boxes for a fantastic summer read. There's romance, intrigue, mystery, high emotional stakes, strong female protagonists, great pacing, and strong storytelling. I loved it.

In many ways, the book reminded me of those WW2 movies from the 50s and 60s. I think that's because I was able to lose myself in the story. Elaine's story was slightly more riveting for me than Ava's, probably because any story involving the French Resistance comes with built-in danger. However, both storylines were page turners,

Martin has mentioned in interviews that she immersed herself in research prior to writing this book. Her efforts definitely paid off. The book is rich in small but salient details. I didn't know, for example, that French women wore red lipstick with their blue and white outfits to mimic the French flag.

Bottom line is this was a fantastic read for anyone who loves WW2 or historical fiction. Five stars. Thanks Netgalley for the advance copy.

Barb's Book Reviews.

Madeline Martin's terrific novel The Last Bookshop in London (my review here) told the story of a young woman who worked in a London bookshop during the Blitz of WWII. It was a fresh take on the popular WWII novels, and as someone who works in a bookstore, I enjoyed it.

Her new novel, The Librarian Spy, is also a unique WWII story. Martin sets this story in two cities- Lyon, France and Lisbon, Portugal. I can't recall reading a novel set in Lisbon, and didn't know anything about Portugal's role as a neutral country during WWII. I do now.

Ava Harper is a librarian working in the rare books room in the Library of Congress. She is recruited to help the United States war effort and is sent to Lisbon where she is tasked with purchasing magazines and newspapers from Germany, France, and elsewhere and microfilming them to send back to Washington DC to be studied by the War Department for intelligence that will help the war effort.

Elaine lives in Lyon, which is under the control of the Nazis and the Vichy government. When her husband disappears, Elaine is recruited by his friend to work undercover with the French Resistance. Elaine works with other women hiding and passing out undercover newspapers to others in the Resistance. Eventually she ends up working on the printing press that creates the newspapers.

The contrast between Ava's life in Lisbon and Elaine's in Lyon is stark. Ava is enjoying tasty Portuguese pastries like pastéis de nata and living in a small but comfortable apartment while Elaine is constantly hungry and moving from one cramped safehouse to another trying to avoid being captured by the cruel Nazis who would torture her for information.

Ava meets some British librarians, and catches the eye of one in particular, James. James takes Ava to fancy dinner parties, telling her it would aid the war effort, while Elaine anxiously searches for word about the whereabouts of her husband. Was he is prison, sent to a work camp, or dead?

There is a connection between Ava and Elaine that becomes apparent in the second half of the book as that revolves around a secret message that gets decoded and helps a woman escape.

At first I was more intrigued by Ava's story because I didn't know much about Lisbon (and I admire librarians, they are superheroes), but as the story progressed, Elaine's story captured me as well. Lisbon housed many refugees from the Nazi's, and was a point of departure for many who fled to the United States. The parallels to the refugees today fleeing war in Afghanistan and the Ukraine are significant.

Madeline Martin doesn't shy away from the horrors of the Nazis cruelties, and it can often hard, but yet important, to read. As a world we cannot keep allowing this atrocities to happen. It put me in mind of Jessica Shattuck's novel The Women in the Castle and Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale from a few years ago.

As Eleanor Roosevelt said "A woman is like a teabag. You never know how strong it is until it's in hot water." Ava and Elaine personify that quite well in Madeline Martin's powerful novel The Librarian Spy. I highly recommend it.

Ava has been commissioned, because of her language skills, to head to Lisbon to help with the war effort. She is such an introvert and this is not what she planned to do with her life. But, because her brother is serving, she decides that whatever she can do to help, she will do. However, this turns into more than she bargained for and she realizes she must become as tough as nails to survive.

Ava is a character after my own heart. She is a true bibliophile and I love how she carries a suitcase full of books with her to Europe. This is definitely something I would do. However, her espionage skills are not where they need to be. This puts her in danger on more than one occasion.

For the life of me, I do not know why this is not a five star read for me. I am usually all about WWII. I may be a bit tired of this time period (NEVER!). The characters seemed a bit flat and even though I loved all the book references, I found myself zoning out during parts of this book. But…like I said…it is probably me. My friend over at Silvers Reviews gave it 5 stars. So…yep…probably me.

Need a good WWII espionage story…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today

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

THE LIBRARIAN SPY: A Novel of World War II by Madeline Martin is an emotional historical fiction story featuring two young women, one American and one French during WWII who understand the power of the written word during a world gone mad. The author does not shy away from the sacrifice, tragedy, and horror of the war, so keep the tissues close.

Ava loves her job in the Rare Books department in the Library of Congress. Fluent in English, French and German, she is offered a position by the US military in the Lisbon embassy gathering periodicals, copying them to microfilm and sending them back to Washington D.C. to be disseminated. With her brother in the Army, she feels a duty to help in any way she is able.

In Lyon, France, Elaine discovers her husband has been keeping a secret from her. She has fought with him to allow her to help the Resistance. When he is arrested, she learns the truth. Elaine is willing to do anything to help so she is taught how to use the printing presses that put out the truth of their occupation. Rigid curfews, starvation rations and the possibility of arrest, imprisonment, deportation, and death are ever present.

The two cross paths through Elaine’s paper as she asks for help in a coded message to assist a Jewish mother and child escape. Ava feels for the refugees and after not being able to help an older man she becomes fond of; she is determined to assist this mother and child. Amongst all the loss and death, Ava and Elaine’s stories become intertwined.

I loved this book! Both Elaine and Ava understood the importance of what they were doing even with the terrible loss of friends and family during a horrific time in history. All the characters in this story were realistically portrayed and believable. Ms. Martin did an excellent job of integrating true stories of the horrors perpetrated by Klaus Barbie and his atrocities in Lyon against innocents and the Resistance, the Allied and Nazi covert spies in Portugal and America’s shame in ignoring the plight of the Jewish refugees. For all the HEA moments at the end of this story, there are realistic scenes of the horrors of war depicted in this book.

I highly recommend this WWII historical fiction!

This is where history and fiction collide in this inspiring tale that runs parallel stories of two women who collide by their professions of undercover work in the war.

From Lisbon with Ava working to obtain information to send to the US... to France, where Elaine
is working for the French resistance, these two women show their courage with the challenges
often unknown that occurred in the war.

As usual Madeline Martin's research and amazing pen, bring this story to life that will warm and tear at your heart!

This WWII novel is unlike any other that I’ve read, taking place mostly in Lisbon, Portugal. I had no idea what Portugal was like during the war, and I loved learning more about the intrigue that surrounded the neutral country teeming with Allied and Axis spies and fleeing refugees.

Ava is an American librarian at the Library of Congress who is sent to Lisbon to scan the continent’s newspapers and send back anything that could help the war effort. Her work brings her in contact with Elaine, a French woman who is part of the Resistance efforts. Their covert actions in Portugal and France are full of heart-pounding moments and horrific scenes of brutality mixed with hope and the belief that good will ultimately prevail.

I love WWII stories and was excited to read about a part of the war that hasn’t been covered extensively. I highly recommend the book for anyone who loves WWII novels about strong women rising against the odds to survive. Thank goodness for women like Ava and Elaine who sacrificed so much to fight evil.

Ava is a librarian in the United States. She enjoys her work with the Library of Congress, so it’s with no little trepidation that she accepts an offer to work undercover gathering intelligence in Lisbon. Her job will be to collect documents, mostly official and unofficial newspapers, and microfilm them so they can be sent back to the States.

Elaine, when first we meet her in occupied Lyon, France, is Hélène Bélanger. To protect a Jewish woman, Hélène gives away her own identity papers. A friend in the French Resistance provides her with new papers, and Elaine Rousseau, underground newspaper printer, is born. The Resistance is able to make good use of her printing press experience, and she works to get important information out to the French people.

Elaine’s story line has more tension and anxiety, as she is constantly at risk of discovery by Nazi forces. Ava’s story has its own moments of intrigue and fear, though, and both women show courage in their own way. Both also had some moments where I just wanted to shout at the book and ask them what they were thinking, but perhaps bravery looks like taking a risk for a good cause that other people simply can’t understand. And when we finally see how their paths cross late-ish in the book, the risks they’ve taken seem a lot more understandable.

Martin has obviously done a great deal of research and put a lot of care into her character development. Descriptions of Nazi torture are minimal, but effectively gruesome. The suspense and underlying threat of discovery pulled me deeper into the story. Some of the characters’ circumstances, like that of Otto, are heart-wrenching and bring to vivid life stories that you might read in the history books. I particularly enjoyed the epilogue – I enjoy hearing about “the rest of the story!”

The one thing sticking in my craw is that, to my reading, neither of the women was the “librarian spy” of the title. Ava was a librarian, and she was gathering information for the war effort back home, but what she was doing didn’t strike me as espionage. And Elaine, while invaluable to the French Resistance and definitely operating undercover, wasn’t a spy, either. There IS a character that is a spy and that is ostensibly a librarian. Who? I’ll let you read and discover that for yourself. But since it was neither Ava nor Elaine, the title feels a little misleading.

Overall, The Librarian Spy is a beautifully written, well-researched work of historical fiction that enlightened me about the important role of librarians during World War II. Ultimately it’s a tale about the power of words and their ability to bring hope even to the darkest hour. Four stars from me.

Two women during the harrowing days of WWII, happenstance would connect them in an unthinkable way.
—
Ava is a gorgeous young educated woman who lives and breathes books working at the Library of Congress.
Given her strengths she is recruiting by US military to Lisbon working as a librarian while gaining intelligence.

In France, Helene finds her husband missing when a woman shows up to her house asking her for papers. Helene decides to give hers to the girl and risk her own life. When her husbands friend tells her he has been taken in by the Nazis as he was apart of the resistance. She immediately wants to help and she has new papers and a new name, Elaine. She finds herself and other members of the resistance working in a printing press passing on coded messages to get out.
Desperate to save the life of a mother and child, she risks her life and her friends life, as she sends a code to London.
—
Going back and forth from each woman, I thought this was a cleverly delivered wwii fiction demonstrating the strength of women through such a deadly time.

Having the audiobook and the physical copy was the winning combo for me, as it contains other languages throughout the book. Saskia Maarleveld narrated it and IMO always elevates historical fiction books.
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Thank you Hanover Square press, htpbooks, harlequin/Harper audio, NetGalley for my copy to review.

My porch read this weekend was the advanced reader copy of The Librarian Spy by the same author of The Last Bookshop in London. I enjoyed reading about Ava and Elaine. One is living in France and the other in Portugal but they are connected by a desire to work in the Resistance to bring an end to the war.

Two women, two stories, one enemy. Elaine found her way to the French Resistance after her husband disappeared. Elaine's previous experiences granted her the opportunity to assist in the publication of the French Resistance newspapers. When confronted with a woman and child desperate to flee occupied France, Elaine utilized her access to the newspaper to assist.
Ava was an American librarian recruited to acquire all foreign publications available in Lisbon. She was then tasked with scanning those publications onto microfilm and shipping them to Washington D.C. in the hopes that there would be intelligence information to assist the Allies. As Ava was proficient in several languages she inadvertently stumbled upon a coded message in one of the French Resistance newspapers.
While neither Elaine or Ava were exceptionally colorful characters the story was a moving one. Lisbon Portugal has not traditionally been a location in stories taking place during WWII. Martin did a remarkable job at highlighting the precarious balance of neutrality in that country during that time.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this title.

This is such a powerful story. Madeline Martin has created two very magical characters in this historical fiction about two powerful women who impacted the trajectory of events during WWII. Ava is an American librarian who is tasked with gathering information in Lisbon that would assist the Allies. Elaine is a French housewife working with the Resistance fighting against the German Nazi occupation. The story is told in the voice of the two characters and from both their perspectives. It is is a poignant tale of the suffering and pain endured by those in France under Nazi occupation and the people who bravely fought for their freedom. The reader will experience feelings that range from anger, joy, sadness and pain as you journey along with the characters. This is a book worthy of having on your bookshelf, sharing with friends and reading more than once.

An excellent and moving WWII historical fiction, told by two women, one working with the French Resistance in Lyon, and one, the titular librarian, working in Lisbon. Ava, the librarian, had an interesting story as I don't know that in all the WWII historical fiction I've read that I've ever read one set in Portugal, and didn't really know much about the country's role in the war. Elaine, the Resistance worker in France, was a well written compelling character as well, and her story doesn't shy away from the horrors of war. Her grief and fear radiated. It took a bit of time to figure out how these women would be connected, but this story moves at a quick clip and all is revealed.

This is one of my favorite WWll books that I have read in a long time. I loved learning about what was happening in Lisbon during this time. It was fascinating to learn more about what some people did in France and in Lisbon to help end the war sooner. This story made me cry. I did not want to put the book down until I knew what happened to Elaine and Ava. I loved how the story was written to show what each woman was going through. I received a copy of this book from Harlequin for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.

Madeline Martin writes with thorough research a heart stopping story of two women working in their own way against the odds of success. Elaine is working for the Resistance in Lyon under fear of arrest to print the truth of the Nazi occupation.
Everyday is a challenge as more Resistance members disappear. Ava works in Portugal to acquire newsprint of any kind to photo for microfilm and send the truth to America. The heartache for thousands of refugees instill a passion to help in Ava and Elaine. One woman and a child will form a connection between them. Sacrifice and determination is never too much to help them. Be prepared to be emotionally involved in life and death situations.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book.

A very intense tale told by two different women, Ava and Helene/Elaine. They had completely different experiences, but both were frightening, dangerous, and deadly. I loved the historical aspects of this World War II story, very detailed, and I could picture the scenes. Ava's side was less brutal but had its own pitfalls of working against the Germans. Helene/Elaine's journey had an extensive look at the fatal side of war. The last third of the book I was pretty much sitting with a tissue to wipe my eyes. I loved the connection between the two having a happy ending, and I was glad that these two got to meet each other with thanks for their parts in that storyline.

I received an ARC through Netgalley, and this is my unsolicited review.