The Alice Network A Novel

I liked the dual timelines that weave together and found the characters to be very endearing, if not a bit hokey. Despite the backdrop of war, this book is charming and the ending is lovely.

Really enjoyed the two parallel storylines, easy read, great characters with many suspenseful cliff hangers.

Devastatingly good.

This is a dual-timeline narrative in which Eve becomes part of the Alice Network of female spies in WWI, and Charlie seeks her lost relative and enlists Evie's help after the end of WWII. The stories are told in alternating voices.

I liked the timeline with Eve, but the timeline with Charlie dragged a bit and was a bit soapy. Seriously, why were all the main characters getting pregnant while not being married and dealing with that scandal? That's a trope I don't really like.

It was a fine reading experience, but The Rose Code and The Huntress were better executed.

This book is simply awesome! The story is complex and catches the reader at every page. Is great how the chapters fall into one another even if the story in them are 20 years apart. It was a great surprise about in the middle of the book finding out most of the big schemas and characters were real people living through all that mess. I thoroughly recommend it.

This was such a beautiful book. I don't really know what to say except for the fact that everyone has to read this book! The way it was written, the characters, the storyline, even the length of the chapters was perfect! And the fact that the story is based on real life makes it even more amazing. It was heartbreaking and heartwarming, it was beautiful and terrible and at times it made me was to bawl my eyes out, while other times I had a huge grin on my face. I loved every single one of the characters (except for that bitch Rene and the germans obviously) and I am so grateful I had to read this for school! Go read this book!!!

Slow at the beginning but couldn't put it down at the end

What a wonderful story. The author does an amazing job of weaving a story around historical figures and events and the Alice Network of spies that were active in the World Wars. We were so fortunate to Skype with the author during our book club discussion, and Ms. Quinn shared how many of the events in the book were things that did happen. The story brings you along with four main characters, one of whom is pure evil, and the reader roots for the good guys at every turn. I didn't feel like I received a history lesson, but I realize I know a lot more about the history of these women than I did before I read this book. Loved it!

3⭐️ An enjoyable historical fiction novel about strong, brave women serving their countries as spies during both World War I and II. The first 100 pages or so were slow to warm up for me, but I couldn’t put it down by the end. I just had to find out what happened! That being said, Charlie never was my favorite character. I could have read an entire book solely written about Eve and her spy days. I felt like Kate Quinn did a good job of melding the historical with the fiction. Reading the Author’s Note at the end was pretty fascinating. I’m sure that Louise de Bettignies was a force of nature in her time. 💕

The Alice Network is a page-turner, though a little too melodramatic for me. That said, it sheds light on the women who spied for the Allies in WWI, chief among them Louise de Bettignies. I skimmed over a lot of the overly-emotional parts - frankly, I am confident that the women of the real Alice Network were a good deal more hard-boiled than the women in this book. Also, I noted errors of fact, like the idea that the Alice Network was largely involved in spiriting downed airmen out of occupied territory - there is no historical evidence of that that I can find; that was a WWII activity. Indeed, the pilots in WWI were not issued parachutes, so most who were shot down died in fiery crashes. Also, bombing of artillery emplacements does not sound like it was actually a thing in WWI - again that sounds like a conflation of WW2 activities with First World War things, but I may be wrong. Okay, that's a lot of criticism; now let me say that the book is compulsively readable, at least it was for me, even with all it's flaws. The author knows how to make the story suspenseful, and I share her love of France, so it was easy to draw me in. And I learned a few things about WWI that I did not know, like the attempted assassination of the Kaiser via bombing in 1915 (there was another one later in the war).

I love Kate Quinn for telling these stories of amazing women. Complex, heartwarming and heartbreaking in equal measure, with masterful storytelling to bring you along for the adventure

I really didn’t think I’d like this book at all but man did it show me. It lives up to the hype imo due to the complex plot that ties in both womens’ stories and gives them something to bond over. I love the banter, the dual storylines, and the world building of both plot lines. Great book! 5 full stars, I’d recommend and would definitely read again.

I really enjoyed the characters and the plot development. It's a bit long, slow build, but I found it enjoyable in audiobook.

One of the best books I’ve ever read. I could read 5 more books just of banter between Eve, Charlie, and Finn.

4.5 Oh my goodness, I loved this. I could not put it down! I loved the characters and the intrigue, and even though it had some dark topics, it was still an easy read! Would highly recommend!

While I have always been aware that women did play a part in helping defeat the Nazis during World War II, I love reading books about the roles they played. This was an excellent portrayal of how women helped, and it also showed how those women coped with the emotional trauma war played on their lives. I loved how Quinn was able to use friendship as a healing factor.

DNF-ed this halfway through. It was good at first but the story moves along slowly and things take a turn that I really don’t care for 💀

What a good book. I’d have never picked this up on my own, so that you book club! In spite of the overly tidy ending, a very satisfying read that kept me turning pages well past bedtime.

If you loved “The Nightingale” by Kristin Hannah, this should very well be your next book. Similar and very different all at once. Two very different female characters that I was mildly annoyed by at the beginning but LOVED at the end. It was a beautiful tale.

Good historical fiction

4.5

Enjoyable! Not much to say honestly- not obsessed but would recommend I suppose

I loved this story of female spies in WWI and WWII. The way the storylines weaved together was so well done. The character development and bonds that are formed were perfect. It was a bit predictable but I enjoyed being transported into this vastly different time.