I could say a lot of things about this book. It was super interesting, first of all, being set in the time of the Cold War because you don’t see many novels that do that. It was also great to see all of the Hollywood fluff in the second half of the novel. My real problem with this novel, though, is that it is definitely NOT a thriller like some places say. I was honestly slugging through the last half of the book. In my opinion, it fits more into a historical fiction or even felt more along the lines of a biographical retelling (even though the events are anything but true as far as I know). It just felt so slow. 

So, despite the horribly slow pacing, I really did enjoy the characters in this novel. I thought Lena was great and the story as a whole was interesting. You had a lot going on with Lena and the depth was always evident with her character. 

Now, the plot was honestly really solid. What ruined it for me is that, like I said, the pacing was rough, but also, the writing felt too languid to make me feel any sort of urgency for the novel. So, even when something crazy was happening, the writing was just… too smooth, I guess? 

Overall, though, I think the characters and the story was solid, but something needed to happen with the pacing to make it drag on less. Because it was so hard for me to get through, I’d probably only rate it a 2.5 out of 5. I think a lot of people will like this novel, but it just wasn’t for me. I need something with a little more urgency. 

Source: Audiobook from Audible

(P.S. You can read this book for free by signing up for a free trial of Audible, which gives you two free audiobooks of your choice!)