A War of Flowers

I was a little disappointed in this historical fiction. While it does present female historical characters like Eva Braun, Coco Chanel and famous actresses of their day, and their contribution to politics, I found there was altogether too much an emphasis on silks, perfumes and cheesy romances. The parallel world of women to men's was definitely interesting - and show how much more segregated it was to today's - but I didn't find the characters very convincing.
An agreeable read but I won't be tempted to read more.

Engaging as heck, this book kept me enthralled from beginning to end. With a great balance of descriptive passages, fast-paced action, and peering into windows of Nazi society not often explored, this was a great introduction to this author.

The author treads a fine line between wordiness and perfect amount of detail in setting her scenes. An author can be bogged down by using too many words when describing a scene or passage; sometimes a thesaurus is NOT your best friend. Somehow, this author is able to incorporate large descriptive paragraphs without bogging the action down. Instead, the story comes to vivid life, making everything breathe for the reader.

As a mystery and spy-thriller, this book excels for the most part. I was kept show more guessing and on the edge of my seat throughout most of the book. I loved that the author incorporated real conspiracies against the Nazis and a realistic set-up for the murder/mystery. It made everything all the more believable for me.

Clara is a great foil against all the spy suspense and dark, mysterious meetings. She’s a great blend of vulnerable and street-smart that I enjoyed. I liked that her position in society as an actress placed her in a special position to peer into the upper echelons of Nazi society and yet still be on the fringes as not your normal German woman. The other characters were also as enjoyable; all of them adding something to the story or as a window into Nazi Germany in 1938.

Right up there with the great story and characters is the information the author chose to incorporate from the time period. I was especially enjoying seeing, in detail, the position of women in Nazi Germany: the bureaus that dealt with them, their new expected position in life, their limited opportunities, how society saw them, and how they saw the new Nazi society as well. Seeing into the cruel politics of Nazi wives was also interesting. That’s not a side often explored.

The only thing against this book I have is actually a minor one, really. This book is a volume 3 in a series; I could definitely tell. The book can stand alone as a complete work; it has a beginning, middle, and definite conclusion to the specific mystery and conspiracy. Yet, there are characters and events that are referred to or re-introduced that made me hesitate and question. That interrupted the story flow more than once. So probably best to read books 1 and 2 first, but this is still enjoyable by itself, too.

A great blend of characters, suspenseful story, and historical detail, this book holds the attention of the reader with great skill. I kept devouring page after page, eagerly waiting to see what would happen next to Clara and her crew. I will be looking out for the other books in the series so I can get the full picture of the overall story. The author has proven herself in scene-setting and storytelling.

Note: Book received for free from publisher via GoodReads FirstReads giveaway in exchange for an honest review. show less

The WWII era is popular fodder for historical fiction. In Jane Thynne's new book, "The Scent of Secrets," we get a somewhat new take on the time period. Rather than a book telling the stories of the "have nots" (the Jews, those suffering on the homefront, etc.) Thynne has given readers a historical fiction book which primarily focuses on the "haves" -- those high up in the Nazi party, their wives, and other people who found themselves in the favor of the Third Reich. It made for interesting reading.

"The Scent of Secrets" contains three loosely-linked story lines, with the dominant story focusing on Clara Vine, a German/British actress secretly working as a spy for the British government. Clara befriends Eva Braun in an attempt to show more extract intelligence, and to aid a resistance movement among Nazi soldiers.

While the book's prologue starts with intrigue, I found the first few chapters to be quite slow, and it took awhile for the characters and plot line to develop. However, just before the half way point of the book the author hit her stride and the book came alive with vivid descriptions of time and place. I wanted to keep reading and enjoyed the pacing.

3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. show less

Clara Vine is a fairly well known actress in Germany before WWII although she was born in England with an English father. Hitler is in command and the Nazi are in power. This book gives great insight into the personalities involved with the Nazi hierarchy. Clara has been recruited in England to work as a spy providing information back to the British who are attempting to stay out of the war with leaders who refuse to see Hitler as a threat (Chamberland). Her position as actress opens doors for her into the society of the Nazi leaders including Goebbels who is a infamous philanderer as his wife is mothering six "perfect German children."

The spy story is somewhat exciting, but the most interesting part of this book is the interworkings of show more the Nazi. For example, the department which oversees the training of women to be perfect wives and mothers; childbearing is the sole purpose of women. The cultural department responsible for propaganda is another interesting side story.

Clara is charged with becoming friends with Eva Braun in order to get insight into Hitler's mind. However, Eva is virtually a prisoner of Hitler and she is deemed to be a silly and unimportant woman by the Nazi power brokers and their wives. The story caused me to read about many of the people such as Goebbels wife who actually killed her own children. Coco Chanel is another character in the story.

In short, the historical part held my interest more than the fictional characters, yet, still a good read. show less

A fun read set in Nazi Germany prior to the start of World War II. An engaging mystery, the lead character Clara Vine is an actress who is also a spy for the British and her ability to penetrate the social circles of the Nazi elite brings her valuable intelligence. Enjoyable and engaging, I would recommend this to anyone with an interest in fiction set during the Nazi period.

This is such an awesome historical fiction! It had some great historical detail that I'd never come across before (and I've read a lot in that genre!). It is a great mystery/espionage story and I LOVED the movie star/fashion details!

This is such an awesome historical fiction! It had some great historical detail that I'd never come across before (and I've read a lot in that genre!). It is a great mystery/espionage story and I LOVED the movie star/fashion details!