I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found the subject matter interesting though a little hard to read.

I actually didn't end up reading this one, but my mum stole my ipad and read it as she is the number one WW2 historical fiction reader in the house. She said it was really good for a WW2 historical fiction and had some unique parts which she hasn't read before. To me, that is a win when it comes to the multitude of WW2 novels out there.

I really didn't like this book, as there were many, many flaws. The pacing could've been done better, as the story's overall structure was messy, and the plot wasn't strong enough for the characters it had, so it was neither plot or character driven, when a book should be at least one of these things. It felt like reading an earlier draft of a book, when it still needed a lot more eyes going through it: more drafts, rewritings, planning, beta readers, etc.

The Measure of Gold by Sarah Patten is a compelling fictional tale tying the WW2 French Resistance to the mystic of alchemy.

The author’s writing style is quite enjoyable. She pulls you into the story and doesn’t let you go until the very end.

I love a good historical fiction novel, and this one did not disappoint. It’s always entertaining to see how an author works real life events and people into the story of the fictional characters.

This book is well worth your time to read. I believe fans of historical fiction, WW2, and of course, love, will enjoy this tale.

I will begin this review by saying that I got an early copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion.

In this book we follow Penelope, who receives an message from her childhood friend, Naomie, to come to Paris and return a specific object. Once there, Penelope gets entangled with Fulcanelli - a great alchemist and Naomie's brother, and his apprentice, Lucien, in hopes of turning the war's tides through science.

In my opinion, the author accomplishes everything that she wants, except that my expectations going into the novel were quite different. I misjudged the actual emphasis of the War in the story, and the actual espionage element.

I will begin by talking about what is good, to later on expand on why I felt disappointed.

I believe that Penelope stayed true to her characterization throughout the whole novel. She is depicted as having extremely few human connections in the world(her father, who is now deceased, and Naomie- whom she had not met since childhood). So her naive, childlike and somewhat undeveloped/impaired why of seeing people is on point. She is cerebral, and always, but ALWAYS, falls back to what she knows best. Her journey, discovering what love is, was interesting to see and gave her character depth. I will say upfront, I'm at least satisfied with the ending...I feel it was the best decision for Penelope to grow into a complete person, and not to depend on others. A good thing given her status as a scientist/alchemist.

Another positive is the overflowing subject of alchemy on the page. This is expected and welcomed with the premise. I really enjoyed Penelope's constant reference to how Newton would have handled a situation or an aspect of her life( for e.g. love) and the obsession with reducing pain and uncertainty to formulas, to something solvable and easier to accept.

And lastly, the atmosphere created was great and the writing style is accessible. Enjoyed the positive view on a certain minority group and the mysticism associated with them.

Now, I give this book only 2.5 stars.
After reading a couple of chapters, I realized that this is more of a love story than a war story. We spend soooo much time in Penelope's head, going through the same concerns, the same facts that it was tiring. It wouldn't have been a problem, if we didn't have a page limit. With that being said, the first part of the book is extremely slow and uneventful - we are in Paris in 1940 under German occupation, but we might as well have been in any other place, in any other time, with the amount of information concerning the state of the city, it's people and the situation in general. We don't leave Fulcanelli's secret place almost at all, and when we do...oh boy...we take field trips to see art. Yes, I get it, connection between science and art, but it was sooo easy to enter that place...just saying..>..> And, not to mention, why do they even do all of that, the motif behind their group I mean? They don't really have an impact or any interaction, so we could just as well swap it with any other..like obsession with Newton, discovering a specific thing, etc, and it wouldn't have modified the story at all.

That was first logical hiccup, the first loophole/convenience in the story. Next comes when the action begins...we spent so much time for that one week or two in the apartment, but get one chapter with her training as a spy, and even more so, a page with another time passage! Not good for the passing...it felt like the author suddenly remembered she has a page count and tried to speed things up. And I want to mention..that training..didn't convince me at all, and her glaring mistake at the end of it...it was a complete no-no (you cannot expect trained spies not to observe when something is missing, especially when you have to be invisible, non-existent ,etc. to fulfill your role in the war!).

Lucien...now...dear Lucien is seriously a question mark for me...He is supposed to be Penelope's driving force to act in the war. But he isn't! When we get to the core of the story...her working at the brothel...Lucien just appears again after not being part of her life for some time. Just like that, he is there among a group of Nazi soldiers, which, by the way, are searching for him....>...>...another problem for the narrative...I mean..really? That place is supposed to be fully protected/ guarded by Nazis..how on earth did he enter? Why was he left alone? Did anybody see him and decided: yes, this is normal? And his role in regard to our main character...a lover without any charm in my opinion...I just didn't see the motif for the insta-love. :(

I felt that all the characters could have played a bigger role: the girls at the brothel..a story about women in horrible circumstances in such a trying time would have completed the narrative amazingly! Especially with the little mention about the treatment of such women after the war!
The group of scientists; Naomie whom which Penelope is obsessed! Missed opportunity...

There are more things, like how Penelope decided to listen to the Germans...who read this book know what I'm talking about..>..>...I will only say it made me slightly uncomfortable to read that(not to mention...why wouldn't they search those places before having a great time? After all, it is a vulnerable moment for everyone involved and, surely, a bunch of suspicious criminals would have done so).
And how convenient finding Lucien was, saving him at the end, and how little push-back we have from the "villains". I guess all this is on account of the length of the story, but I still didn't like it.

In the end, at least we have a realistic outcome. Few people would have done differently in the same situation, when is a well-known fact that war or any traumatic experience has a separate time with separate set of rules not applicable outside of that situation.

I will recommend this book to those of you wanting to see more of a love story, and not minding easy solutions as much as me. I believe this book is an enjoyable read for the right audience. Sadly, that isn't me.

A letter sent across an ocean into a world far from war sends Penelope on a lifetime of discovery. Far from th3 hills of Tennessee into war ravaged France into a world familiar and comfortable, alchemy. Once she arrives her world is turned on it’s end, and the promise of love pushes her to a depth she did not realize she possessed. The resistance is alive and Penelope becomes involved . Life in a war zone ,a first love, all will scar and direct her life from this point on. It is a story of survival at its bleakest and the lengths necessary to live to tell the tale. It is love triumphant in the truest sense. It was magic.

This book was creative and well researched for the time period and setting. I loved the mix of magic with history and Lucien and Penelope were compelling characters and the book kept me wanting more !!

I love historical fiction, especially ones set in WWII. This book was beautifully written and I look forward to reading more by this author!

I really enjoyed getting to know Penelope and go on this adventure with her. The other characters were great and I really loved the storytelling in this book.