I am so grateful that the publishers allowed me to read a review this book. What an interesting dual timeline of WW1 and 1970’s Naval Academy. My family has a very rich, extended connection with the US Navy and none of their stories ever made me wonder what the experiences of women were like. I had also never heard of war librarians before. It was all fascinating! I really enjoyed this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC digital copy. I was not compensated for this review and all opinions are my own.

Being a librarian, it is no surprise that I enjoy reading books about books. Unfortunately, I just could not get into The War Librarian. I attempted several times but was unable to connect with the story.

3.5 stars out of respect for the author and the fact that The War Librarian is likely is just not the right book for me at this time. I will keep in on my "to be read" list and will update this review in the event that my opinion changes.

The War Librarian
by Addison Armstrong
Pub Date 09 Aug 2022
PENGUIN GROUP Putnam, G.P. Putnam's Sons
Historical Fiction | Women's Fiction


I am reviewing a copy of The War Librarian through Penguin Group Putnam, Putnam's Sons and Netgalley:



This is a dual timeline story, that shifts from 1918, to 1976. It's the story of two women, a secret and a truth worth fighting for.


In 1918 Emmaline Balakin is a timid and shy young woman who lives in books more than she does her own life. That is until the day an envelope crosses her desk at the Dead Letter Office bearing a name from her past, and Emmaline decides to finally embark on an adventure of her own as a volunteer librarian on the frontlines in France. But when a romance blooms as she secretly participates in a book club for books being censored, Emmaline will need to find more courage within herself than she ever thought possible in order to survive.


In 1976 Kathleen Carre is eager to prove to herself and to her nana that she deserves her acceptance into the first coed class at the United States Naval Academy. The problem is not everyone wants female midshipmen at the Academy, and after tragedy strikes close to home, Kathleen becomes a target. To protect herself, Kathleen must learn to trust others even as she discovers a secret that could be her undoing.



I give The War Librarian five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

I feel like I'm both the perfect and worst audience for this book, being a military veteran (Marine Corps) and librarian. Because any book about a woman's experience in the military automatically makes me both excited and nervous—particularly if the author has no military experiencce.

However, Armstrong did her homework, very thoroughly. There are so many little details about military life that are right—and so many details of what went down during the first year women were allowed into the Naval Academy (she had several sources who were in the class of 1980), and she spares little detail on the struggles they faced.

I did enjoy it. I liked both Katherine's and Emmaline's POVs, although by the 80% mark the storylines got a little ridiculous, it still made sense plot-wise—and enjoyed the themes of female friendship and found family.

So why the three stars?

Well...it just didn't hit all the marks for me, particularly the last 20%. I found myself going WTF several times, and also because this book contains the trope of Bad Things Happen to Secondary Characters (no, not the one in the Big Reveal), who happen to be Black, which makes the main character realizes things (systemic racism, the dual-tipped tongs of white supremacy and misogyny, etc). That it happens not in one timeline, but both timelines, with the Black characters shriveling out of the picture after their Part in the storyline (although one does pop up at the end), kinda made me side-eye the story a little bit. I'm probably reading into the white feminist angle too much here, but the fact that it happened twice just felt...like an odd parallel to include?

I initially received this book as an ARC, but didn't read it when I was supposed to, and after delaying the hold on the audiobook five or sixteen times, finally got around to listening to it.

4.5 I really enjoyed the dual time line historical function and look forward from reading more from this author in the future. This story follows to characters Emmaline a war librarian during world war and Kathleen her granddaughter who is trying to attend the naval academy in the late 70s. I thought this was an interesting way to show us that there are issues that were present in the early 1900s that are still present in the late 70s and even still today. The writing was very engaging and I really enjoyed seeing the two girls journeys side by side. I also felt this book was great at getting some less known history out there. I had not heard previous about war librarians or the importance the government placed on getting books to soldiers. I also planning on picking up the book recommended in the author notes. Overall I really enjoyed this book my only issue was some of the ending felt a little unnecessary and kind of brought my rating down a bit. I look forward to picking up more from this author and I would like to thank Netgalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

This is another untold story of the role women took during the war years. Emmaline, stepping away from the comfort of home, arrives in France at the end of WWI to serve as a librarian to wounded soldiers. She finds her path recommending books to help comfort the recovering soldiers and forms a book club that integrates them. In a dual timeline, Kathleen enters the Naval Academy as one of the first recruits in 1976. A place where she longs to be but is not welcome by the men in her class. Both women end up confronted with censorship, segregation and having to overcome personal fears to overcome.

Oh how I despise WWII era historical fiction. As a granddaughter of two holocaust survivors, I’m here to tell you that the over-romanticized wartime jib-jab was not how it went. Sure, when chaos pops off, there’s a strive for normalcy in places, but dedicating a whole novel towards it? Blah. This one reminded me of Kristen Harmel’s The Book of Lost Names, which I also hated…

You can't go wrong with a historical fiction book about books. I know the story wasn't entirely about books, but, I did enjoy the read and the part the books play. It is different to have a book set around WW1 because so many historical fiction books were placed during WW2. If you like Historical Fiction, try this! Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

I don't really like WWII fiction, especially Holocaust fiction, but in rare cases, I read what I call "peripheral WWII fiction," meaning the war is like a minor character and usually doesn't take place in Germany. This book is a dual time-line book about a war librarian and her granddaughter, one who was a war librarian, which wasn't a common position, and the other, one of the first females to attend the Naval Academy in the 80s. Both are strong, determined women.

What I liked about the book is that either story could stand alone and be a book of its own, yet the two fit together perfectly. The book kept my attention the whole time, right to the end. The twist was unexpected, although there were a couple clues that I should have caught right away.

I was happy with the ending. I look forward to more books by this author.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions are mine, and freely expressed.

This title was the epitome of "not for me." I DNF'ed it - it was well written, it tells a poignant story. But I was mentally not in a place for the story it was telling.

Following up after the popularity of The Light of Luna Park, the author has once again released a compelling read we can get lost in.
This dual timeline is divinely researched as the author combines fact and fiction in the time periods of 1918 and 1976.
Strong, empowered women lead in firsts including WWI women librarians and the first class of women to attend the United States Naval Academy. I found it fascinating how each timeline is a standalone but so seamlessly meshes at the end of the book with the characters from the first timeline finding their way into the second timeline.
The book shows resilience the women show during hardships. I also enjoyed the inclusivity shown by the book club created during WWI that included ALL soldiers regardless of color. Soldiers of color were often not treated until all whites were treated regardless of injury and oftentimes it was too late for them as evidenced by the author's writing.
Very authentic feel to this writing. I will be on the lookout for more by this author.

Pub Date 09 Aug 2022
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

I had such high hopes for this book. I tried to read it for several months and just could not motivate myself to finish it after reading over 60 percent. As much as I wanted to, I could not become invested in the two main characters. They did not have a lot of depth and were not particularly interesting. I suspected one of the twists, which is always a little disappointing. Ultimately, I was not interested enough in finishing this book over reading another.

I enjoyed reading this historical story. This is a newer author for me which I look forward to seeing what is next for her. This is a story that will bring inspiration and emotions to a new level. A well written story where you have two women, a secret and the truth that you can fight for. I enjoyed how the author used details to pull me into their world. A world where trusting someone is not always that easy. I also enjoyed how relateable the characters are. I had no problem picturing myself in their world. They are strong, engaging characters that brought the story to life. They have great growth throughout the story which made the story easy and entertaining to read. You don't want to miss this one. I highly recommend this book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book.
Exciting story told over 2 eras. Gives a different viewpoint of WWI.
A view of women in the war when women were first permitted to serve. A great read.

In 1918 Emmaline lives in Washington D.C. She is working in the dead letter office and comes across a letter that makes her decide to become a volunteer librarian. She works near the front of the war. Books are the main source of entertainment for the soldiers recuperating in the hospitals. When books are suddenly being banned, she secretly participates in a book club that is about the censored books. Emmeline will need to find a way to survive that she never thought about. Does she have the strength for it? Kathleen in 1976 has had her dream come true. She has been accepted into the Naval Academy as part of the first groups of women ever accepted. She finds that it is difficult to be in the Academy as the male students and teachers don’t want women in their classes. One male classmate has it in for her. What will he try to do to her? Will he succeed?

The author has written two fascinating women. Neither had realized, understood or anticipated the challenges that they will face. As their stories continued I became totally immersed in their lives. Their accomplishments and growth are realistic besides their fears in this novel. There is loss, intrigue and sorrow in this dual lifetime historical novel was felt as I read it.

Emmaline works in a Dead Letter Office during WWI. She comes across a dead letter to her friend Nicholas. She decides to become an ALA War Librarian and heads to France. She meets Nellie, who becomes her friend and helps her realize she is brave. At the field hospital she actually finds Nicholas and they resume their friendship, which turns to love.
In the present day, Kathleen, goes off to the Naval Academy among the first class of women. Raised by her Nanna Nellie, she is devastated when she dies. In Nellie's papers are mentions of Nicholas whom Katleen has never heard of. And Nellie's sister Mabel turns up for the funeral and Kathleen never knew about her. It's hard to read about what Katleen has to go though as a woman in the Naval Academy, but Nellie and Emmaline's stories are so compelling.

Armstrong deserves high praise for this excellent story.

I’m not a fan of alternating time periods but Armstrong did a wonderful job weaving the timelines with ease and great interest. Extremely well done. The characters - Nellie, Emmaline, and Kathleen were strong women facing great challenges, and endless courage. Their mettle was tested and yet they never wavered but rather stood their ground risking it all. I love a story when women pull each other up not down. I was engaged from the start and never lost interest. Sensitive issues were addressed in a respectful manner leaving the reader lost in thought as to what was then and what is now, and what strides we need to make improvements. Great story and I look forward to more from Addison Armstrong.

it was great to read about how positive books are in war time. Librarians rock in all times, especially when she can get a whole community of men in war talking to each other.. It was sad but awesome at the same time

I really enjoyed this book! I had no idea that librarians played such an important role in WWI and I think any book lover will enjoy learning more about the Library War Service through this book. I was so interested by both of the stories in this book and was very satisfied by how they were tied together. This was emotional at times but was ultimately a feel-good story with characters that were lots of fun to root for. Definitely recommend!

Dear The War Librarian,
I am an absolute sucker for historical fiction with dual timelines, linked together with a place or object. I was presently surprised to have your two timelines both be a historical, instead of having one being more current time. But I absolutely loved your story. Historical fiction has become an easy way for me to feel the flavor of the past, absorbing the culture and learning about the broad strokes of the past, in a palatable and easy way. Not only did I fall I love with Emmaline and Kathleen, but I learned so much about when they were from. The late 1970's naval culture was something completely new to me, and I was honestly a little bit skeptical from your beginning, unsure if I would be able to relate to Kathleen. I ended up loving her so much, and feeling her struggle beside her. Emmaline's storyline felt more familiar to me, as I have read much more WWI historical fiction, but I absolutely loved the idea of the government funding War Librarians. Everytime I think I burn out on historical fiction, a brilliant story like you comes along to remind me why I love the genre.