A great book! The book is full of information and little facts that I had know Idea about which is always a plus for me! The characters were wonderful and I really enjoyed getting to know them! Definitely a book to binge read with!

Thank you, NetGalley, for an audio-ARC of One Woman's War by Christine Wells.
One Woman's War is a well-researched novel of female spies during World War II. Based on the real life "Miss Moneypenny, this book is fast-paced and full of suspense. I love being able to learn while I am reading for fun!

An interesting take on the oft written about female spies of WWII. I was drawn by the subtitle referencing Miss Moneypenny as I always thought she was an unsung heroine of many Bond films. The references and connections to Ian Fleming's real wartime exploits were fascinating as well. However, I would still shelve this with the plethora of books on this topic and not with my top tier faves of the genre. The audio narration by Saskia Maarleveld was very good and it was easy to differentiate the voices of the two many female characters. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys WWII fiction centering on female participants.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an audio ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

James Bond, once again, delivers. This thriller introduces us to Paddy Bennett, who became the inspiration for the Bond character, Miss Moneypenny.
This World War II nail-biter was fast-paced, exciting, and complex. The interwoven stories of Paddy and double agent, Friedl, provided such insight into the danger of espionage while entertaining simultaneously.
I listened to the audio version and the narrator was great. The story was so engaging and was enhanced by the narrator knowing exactly when to up the tension.

This was an interesting, historical fiction novel. I liked the alternating points of view, it is always fun seeing the story from different angles. I love how the characters paths all intertwined and Friedl was great. I would read more books written by Christine Wells in the future.

I enjoyed Saskia Maarleveld's narration of this audiobook; Saskia was able to provide different voices for each character and it made it easier to distinguish who was speaking. I would definitely look for books narrated by Saskia in the future.

Double agents, MI6, love, loss, and the Ian Fleming who created James Bond.

Christine Wells wrote a great historical fiction in the book One Woman’s War. This book is told in a dual timeline of Friedl and Paddy. Friedl is an Austrian, living in Portugal after a nasty divorce and is approached by a Nazi intelligence officer to use her link to MI6 her brother in law, Stewart Menzies, was the head of the agency; to spy on Britain for the Germans. Paddy Ridsdale worked as the secretary for Ian Fleming in the Room 39 and helped to pretend to be Pam in the Operation Mincemeat that helped to win the war.

This book was incredibly interesting and now I want to read all the books by Ian Fleming. The personal story of Paddy was interesting but not as much as the spy story. For that and that alone I say this is a 4.5 or 4 star book.

Thank you to William Morrow for sending me a finished copy #gifted in exchange for my review. THe audio book was great as well. This is definitely a book to read.

𝘛𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘶𝘯𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦!

A novel inspired by the real Miss Moneypenny from James Bond? How can you say no to read it? And you know what? It was as fantastic and fascinating as I expected it to be. If you like historical fiction and spy stories, you need to read this book.

Thank you UpLit Reads for this tour invite and #gifted copy.

𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻’𝘀 𝗪𝗮𝗿 by Christine Wells Author released October 4, 2022.

https://www.instagram.com/booksandcoffeemx/

I loved this book. This is a good one for those who enjoy any type of historical fiction. It was suspenseful listening to two lives of women who are trying to survive the war. I really enjoyed the narrator.

Thank you to @uplitreads and @williammorrowbooks for a digital ARC and ALC through @netgalley

While I’m not much of a James Bond enthusiast, I was very intrigued by this historical fiction based on the woman who inspired the Miss Moneypenny character. I can not imagine what it would have been like to lie to everyone close to her, even her husband in order to fulfill her duty. I continue to be amazed at how much I learn about WWII even after the amount of historical fiction I’ve read on the subject.

"Bond...James Bond." Those words are so iconic and identifiable with decades of movie history. And yet, the next name that comes to mind from that franchise might very well be Miss Moneypenny. Until this novel, it never occurred to me that Ian Fleming might have drawn his characters from real life based on his time working in Britain's Naval Intelligence Division during WW2. In fact, I knew very little about Ian Fleming. And while Fleming does play a role in this novel, he's more of a side character and instead the focus is on "Paddy" Bennett who served as Fleming's secretary/assistant. Paddy's brilliant mind captures the trust of Fleming and his superiors, and it earns her a seat at the table for the planning of Operation Mincemeat, a seemingly far-fetched plan to dup the Nazis. The continuous timeline alternates with chapters of Friedl Stottinger, an Austrian double agent caught up in a web of dangerous intrigue. I really enjoyed this one! Even if you're not familiar with Fleming's novels, the plot is captivating and the author's notes about how these real people tie into the famous novels is so interesting.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I really enjoyed this one on audio narrated by Saskia Maarleveld. This was a fantastic WWII historical fiction. I was captivated by the characters and the story. I was intrigued when I found out this book was based on the real-life James Bond, Ian Fleming. I love historical fiction that is based on true life stories and real people. It didn't disappoint.

Saskia Maarleveld was an excellent narrator of this audio book and brought the author's words to life. The story is well written and interspersed fact with fiction. I loved the dual story lines of Paddy and Friedl and was on the edge of my seat to see what would happen next throughout the book. Their lives were richly described and I felt like I was watching the events unfold. This is my first book by this author and this narrator and I will be looking for more of their work in the near future.

I received a complimentary copy of this audio book from Harper Audio through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Another World War II spy novel that Victoire “Paddy” Bennett, who was the inspiration for Miss Moneypenny in James Bond, finds herself working for the intelligent division, plotting against the Germans. What she thinks will be a secretarial position, she soon finds herself working as an agent in the field. Friedl Stottinger is an Australian double agent living in England during the war. I did find the story difficult to follow at times. I listened to the audiobook and was confused at time which woman’s story I was currently in. There was more romance than I was expecting. There were some twists and secret missions that were entertaining. This book was well written but unfortunately it wasn’t as interesting as I would have liked.

WWII historical fiction fans will be delighted with this new book from the author of the Sisters of the resistance. I really enjoyed this one on audio narrated by Saskia Maarleveld that cleverly combines fact with fiction in a suspenseful story about two women spies and the dangerous lives they led during the war.

It was so fun getting to know more about both author Ian Flemming and the real life inspiration for his character Miss Moneypenny, Victoire Bennett! Even more surprising to learn was that this WWII British Naval intelligence officer was a married woman and kept working even while pregnant.

I thought the author did a great job intertwining both Victoire and Austrian double agent/socialite Friedl Stöttinger's stories. Based on the real life events of these women's lives, this book is perfect for fans of Kristin Harmel, Natasha Lester or Kate Quinn.

Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and Libro.fm for an ALC in exchange for my honest review!

Stories about women behind the lines and their contributions to World War II are the rave at the moment. I have read a couple, just in the last 2 months. Christine Wells shines with One Woman's War in that her heroine is well known to most of us. Her Paddy Bennett worked for the Intelligence Division of the British Admiralty. Ian Fleming is said to have based Miss Moneypenny from Jhis ames Bond books on Bennett..

From the author's blurb: "World War II London: When Victoire "Paddy" Bennett first walks into the Admiralty's Room 39, home to the Intelligence Division, all the bright and lively young woman expects is a secretarial position to the charismatic Commander Ian Fleming. But soon her job is so much more, and when Fleming proposes a daring plot to deceive the Germans about Allied invasion plans he requests the newlywed Paddy's help. She jumps at the chance to work as an agent in the field, even after the operation begins to affect her marriage. But could doing her duty for King and country come at too great a cost?"

I enjoyed Saskia Maarleveld's narration from Harper Audio. The tone of her voice is perfect for a tale of espionage, double agents and top secret missions. One Woman's War is full of glitz and glamour (what .007 book wouldnt include this even in war times). Typically James Bond's stories focuses upon a man's thoughts, I appreciated Well's vision and story from the viewpoint of 2 women. The sisterhood of spies includes the love lives, friendships and daring escapades.

Note: Pick up the book for the story, but stay after for the "truth is larger than fiction" portion. Wells shares her research and the truth behind One Womans War.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Harper Audio and Christine Wells for a fabulous journey back into WWII and the strength and character of women.

Quick read! Refreshing story featuring Miss Moneypenny (James Bond's sidekick!). Don't take for granted what she's capable of!

If one is a fan of Ian Fleming’s James Bond this may be a read for you. The story of the real life inspiration of Miss Moneypenny. This involves double agents signing the secrets act, deception and a corpse.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book. It’s an interesting story about Paddy Bennett, who worked for Ian Fleming (later to be author of James Bond books) in the Intelligence Division of the British Admiralty. Her role under Fleming would later be celebrated as the character of Miss Moneypenny in those Bond books.

Then, there’s Friedl Stottinger, a German double agent. An Austrian national, she prefers to work for the British. She fits in perfectly with the high society crowd, a great place to pick up important secrets about German activity..

The book is well written and well narrated. My one big complaint about it is that I’ve read of the same operation that involves Paddy and Fleming in several other books. I’m sure it was an astounding achievement to carry it off so well at the time, but there must be some other equally memorable events to write about.

This book is interesting, perhaps more so if you’re a James Bond fan. It was a decent wartime tale, but nothing riveting.

I received an advanced reader copy of this audiobook from the publisher through Netgalley. I thank all involved for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.

This was a delight. A fictional story about Ian Fleming and the woman said to be the inspiration for James Bond's Ms. Moneypenny.
Feel good and entertaining.

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review this book.

I really enjoyed One Woman's War by Christine Wells. The novel follows a group of women involved in the spy world during World War II leading up to the launch of Operation Mincemeat. The story also follows (one of) the women who may have inspired Mrs Moneypenny in the James Bond novels. I really enjoyed both the story and the women, even if the story is a lot of conjecture. If you like historical fiction war stories you will like this novel.