Thank you for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I am such a historical fiction fan, This story was so beautiful, and I loved it. I alternated between audio and reading, and it was such a good story. I love the characters, the heartbreaking moments and the storyline. This was my first read by this author, but won't be my last.

Although this is a Historical fiction, the main character it's based on the first British female saboteur sent into occupied France during the WWII.

The book itself it's very captivating and it's interesting the way it's narrated before she was sent in France, and during she was in France.

The main characters' story it's very impressive, even though if she is not perfect she is very brave and she would do anything for her countries, Britan but mostly France.

Overall, I would recommend this book as it can be quite empowering for feminists.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and RB Media for offering me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I am slowly trying to branch out my genres and am liking historical fiction. I was excited to try this book out. Right away it hooked me. Then I think it got a little slow and I struggled to keep up with it but towards the middle to end I got hooked again. Maybe its the book or maybe its that I am trying to find more types of books I like I its just not my usual. I gave this book 3 stars because I think if I was majorly into historical fiction this would have been a great book but for me personally I have read a few that had me hooked more than this one but it was still a good story and read.

Copied from Goodreads:
“The Woman with No Name" is a fictional account of a real woman--Yvonne Rudellat. In 1942, Rudellat, a French-born Londoner, became the first female British saboteur sent into Nazi-occupied France. While the novel is fiction, Audrey Blake notes that the incidents described were all real events. Blake's Yvonne is a brave, but not perfect, person, something I appreciated given the habit of depicting true heroes on pedestals. I was impressed by the ingenuity of Yvonne and her circuit and was surprised by the amount of time that she was able to stay alive in dangerous circumstances. I was not wowed by the writing style, but it served its purpose and mimicked the no nonsense approach of Roudellat.

"The Woman with No Name" was released in the U.S. on March 12, 2024. Thanks to Recorded Books and NetGalley for this audio ARC given in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was an interest account of a real-life heroine named Yvonne Rudellat, who went undercover in WWII France to spy for Great Britain. She was the first British female agent and had to overcome misogyny and ageism despite her willingness to take a great risk for her country.

Overall, this was a great read for Women's History Month and I would recommend it to historical fiction aficionados, especially if you enjoy strong female protagonists, dual timelines, and stories of espionage. Warning - the book does not have a happy ending. I appreciated the author's note at the end, which clarified which parts of the story were true vs. which were guessed based on available information.

I received an audiobook to review in exchange for my opinion. Although there were times where I felt the plot lagged, I enjoyed the narrator, who really helped set the scene and keep me engaged, as she was able to do different European accents and voices for various male and female characters.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and RB Media!

The Woman With No Name was the first novel by Audrey Blake I have read, but not my last. The depth of the characters, the story development, and the overall novel itself was so good. Based on the true story of Yvonne Rudellat and her experience of working with the French Resistance to help derail the Nazis in World War II. Yvonnes code name was Jacqueline, after he daughter, and was hunted by Nazis’ when her path of destruction spread throughout the countryside, right under the Germans noses.
If you like WWII history, this is a must-read. Unique to the genre and well written.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.75 stars - I really liked this book.
Many Thanks to NetGalley for an eARC of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

Important to say: This book is based on a true story. Most of the characters (except the germans) are based on actual people.

Summary:
This book is about Yvonne Rudellat. She's a woman in her 40s with an estranged husband and daughter. When their house gets destroyed, she gets left to fend for herself. After some hurdles along the way. She becomes the first ever female British SOE in France. The book has a dual time line in which both her time in training and her actual time in France get covered.

Story & Characters:
I found the story and the characters to be captivating. Yvonne was such a brave person. Together with Pierre Culioli she trained people to participate in the resistance and did so much more than anyone expected from an 'old' woman. It was so nice to see people working together and how seemingly tiny explosions can have such an impact.

Emotions:
This left me shocked and going on a deep dive into female spies during different time periods.

PS: Do you know the feeling when you love a book, but you can't really put into words how good it was... That's how I'm feeling about this.

This is the first novel I’ve read by this author. It was well-crafted, engaging, and informative. All of these characteristics are critical to me when reading historical fiction. Many of the character were actual people, and I am now anxious to learn more about them all.

In a war of “Unknown Warriors”, Yvonne Rudellat found herself as a middle-aged mother of an adult daughter, who was estranged from a husband who believed she was impulsive and unpredictable. Wanting to do something to assist the Allies, she was presented with an unlikely opportunity to become an integral part of the resistance.

She was resilient, fierce, a leader, and woman who far exceeded expectations of herself and of others. She was yet another masterful woman that assisted in the defeat of the Nazis!

I absolutely recommend reading this novel!

Wonderful account of a middle-aged woman who trained with the SOE to fight in the French resistance during WWII. Her dedication, bravery, and leadership were remarkable and she helped to pave the way for other female operatives. Great cast of characters. I also enjoyed the interjecting chapters from the POV of the Nazi officer pursuing her. I appreciate the inclusion of the interesting author's note in the audiobook.

DNF

🗯Thoughts/sassy musings:

I wanted to like this book. I love women’s history. Women of war are badass and deserve their story told. Sadly the story just dragged in the beginning and I didn’t have the heart to persevere to the good parts.

I hope many enjoy this more than I did. I heard the last 15% is where it’s at!

Maybe next time Audrey 🤞🏼

I was delighted to read the latest novel by duo authors Audrey Blake after enjoying their previous novels. I enjoy how the authors focus on fierce and strong, female protagonists in each story and The Woman with No Name was no exception. Based on true events during the Second World War, the story centers on Yvonne Redellet, Britain's first female Special Operations Executive. Once deployed in France, Yvonne, with a large ensemble of resistance fighters, strategically and bravely set the Nazi regime ablaze as master saboteurs. 

I found the pacing of the first 2/3 of the story a bit slow and with a large ensemble of supporting characters, I had a difficult time keeping track of who was who. I also found that my mind wandered a lot during this portion if the story and I had to go back several times to reread/listen to previous parts over again to get my bearings.

I appreciate the research that went into writing this story and I am thrilled that it highlighted a real life female hero. While I struggled with the first 2/3 of the story, I'm glad I stuck it out because I was rewarded with an action-packed last 1/3 that had me on the edge of my seat. The authors' notes at the end are a must read and made me appreciate the meticulous research that went into telling this story. Amy Scanlon's narration of the audiobook was a bright spot for me. She did an incredibly job delivering the story and her voice was a pleasure to listen to.

Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook of The Woman with No Name by Audrey Blake.

This book is based on a true story during World War II. It is filled with suspense, spies, secrets, friendships, courage, and strength. Yvonne is estranged from her husband and her daughter is no longer living at home. She feels lost, overlooked and doesn't feel like she has a reason to go on. She meets a gentleman that offers her a chance to go undercover to help with the war efforts against Germany.

Yvonne transforms herself into a mean fighting machine. She proves that a lady in her 40s can do the things someone half her age can accomplish. She even learns how to swim in order to pass training.

I really enjoyed this book and the narrator. I definitely couldn't be a spy, she has way more courage than I will ever have.

This book was well written and the narrator was good. I just don't think this type of book was for me.

Yvonne Rudellat’s life is turned upside down when her London home is destroyed during the blitz. She is already separated from her husband and her daughter is busy with her own war work. At age 43, she is turned away from her efforts to contribute in some way until one day, as the war seems to be heading in the wrong direction, she is approached by the war department, primarily because of her French background. She becomes Britain’s first female espionage agent, goes through training and is finally sent to France to assist the Resistance - whether it be helping downed pilots return to England, setting explosives to slow the Germans, providing reconnaissance for sites for Allied planes to drop supplies, and training more Resistance fighters as the hope for Allied invasion approaches. Hers is a story not just of redemption, but of bravery, skill, and persistence in the face of what seem to be indeterminable odds.

I very much enjoy reading historical fiction, and this book did not disappoint. In the author’s notes, she states that many of the characters in the book, and in particular, the primary character, are based on real people. Blake did a masterful job of making the reader (listener) feel a part of history with her descriptions of the deeds performed by this brave and talented woman as well as the conditions confronting those who opposed the German occupation of France in World War II. My only criticism of the book was the jumping around of time lines - going back and forth, mostly between 1942 and 1943, did become irritating and confusing at times.

Note: Reviewed as an audiobook which I received from Recorded Books and NetGalley in exchange for my review.

I was interested in reading this book because I was a big fan of Audrey Blake’s novel “The Girl in His Shadow.” That was also historical fiction, but not necessarily dealing with this era, and I think I may just be burned out on World War II books right now.

I did like the beginning of this book when Yvonne was desperate to get a divorce, which was not common in this time period. She was on a date with another man and had her young daughter along for the outing when they suffered an accident. I was interested in her relationship with her daughter over time and what the split from her husband was like for the young girl and her impression of her risk-taking mother.

In the middle of the story, I got a bit lost with the number of characters and various missions and assignments she facing. Yvonne, goes by her daughter’s name for a time, and then keeps her identity a mystery, and kind of loses her self of identity in the process.

For a woman past her prime, she is fearless and faces danger head-on and her life was worthy of retelling, but it did not surpass the early female anesthesiologist as my favorite Audrey Blake novel.

Thank you @RBMedia for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I read quite a bit of historical fiction that takes place during WWII. This one in particular was interesting to me because the main character is a middle aged woman who was working in France as a Special Operations Executive agent in the war. I enjoyed her story and the stories of the people she worked with and came into contact with. As always I am in awe of the people who put their lives at risk daily to fight for what is right. The book was well written and easy to read.

The Woman with No Name is based on the true story of Yvonne Rudellat and the remarkable role she played as a spy in WWII. While the story itself is very interesting, I often had a difficult time keeping focus. There were quite a lot of characters, and I struggled to keep them straight. However, though I struggled at times to push through, I'm glad I did as Yvonne's story was very interesting and the narration was well done.

Thank you to NetGally, Recorded Books, and Audrey Blake for the audio ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Woman With No Name was the third book that I had the pleasure of reading by author, Audrey Blake. I enjoyed that she had chosen to write another book about a strong and determined woman. It was based on the true story of Yvonne Rudellat, a forty something year old woman who helped the members of the French Resistance slow down and derail the Nazi’s attempts to overtake France and demoralize the people of France during World War II. She was the oldest and first woman that was recruited by the SOE to be sent into war torn France for this purpose. Yvonne might have been older and slight in built or petite but she made up for those things with her courage, foresight, leadership and attention to details. She excelled at bomb making and sabotage and was respected by the members of the resistance she worked with. Yvonne Rudellat’s code name was Jacqueline but the Germans referred to her as the “saboteur with no name”. I listened to the audiobook of The Woman with No Name by Audrey Blake. It was very well narrated by Amy Scanlon. I really enjoyed listening to this gripping story about Yvonne Rudellat and highly recommend it to those of you that enjoy reading about strong women and historical fiction that is based on true accounts.

Thank you to Recorded Books for allowing me to listen to the audiobook of The Woman with No Name by Audrey Blake through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Book Review: The Woman with No Name by Audrey Blake ⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟

"1942. Though she survived the bomb that destroyed her home, Yvonne Rudellat's life is over. She's estranged from her husband, her daughter is busy with war work, and Yvonne—older, diminutive, overlooked—has lost all purpose. Until she's recruited as Britain's first female sabotage agent. Soon enough she arrives in occupied France with a new identity, ready to set the Nazi regime ablaze.

But there are adversaries on all sides. As Yvonne becomes infamous as the nameless, unstoppable woman who burns the enemy at every turn, she realizes she may lose herself to the urgent needs of the cause."

I found this story so interesting - I appreciated that there wasn't any romance plot and that Yvonne was not in her 20's and I think it makes #thewomanwithnoname stand out in a sea of historical fiction with epic love stories and life lessons. I also loved the author's note - it made me very emotional to learn how many of the characters and events were based on real people.

Where this book didn't work for me was in it's structure and the ending. The story flips between Yvonne's training and her carrying out missions, both ratcheting up in intensity over the course of the book, interspersed with the perspective of a Nazi commander who is hunting her. I think a linear approach would have let me appreciate Yvonne more as a character and feel more attached to her rather than trying to keep up with the volume of characters in both timelines. The perspective of the commander added tension but was also disruptive. No spoilers but the ending was so abrupt - the author's note softens the blow a bit but it still felt a bit like being dropped off a cliff.

Overall, I think this is a well written, well researched, extremely well narrated story that will feel familiar to readers of #kristinhannah and #katequinn and will definitely scratch the #historicalfiction itch.

Thank you to @netgalley and #rbmedia for the advanced copy of the audiobook.

#audiobook #arc #netgalley #historicalfictionbooks #womenshistory #ww2books #readinginstead

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Woman with No Name by Audrey Blake.

Ok, I have a lot of guilt about this, but it's a DNF for me. I tried reading to it, and then I tried listening to it. I just couldn't get into it. I'm sure it's a great book, but I was never able to get into it, and I love WWII stories.