I should probably have thrown in the towel when the story stopped working for me and I was forcing myself to continue reading the book. But no, this was a netgalley book and I was going to finish it. This is the last time I think so, next time when the book fails me I will just stop and read something else instead of suffering through I book that is clearly not meant for me.

The Bone Church follows two separate story lines, WW2 in Prague and after the war several years later; unfortunately it just didn’t work because it just made the story confusing to read. Suddenly you are in the past and you reading about characters you hardly remember. I just felt lost and also the characters weren’t memorable, I just didn’t care if they found each other or if the real infant of Prague was found (apparently that was part of the story also). Frankly my dear I just don't give a damn!

A half star upgraded to one star since GR don't have half stars.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

Review also posted on And Now for Something Completely Different and It's a Mad Mad World ( )

I should probably have thrown in the towel when the story stopped working for me and I was forcing myself to continue reading the book. But no, this was a netgalley book and I was going to finish it. This is the last time I think so, next time when the book fails me I will just stop and read something else instead of suffering through I book that is clearly not meant for me.

The Bone Church follows two separate story lines, WW2 in Prague and after the war several years later; unfortunately it just didn’t work because it just made the story confusing to read. Suddenly you are in the past and you reading about characters you hardly remember. I just felt lost and also the characters weren’t memorable, I just didn’t care if they found each other or if the real infant of Prague was found (apparently that was part of the story also). Frankly my dear I just don't give a damn!

A half star upgraded to one star since GR don't have half stars.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

Review also posted on And Now for Something Completely Different and It's a Mad Mad World ( )

I should probably have thrown in the towel when the story stopped working for me and I was forcing myself to continue reading the book. But no, this was a netgalley book and I was going to finish it. This is the last time I think so, next time when the book fails me I will just stop and read something else instead of suffering through I book that is clearly not meant for me.

The Bone Church follows two separate story lines, WW2 in Prague and after the war several years later; unfortunately it just didn’t work because it just made the story confusing to read. Suddenly you are in the past and you reading about characters you hardly remember. I just felt lost and also the characters weren’t memorable, I just didn’t care if they found each other or if the real infant of Prague was found (apparently that was part of the story also). Frankly my dear I just don't give a damn!

A half star upgraded to one star since GR don't have half stars.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!

Review also posted on And Now for Something Completely Different and It's a Mad Mad World ( )

This author has definitely done her research on Nazi and Soviet occupied Prague and Czech Republic (or Czechoslovakia as it was known as then). I found myself walking the streets with our characters, feeling the fog on my skin, breathing in the dry must of the Bone Church, and seeing the magnificent architecture present in that majestic city.

The author has re-created the atmosphere present in those days as well as creating the structures and geography of Prague and Kutna Hora; one felt the desperate rush towards liberation in 1944 Nazi occupied Prague and the bleakness of the Soviet occupation with no “liberation” in sight. Ms. Dougherty has created a novel that infuses itself into the senses of the readers in such a way that dreams, or rather nightmares, result. Bravo for that skill as it’s not evident in everyone.

An intense and riveting spy thriller/survival story, the author developed a story that stands worthy among the spy thriller greats. Nothing is as it seems, no one’s motives are clear, and just around the corner could be next clue or our character’s deaths. Misinformation and suspicious motives abound in this novel and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

The one ding I have against this novel is the esoteric, and sometimes just plain weird, aspects of the book. Moving and emotive statues, dead friends helping with escape and rescue, and appearances of sword-wielding archangels and saints made this novel a bit hard for me to swallow at times. The author may have been trying for something that I just wasn't getting; I don’t know. Yet, it just felt like these elements didn't fit with the rest of the action-packed, suspenseful spy thriller I was presented with.

This is a spy thriller that any enjoy-er of the genre will like. Foggy street corners and twists of plot all make their presence known and will make spy lovers thrilled to their fingertips. With fantastic skills at scene-setting, research, and story, this author shoves her way to the head of the pack for this genre. While there were a few parts of the mixture I personally found eye-rolling and not really having a place in the narrative, that could not hold true for another reader. Make the judgment for yourself. Either way, definitely give this book a gander as its well worth the read.

Note: Book received for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review via NetGalley. ( )

This was a difficult story to get into for me, which surprised me. The premise seems so good - Czechoslovakia, wartime, fugitive lovers, a faked religious icon, and a plot to assassinate Josef Goebbels – the promise of which kept me reading. But I found the time shifts, the point of view shifts, and the way the action changed from paragraph to paragraph quite confusing. Assuming this was a formatting issue with my Kindle copy, I kept reading.
The story starts in Rome in 1956 in the Vatican City with a Cardinal and a man called Felix. Then we see Magdalena and her son Ales in Czechoslovakia, a man arrives and takes away her son. Then the action switched to 1943, as Felix and Magdalena are on the run in Prague. He is a famous hockey player, a celebrity, she is a Jew. By this point, the story should have gripped me but I’m afraid it didn’t, I hadn’t read enough about the two characters to care. I think my basic problem is the way the story was told, not the actual story itself; the writing is rich with description and the author certainly knows her history. Halfway through, things started to make a little more sense though at times the plot seemed unnecessarily complicated.
The best bit? The assassination scene, involving a birthday cake, a gun, and Josef Goebbels.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/ ( )