Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Jan 11, 2015 Nadine in NY Jones rated it did not like it

Shelves: non-fiction, history, womens-history, did-not-finish, era-civil-war

I made it to page 32 and then cried uncle. This is written like a school age text book, laden with extraneous details and definitions. I even went to the author website to see if I was reading a book intended for children. The writing felt plodding to me. Added to that, I don't have a lot of interest in the US Civil War, AND I find it nearly impossible to sympathize with Confederate sympathizers, and that all adds up to a book I won't be reading.

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Dec 05, 2014 alana rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, females-and-feminists, non-fiction, history

I wish I had read Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy instead of listening to it as an audiobook. The content and story is likely worthy of four stars, but the quality of the audiobook was distracting. The narration was so robotic and awkward in cadence and word emphasis that I felt as though Siri the GPS navigator were telling me the story. In contrast, all the quotations included in the book were voiced with great accents, fluidity, and believability! I wish it could have all sounded so good.

As for ...more

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Jan 16, 2015 Jennifer rated it really liked it

Shelves: nonfiction, bookclub, history, 2015readharder

Really engaging read. The use of dialogue really helps draw you into the stories. Super fast and fun for a war nonfiction book!

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May 11, 2015 Deb rated it liked it

I was absolutely intrigued by the concept of this book! One of my favorite "genres" is taking a well known story and flipping it upside down. Abbott deftly intertwines this tale of 4 bold and unconventional women who served their country (North or South) with a history of the Civil War. We so rarely hear stories of women during times of war... and these women were extraordinary to be sure. However, the great storytelling and intrigue does not last and eventually I got a little bored, sort of "ca ...more

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Sep 10, 2014 taeli rated it really liked it

read 3/3/16

A fascinating read about 2 women spies from the Confederate side and 2 women spies from the Union side (one who was disguised as a man in the Union army).

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