[BWF] Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews – 3 Stars

[Hannah]

In this game of cat and mouse, Dominika, a Russian spy, is expected to surrender herself mind, body and soul for the good of the Russian state. Before becoming a spy, Dominika was a successful ballerina, but when she suffers a career-ending injury, she becomes a spy who is used to seduce the enemy. I liked the plot, and there were lots of twists and turns that kept me interested and engaged throughout. But what I seriously disliked about the book was the amount of violence and explicit sex, which definitely took away from the plot. This book has a lot of potential for a debut, so I will likely continue with this trilogy in the hope that the next book will be even better.

EXTRAS: Team: Sassy Sisterhood. Extra read for “R”. Matches tag x 9

[Peacejanz]

Matthews follows her (the dancer/spy) for two more books. They are worth reading. I really liked this book (and the later two) because he is a retired CIA officer. I suspect he has real knowledge about these spy affairs. Also, his wife is retired CIA also. When you want to know the truth, go to the source.
And, yes, there is a lot of violence in the book. I think that is what happens in spying. I passed the State Department exam but declined to be considered for employment because I was scared. State Department folks are required to give their lives if necessary. peace, janz

[NancyJ]

I downloaded this a couple days ago. The last espionage book I read was a Mrs Polifax book so it sounds like this will be very different. I can usually handle sex and violence, but I have wimpy days.

[Peacejanz]

Just skip the sex and violence. And I do agree - I think I just zoom through the sex and violence and keep reading. In fact, I can not even remember any evil sex scenes from any of the three books. And I zoom through the violence. Not for me. The main reason I read these books and urge you and others to read them is that we need to know that the US has spies just like China and Russia do and their lives are in danger when a deranged past president has secret information that he could sell to put them in danger. Sorry for the Trump rant. I panic, get cold chills when I read about his keeping secret papers. I just fear for our spies - it could have been me. Enough of a rant. I loved that he always had a little foodie info after every chapter. The author has disappeared as far as I know - no other books from him. His books do have an excitement about them. peace, janz