Themes/TW's:
Historical fiction, war, crime, international commerce, suspense, political-thriller, corruption, murder, kidnap, survival, friendship, romance.
Synopsis:
Six young, bright and daring graduates of an elite doctoral program create a 'Power Cycle' during their university days. A seven-step scheme that predicts the rise and fall of world powers. Years later, the group reconnect and devise a plan to bring down Hitler alongside the financial moguls of Nazi Germany in a desperate and clever attempt to cripple the war machine.
Thoughts:
There is nothing I enjoy more then the thrill of getting into a new enticing read. Fortunes of War sounded like an interesting revisit to one of the darkest times in world history. This is part 1 of a trilogy, I found it to be a gripping whirlwind of a novel. With short chapters and multiple points of view, I found it easy to read. It's neither vague nor heavily detailed but we get a good background on the plot and the main characters themselves in the first couple of pages. This probably doesn't sound great but I have zero interest in politics and world finances, so there was a large chunk of this story that went above my head. I did end up googling a couple of things to make sense of the actual 'plan' to duplicate bonds etc. But this didn't taking anything away from my reading experience, in fact I ended up learning things which was great!
Reading this felt like watching a Bond movie, it was so exciting and some scenes had me on edge (especially the captivity). There are some nice little romances in the side-lines which I thought was a pleasant distraction from the intensity of the war. It was uplifting to see some happiness in a time of such despair. I really loved the world-travel from busy London to high profile New York, the stunning Swiss Alps and more. It kept the story flowing and brought a feel of the affluent life - private jets and all. The two female leads, Cecilia and Claudine are strong, independent and outright epic. It's always warming and encouraging seeing women portrayed as heroes. I particularly enjoyed the secret codes and message exchanged between the sentinels - it was so fun!
However, I did feel that the plot was quiet complex and there wasn't enough attention given to the 'plan of action.' I felt like there was a plan, the friends agreed on it, there were a few hiccups and all of a sudden it was successful. The was definitely a bit of a hole in the story-telling here. But the story was a unique concept and I do appreciate alternative endings (only if!). Everything comes together in the end so it can easily be read as a standalone. Overall, a good enjoyable read.
Thank you to Book Publicity Services for sending me a copy.
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