The Lipstick Bureau : A Novel Inspired by a Real-Life Female Spy Michelle Gable
On Sale Date: December 27, 2022
9781525811470
Trade Paperback $16.99 USD

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Inspired by one of the OSS’s few female operatives, Barbara Lauwers, a WWII novel set at OSS’s Morale Office in Rome, which was responsible for creating black propaganda and distributing it behind enemy lines. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Bookseller’s Secret.
Inspired by a real-life female spy, a WWII-set novel about a woman challenging convention and boundaries to help win a war, no matter the cost.

“A gripping, fascinating read.” —Kelly Rimmer, New York Times bestselling author of The Warsaw Orphan

1944, Rome. Newlywed Niki Novotná is recruited by a new American spy agency to establish a secret branch in Italy’s capital. One of the OSS’s few female operatives abroad and multilingual, she’s tasked with crafting fake stories and distributing propaganda to lower the morale of enemy soldiers.
Despite limited resources, Niki and a scrappy team of artists, forgers and others—now nicknamed The Lipstick Bureau—find success, forming a bond amid the cobblestoned streets and storied villas of the newly liberated city. But her work is also a way to escape devastating truths about the family she left behind in Czechoslovakia and a future with her controlling American husband.
As the war drags on and the pressure intensifies, Niki begins to question the rules she’s been instructed to follow, and a colleague unexpectedly captures her heart. But one step out of line, one mistake, could mean life or death…

Review

Niki finds herself working for the OSS, the new American spy agency. She is multilingual and she is assigned to the propaganda division. They are in charge of crafting stories to lower the morale of enemy soldiers. She is hoping this unique job will help her find out more about the family she left behind in Czechoslovakia. But the war just keeps dragging on and she continues to find herself in unique and dangerous situations.

This story started strong but it is very fragmented. There are lots of characters with a viewpoint and it is hard to tell who is doing the actual narrating in places. I did enjoy the aspect that it is based on facts. This did have me researching. And I love a story which has me learning. But, it is just too disjointed to keep me as captivated as I like to be.

Need a good story based on facts in WWII…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

MICHELLE GABLE is the New York Times bestselling author of A Paris Apartment, I’ll See You in Paris, The Book of Summer, and The Summer I Met Jack. She attended the College of William & Mary and spent twenty years working in finance before becoming a full-time writer. She grew up in San Diego and lives in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California. Find her on Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest, @mgablewriter.

SOCIAL LINKS:

Author website: https://michellegable.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MGableWriter
IG: https://www.instagram.com/mgablewriter/

BUY LINKS:

Bookshop.org:
https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-lipstick-bureau-a-novel-inspired-by-true-wwii-events-original-m ichelle-gable/17917455
Indiebound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781525811470
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-lipstick-bureau-michelle-gable/1142529516
Indigo:
https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/the-lipstick-bureau-a-novel/9781525804977-item.ht ml
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lipstick-Bureau-Novel-Inspired-Events/dp/1525811479/