Would you have what it takes to be part of: The Lipstick Bureau by Michelle Gable

#TheLipstickBureau #NetGalley

Last year I read and very much enjoyed Ms. Gable’s novel, The Bookseller’s Secret so I was excited to receive an e galley for The Lipstick Bureau. While I enjoyed this novel, it read more slowly for me than the author’s earlier book.

The Lipstick Bureau is a WWII story about a young woman who is recruited by Bill Donovan himself to be involved in secretive WWII operations. Niki brings many skills to the table. She is intelligent, willing to take risks and fluent in numerous languages. She is motivated partly by wanting to get back to Czechoslovakia to find out how her family has fared.

Niki does not succeed in her first efforts upon recruitment. She moves on and lands with a group of somewhat misfit men whose task is to create and send out propaganda to the Germans. Readers get to know the backstories of these co workers. They also learn more about how and why she married George.

When the story opens, readers are in the present so there is no doubt that Niki has survived the war. She is with a man who is not George, and is about to go to a reunion of agents accompanied by her daughter. The past then unfolds.

I learned a great deal about the events and history that took place in Czechoslovakia and Italywhile reading the book. This offered a bit of a different perspective from some of the other WWII historical fiction that I have read. It is also of interest that the novel is based on a true story.

Those who read WWII fiction may want to give this title a look. I liked it but wanted (honestly) to like it just a bit more.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this title. All opinions are my own.

This title was published in December 2022

From the Publisher