Double Review: Signal Moon by Kate Quinn & My Evil Mother by Margaret Atwood

I received both of these short stories for free through Amazon Prime and thought I'd go ahead and post my thoughts about them together. Signal Moon releases August 1 but is available early through Amazon's First Reads program. 

About the Book

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Diamond Eye comes a riveting short story about an impossible connection across two centuries that could make the difference between peace or war.

Yorkshire, 1943. Lily Baines, a bright young debutante increasingly ground down by an endless war, has traded in her white gloves for a set of headphones. It’s her job to intercept enemy naval communications and send them to Bletchley Park for decryption.

One night, she picks up a transmission that isn’t code at all—it’s a cry for help.

An American ship is taking heavy fire in the North Atlantic—but no one else has reported an attack, and the information relayed by the young US officer, Matt Jackson, seems all wrong. The contact that Lily has made on the other end of the radio channel says it’s…2023.

Across an eighty-year gap, Lily and Matt must find a way to help each other: Matt to convince her that the war she’s fighting can still be won, and Lily to help him stave off the war to come. As their connection grows stronger, they both know there’s no telling when time will run out on their inexplicable link.

Amazon / Goodreads

MY THOUGHTS

I was absolutely riveted by this story. Lily was optimistic and upbeat, and always trying to cheer everyone else up, even though in actuality, she was covering up how terrified she was. She had a very serious job as a WREN. She intercepted live radio communications sent to enemy vessels. One night, while searching the signals, she came across an American's transmission as they faced trouble. But it didn't make any sense... The date the transmitter gave was 80 years in the future... What's going on?

This story had such an intriguing premise. Someone from the 1940s intercepts a radio signal from 2023 and tries to find a way to stop WWIII? Yes, yes, yes! This was right up my alley! It was an extremely quick read that I really enjoyed. It did have some language that didn't seem wholly necessary, but other than that, this was an absolutely stellar read. I'll have to look into this author's other stories.

FOUR STARS

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About the Book

Life is hard enough for a teenage girl in 1950s suburbia without having a mother who may—or may not—be a witch. A single mother at that. Sure, she fits in with her starched dresses, string of pearls, and floral aprons. Then there are the hushed and mystical consultations with neighborhood women in distress. The unsavory, mysterious plants in the flower beds. The divined warning to steer clear of a boyfriend whose fate is certainly doomed. But as the daughter of this bewitching homemaker comes of age and her mother’s claims become more and more outlandish, she begins to question everything she once took for granted.

Amazon / Goodreads

MY THOUGHTS

I have no idea how to rate this. I had some serious issues with it. There ended up being quite a bit of language at the end and there were some things that were discussed that I really could’ve done without. But it was such a captivatingly quirky and, dare I say it, heartwarming read. I literally couldn't put it down. I had to see where things were going. It kept me entertained and had me laughing in quite a few spots.

I really didn't think I'd end up enjoying it as much as I did. I had only planned to read a few pages and thought I'd probably set it aside to come back to another day, or more than likely forget about it. Man was I wrong! I read it in one sitting in the middle of the night when I couldn't go to sleep.