Before we dive into this, I want to say how much I enjoyed Kate Quinn’s other book, The Rose Code, and it’s because of how much I loved it that I sought out her other work and stumbled upon The Diamond Eye. Now to the review.
Mila Pavlinchenko is a young mother and a history student in Kiev when Hitler’s armies start encroaching on Russian soil. Bound by a fierce loyalty to her homeland and a promise to her son that she’d be both father and mother to him, Mila enlists, offering her practiced marksmanship abilities to the war effort. As Russia scrambles to repel the oncoming attack, Mila has to quickly learn how to survive on the frontlines and who she can trust. With dual storylines, the reader flips between Mila’s history and a Soviet Union “good-will” tour to America, a tour which threatens to be interrupted by a marksman with his sights on FDR and plans to entangle Mila in the crosshairs.
Based on a true story, this had so much potential to be a phenomenal book: a lover of history, a female sniper, and an author I already loved. To put it frankly, I have never had to force myself to get through a book like I had to with The Diamond Eye. From tediously repetitive writing to a marksman who seemed incapable of an inner dialogue that didn’t include “bitch”, I couldn’t believe that this book was written by the same author. I found Mila to be preachy and pedantic, even with all of her claims of hating fame and the spotlight, and am not sure I’ve rolled my eyes while reading quite so much. Furthering my confusion, however, is the multitude of 5-star ratings the book has received on Goodreads. I wanted to give up halfway (when all the other 1-star reviews stated “DNF”), but I pushed through thinking it might redeem itself. It did not, in my opinion, but I would love to talk with those that love it because I genuinely feel like I’ve read the wrong book.
2% Rating: 2/10
Recommend? Not even a little bit.
Re-Read? No.
Time: 2:00
For a Kate Quinn book that I loved, you can read my review of The Rose Code here