Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club discussion

Susanne and I plan to read The Huntress by Kate Quinn in November. We will discuss a start date when it gets closer. Everyone is welcome to join, just pop in. Please use spoiler tags as needed.



From the author of the New York Times and USA Today bestselling novel, The Alice Network, comes another fascinating historical novel about a battle-haunted English journalist and a Russian female bomber pilot who join forces to track the Huntress, a Nazi war criminal gone to ground in America.

In the aftermath of war, the hunter becomes the hunted…

Bold, reckless Nina Markova grows up on the icy edge of Soviet Russia, dreaming of flight and fearing nothing. When the tide of war sweeps over her homeland, she gambles everything to join the infamous Night Witches, an all-female night bomber regiment wreaking havoc on Hitler’s eastern front. But when she is downed behind enemy lines and thrown across the path of a lethal Nazi murderess known as the Huntress, Nina must use all her wits to survive.

British war correspondent Ian Graham has witnessed the horrors of war from Omaha Beach to the Nuremberg Trials. He abandons journalism after the war to become a Nazi hunter, yet one target eludes him: the Huntress. Fierce, disciplined Ian must join forces with brazen, cocksure Nina, the only witness to escape the Huntress alive. But a shared secret could derail their mission, unless Ian and Nina force themselves to confront it.

Seventeen-year-old Jordan McBride grows up in post WWII Boston, determined despite family opposition to become a photographer. At first delighted when her long-widowed father brings home a fiancée, Jordan grows increasingly disquieted by the soft-spoken German widow who seems to be hiding something. Armed only with her camera and her wits, Jordan delves into her new stepmother’s past and slowly realizes there are mysteries buried deep in her family. But Jordan’s search for the truth may threaten all she holds dear.

I'm really looking forward to this one! I loved The Alice Network by this author.

Kristie wrote: "I'm really looking forward to this one! I loved The Alice Network by this author."
Me too

Kristie wrote: "I'm really looking forward to this one! I loved The Alice Network by this author."

Me too and I really liked this one.

Hi everyone! We haven't picked a start date for this book yet other than November. When would you all like to read it? My hold came in, so my vote would be for the beginning of November before I need to return it.

I've already read it but just make sure you leave enough time before you have to return it. This one is a bit longer than the Alice network. :)

I am open to whenever in November I own the book and will be slowly reading it.

I read The Huntress and it was wonderful. I learned that you should not trust a stranger from a strange land. Susanne you will not read it slowly. The book grabs you and you won't nt to put it down.

Savanes wrote: "I've already read it but just make sure you leave enough time before you have to return it. This one is a bit longer than the Alice network. :)"

Thanks for the tip. :)

Marythios (AkaSusanne ) wrote: "I am open to whenever in November I own the book and will be slowly reading it."

Ok, how about we start on the 4th?

Connie wrote: "I read The Huntress and it was wonderful. I learned that you should not trust a stranger from a strange land. Susanne you will not read it slowly. The book grabs you and you won't nt to put it down."

Even if it good i still will read it slowly I am in several challenges and this one is a fun read for me. Challenge books are a priority.

Kristie wrote: "Marythios (AkaSusanne ) wrote: "I am open to whenever in November I own the book and will be slowly reading it."

Ok, how about we start on the 4th?"

That sounds good.

Susanne are you ready to start? I've listened to the first chapter and it draws you in. I was surprised that (view spoiler)[ the huntress has a young daughter?? Did you expect that? It seems our young MC is already suspicious of her. (hide spoiler)]

I've just started chapter 2 and met Ian. It looks like he (view spoiler)[ will be the one searching for the huntress. (hide spoiler)] This should be good.

I hope to read a little more today. :)

I can't answer your spoilers yet but I'm glad you like it so far.

Kristie wrote: "Susanne are you ready to start? I've listened to the first chapter and it draws you in. I was surprised that [spoilers removed]

I've just started chapter 2 and met Ian. It looks like he [spoilers ..."

Yeah I am ready to start.

I made it up to chapter 6 Nina today. I have questions, but I think I need to pay better attention. I've been pretty distracted, so my focus hasn't been great.

end of chapter 5 (view spoiler)[ I can't believe Ian got married to someone because he thought he should for his brother. Everything he did for her was based on lies. Ugh. (hide spoiler)]

I started this a few days ago so I’d like to join in on the buddy read. Sorry for bailing on the one a few months ago, Susanne. I went through a major reading slump and didn’t read anything for a few months.

I really like this one so far. All the characters POVs are interesting and I’m eager to see where they go.

Glad to have you join us, Jenna!

Ok I am planning on reading the book but already behind I had a real busy day. I will not get to it until tomorrow.

Kristie wrote: "I made it up to chapter 6 Nina today. I have questions, but I think I need to pay better attention. I've been pretty distracted, so my focus hasn't been great.

end of chapter 5 [spoilers removed]"

I didn't have a problem with that. It was another era. Honor and men/women relationships were very different.

True, Savanes. I didn't mean that I couldn't actually believe it. It's believable. I just meant it more like, "I can't believe it's November already." That kind of I can't believe it. lol

Kristie wrote: "True, Savanes. I didn't mean that I couldn't actually believe it. It's believable. I just meant it more like, "I can't believe it's November already." That kind of I can't believe it. lol"

Lol my bad!

I am reading this book but slowly I am on page 15 I started it yesterday. (view spoiler)[Anneliese and Ruth come over for dinner with Jordan and her dad. Anneliese gives me the creeps she is acting to weird to me. Even though she is the Huntress. Jordan is amazing though with her photography.
Even Jordan suspects something but is accepting of Anneliese with her father (hide spoiler)]

I'm in chapter 10 (18%) (view spoiler)[ I can't imagine finding Nazi memorabilia tucked inside my new stepmother's wedding flowers! What would you do? I have no idea what I'd do. I might just freeze up like Jordan did. Although, I might just call them on it and make a scene without even thinking just from the surprise of it.

I have to keep in mind that we are much more removed from the time period than Jordan is in the story too.

What is the deal with Nina? She is a sneaky little liar. I thought maybe she was the Huntress, but she is Russian and the Huntress is German. I think just because they are described similarly I thought we might be being tricked. My guess is that Nina is vengeful towards the Huntress because the killing described took place on her lake and she was targeted. Maybe the Huntress killed her father? I don't know. I just know she's hiding something.

Also, I don't think Ruth is really Annaliese's daughter. I think she kidnapped her as part of her disguise or something. I'm guessing she killed her mother. (hide spoiler)]

I normally read faster but I am reading The Institute and it is that good that is all i have to say. I need to return it on Saturday to library so I am finishing it up. If I do not finish it will probably be awhile before i get access to it again. I hope others pick it up. Also it should win in horror. It is that good.

In chapter 14 (26%) (view spoiler)[ Just thinking about Ruth and the way Annaliese looked at her when she got upset by the blood. If she wasn't taken from her mother, it seems that she has at least seen some of Annaliese's violence. I still think it sounds like Annaliese killed her mother and snatched her and then told her to forget about it. (hide spoiler)]

Looking forward to reading more.

Suzanne, please make sure the spoilers don't show up in your replies. It's such an annoying glitch on Goodreads, but you need to physically delete the spoiler part if it opens when you hit reply. I just replace the spoiler part with [spoilers removed], but as long as you delete the part that's supposed to be hidden it's fine.

I'm looking forward to reading The Institute. I put that one aside to read this one, but hope to get to it soon. I own that one and have to return this one to the library next week, so this one gets priority from me! No worries and take your time.

Kristie wrote: "Suzanne, please make sure the spoilers don't show up in your replies. It's such an annoying glitch on Goodreads, but you need to physically delete the spoiler part if it opens when you hit reply. I..."

Totally opposite for me I own the Huntress and checked out the institute.

Kristie wrote: "I'm in chapter 10 (18%) "

(view spoiler)[ I think I would have called her out right then and there but I don't know, it's hard to know how you'll react in those moments. I definitely wouldn't have let my dad leave for his honeymoon without speaking to him about it first. I would be too worried about him otherwise.

Yea, I'm not really sure why the author threw in there that Nina's nickname was "The Huntress", maybe it has to do with their encounter? Yes, Nina is definitely hiding something but I don't think it's going to be anything we fault her for.

I really want to know Ruth's story. I definitely agree and don't think Annaliese is her mother. Maybe you're right, maybe Anneliese killed Ruth's mother and took her identity in order to flee and escape to the US. Hopefully Ruth will confide in Jordan and tell her the truth of what happened. (hide spoiler)]

I'm in chapter 21 at 39% (view spoiler)[ I am liking Nina more as the story progresses. I wish her storyline didn't include a romance though. Actually, I think I'd be ok with a romance, but not with her pilot. I wish they had kept that relationship nonsexual. I have no problem with her being a gay or bisexual character, but I love stories of strong women with great friendships and I loved that it was heading towards a sisterhood bond, then it changed. I guess I'd just like to see more stories where women love and support each other without being in a romantic relationship. That was one of the things I loved about Code Name Verity.

I wonder if in the story it will somehow be connected to why she knew that Ian's brother was gay? I'm really curious as to how they knew each other. Was it just from the meeting with the Huntress or did they know each other before that? (hide spoiler)]

@Kristie about your spoiler. I totally (view spoiler)[agree with you. The love story was unnecessary in that context I didn't think that it added depth to Nina's character. I love the witches though... I never heard of them before reading this book. It was an interesting historical fact. (hide spoiler)]

Yes, Savanes. I thought they were an interesting group of women. I knew (view spoiler)[ there were groups of women pilots during the war, but not of this group specifically. (hide spoiler)]

I've read to 55%, in chapter 30. (view spoiler)[ I feel bad for Jordan. It's been mad so obvious that the stepmother was responsible for her father's death. It seems he became suspicious of the German man and the wife removed him.

I can't believe how close our investigative team is! They are questioning the German man and Tony is working at the shop. They have suspicions about Jordan's father, but haven't met his wife yet. I can't believe no one has put that together in any way. Not one of them has said, we should probably talk to her or at least lay eyes on the woman. She was so smart to have the obituary site that she was a Boston native. That simple thing threw them off her trail. For now. (hide spoiler)]

I am going to have to read a lot today and tomorrow because the book is due back at the library tomorrow evening and I want to finish it.

Just came across this article today! I read a little bit of it, but didn’t have time to really delve into it, so I figured I’d put it here.

https://www.history.com/news/meet-the...

I am still here just have a lot going on in my life.

Kristie wrote: "Just came across this article today! I read a little bit of it, but didn’t have time to really delve into it, so I figured I’d put it here.

https://www.history.com/news/meet-the......"

Thanks for sharing this, Kristie. It's super interesting, I had no idea women were allowed to serve at the front for the Soviet Union before this book. Seems like these women were pretty bada**, it's too bad they didn't get the recognition they deserved after the war.

Marythios (AkaSusanne ) wrote: "I am still here just have a lot going on in my life."

No worries. My book is due back tonight, so I need to finish. Hope everything is ok.

Jenna wrote: "Thanks for sharing this, Kristie. It's super interesting, I had no idea women were allowed to serve at the front for the Soviet Union before this book. Seems like these women were pretty bada**, it's too bad they didn't get the recognition they deserved after the war."

Yes, they were! I know. They received such little recognition that many of us didn't know about them at all. This seems to be a trend throughout history. I've noticed quite a few books that have come out recently about significant groups of women in history that went mostly unnoticed until a book brought their achievements into the light.

I finished it!! One hour before it was due to be returned. Phew! So glad I got to finish. I really love Kate Quinn's writing.

Kristie wrote: "Marythios (AkaSusanne ) wrote: "I am still here just have a lot going on in my life."

No worries. My book is due back tonight, so I need to finish. Hope everything is ok."

Not really in the midst of a divorce and at times it has gotten ugily.

Oh, I'm so sorry, Susanne. That's always difficult. Make sure to take care of yourself as best you can at this time. Hugs

I finished as well and I really enjoyed it.

(view spoiler)[
I definitely agree with you and would have prefered Nina and Yelena’s relationship remain platonic. It was nice having the gay/bisexual representation in there but I didn’t really feel the chemistry between them and would have much prefered a strong female friendship as well. I actually really liked the chemistry between Tony and Jordan and enjoyed the development of that relationship.

I loved the night witches and wished we got to know more of their stories in Nina’s chapters. I’m really glad Quinn decided to include this little known part of history in this book.

It’s crazy to me that so many war criminals got away after the war ended. I naively always believed the worst offenders were held accountable in the end. I also can’t believe the US was so resistant to extraditing/finding them. I’m glad amazing teams like Ian and Tony’s still tried to do the best they could to get justice. I think it’s interesting that most of the war criminals used the Reich as an excuse for their actions after the war. Do you think most of them knew they were committing horrendous acts at the time and did it because they were pressured or do you think most of them really believed what they were doing was right and then tried to protect themselves afterwards? It’s hard to believe there were so many “evil” people in German at the time but it’s also incredibly disappointing that more people aren’t willing to resist when things like this happen.

What do you think of Jordan’s decision to not tell Ruth the truth about her mother unless she asked? It seemed like Ruth was haunted by that day and incredibly confused about her feelings about her “mother”, Anneliese. I think it would probably be better to tell her the truth so she can reconcile her mixed feelings and possibly try and find distant family members that might still be living and also allow her to learn more about her jewish heritage. But I also understand Jordan wanting to protect Ruth and not add any unnecessary pain to her life.
(hide spoiler)]

My thought is that (view spoiler)[ there were plenty of evil people. There were also people that believed in the cause. I'm sure they were swayed by propaganda and really believed they were in the right.

I'm sure there were also plenty of people who did carry out orders knowing they were wrong, but afraid for their own safety. Those people I would think were not high up the ladder though. I would think that you would not be promoted if you weren't doing more than just following orders. However, I'm sure they all used this excuse.

I'm really grateful that there were people that also tried to help where they could even risking their own safety to do so.

I agree with your thoughts on Ruth. The poor child already had nightmares about her mother being killed by Anneliese, which she was told to forget. Now she has to contend with memories of gunfire and her new "mother" trying to kill her and herself and being arrested. Those were two really traumatic events she lived through. I'm sure she'll have difficulty processing all that.

I think Jordan can leave it to her to bring up, but she needs to at least tell her that she has information and is available if she ever wants to talk about it. She should open the door and then leave it up to Ruth if she wants to walk through it.

Honestly, she really needs therapy, but it wasn't widely available then and they didn't understand PTSD yet, so she wouldn't have been treated properly for it. That leaves it up to Jordan to do her best to help her through it.

I also think Jordan was in over her head a bit. She was just 22 (right?). She was trying to figure out what to do with her life, dealing with the loss of her father and stepmother whom she had mixed feelings about, starting a new relationship, and suddenly raising a child. She also had to deal with the media, the guilt, and didn't have any parents to ask for help or advice. That's a lot for any young woman. She did really well considering all that. I love that she has this sort of new family around her at the end.

I also like that Nina said she'd give it a year. You just know she's going to say that again and again.
(hide spoiler)]

Did you read The Alice Network? If so, did you notice that (view spoiler)[ Eve made an appearance on the boat! She is apparently friends with Ian. It was fun to see her there. (hide spoiler)]

Kristie wrote: "If so, did you notice that "

I did and I loved that "inner joke".

I’m not there yet, but looking forward to that part! 😊

Ok so I have not posted much but I have been reading the book and I am almost done. I read some of Kristie's spoilers and I agree with what you have said.

My hold came in from the library, so I have this one now. I am already reading a hist. fiction (The Dressmaker's Gift) right now so I need to finish that one first before I start another in the same genre.
I am eager to read everyone's spoilers though!

Oh, yay! Hope you love it, Vicki. I thought it was excellent.

Jenna wrote: "Kristie wrote: "Just came across this article today! I read a little bit of it, but didn’t have time to really delve into it, so I figured I’d put it here.

https://www.history.com/news/meet-the-n..."

They were in such dire straits they couldn't turn any one away. Also, remember when the first woman astronaut went up compared to first US woman astronaut. The Soviets in many ways were more progressive than the US was. I think they probably had women in other careers as well.