I didn’t go into this expecting a spy thriller, but I probably should have. (I’d heard “superpowers” and “World War II” and “fans of Agent Carter and Captain America” and imagined a full-on superheroic battle.*) I liked it though, once my expectations adjusted. Didn’t love, because it could’ve been a bit more thrilling, but definitely liked.

Oh, it’s well-paced and well-written, with interesting characters and tensions and a good spread of espionage set pieces, but it also feels very much like a British drawing room drama. It’s an interesting angle to take a story like this, and proof that you can write a spy novel without constant action and by prioritizing female experiences, but … again, not what I was expecting. I wasn’t expecting multiple POVs either, but they helped keep the tension up, so that’s all right.

I did like Kim, who’s just clever enough to pull things off but naïve enough to get into trouble, and I liked how her subplots ended up meshing at the end. (I always like books that pull that off.) The subplot with Rose, her family’s developmentally delayed maid, is especially sweet and important, and everything between Kim and her father is … intriguing, let’s say. It’ll be interesting seeing how that, and Kim herself, develops as the series continues.

I also found the superpower-related world-building pretty neat, though a bit surface. They come from a unique event, they’re still new enough to the world to be mysterious, they’re not the usual slate of powers, and they’re not all solely good or solely evil, though Kenyon doesn’t shy from pointing out the darker and more disturbing sides all the same.

All the same, nothing really struck me enough about this to make it stand out or get me to rush out in a few months when the sequel drops. I suspect this is more a me problem more than a book problem, and there’s a decent chance I’ll pick the sequel up at some point, when I’m in the mood.

* Which is probably coming at some point in the series, mind you.

Warnings: Nazis, it almost goes without saying. Specifically, Nazi and similarly conservative views of homosexuality and mental disability, including slurs for the latter. One gay character, killed partway through for plot. Slight redemption of main Nazi character.

6.5/10 ( )

Kim has a Talent which only came on with adulthood. She is now trying to use that Talent to save Britain from Nazi Germany but she's not very good at the spy business.

I loved this story! I call it a paranormal historical spy thriller. I was on the edge of my seat until the end of this book. The story was good. Kim did not know who to trust. I could understand that as I was questioning whether a character was true to England or a spy for Germany. I questioned motives. I did figure out some of the events and reasons during the story but not all.

There was a good cast of characters. As I read the blurb then started the story I was hoping that Kim and Lt. Colonel Stelling would meet. I'm not sure what I felt about Erich von Ritter. I wish Kim and her dad would become closer. This is a keeper! ( )

So, what if all of a sudden people started exhibiting psychic talents? And what if there's a war happening, and the Nazis look to be winning? And, so maybe, just maybe, these newly-talented people could help? But, which side are they on?
This is the world we are thrust into in At The Table of Wolves by Kay Kenyon. Eat well, and have something handy to drink, before you start this book, for you will not put it down once you start reading. It grabs you by your soul and doesn't let go until the very last word.

When is the next one?!?!?! ( )