• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: HQ Digital (September 22, 2020)
*The USA Today bestseller!*
Can their bond survive under the shadow of occupation?
For fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz and The German Midwife comes this unforgettable tale of love, loss, family, and the power of hope.
Kiev, 1941: Watching the Red Army withdraw from
Ukraine in the face of Hitler’s relentless advance, sisters Natasha and
Lisa Smirnova realise their lives are about to change forever.
As the German army occupies their beloved city, the sisters are
tested in ways they never thought possible. Lisa’s fiancé Alexei is
taken by the invading army, whilst Natasha falls in love with Mark – a
Hungarian soldier, enlisted against all his principles on the side of
the Nazis.
But as Natasha and Lisa fight to protect the friends and family they
hold dear, they must face up to the dark horrors of war and the pain of
betrayal. Will they be strong enough to overcome the forces which
threaten to tear their family apart?
Why readers love Sisters of War:
‘Captivating from the first page’
‘Powerful and heart wrenching’
‘A touching story, beautifully written’
‘Well-researched and fascinating’
Originally published as The Story of Us.
Purchase Links
About Lana Kortchik
Lana Kortchik grew up in two opposite corners of the Soviet Union –
the snow-white Siberian town of Tomsk and the golden-domed Ukrainian
capital, Kyiv. At the age of sixteen, she moved to Australia with her
mother. Lana and her family live on the Central Coast of NSW, where it
never snows and is always summer-warm.
Lana studied IT at university and, as a student, wrote poetry in
Russian that she hid from everyone. For over a decade after graduating,
she worked as a computer programmer. When she returned to university to
complete her history degree, her favourite lecturer encouraged her to
write fiction. She hasn’t looked back, and never goes anywhere without
her favourite pen because you never know when the inspiration might
strike.
Lana’s short stories appeared in many magazines and anthologies, and
she was the winner of the Historical Novel Society Autumn 2012 Short
Fiction competition. Her first novel, Sisters of War, was acquired by HQ
Digital, an imprint of Harper Collins UK, in 2018 and later became the
USA Today bestseller.
Lana also writes psychological thrillers under the pen name of Lana Newton.
Find out more about Lana at her website, and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
REVIEW:
Wow, and wow and another wow!
Maybe I am biased because the Holocaust is a subject I am very interested in. Lately, I have been inhaling books, movies, documentaries and anything I can get my hands on, that pertains to the Holocaust, Auschwitz and so on.
I knew that I would enjoy this book, before I even opened it to the first page.
The cover itself is beautiful and immediately draws you in. The story, well, two sisters caught in the middle of the German invasion. Yes, that draws you in as well, but I have to say I wasn't prepared for how well written this book was going to be and just how much I was going to fall in love with the characters.
The two sisters, Natasha and Lisa are quite different personality wise. While Lisa is more outgoing and outspoken, Natasha is the quieter one, more withdrawn, more cautious in the way she approaches life. They've always been the best of friends, but as the invasion draws near, as they both grow up and are faced with difficult decisions, their bond is put at risk.
I will say that even though I thought I would like both sisters, I truly truly loved Natasha and quickly became attached to her. Lisa on the other hand, I felt bad for her at first but then started really disliking her personality and her way of dealing with the harsh realities of war.
Lisa is engaged to be married, and has taken that relationship to the next level without her parents knowledge, obviously. Natasha unwillingly becomes an accomplice in that situation. We are sort of led to believe that it will just strengthen their bond and that nothing could ever come between them, but that changes the night that Natasha is out for a walk with their grandmother, and they are approached by a German soldier.
In the blink of an eye, their grandmother is shot by the German, and they are both saved by a Hungarian soldier who kills the German on the spot. They decide to keep it a secret so that he doesn't get in trouble, the two fall in love which is predictable but nonetheless, I don't think it took anything away from the story itself.
The problem is that because of that fateful night, many young men are taken by the Nazi army, interrogated and killed in an attempt to find out who was responsible for the murder of the German soldier. Lisa's fiancee unfortunately, is killed during this interrogation.
Lana Kortchik takes us through the intensity of the realization by Lisa, that her sister knew who the culprit was and allowed her fiancee to get killed. The bond is irreversibly broken, so much so anger, resentment and even revenge comes into play.
It was a beautiful story that touches on the horrors of Germany invaded Hungary, the struggle to survive and a family pushed to their limits.
This is WWII historical fiction at it's best, and the author did a great job of researching the era.
Thank you to TLC Book Tours and HQ Digital for providing me with a review copy.
I've enjoyed many historical books on WWII but the fiction ones usually disappoint me. During that time, my dad was a British soldier and was captured at Dunkirk. He escaped the Germans and made his way into Belgium. My mom and her family owned a grocery store in Asplare Belgium and would hide British and American soldiers in their attic. They would give them nourishment until they were strong enough to try and make their escape. At that time, Belgium was under German occupation so it was a very courageous adventure to help these men. My dad was one of the soldiers they helped. He eventually was recaptured by the Germans and held in different prison camps until 1945. During that time, he had his right ankle and jaw broken by the prison guards. Both my parents had so many interesting war stories that I find their lives to be more interesting than many books. (My 60 something year old Grandmother was put in prison for helping with the Belgium underground.) After the war, dad returned to Belgium and married my mom. My sisters were born in England. They immigrated to the U.S. in 1950 and I was born in California. Thank you for letting me share a little of my history. Patty McDonald
ReplyDeleteThis sounds FANTASTIC! Thank you for being on this tour! Sara @ TLC Book Tours
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