Winner of the International Book Award contest Readers’ Favorite in the Historical Fiction category (2018)Poland, 1939. A country, torn by the occupation of two unlikely allies – Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union. On the border of this newly divided territory, a young Wehrmacht Unteroffizier, Werner and a Soviet Military Interpreter, Kira meet and fall in love against all odds. Both forced into … fall in love against all odds.
Both forced into the military against their will, they wish for one thing only – a peaceful life together. Everything is set for Kira to defect and marry Werner…
But the German army invades the Soviet Union, and now the two lovers are forced to fight against each other on the opposite sides of the frontline; trying to keep their humanity as more and more atrocities are committed by both armies. They have to decide if their love is stronger than the devastation surrounding them or succumb to the hate as sworn enemies should.
Partially based on true events, this novel will take you on the unforgettable journey through war-torn countries, where hope can be lost in no-man’s-land, and one will have to go to great lengths not to lose sight of it.
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The tragedy of wars causes me to wish they would end, or in fact, never begin. They seem to bring out the worst traits in people. But this story was very well written. This author is terrific.
This book is romantic in an unusual way. Shortly after our star-crossed lovers meet World War II begins. They find themselves on opposite sides, although they assume the other is not actively involved. They both become hardened killers as they witness atrocities from their enemies and by own side. While not especially graphic, the book does not sugarcoat the truth of that period of time. I think one of the messages of the book is that people are people. We tend to vilify the “other” side when they are not really that different from us.
I always looked forward to picking up my book and reading more.
A realistic look at events during WW11 from the perspective of a couple on opposing sides of the war. Tragic situations yet beautiful character development. A real page turner!
Hard to put this book down and hard not to cry at times. Times were so difficult for those actually caught in the clashes and struggles of the world during WWII. With the fighting in their country these people really faced fear and things worse than death, I get a better understanding of life for these characters and was inspired by their strength of body and mind.
Before I begin my review, I should warn people who are thinking about reading this book to be aware that it is fairly violent and depicts several sickening episodes that occurred during the war between Russia and Germany. Even for me, who has studied World War Two for several years, I found some scenes hard to read. If you try to avoid such stories, then I don’t think this would be the right book to read.
I became a huge fan of Ellie Midwood after I read her phenomenal “The Girl from Berlin” series. So, naturally, I had to buy her new book when she announced it. The story itself deals with a topic I’m interested in myself, the Eastern Front during World War Two and female snipers who fought for the Soviet Union (who, quite frankly, need more recognition than what they receive). I really enjoyed how the story flipped back and forth between Kira and Werner’s points of view, it helped the reader understand what each one was feeling. Also, I found this to be a very honest portrayal of both the German and Russian armies and the atrocities they did. No party was completely innocent and, as much as society likes to have one designated hero and one designated villain in stories, that’s just not the case. I really like how Ms. Midwood portrayed this and at no point did I feel like she was portraying one group better than the other or less guilty, she just gave you the story and lets you decide your own opinion. I greatly admire that. I also enjoyed the frame narrative of the story, as it was being told to a young college student who wants to write her dissertation on Kira’s wartime activities. I thought that was a really nice touch. I suppose you can say that the ending was predictable, but I really liked it and it was how I had hoped it would end.
The only thing I didn’t like about the book, and the reason why I didn’t give it five stars, was the development of Kira and Werner’s relationship prior to the war, it felt a little rushed. It didn’t seem like there was enough development before they were confessing their love for each other as oppose to the development of Annalise’s relationship with Ernst in “The Girl from Berlin” series. Granted, that was a series, which gave the author more time to develop that relationship, but I still would have wanted a bit more development between Kira and Werner before they begin fighting each other. Finally, I was dying to know what happened to Werner’s friend at the end (I won’t say who because of spoiler reasons). Did he survive? Did he live? I would have just liked a little note of what happened to him at the end of the war only because I really grew to like him.
Once again, Ms. Midwood delivered another fantastic novel and I applaud her for her historical research. You can tell she really put a lot of time into writing the story and developing a story that would grab the reader’s attention. Well done!
Great read. Against all ods, works well at the end
Very suspenseful.
A beautiful historic novel about World War II between Germany and Russia. The storyline was riveting and fill of rich history.
This was an excellent reminder of how awful war can be.
This book was an interesting blend with two different cultures. It was difficult to rate as yes it was a page turner but sometimes because I just wanted to get on with the story. Past the war scenes of actions that opposing armies did to the civilians. I thought the storyline was solid and the author had done a lot of research to make it so realistic. Excellent read
Excellent. Loved it.
A mixture of “love conquers all” and “war is hell.” A good historical novel that does a graphic job of telling the story of the war in Russia during WWII.
This was a very good story and very hard to anticipate what happens next.
A fascinating insight into love and war. When the novel begins, we’re thrown into the story behind a photograph and see our star-crossed lovers thrown together. In the beginning, everything seems straightforward, but as Hitler progresses in his Nazi regime, all bets are off.
I loved how much research the author did because all the details of the war, country, and situation were very realistic. The heroine in our story was brave, choosing to fight on the front lines rather than to hide. I can’t imagine how the story would’ve progressed with a different heroine.
While historical fiction isn’t really my cup of tea, I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish.
I have read stories from this author before, so I knew this one would be insightful, powerful and sad…I wasn’t wrong.
Her books feel authentic (I don’t know everything about those times of war, only from what I have read) and seem to be well-researched from a historical perspective. However, Ellie Midwood has a wonderful way of making her stories personal, where right and wrong are seen from all sides, with monsters that can hide inside any human, regardless of race…the same can be said of the better side of human behaviour.
This tale concerns a women and man who are on opposite ‘sides’ and yet…
It’s a well-written story of the brutality of war and the awful (and the sometimes better) reactions of those that fight. It tackles cruelty, ideological differences, monsters and heroes. It also shows the wide gap between those that rule (and cause the wars) and those who must fight, alongside those civilians who suffer whilst trying to survive.
Misunderstandings might be so, but the innocent always suffer for the guilty. I have long wished that those who rule (and want more power /cause the trouble) do the fighting and leave the rest of us to live in peace.
Nevertheless, this is a story of love, most of all, and was extremely well done.
Recommended.
I wish I could give this 10 stars!
It has been a while since I picked up an historical novel in this genre and now I am wondering why I have never read this author before. It is reminiscent of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin – not because the story is anyway similar but because of the author’s approach to his harrowing tale and the extremes of emotion she puts you thorough. I’m still dabbing away the last of the tears, Midwood broke my heart on numerous occasions with her words just like Louis de Bernières did when I read his blockbuster.
A romeo and Juliet tale of epic proportions, Ellie Midwood documents the lives of these two (based on real life people) star-crossed lovers as they find themselves on opposing sides in WWII. Kira Miloslavskaya is a skilled sniper in the Soviet army and Werner Suss is the driver for an officer and later promoted to a Lieutenant in the Landers in the German army. The story is huge, the time line covering four years taking the Kira and Werner from allies and lovers and plunging them into a war that turns them against each other’s countries.
The descriptions are vivid, the horror and desperateness palpable, and heart wrenching. It is hard to read at times to be sure, but that is because the author submerges you in the desperate reality of war. This is honestly one of the best books I have read in a few years and from the moment I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down.
This book features Kira, a translator for Russia in the military reserve, who meets Werner, a soldier in the German army, during the initial alliance between the two countries in WWII. As the war continues and the countries alliance breaks, their love is tested, along with their loyalties to their cause and their humanity. On top of being a love story, this book is also a well-researched historical tale that puts a human face on both sides of the war. It is well written and descriptive, and will elicit such strong emotions that you will have to keep reading.
This is my first book by this author, but it won’t be my last.
I was reading this book on a warm sunny Sunday afternoon with goosebumps all over my body. It is a very intense, realistic and harrowing tale of two young people forever changed by WWII. It easy to forget that most of the soldiers were just kids going to war with hope and dreams until the gruesome reality hit. It is shows the horrors and the toll it takes on the soul, bt there is also hope and kindness in the most unexpected places.
An amazing read.
You know, two things that I always thought I didn’t like were stories or movies about war, and historical stories.
Ellie Midwood has shocked me and I am now confirming that I do love historical romance (as long as she’s the one writing it), and I can handle a war movie.
So many things in this story you want to turn away from, pray that it isn’t real and these things didn’t happen. They did. Unfortunately, a lot of these things did happen, and I can’t imagine having been around at this time.
The characters were probably the only things that weren’t real, though they were inspired by living people. And, at so many times during this story, you want to weep for them and what the actual people went through.
Ellie brings such life to WWII, and the emotion, worries, fears, and hopes of a country, several countries, surges through you. Definitely a must read for everyone!!!