Book Synopsis:
Love can’t be defined by war…
Watching the Red Army withdraw from Ukraine in the face of Hitler’s relentless advance, Natasha Smirnova realises her life is about to change forever.
As Kiev is cast under the dark cloud of occupation, Natasha falls in love with Mark, a Hungarian soldier, enlisted against all his principles on the side of the Nazis.
But as Natasha fights to protect the friends and family she holds dear she must face up to the dark horrors of war and the pain of betrayal. Will the love she and Mark share be strong enough to overcome the forces which threaten to tear them apart?
The Story of Us is a powerful tale of love, loss, and the power of hope set in Kiev during the Second World War, perfect for fans of Kate Furnivall, Pam Jenoff and V. S. Alexander.
The Story Of Us is available now in ebook and paperback. You can purchase your copy here.
My Review:
The Story Of Us is one of those books that gets under your skin and will stay with you for a long time after you’ve finished reading. It’s a story of love, loss and hope that is an absolutely wonderful read.
The author does a fantastic job of setting the scene so that the reader really feels like they are in the Ukraine at the time of the nazi occupation. I felt all of the characters fear, laughter and loss as if I was one of them. It’s a part of the war that I hadn’t heard of before so I found it fascinating to learn more about it. Some of the events described in the book are real ones and I spent time looking up more about them afterwards. These were quite horrific and the author doesn’t hold back from describing them which made for very emotional reading.
The love affair between Natasha and Mark was lovely to read about. I really enjoyed seeing it develop especially as it bought some much needed relief from the horrors of war. It was great to see the hope it brought the characters, though I was always nervous that something would happen to destroy the relationship.
I’m a huge fan of historical fiction set in world war two and love learning about new parts of it. This book enthralled me from the start with the wonderful characters and the authors attention to detail helping to keep my interest. It’s incredibly gripping and I felt on the edge of my seat throughout much of it as I hoped that the characters would be ok. Like with any book involving the Nazis, there is an air of unpredictability and this also keeps you firmly on your toes as you wonder what will happen.
This unbelievably is the author’s debut novel and I’m very excited to read more from her in the future. If you like enthralling historical fiction that makes you cry and laugh then you’ll love this book.
Huge thanks to Izzy from HQ stories for my copy of this book via Netgalley and for inviting me onto the blog tour.
About The Author:
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, Kiev. 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, even in winter. She loves books, martial arts, the ocean and Napoleonic history. Her short stories have appeared in many magazines and anthologies. She was the winner of the Historical Novel Society Autumn 2012 Short Fiction competition and the runner-up of the 2013 Defenestrationism Short Story Contest. Her first novel, The Story of Us, will be published by HQ Digital/Harper Collins in December 2018. To find out more, please visit http://www.lanakortchik.com.
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lanakortchik
Twitter: @lanakortchik
Over The Rainbow Blog 
Fab review!
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Thanks lovely hope you are well xx
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