#Blogtour Daughters of Victory by Gabriella Saab

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Daughters of Victory by Gabriella Saab. 

About the Author

Gabriella Saab graduated from Mississippi State University with a bachelor of business administration in marketing and now lives in her hometown of Mobile, Alabama, where she works as a barre instructor. While researching The Last Checkmate, she travelled to Warsaw and Auschwitz to dig deeper into the setting and the experiences of those who lived there. The Last Checkmate is her first novel. Follow @GabriellaSaab_ on Twitter

About the book

From the acclaimed author of The Last Checkmate comes a brilliant novel spanning from the Russian Revolution to the Nazi occupation of the Soviet Union and following two unforgettable women…their fates intertwined by ties of family and interrupted by the tragedy of war. 

Russia 1917: Beautiful, educated Svetlana Petrova defied her stifling aristocratic family to join a revolution promising freedom. Now, released after years of imprisonment, she discovers her socialist party vying for power against the dictatorial Bolsheviks and her beloved uncle, a champion of her cause, was murdered by a mysterious assassin named Orlova. Her signature? Blinding her victims before she kills them. Svetlana resolves to avenge his death by destroying this vicious opponent, even as she longs to reunite with the daughter she has not seen in years.

USSR 1941: Now living in obscurity in a remote village, Svetlana opens her home to Mila Rozovskaya, the eighteen-year-old granddaughter from Leningrad she has never met. She hopes to protect Mila from the oncoming Nazi invasion, but when the enemy occupies the village, Svetlana sees the young woman fall under the spell of the resistance—echoing her once-passionate idealism.

As Mila takes up her fight, dangerous secrets and old enemies soon threaten all Svetlana holds dear. To protect her family, she must confront her long-buried past—yet if the truth emerges victorious, it holds the power to save or shatter them. A risk Svetlana has no choice but to take.

Review

In this fierce, frank and bold venture into historical fiction what connects the two timelines is the relentless determination of the women to fight for what they believe in, against all odds and to the detriment of their own lives.

This author made a memorable entrance with her first novel The Last Checkmate and has followed it up with an excellent second. Well researched historical fiction and strong character building creates an excellent stage for the kind of read you tend to remember and recommend. 

I particularly enjoyed the fact the focus is on two periods in the 20th century and the non-ally, especially the venture into the downfall of the Russian royal family by the Bolshevik revolutionaries. The story goes deeper into the internal politics and the chasm created between the people, especially the already existing divide of which Svetlana is a perfect example. She has to convince her fellow rebels that she isn't simply a disgruntled bored product of her upbringing.

The second timeline takes place during the approach of the encroaching enemy of the second World War, as we see Mila's desire to fight against injustice awaken and put herself in danger. A trait she appears to have in common with Svetlana. In fact the two of them stamp their mark on history as they put rebellion and resistance before their own safety and wellbeing.

It's an excellent read, and I can't wait to read where the author takes us next.

Buy Daughters of Victory at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎William Morrow Paperbacks pub date 24 Jan. 2023. Buy at Amazon com.