During WWII, the Soviets had an all-female bomber group (the 588th) nicknamed the "night witches" by the Germans. This is the fictional story of two sisters, pilots in the group. Already knowing how to fly because of the small airfield in their hometown, Tasha follows Luca, her lover, into the the air force. Nadia joins her sister several months later when her marriage isn't working out as she had hoped.

The women brave male chauvinism, small, ill-equipped planes, the weather, and the Nazis. Nadya and Tasha are flying together when they are shot down behind enemy lines. After spending time in a harshly brutal German 'work camp,' the two women escape during a flood and attempt to make their way back to their friends. It's a perilous trip, made more so by the tiny new baby they are trying to keep alive.

Lauryn Allman successfully narrates the story using identifiable voices for each of the characters. Highly recommended for those who enjoy historical fiction, women's fiction, and war stories. This story presents a little known aspect of WWII.

Great story of women's contribution to WWII. Told in the third person but shifting from sister to sister, it tells the story of the Russian Women's Airforce and describes the trials and tribulations of these women. Another great addition to the WWII Historical Fiction collection of the Women of WWII.

We Fly Beneath the Stars by Suzanne Kelman was a beautifully written historical romance. The narration of this book was wonderful.

This book takes place during WWII but it’s not the typical story that has been told many times before. Based on a true story two sisters find themselves joining an all female bomber battalion. The story follows these sisters and tells their story. This book retained my interest and I really enjoyed it. Great book even if your not a historical fiction fan.

Thanks NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for an opportunity to review this book.

What a beautiful and heartbreaking story. The story follows two sisters from Russia, Nadia and Tasha, both female fighter pilots during WWII. Tasha and Nadia have always tried to be better than the other their entire lives. Tasha first joined to be closer to her long-time love, Luca. Nadia joined to bring Tasha home. There were many heart stopping moments when planes go down and people go missing. Is love stronger than war? The characters are powerful as you feel like you personally know each and every one of them. I loved the touch and go sister relationship between Nadia and Tasha. I loved learning about the “Night Witches” and how much they helped fight the Nazis. This beautifully written novel will pull at your heartstrings with every emotion visible. What makes this all unforgettable, is that it is based on a true story.

As usual I will not be retelling the synopsis here as the professionals do a better job of it.
Firstly, I really enjoyed this book. It was a good mix of romance, adventure, history and family relationship content. However, it is really naïve! The life portrayed for the girls in the Russian air force comes over as far too cosy compared to the reality of what life was like. Comrades lighting fires to sing around at night (what about blackout conditions!!) and standing hugging each other as planes came in to land. Sorry but this is not what we understand about the discipline of the forces! In the camp, conditions were bad but not as horrific as we understand they really were. Throughout I found myself somewhat annoyed by the cosiness portrayed. Of course, its a story and I will forgive the author as this is enjoyable with a triumphant conclusion.
In summary - a great romantic adventure story with some misgivings.

We Fly Beneath the Stars
Suzanne Kelman
This is the second book I have read concerning the all-female military flyers of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment of the Soviet Air Forces. The battalion was nicknamed “Night Witches.” “We Fly Beneath the Stars” is historical fiction based on fact. The setting is 1942, Europe.
Tasha and Luca are very much in love; he wants marriage, but she wants adventure before settling down to married life. Like many young men during that era, Luca joins the air force, determined to defeat the vile Nazi aggressors. Without consulting Luca, Tasha also joins the air force.
When a handsome and charismatic young man comes to the area to promote communism Nadia is flattered and drawn to him. Soon they marry but there is no passion in their relationship. Nadia envies the desire she sees in Tasha and Luca’s relationship. After her husband joins the fight against the Nazi’ Nadia follows her younger sister and joins the air force. They are bullied by the male recruits and undervalued by the officers. Despite their expertise the women are expected to fly planes that are in terrible condition.
Tasha and Nadia have a strong rivalry. Tasha wants to outshine her sister. The sisters become POWs after their plane is shot down. Their treatment in the prison camp is vicious.
I found this book fascinating. I liked both Tasha and Nadia but found Tasha to be the stronger and most interesting character. Tasha pushes the limits in almost every situation. While this book is historical fiction it is also a romance. Tasha and Luca are in passionate love. Nadia desires the same passion but her husband (I cannot remember his name) is anything but passionate.
“We Fly Beneath the Stars” is beautifully written.

Interesting view from Russia during the second world war. Two girls find themselves training to be pilots to fight in the war against Nazi Germany and are legends in their own right. They show courage and bravery off the scale. Based on a true story, the historical content is enlightening and interesting, as not widely known in western Europe. The narration should have been in a Russian accent for real atmosphere. Thank you #NetGalley for the audiobook to review.

This is one of those stories that grabs you and doesn't let go until the last word ... absolutely gripping, full of tension and courage ... and based on a true story.

The book follows the lives of Nadia and Tasha, sisters who join the Russian Airforce during World War II and who become fighter pilots in the much-feared by the Germans and all-female squadron known as "The Night Witches."

Given inferior equipment and less training than their male counterparts as well as having to put up with their harassment all whilst trying to stay alive and get back safely following their night sorties over the advancing German army; this is a story of tremendous bravery however it also a tale of sibling rivalry, love, loss and choices.

The narrator, Lauryn Allman, was excellent; her voice totally immersed me into the story; one of the best I have come across so far and my thanks to Bookouture and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of We Fly Beneath the Stars.

I did enjoy this book, although I didn’t feel much for the characters at all.
I felt it was longer than it needed to be.

I'll be honest the romance side of this novel nearly put me off reading it but the historical content intrigued me and once I started listening to the audiobook I found myself unable to stop listening.

Its a heartwarming novel of sibling rivaly, risk and most of all bravery as night after night the women of the Soviet 588th Night Bomber Regiment took to the skies to defend their country from the advancing German army.

I knew nothing of these womens heroic missions prior to reading and credit to the author, this is a story that deserved to be told and her fictionalised account narrated by Lauryn Allman does it incredibly well.

An interesting read that captured my imagination and made me want to know more about the real women that inspired it. A little bit heavy on the fluff for my personal taste but thats a preference and there is a softie in me, even that part got to me in the end. Definitely recommended 4/5

Wow. Another piece of history that I didn’t know about but this telling of it was so riveting. The heartache, pain, happiness, and love. Oh, so much love and the risks that people are willing to go through for those the love. This didn’t just pull on my heartstrings- it ripped them right out. Wonderfully written, highly recommend.

🌀Synopsis
Tasha and Luca grew up together and they also grew into being lovers. When Luca signs up to fight against the Nazis Tasha is devastated, but being the headstrong woman she is, she formulates a plan. She also joins the military as part of an all female flying brigade.
Her sister, Naomi, follows her to bring her back home. With Naomi’s husband being drafted into the war too, she decides to stay as a pilot as well.
Known as the Night Witches, the women set out to terrorize their enemies. When Tasha learns Luca has gone missing over enemy lines she tries to see him out. I’m doing so, she is hit and ends up captured with her sister.
They are stuck together in a Nazi concentration camp and Tasha finds out Luca is actually in the camp next door. The two sneak out to see each other nightly, helping each other make it through the days with their love. That is, until Luca is transferred away. When a dam breaks the women escape but their health is failing and Tasha still needs to find a way to Luca.

This book had everything I love in a read. Emotion, family, adventure, love and heartbreak. I cannot recommend it enough. As a bonus I learned about an aspect of World War 2 that I was unaware of. How brave these women were.

A bit different from my usual genres, but this came very highly recommended by a trusted book friend.

World War 2 Historical Fiction, inspired by Russia's real life 588th Night Bomber Regiment, nicknamed 'The Night Witches', the only all-female bomber squadron.

Sisters Nadia and Natasha are two of those who sign up.

I loved it, it works on many levels, a rare female led war story, a love story, a human struggle to hold onto hope and survive. There are strong reflections on family, comradeship, love and loss, it's really quite an epic.

While it makes no claims to full factual accuracy some of the main characters are historically documented and lived these kind of lives and flew these missions.

The narrator Lauryn Allman is excellent, all the character voices are clearly distinctive, and she conveys the powerful emotions very well.

Definitely recommended. Deeply moving, inspiring and a very, very satisfying story.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture

We Fly Beneath The Stars is included with kindle unlimited (ebook)

One of the fastest audiobooks I’ve ever listened to! A tale of two sisters who brave WW2 as Russian air pilots, amidst love, loss, trauma and grief. I enjoyed the plot, which rendered several moments of high anticipation and emotions. I also found impressive that this historical fiction novel was based on true events. Unfortunately, I found the background and build-up surrounding the relationships between characters lacking. As a reader, I found it challenging to empathize with Tasha about why she loved Luka so much, since the novel begins with them being star crossed lovers. I also noticed elements of Tasha and Nadia’s sisterhood to be introduced to the reader at later stages in the book. Tasha seems to be very excited for Nadia’s wedding, and genuinely questions her relationship with Ivan out of concern for her sister, but then seems to suddenly harbour a “lifelong” resentment when Nadia follows Tasha to war. This resentment results in several instances of conflict along the novel, and hence I felt this theme could have been emphasized when we are introduced to the characters. Overall I enjoyed the story and was glad I read it.

We Fly Beneath the Stars by Suzanne Kelman
Narrated by Lauryn Allman

"Night Witches" is a World War II German nickname for the all-female military aviators of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment of the Soviet Air Forces. Not considered by their own country as important enough to warrant proper equipment, the women flew missions in training planes that couldn't even get high enough to make a parachute feasible, if needed. With no radio equipment, the aviators had to communicate with flashlights. With no navigation equipment, navigation was done with a map, ruler, pen, paper and compass. At first the women had to wear old men's uniforms. While the men had much more and longer training, the women were allotted only six months of training.

The fictional characters, Tasha and Nadia, who already had flying experience at the beginning of the war, become pilots with this fascinating group of women. It's so interesting to learn about the 588th Night Bomber Regiment and the accomplishments of these women (some still in their late teens) and I appreciate that this book has led me to learn even more about them. I would have loved for the book to have even more information about the real women of this regiment.

As much as I liked the character of Nadia, we mostly follow Tasha, who has hated being seen next to the spotlight of her almost perfect older sister, Nadia. That jealousy is Tasha's constant excuse for her impulsive, dangerous, immature, selfish, and impetuous behavior. Actually she doesn't like anyone being above her or telling her what to do so she's the last person you would want to depend on in any circumstances. I won't go into all details of Tasha's behavior but I don't believe she could have gotten away with half of her insubordination in real life but in the story she is almost looked at in awe for her risky and wrong behavior. So much of my enjoyment of the story is dampened by Tasha's actions.

Then there is the romance. Some romance is fine but I don't want to know how the body responds every Tasha thinks about, looks at, and is around her boyfriend. We know almost immediately that this is true love and they can't stand to be away from each other. In fact, Tasha's love for her boyfriend causes her to completely flip her lid and commit the most horrible breach of common sense of all (that's saying a lot because she's always doing things in a fit of anger or desire). The doing the wrong thing in long moments of anger or desire take away from the historical part of the story for me.

For those who are really big historical fiction fans, just know that this is big on romance (and showing it) and light on common sense. I think Tasha would have ended up in a gulag long before she made it as a Night Witch.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for this ARC.

A beautifully written fictionalized story based on true events during World Was II. Real women who never got the recognition they so richly deserved. They were in fact a crucial during World War II. In the air they were fearless, brilliant pilots which was a surprise to all, but themselves. They were given rudimentary training, the worst of the worst planes all while being amazing pilots and hitting their targets relentlessly while fighting off the enemy with incredible skill. On the ground they also faced terrible treatment by the men who were supposed to be on the same side as they were. Sexism, verbal abuse and bullying was the tip of the iceberg and yet they prevailed and continued their work. The choices they made were so difficult and yet so very impressive.
War, love, loss and life post war are all explored in the most respectful beautiful way. I have already googled more about these amazing women. Historical fiction is not my go to genre, but this has made me want to go get more to read and or listen to. The narration was wonderful and added to the experience.

A fantastic historical novel, wonderfully narrated. Highly recommend. It’s got immense heart, risk and a really touching plot.

I really enjoyed this book, particularly because I had not previously heard much about these Soviet female pilots. It was a fascinating subject and this book definitely spurred me on to research these amazing women. The characters were all really well developed and had interesting arcs. I thought the descriptions were really vivid and realistic, immediately transporting me to the cold Russian winters. I did however feel that some of the book was a bit unlikely. The fact that Tasha so openly disobeys a commanding officer is rather far fetched. Without wanting to disclose the storyline, the scene between Hans and Nadia, in his office is just not realistic. In general though, this was a very well researched book packed with emotion and action. I have not previously read anything by this author but would definitely look out for more books written by her. My sincere thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest unbiased review.

stamperlady50's profile picture
stamperlady50
We Fly Beneath the Stars
By: Suzanne Kelman

5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Kelman’s novels are all emotional and meticulously research. She nails Historical Fiction every time. I have read several of her books and I am completely immersed in her characters.
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This novel follows two sisters Nadia and Tashia. They join the Russian Air Force. They face male counterparts harassment, but the danger and their mission keeps them moving forward. The bravery these women faced flying into danger is inspiring.
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Inspired by real women known as “ Night Witches”, these women inspired so many female pilots after them. I have read a few novels about “Night Witches” and this would be in my top three.
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They each experienced so many horrible things during their experiences. Will they both survive the war? What will they give up and endure to keep their mission moving forward?

Thank you Bookouture, NetGalley and author Kelman for this advanced audio. This novel is available November 30, 2022.