Lana’s War by Anita Abriel was a novel set in both Paris and Nice on the French Riviera during World War II. It allowed glimpses into the world of the brave Parisians living amongst the threatening and terrorizing members of the Gestapo while they bravely tried to help innocent Jewish families and children. Anita Abriel’s vivid words more than adequately depicted the grim circumstances of Paris during this time in history and the beauty of the French Riviera that was muddled by the German occupation. The characters in Lana’s War were well developed and believable. Mix in a little romance and the result was a fast paced and tender book that included danger, hope, trust, secrets, kindness and a little espionage.

Lana Antanova was a young woman living in Paris in 1943 amongst the German occupiers. She had married Frederic, a talented musician and she was very much in love with him. They had met while she was attending University. Her dream was that someday she would have her own shop where she would sell her own fragrances and beauty items. Lana was learning how to be a chemist. Little did Lana know but her life was about to change drastically. It was an ordinary day in Paris in 1943 and Lana was so full of hope, love and happiness. She was carrying Frederic’s child and she was on her way to share the happy news with him.. Lana was headed toward the convent where Frederic was giving music lessons to some children. Amongst those children were some Jewish children that were being hidden from the Gestapo. Lana found her way around to the window where she could spy Frederic teaching. The most unimaginable vision was in front of her peering eyes, though. When Lana peered through the window, Frederic and the children were not the only ones she saw. Lana witnessed the brutal murder of her beloved Frederic by Gestapo member Alois Brunner. Frederic had hidden one of the young Jewish children in the piano. When it was discovered, Alois Brunner did not hesitate to pull the trigger and Lana’s love was destroyed in an instant. As she hurried to get away, numb with loss and fear, she felt sharp pains rage throughout her body. Lana had not only lost Frederic that day but she was also about to loose their unborn child. The next few weeks were a blur. Lana felt and did nothing but curl up in her bed and mourn for Frederic and their unborn child. When she finally gathered the strength to venture out she found her way to the convent. She helped by performing menial jobs. It kept her mind off the sadness that lurked within her. Then one day, one of the sisters at the convent, suggested that Lana join the resistance. Lana agreed to join with the hope that she could help save Jewish children just as Frederic had tried to do.

Lana came from a long line of Russian ancestors. Her mother, Tatiana, was a Russian Countess, making Lana one herself. It was the perfect guise to be able to mingle among the other members of the Russian aristocracy living on the French Riviera. It would help get her invited to all the lavish parties where she would be privy to all sorts of information that the elite Gestapo guests would inadvertently share with her. The only flaw in this plan was that Lana would be living with Guy Pascal, a wealthy Swiss industrialist, as his lover. Lana had not fully recovered from loosing Frederic. She still missed him terribly. There was no room in her heart for love. Or was there? Two people would touch Lana’s heart in very different ways, but ways she could not ignore.

Lana’s War by Anita Abriel was a book that touched on all my emotions. It was about loss, fear, friendship, love, family, survival, and the dangers that hid just beyond sight and reach.This was the first book that I read by Anita Abriel but I will attempt to read her previous book and look forward to her next book. I recommend Lana’s War very highly. It is set to be published on January 26, 2021.

Thank you to Atria Books through Netgalley for allowing me to read this digital version of Lana’s War by Anita Abriel in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This is the first book by Anita Abriel that I have read. It will not be the last! I love historical fiction, especially those that are set in WWII. Lana Hartmann has just received the confirmation that she is pregnant, on her way to tell her husband, Frederic, when she sees a Gestapo officer kill her husband in cold blood. She is recruited by a member of the Resistance. Her assignment is to go to the Riviera and pose as Countess Antanova who is a mistress of Guy Pascal, a fellow Resistance member. Their mission? Save as many Jewish people as possible. I loved Lana. She was incredibly brave. She kept defying everyone when they told her not to get involved with Sylvie and Odette, a Jewish mother and daughter. I also really liked Guy. I loved their romance. They were suited for each other and a good team. The book was fast paced and a quick read. Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC. All opinions expressed are my own.

I really enjoyed this book. Another WW2 novel, but this one takes place in the French Riviera and Lana joins the French Resistance after losing someone important to her. I am one of the readers who is not getting tired of all the WW2 stories, so I really loved this one.
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Lana was a great protagonist. Daughter of a Russian immigrant who left Russia during the Revolution, along with a number of other Russian nobles. Lana grew up in France and respects her mothers sacrifices in order for Lana to have a good life. Lana's involvement with the French Resistance was really interesting and kept me engaged throughout the whole book. I love the French Riviera as a setting for a book, and even though there was a war, the setting still felt glamourous.
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Overall, I really loved this book!

I chose this book as it showcased the French Resistance on the Côte d’Azur, which is rarely exploited. Location was perfectly set with glimpses of Nice, Grasse, Cannes, Monte Carlo, Cap Ferrat, Antibes, Menton and Villefranche-sur-Mer.

It provided a balanced mix of adventure, romance ans suspense.

It was easy to get attached to the characters, and their secrets kept me intrigued, wondering if they could be trusted.

However, the constant reminders of Lana’s husband were too repetitive and slowed the pace of the storyline. The jump at the end was also a bit abrupt.

Choose this book for LOCATION! The French Riviera !

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with a free e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book has some moments that made me smile, and some heartwarming moments. Yes, there were stressful moments also, but the strength and weakness of this book lies in its lack of intense tension or rather of putting the main character through the wringer. While I started reading it and couldn’t feel the pull, I almost DNF’d it but I thought I would give it a fair shot. I was curious about the author’s intent. Part of me didn’t really want to read a WWII historic fiction and get my heart trampled upon, but that’s the beauty of this book. Nothing majorly bad happens, so it didn’t hurt, for lack of a better word. Sure, it’s war, so bad things are happening all the time, but not like other WWII historic fiction books. The story, the characters, events, conversations felt contrived to me. I felt it lacked flow. There were times I was reading a scene and I felt it abruptly jump to another scene. I had to go back a few times to see if it was the writing or if I missed something. Wasn’t my favorite WWII historic fiction, but it’s a great starter WWII historic fiction book. It’s great to test the waters and if you like this book, then you can move on to more serious WWII historic fiction books.

I haven’t read as much WW2 historical fiction as I would normally do this year, so I was excited to get into this one during the holidays. It’s a quick read, very fast-paced, and for the most part holds up. If you like historical fiction that has a heavy side of romance, then you will probably enjoy Lana’s War.
Lana Antanova’s mother fled Russia during the Revolution and brought her daughter up in Paris. Lana marries her love Frederic at the beginning of WW2, but after witnessing his murder at the hands of the Gestapo, and then losing her unborn child, she decides to join the French Resistance. Posing as a Russian countess looking for some fun on the French Riviera, she works as a spy with the intent on saving as many Jewish families from being deported as she can.
I enjoyed the whole French Riviera jetset theme, where life continues to go on despite the atrocities that are happening right in front of them, where everyone plays a role (or two), and you never know who you can trust or not. But I wanted more depth, and felt like everything was just too rushed for my liking. Lana and Guy both felt one-sided, and I couldn’t find myself connecting to either of them. The only character I liked was Pierre, the cab driver/Resistance hero. I personally felt like there was so much focus on the romance side (which wasn’t completely plausible to me), that the actual bones of the plot (WW2, Resistance, spies etc etc) fell to the wayside and wasn’t developed as much as it should have been. There are a few areas that aren’t 100% correct based on the timeline, but I grew up in France and studied WW2 inside and out so I know I’m a bit too nitpicky!
If you are looking for a quick romance to read with a bit of a WW2 setting, this will suit your tastes. Lana’s War wasn’t really my cup of tea (although it was well written, in a dreamy tone that suited the story well).
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

As an avid reader of historical fiction, especially during WW2, I was excited to gain a copy of “Lana’s War.” This book takes place in the French Riveria, an area often overlooked in WW2 fiction. I enjoyed learning about this setting and the author wrote about it in a detailed way that made me feel I was there.

The beginning of the book was absolutely heartwrenching with Lana excited to tell her husband she was pregnant only to show up to him beging shot by a German solider. That set the tone pretty early on.
When she gets an opportunity to work as part of the French Resistance, she partakes. It is there that she meets and is paired up with Guy, who ends up being her new love interest—both in her line of work and in real life.

While I really wanted to connect with Lana, I felt that many aspects of her personality didn’t line up. Because of this and my inability to really relate with her, I couldn’t get behind her romantic relationship either. It just fell flat for me.

I received an ARC of "Lana's War" by Anita Abriel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Lana is a young newlywed living in France during the war. She is hurrying to her husband's school to tell him that she is pregnant but instead witnesses him being shot by a German protecting a Jewish child. In her grief she decides to join the resistance and try to save as many people as she can.

This book captivated right from the beginning. There weren't a lot of characters so the book moved along quickly for me. I liked Lana but at times I really wanted to slap her. She is paired with a man, Guy, and given a mission in the Rivera but she seems to fight him every step away. She was reckless and impulsive and sometimes I thought she didn't realize the gravity of the things she did and how much she put others in danger. Her mission was to infiltrate the White Russians that were Nazi sympathizers and try to find out their plans for getting rid of the Jews. Guy tells her to be careful with Natalia, Charles and Giselle but instead she argues with him that they are nice people and he's got it all wrong. At times I found the book repetitious. The fact that Lana had lost her baby and how much she loved her husband seemed to be mentioned every couple of pages.

The setting of the Riviera and Monaco with all the wealth and glitter was very well depicted. I really enjoyed the story and will recommend it to friends.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for providing me with a copy of this book.

After losing her husband and unborn child, Lana joins the French resistance. Now on the Riviera, living with Guy, also in the resistance, Guy, Lana is tasked with befriending the Gestapo to learn the timing of the raids so she can aid in smuggling Jews out of the region. It’s a vastly different life than what she knew. She’s making friends and contacts, and she’s good at what she does.

The description in this book is incredibly vivid, and at first, life on the Riviera feels removed from the war. We see how hard it was for Lana to befriend the men she was. It was hard to know who to trust. For me, we had this detailed story laid out, and then the ending felt rushed and a bit unrewarding. We spent all this time getting to know Odette, to have her pushed into the background. Lana’s War focuses a lot on the romance, and I think this would be the right fit for fans of Historical Romance. Overall, an enjoyable read. Thank you, Atria Books, for sending this along.

Thank you to @netgalley and @atriabooks for a copy of this! To be honest, I dragged my feet a little before starting this. I wish I had started sooner! I read it in 24 hours and couldn’t put it down. So good!!! Great way to start winter break.
In 1943, Lana is on her way to share the news of her pregnancy with her husband. When she arrives she witnesses her husband being executed by the gestapo for hiding a Jewish girl in the convent where he works. Soon after she miscarries her baby as well. Months later someone approaches the grieving Lana to become part of the French Resistance. Before she knows it, Lana is working undercover in the French Riviera pretending to be the mistress of Guy Pascal, a wealthy Swiss businessman. Soon they are both consumed with helping members of the Jewish community escape.
This book was amazing. I loved the description and could really picture every place. It transported me to 1943 on the French Rivera. I loved the interactions between Lana and Guy especially as they started to get to know each other more. My one critique is that I wish it would have been longer! I would have loved to learn more about the ending section. If you love historical fiction, add this one to your TBR list now!

I received an ARC of Lana's War in exchange for an honest review. This is a World War II story but is different from most other historical fiction books about World War II. This was a quick read and the story actually takes place over just a few months time. Lana joins the resistance movement after she witnesses the murder of her husband by the Gestapo. While the book is about Lana's activities with the resistance movement it is also a love story. Lana moves to Nice and becomes part of society and socializes with German officers. It gives you a different perspective of the war and how other parts of France were during the war.

Omg! The beginning of this book broke my heart. What an fantastically written story. I think this would make a wonderful movie someday. This is definitely going on my list of potentials for a book club that I host!

Thank you Atria and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.0 stars

I received a complimentary Kindle copy of this book from Atria Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Anita Abriel, Atria Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This is the second book by this author and I have read BOTH of her books. I currently on a moratorium on World War II novels because I have read so many. However, this storyline intrigued me and I knew that I enjoyed the author's writing.

Definitely a fascinating story about saving as many Jewish people from the hands of the Gestapo and Hitler's henchmen in 1943 French Riviera.

I really enjoyed this book!! Recommend!!

This was a good WWII historical fiction! It has all the elements that you look for in this genre of books.

I experienced the horrors of war and the will to live in the most horrible of circumstance. My biggest criticism is the romance portion of the book. It was a little too much for me.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Atria Books for this advanced readers copy. This book is due to release in January 2021.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

4.5/5 stars.

I really enjoyed this book. It was fast paced and kept me wanting to read it. The book starts out when Lana goes to her husband's work to tell him she is pregnant and ends up witnessing his murder because he was hiding Jewish children in his piano. While grieving she works at the convent and soon is approached by someone asking if she wants to go down to the French Riviera. She decides that she will in order to help save the jewish children her husband could not.

Her disguise is that she is the mistress of a wealthy Swiss industrialist, Guy. She is to be a belle of the ball and social scene. She thwarts several raids and assists in saving many Jewish people because she has befriended the German who murdered her husband.

The only thing keeping me from giving it 5 stars was the ending. It felt rushed and skipped ahead. I would have loved to know more of her time after leaving Nice.

Set in World War II, this book takes readers away from occupied Paris, to the beautiful French Riviera. A location known for displaced “White Russians” and other wealthy individuals, the Riviera is still somewhat of a safe place for Jewish people. Unfortunately that is soon to change.

Lana, the daughter of a Russian Countess who lives in occupied Paris, has recently witnessed her husband’s shooting by a German soldier. Still grieving, Lana is introduced to someone in the Resistance by a local nun, and is soon on a train to the Riviera to work as a spy in aiding the Resistance.

As far as war hardships go, Lana has it easy, but she is still in the path of danger because she is associating with German soldiers in order to find out sensitive information. Lana has been teamed up with Guy, another resistance worker who is always nearby looking out for her safety.

I found this a bit predictable, but still interesting. The ending did surprise me but I think book clubs would find it worthy of discussion.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria books for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.

I love a good WWII novel and Lana’s War did not disappoint. This book has everything I could have wanted: a strong female lead, a fast-paced gripping plot, a beautiful storyline, and characters presented in a way that allowed you to truly connect with them. I found this novel to be a bit of a lighter read than other WWII historical fiction I have read.



I would recommend this to historical fiction lovers!

I received this ARC through netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars

I love Historical Fiction, in particular historical fiction that takes place during WWII, It is my absolute favorite. I was really hoping that Lana's War would be a new favorite because it explores a region of France that isn't talked about a lot in the historical fiction books I have read. The setting was described so well and the author made me feel like I was there which is a feeling that I love. However, I ran into some issues with the character of Lana herself and I just didn't find her to be all that believable. She overanalyzed everything to her own detriment at times, and when she did have feelings about something I just didn't feel them or believe them for the most part. She was just a little flat for me. Lana wasn't the only character that felt flat, most of them felt very one dimensional.

With Lana and Guy (her love interest) being flat that means that the romance within the story was flat too. both of them had been through so much on their own but I couldn't really feel bad for them or empathize or even sympathize for that matter. It just felt forced at times.

There was a lot of misplaced potential and missed opportunity in this book. It wasn't a bad book but it could have been a better book. I look forward to seeing what comes next from this author.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for an E-arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

A story about WWII and the French Resistance on the French Rivera .
This is about Lana who lost her husband and baby because o fpolice.
She felt like she has to do something so she joined the French resistance and when to the Rivera.
Drama,angst,courage,romance,good characters.
Interesting intriguing story.
Voluntarily reviewed

Lana’s War by Anita Abriel
Rate 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Historical fiction set in French Riviera during WWII. The story begins in Paris and the story is very engaged with a fast opening in Paris, then the story moves to French Riviera where Lana joins the French Resistance.

This book is very unique that keeps you engaged through every chapter. Lana's character is very nicely written. In some moments she is very mature and she knows what she is doing, but in a few moments, she is naive. Lana is very determined to make a difference during WWII with Jewish people, especially children (to help them escape to freedom)
The relationship between Lana and Guy is somehow empty, it's a little fast and I didn't feel something special between them.
The author's style is very interesting.

The ending is a little too rushed. In my opinion, the ending needs a little more story.

I liked this book, especially the location of Paris and the French Riviera. One more thing that I find very interesting is Lana’s background as a Russian countess.

Thank you NetGalley and @atriabooks for providing me ARC.

Expected date: January 12, 2021
Publisher: @atriabooks