What a emotional read!
A well researched historical romance about the lives of women pilots flying bomber planes during WWII. The story shows you how brave they had to be to overcome their fears. What sacrifices they had to make.
Truly a inspirational story that is actually based on a true story.
The story follows the journey of two sisters, Tasha and Nadia. They are totally opposite in their personalities.
The information about “Night Witches” was so intriguing as I had no previous knowledge of them before reading this story.
This unforgettable story is so touching yet so heartbreaking.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I read a lot of historical fiction, particularly based on facts surrounding World War II, but never before have I read anything that focused on Russian women who became pilots to fight for their country. I didn’t realise this was a thing and now I have to know whether there were any other women who flew and fought for their country during that time.

Suzanne Kelman has done an amazing job with this book and decided to continue writing it and publish it at a time when Russia incited another war. However, the world needs to read about these amazing women and what they achieved and what is going on right now shouldn’t take our admiration away from that.

Nadia and Tasha are incredibly brave sisters who cope with so much discrimination as they attempt to infiltrate the world which has, until now, been dominated by men. We Fly Beneath the Stars is laced with expectation, love, and happiness, but a great deal of sadness and pain. I don’t want to give you any spoilers, but look out for the shocking revelation towards the end of the book as the war ends and remember that this is based on fact.

I urge you to check out Suzanne Kelman’s latest novel; We Fly Beneath the Stars if you enjoy historical fiction and love learning about something you may not have known.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read and review an ARC of We Fly Beneath the Stars by Suzanne Kelman.

A fantastic historical novel, with huge heart and significance You really feel for the characters. . Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

Wow, what a fabulous novel We Fly Beneath the Stars is! I have rarely read WWII novels from Russian point of view not heard of the Night Witches who were the first military women to take part in enemy fighting. I couldn't put it down! Fantastic read

*Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me this arc for an honest review*

I finished it in a day and from the very first chapters I started crying. This book was heartbreaking. It is a hymn to love. I adored it. I couldn't put it down.

We Fly Beneath The Stars is one of the most beautiful, brilliant, heartwarming, gut wrenching historical romances that I have read in a LONG time. Set in Russia during WWII, which is not a setting seen in most WWII historical fiction novels, Kelman writes a powerful novel of not only romance, but the bonds between sisterhood. Nadia and Tasha are strong female characters that exhibit bravery and courage. I never knew about the Night Witches, so it was very interesting to learn all about them. I even looked them up to learn more! You’ll find yourself holding your breath each time these women would fly a mission, hoping that they wouldn’t be hurt. By the end, you’ll need the tissues because you will be in tears. This is an absolute must read for anyone that loves historical fiction or historical romance. You really don’t want to miss out on this book.

This is another World War II story about a little known subject - The Night Witches who helped Russia win the air war. Who were these Night Witches? They were the all-women pilots of Russia’s 588th Night Bomber Aviation Regiment. The Night Witches were the first women military pilots in the 20th century to directly engage an enemy in combat. All the members of the 588th were women, including the navigators, ground crews, and support staff.

Sisters Tasha and Nadia lived with their grandmother in a small town in Russia. Nadia is the older sister and is quiet and sensible and plans to marry a Communist party official. Tasha has been in love with Luca since they met as children. She is impetuous and often reckless. When Luca signs up to go in the army to fight the Germans, she's distraught and decides to follow him. When he is less than thrilled that she showed up, she impulsively goes to a meeting about female pilots and how they can help in the war. She signs up for the new program on a whim and is sent away to training camp. When she left home, she left nothing but a note and her sister Nadia decides that she has to find Tasha and bring her home. When she finds out about the female pilot program, she decides to join too. Her husband is in the army and she knows that she can do more to help Russia than just staying at home and being a housewife. When Nadia first shows up at training camp, Tasha is angry. She's been compared to her older sister for all of her life and was looking forward to being a success at something on her own. They eventually reconcile and realize how important they are to each other. On a night fight, Tasha impulsively decides to look for Luca's downed plane behind enemy lines. She ends up crashing her plane and both sisters are taken to a German concentration camp. Life in the camp is brutal and they both believe that they will never see their home again. Will the two sisters be able to survive the brutal treatment in the camp and go home or will one sister have to sacrifice everything to save the other?

Tasha and Nadia were both brave beyond words. Every night, along with the rest of the female pilots, they put their lives on the line to bomb German targets. At first they were made fun of by the male pilots and underestimated by the male officers. By the end of the war, these Night Witches had flown somewhere in the vicinity of 30,000 bombing raids, delivering around 23,000 tons of munitions on Nazi targets and became a crucial Soviet asset in winning World War II.

This well researched novel will make you smile and make you cry while you lean about a little known group of brave women who helped the Allies win the war. It's novel about sisterhood - both by blood and the people who mean the most to you - bravery and resilience and it's a story that you won't soon forget.

I really enjoy historical fiction based on true events, so I was looking forward to reading this novel based on the WW2 Russian all-female night fighter bomber regiment known by the Germans as the ‘Night Witches’. Lead by Major Marina Raskova, these female aviators were given special dispensation by Stalin to be involved in combat to protect the Russian front from Germany. Flying wood and canvas biplanes intended only for training, they were spectacularly successful, flying over 123,000 sorties and dropping over 3,000 tons of bombs. So, I was really looking forward to reading about their exploits and getting a feel of what it was like to be a Russian female fighter bomber during the war.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the sort of book I thought it would be and it turned out to be more of a historical romance. The historical aspect of the novel was only a backdrop to the story of two sisters, Nadia and Tasha who joined the squad and flew the bombers. I really struggled to get into the novel and skimmed quite a lot initially, waiting for the action to happen. I found the main character Tasha really immature and selfish, especially towards her sister and couldn't develop any empathy for her when all her problems (and Nadia's) were ones she caused. It's also a bugbear of mine when authors call women 'girls' so that also annoyed me throughout the book. There wasn’t a strong sense of time or place in the novel, on indeed of what it was like to be at war and I was also disappointed to not feel any sense of what it was really like to fly bombing raids. The level of research was disappointing and I learnt little more about the women than I could quickly glean online. However, fans of the author and those who enjoy a love story with a historical background should enjoy this.

We Fly Beneath the Stars by Suzanne Kelman is a women-led historical fiction set back to WW2 about Russian female bomber pilots fighting against Hitler. This group of all female Russian known as "The Night Witches".

With the sadness, courage, sisterhood and hope in this story, I am deeply touched by the storyline under the pen by Suzanne. Tasha and her old sister Nadia joined the Soviet Air Force. Tasha's love Luca joined the Air Force and Tasha bravely followed.

Tasha and Nadia not only had to fight the Nazi, they had to prove themselves to the men pilots. Capable women. They used their talented flying skills to fight the Nazi, but then....ended up in the German Work Camp.

Among the love and cries, the ups and downs, the sweetness and bitterness, "Survival is a moment-by-moment choice".

We Fly Beneath the Stars is one of the unforgettable and unputdownable historical fictions I have read.

Many thanks to Bookouture, Netgalley and Suzanne Kelman for copy.

A well researched and yet still emotional novel of two sisters who became member of the Night Witches. Tasha and Nadia came to being pilots from different places and for different reasons but it became their lives- until it was not. Some of this is familiar territory but it's from a different perspective. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Many times, when I read WWII historical fiction – the stories feel quite similar, which is why I started going easy on the genre. However, even though Suzanne Kelman writes mostly WWII historical fiction, each of her books is very different. Having read many of her earlier books, I looked forward to this and it did not disappoint – a beautiful and heart-warming story.

Though the story starts with the present being in US, this time the action is largely in Russia, as Hitler’s Nazi Germany launches its invasion. A nation taken aback fights back but it is tough. Nadia and Tasha are sisters who live with their grandmother, after their parents pass away. Nadia is mature & methodical while Tasha is impulsive and often reckless. Nadia gets married to a communist party official while Tasha is in love with Luca who she has known since long. As Luca signs up to fight in the air force, Tasha follows him and finds that she has the chance to join a women flying force herself and grabs the opportunity. A worried Nadia ventures out to find her and ends up enrolling as well. Tasha resents this initially but the tough situations to follow turns their lives upside down. Despite initial scorn from male flyers and general scepticism, the women emerge as an effective fighting force and come to be known as ‘The Night Witches’ as they drop bombs on German positions in night raids.

A very well-written story of love, sisterhood, tragedy & hope. The only drawback is that except for a nice little twist/wordplay at the start, the story is somewhat predictable. The characters are all very well developed and loveable and I felt drawn to them.

I read this after Susan Cain’s ‘Bittersweet’ and this novel epitomizes what she says in the book, despite the pain in many pages of the book, it is also extremely beautiful. Suzanne Kelman’s historical fiction novels are always a joy to read – definitely recommended.

My rating: 4.5 / 5.

Sibling rivalry with a surprising turn. Two sisters, very different from each other as sisters usually are, have different perspectives about the Nazi threat and the ensuing war. Practical older sister Nadia is in love and unhappy when her fiancé’ is deployed; headstrong Tasha joins up and trains as a fighter pilot in the newly formed Russian female bomber pilots unit.

Events conspire to bring the sisters together in the same fighting unit. : Nadia joins the army in a misguided effort to be close to her fiancé and to continue her role of protector of her younger sister. They are stationed together, ( much to Tasha’s chagrin) setting up a fierce competitiveness between the two. They both become excellent fighter pilots in what will become the legendary Night Witches unit which scored major victories against the Germans.

A wonderful story about another aspect of World War II I had no idea about. It was easy to put myself in the shoes of both sisters as I read about their hopes, dreams, heartbreak and triumphs cheering for them at every turn of the page.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read another wonderful book prior to its publication.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for an arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

Publication: November 30, 2022

I would rate this book 3.5 stars (rounded up to 4). This was a beautiful book about a piece of WW2 history I knew very little about. The Night Witches was an all female group of Russian pilots that fought in the war.

This was so close to being a five star read for me. However, I felt the author spent too much time describing some scenes that were less important to the plot but then brushing over important scenes. I found myself saying "Yes, we get it, they were madly in love" then saying "Wait, that person died?"

I loved the short chapters but I felt the writing style was a bit confusing. Sometimes I felt like I was reading an overly described scene then it felt like I was reading a newspaper article- a lot of telling instead of showing.

Should readers still give this book a go? Yes! If anything, you'll learn all about the Night Witches
Will I read anymore books by this author? I will probably give her next book a go.

Overall, perfect for fans of Kate Quinn, Kristen Harmel, and Martha Hall Kelly

Suzanne Kelman is a powerful storyteller. I have read others by her and all were equally as riveting. I read this genre often and although many of the events are the same, each has something special to love.

We Fly Beneath the Stars is simply put historical fiction at its very best.

It is the story of "The Night Witches" the Russian women who flew missions during WW2.

They were very successful and showed such bravery and courage that is beyond admirable.

Tasha follows her boyfriends lead and enlists in the air force where women are being trained to be pilots in planes far less superior than their male counterparts.

Her sister Nadia joins for her own reasons and is the more sensible of the two, less of a risktaker.

I laughed with the sisters, cried with the sisters but mostly cheered them on with great admiration.

You will hold your breath during the battle scenes and the pages cant turn quickly enough.

You can not go wrong with a Suzanne Kelman story.

We Fly Beneath the Stars is a must read and story that needed to be told.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for a fascinating read.

We fly between the stars by Suzanne Kelman is the 6th book from the author that I have read its amazing fictional story regarding the real lives of Russian Night witches, who were the only all women Regiment fighter pilots in the Russian Air force in WW2. The author has outdone herself with this story and I think it is her best one to date.
The story involves two sisters Tasha and Nadia who join the Russian Air force when Russia joins the fight against the Nazi’s. Not only overcoming the harassment from their male counterparts. But the bravery of the women flying into danger in every flight.
This author is a great storyteller and although her characters are fictional it is based on real people and events. She introduces us to lesser-known events in history and writes moving inspirational stories. This powerful story had me engrossed until the very end. I loved it and made me want to find out more about the Russian Night witches. I highly recommend. 5 stars from me.

The title, cover and blurb caught my attention as I haven't read a book by Suzanne Kelman, until now and I wasn't disappointed.

We Fly Beneath the Stars is an inspirational, moving book based on a true story about courage's young women that against all the odds flew bomber planes during WW2.

We follow the journey of sisters Nadia and Tasha in a gripping story that will have you laughing and crying as they grow from being young and naive to strong, brave women.

I loved reading We Fly Beneath the Stars with the wonderful quotes throughout the story, it is a moving, heartbreaking and unforgettable story about sacrifice, loss, sisterhood and love that had me captivated from the first sentence.

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

The author has written many novels, but I believe this one might be her best yet! This WWII book is a excellently researched, and it is clear, as always, that Suzanne Kelman is a scrupulous historian alongside her authorship. Wonderful, captivating writing and original plot gives this novel the depth and ability to pull in any reader. I highly recommend this author and all of her other books I have read have been nothing less than fantastic. She is definitely an auto-buy author for me, and I can't wait to own this novel in print.

Wow! I was completely blown away by Suzanne Kelman’s upcoming novel 'We Fly Beneath The Stars.' (And what a gorgeous revealing cover of the content within.) She said in the back notes it was her hardest to write. I can see why. The energy required for this novel would have been massive. Emotionally draining to be exact. With such powerful emotions and heartbreaking experiences ripping through this story like a tornado, it leaves your heart in shreds and your eyes sopping up the tears with a giant box of tissues!

The two lead point of view characters are sisters, Tasha and Nadia. They have very different personalities but share a competitiveness that gets them into strife: particularly younger Tasha. They both join in the fight against Hitler as Russian female bomber pilots to help their country but there are other reasons why they choose to get involved (and these become known as the story unfolds). Also, amidst the war, there are many personal battles-- including their experiences with love. And some surprising turn of events for Tasha and Nadia, that are deeply moving.

I must add, all the airwomen created for this story are well presented characters. One named Mila makes a pact with her team mates that rings true throughout the action. As she says, ‘We are proud to be women but we will fight like men.’ And yes, they do—even surpassing the men at times. Although this novel is a work of fiction, it is based on the real airwomen of the day. Personally, I found it enlightening to read of their proficiencies and how they conquered the skies and their enemy. This novel led me to read up more on these courageous Russian airwomen and I could see how well Suzanne has done her research.

We Fly Beneath The Stars has an incredible acrobatic plot, due to the many twists and turns of events. Just when you think things cannot get any worse for these ladies, they do and the action increases and another barrage of challenges come. Of course, that is precisely the nature of war. Unpredictable, unpleasant and unnerving. And no matter how prepared you may be, sometimes curve balls come out of nowhere and set you off course as it did for the Night Witches. By the way, these Russian airwomen were nicknamed this by the Germans because they wreaked such havoc on their enemy. They were a master of stealth in their attack technique. The night bombers would idle their engines near their target and glide in with only the wind noise to give them away. The Germans said the sound was like broomsticks and this is why they called them the Night Witches. These all female military aviators were pretty clever and courageous in the 588th Night Bomber Regiment and Suzanne delivers a comprehensive believable portrait of their incredible abilities and experiences.

Reading of their accomplishments in We Fly Beneath The Stars will make your heart swell with pride, no matter your nationality. For the things they accomplished as women in such a dire time were indeed incredible acts of bravery. These ladies did not even have a parachute so if their plane went down (as it can and does) survival was unlikely; unless there were bizarre interventions of fate. And there are in this story for one pair. The reasons given for no parachute are due to their low altitude of flight and weight of the bombs. But these weren’t the only battles they had to contend with. Besides keeping the enemy off their tails and staying in the sky, they also had to deal with the mockery of their own military men. Of course, as the story progresses, there are incidents of rescue that bring change of opinions which was lovely to see.

This is a story about incredible courage, the bonds of sisterhood, overcoming adversity and clinging to eternal love. Love that is so powerful it will take you to dangerous locations and positions, give you purpose and strength to fight the odds but also shatter your heart if death comes. Love that could end your life if grief takes over and shuts your body down. And that is real as it happened to my great aunt during the Spanish Flu era of 1918 when her husband contracted the deadly virus and passed on thirteen days after they got married. She could not bear the loss and literally died from a broken heart. This is the enduring love I see on these pages.

I highly recommend this outstanding, seamless flowing narrative and consider it to be Suzanne Kelman’s historical fiction masterpiece. It is a novel you won’t want to miss if you love exceptional World War II aviation stories. Be prepared, though, to lose sleep and expect tears as We Fly Beneath The Stars will grip and shake your heart! 5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Many thanks to Bookouture and Netgalley for a review copy.

This is a beautiful book about family bonds and the difference fierce women can make and have made throughout history.
A really great WWII story that will be great for book clubs.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!