Blog tour: Daughters of Victory

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Welcome to the blog tour for Daughters of Victory by Gabriella Saab!

More about the book…

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. 

More 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.

My impressions…

This novel is a prime example of how excellent historical fiction can be! The author has clearly done a lot of in-depth research. So much so that I had the feeling I was standing right next to Svetlana and Mila, moving in their world and seeing what they saw. I also learnt a great deal about the Russian Revolution and the Nazi occupation of the USSR. If a book can move you, entertain you, keep you on the edge of your seat and teach you something too, it’s a winner for me! Plus, I loved reading about two strong and resilient female characters.

Three words to describe it. Moving. Fascinating. Inspiring.

Do I like the cover? It’s gorgeous!

Have I read any other books by the same author? No, so forgive me if I rush off… too many books, too little time!

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