Title: UNDER A SKY ON FIRE
Publication Day: Oct 13th 2020
Author: Suzanne Kelman
Description:
The child stood in the road wearing a blue flannel nightie, her feet bare and dirt-splattered. Her blonde flyaway hair was golden, aglow from the fires that lit her up from behind. Stumbling over, Lizzie reached her side. The little girl’s eyes were closed, her palms facing upwards. If she’d been in church, you would have thought she was praying.
September 1940, London
As the German Luftwaffe begin a terrifying bombing campaign that will come to be known as the Blitz, thousands are evacuated to safety. But Lizzie Mackenzie finds herself heading towards London.
She knows she must help in the war effort. But she has another reason for leaving the security of her Scottish village: the illegitimate child she gave up for adoption nearly five years before is somewhere in the city. And – as the bombs rain down – she will stop at nothing to find her and make sure her little girl is safe.
Then she finds herself trapped in a dark theatre during a bombing raid, where she meets Pilot Officer Jack Henson. Against all her instincts, she falls in love. But what chance is there for that love to flourish? Because if he discovers the secret shame of her past, he may never forgive her. And with Jack facing the enemy every day in the sky, and Lizzie’s job guiding pilots into battle – life and love has never felt so fragile.
Until a chance encounter with a little orphaned girl changes everything, forcing Lizzie to ask herself what truly matters. Because, in the darkest days of war, every life counts. And – when tragedy strikes – saving one child’s life might just give Lizzie a reason to survive…
An unforgettable story about sacrifice, love and heartbreak set in World War Two London during the Blitz. If you liked All the Light We Cannot See, My Name is Eva and A Fire Sparkling, you will love Under a Sky on Fire
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'Under A Sky On Fire' by Suzanne Kelman.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 13th October 2020
This is the first book that I have read by this author.
I was originally drawn to this book by its intriguing colourful cover and interesting sounding blurb. I was also looking for a different type of genre to my usual crime and this seemed to fit the bill perfectly. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of a prologue, 48 chapters and an epilogue. The chapters are medium in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is written in third person perspective with the main protagonists being Lizzie, Julia and Diana. I enjoy books written in third person with several protagonists as it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters.
This book is based in London 🇬🇧. I always enjoy when books are set in the UK as I'm from Wales and have sometimes visited areas mentioned in the book. This makes it easier to picture where the scenes are set at times. The fact that we get to see through the eyes of 3 of the characters is a bonus as it feels like we are not missing anything.
This book was very well written written with excellent descriptions. There are lots of fiction books written about the war but this one really stood out to me and it really helped me to understand what life must have been like during the war. I believe Suzanne has definitely done her research and quite a lot at that with lots of factual information included in the storyline.
The storyline itself is very emotional and filled with ups and downs, love, loss, war, deceit, suspense and tension. I love that it highlights the importance and vitality of women's roles during the war and how much work they did while the men were away fighting. I was shocked by the little twist thrown in at about 70% and was quite shocked.
I absolutely loved that the 3 main characters were all strong women and were all very realistic with their own personalities, they really stood out for me. Having string female roles in books is always a bonus for me, being female myself!! I really enjoyed watching the friendship, bonds and relationships develop between all the different characters and really felt the emotions that poor Lizzie went through. It was lovely to read what happened to them after the war as well as not many books include that and its always nice to read more about that characters that you have bonded with whilst reading. I think this book will stay with me for a long time and it would be lovely to see it turned into a movie.
Overall a beautiful and emotional page turner about the war, love, friendship and loss.
Genres covered include Romance Novel, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance and War Story.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as anyone looking for a beautiful and emotional read.
361 pages.
This book is £1.99 to purchase on kindle via Amazon or free on kindle unlimited which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5/5 (I loved it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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@SuzanneKelman @Bookouture @Bookworm1986 @bookworm86
Author Bio:
Suzanne Kelman is an Amazon International Bestselling author in America, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. Her WW2 historical fiction books "A View Across the Rooftops" and "When We Were Brave," together have sold over 150,000 copies and are published by Bookouture - an imprint for Hachette U.K. Her third WW2 Book, Under A Sky on Fire, publishes October 13th, 2020. Kelman's books have also been translated into five languages.
She is also the author of the bestselling book, "The Rejected Writers' Book Club", published by Lake Union, which is the first book in the Southlea Bay series. Other books in the series include, "Rejected Writers Take the Stage" and "The Rejected Writers' Christmas Wedding".
Kelman is an award-winning writer/screenwriter whose accolades include the Best Comedy Feature Screenplay Award from the L.A. International Film Festival, the Gold Award from the California Film Awards, and the Van Gogh Award from the Amsterdam Film Festival.
In 2015 her script, Held, was recognized by the Academy of Motion Pictures and was shortlisted to the top ten in the Academy Of Motion Pictures Nichols Fellowship competition.
As well as a screenwriter and a published author, Suzanne is also a playwright, and her award-winning comedy play, "Over My Dead Body", had its World Premiere at Outcast Theatre in Washington, Fall 2019.
Born in the United Kingdom, Suzanne now resides in Washington State.
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Author Social Media Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/suzkelman
Twitter: https://twitter.com/suzkelman
Website: https://www.suzannekelmanauthor.com
Buy Link:
Amazon: https://geni.us/B08CY521H9Social
Apple: http://ow.ly/Gr4650AyHac
Kobo: http://ow.ly/YIPn50AyH8i
Google: http://ow.ly/YqVx50AyNJA
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