Sapphire Skies

This was a surprisingly good book about the life story of an ace female Russian fighter pilot in WWII. It is essentially a love story set around times of betrayal, violence and horror.

Natalya Azarova grew up living a privileged life in Stalin's pre-war Russia and despite family tragedies became one of Russia's top fighter pilots who was feared by many German pilots. Her plane was shot down and her reputation destroyed by rumours that she was a German spy. In 2000 the remains of her plane and a sapphire brooch (a present from Stalin) were found buried deep in a forest - but there was no sign of the body. Valentin Orlov, now in his 80's, who was her Squadron Leader and lover, has been hunting for her for many years.

In 2000 Lily Nickam, daughter of a Russian refugee to Australia, is working in Moscow and meets a derelict old woman who pleads with her to take her dog. There follows a touching tale of a relationship between the two women from different generations.

Belinda Alexandra has written well researched historical drama with an extremely complex, sometimes over complex, plot that fairly seamlessly spans modern day Russia and Stalin's Russia covering the horrors of Stalin's purges, the Russian front, Auschwitz and Siberian labour camps. Sometimes it is challenging but there is always a thread of humanity amidst the horrors.

This is the kind of historical drama fiction that lets you learn something about the past while enjoying an interesting and absorbing story. Well recommended.

First off, I love Ms. Alexandra and her writing. I have read almost all of her books, evening ordering them from overseas book sellers as they weren't carried on Amazon; however, this book is wanting. The plot is a bit disjointed, and there are two many narrators. Too many cooks crowds the kitchen, same with this story.

Perhaps because this story was meant for world wide distribution and Ms. Alexandra was encouraged to change her writing style, but it doesn't match her past works, such as Wild Lavender.

This is really a lovely book about a fictional WWII Russian aviatrix, based (with large liberties) on Lydia Litvak. Most of the story unfolds as a very involving mystery, pursued (and solved) in the present time, about what exactly happened in an event that took place in the chaos of the Battle of Kursk.
I liked very much the very Russian feel (it exposes both sides of the Russian soul, the beautiful, kind, compassionate and artistic and the implacable, vicious and sadistic), the personality of the aviatrix herself and her incredibly harrowing--and all too believable--tale. It's sad, but strong, again very Russian.
The only downside (but not enough to take a star away) is that the modern-day protagonist is not very involving, sort of falling into situations with little initiative. But it's not her story, after all. It's the story of a brilliant heroine and an era that had little use for heroes and little mercy.
You'll love it.

I Loved loved loved it!! I was transported back to Stalinist Russia and was taken on an incredible journey of hope and love.
Have loved all her books.

An extraordinary story of the fate of so many good, solid Russian people and of war veterans, who were unlucky enough to live in the last years of Stalin's tyranny. The descriptions of the air war against the German Wermacht in 1941-44 are particularly vivid.

Very predictable, reads like a novel for teenagers. Not enough depth to the characters.

Lately, I've been picking up a lot of books featuring women pilots and have found myself disappointed at the lack of aviation/flying. Though SS is about a woman pilot, inspired by Lydia Litvyak, the aviation scenes are few, but the story is not lacking in any way. There's never a dull moment and there is so much going on...and I have set this book down more knowledgeable about Russian history, about Stalin, about the arctic prisons, than ever before. And while there is more of this other stuff than actual aviation, the aviation is well done and exciting and I have no complaints.

Basically, it just worked.

We have not one, but two incredible heroines--actually three. We have the modern-day Lily who is recovering from a tragic loss and has this thing for saving stray cats. But what is really remarkable about her is her compassion for others. Despite the grief afflicting her, she has room in her heart and enough love in her soul to help an old lady, a perfect stranger. The historical story is about Natalia, how she grows up in Stalin's Russia and becomes a fighter pilot during the Great Patriotic War. (We call it WWII). Through her eyes we see what everyday life was like during this time--the fear, the arrests, the paranoia, the backstabbing, the subway tunnels, the brainwashing, the scarcity of supplies. This was probably my favorite thing and I learned so much from this story.

There's a lot of political corruption, a lot of lies, and we get to visit those arctic prisons I mentioned above, something that I've only heard about vaguely yet now know so much more about.

The third remarkable woman is Sveltana, Natalia's aircraft mechanic. She's loyal and wishes to atone for a sin. She goes above and beyond...

There's also a romance, but while it's passionate and paced wonderfully--not too fast, not too slow--it does not overshadow the importance of the issues within the story. We don't have a heroine here whose sole goal in life is just to find a man and fall in love. There is SO MUCH MORE. I can't stress that enough.

Now, the writing itself...it flows seamlessly from past to present to past, from POV to POV without issues. I had no difficulty telling who was who or even what time period I was in. The writing itself also transported me to another time and place. I couldn't even sleep while reading this book. I'd turn off my kindle and say, "Okay. Bed time," and twenty minutes later, I'd say, "Screw it. I'm gonna read some more."

My only complaint...I don't really see what the cats had to do with anything. A lot of the story was devoted to cats and I couldn't see how that tied in. I really don't see how the modern-day heroine tied in with the fighter pilot either, but I liked her story regardless.

He simply asked if I didn't think the brooch was too precious to take into combat. I answered him, "I'm precious and I'm going into combat!"

Absolutely beautifully written book.It tells a story of a Russian pilot during World War II.An uplifting historical fiction....the horror times of the Stalin dictatorship...and a love story that lasted a lifetime...

What an engrossing story. I simply could not put it down. I just finished Tuscan Rose by Belinda Alexander and jumped right into Sapphire Skies. I could not put it down. I find it interesting that even after WWII ended the political climate didn't change for a long time. This book was a page turning tornado and I would highly recommend it. Just make sure you have the time because it is so hard to put down!

This is the best of Belinda Alexandra, Sapphire Skies is an engrossing story with wonderful characters. It is well researched and certainly pulls at your heart strings. Two love stories past and present thread throughout the book. There is an endearing heroine who develops out of the atrocities of the Stalin era and the Second World War. There is hope in modern Russia and for animal lovers the rescue and re location of animal during the rebuilding is heart warming.
I loved every page and I can't wait for the next Belinda Alexandra treat.