Book Review: Daughters of the Night Sky by Aimie K. Runyan

About:
Daughters of the Night Sky by Aimie K. Runyan is a novel about the Russian women pilots of World War II known by their victims as the “Night Witches”.  Ms. Runyan likes to write about history’s unsung heroes, or at least unsung in the US.

• 301 pages
• Publisher: Lake Union Publishing (January 1, 2018)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1503946770

Thoughts:
I have heard of the Night Witches before, but I read a lot of history books and novels centered around World War II. When I saw Daughters of the Night Sky by Aimie K. Runyan on Amazon’s Prime Reading, I downloaded it almost immediately.

First I like to mention that the actual history in the book is a bit sketchy, but the author owns up to that, saying she wrote a novel not a history book. While I do like my historical fiction somewhat accurate (after all, some literary license does have to be taken many times), I appreciated the acknowledgment very much.

The novel is about strong women holding their own in a men’s world during a complex time of turmoil. Katya, the protagonist, pursues her dreams and gives up a lot to achieve it. She fights through adversity with lots of help from mentors and friends.

Even though this is a hopeful book, it does show the devastation of war and the toll it takes on human beings of all sides and social classes.

The author writes very well and she manages to move the story on, even though there is a bit of a slow detour in the middle. I know I’m not the target audience for this book, as the banter of barley out of their teen women doesn’t speak to me.

The perspective is from a 21^st Century woman looking backward, not of the time. I did enjoy this book though, it is well written and entertaining.

Synopsis:
Katya Ivanova is a bright, young lady who is smart enough to be included in the Russian flight program. As the Nazis march into Russia, she is called to duty to do her country proud.

Katya becomes part of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment, known as the Night Witches because of the sound the planes make during their attacks.

Buy Daughters of the Night Sky  from Amazon.com*
More Books by Aimie K. Runyan

Zohar — Man of la Book
Dis­claimer: I got this book for free.
*Ama­zon links point to an affil­i­ate account