Lana's War by Anita Abriel

 

From the author of the “fast-paced, heartbreaking, and hopeful” (Kristin Harmel, author of The Room on Rue Amélie) The Light After the War, a riveting and heartfelt story of a young woman recruited to be a spy for the resistance on the French Riviera during World War II.

Paris 1943: Lana Antanova is on her way to see her husband with the thrilling news that she is pregnant. But when she arrives at the convent where he teaches music, she’s horrified to see Gestapo officers execute him for hiding a Jewish girl in the piano.

A few months later, grieving both her husband and her lost pregnancy, Lana is shocked when she’s approached to join the resistance on the French Riviera. As the daughter of a Russian countess, Lana has the perfect background to infiltrate the émigré community of Russian aristocrats who socialize with German officers, including the man who killed her husband.

Lana’s cover story makes her the mistress of Guy Pascal, a wealthy Swiss industrialist and fellow resistance member, in whose villa in Cap Ferrat she lives. Together, they gather information on upcoming raids and help members of the Jewish community escape. Consumed by her work, she doesn’t expect to become attached to a young Jewish girl or wonder about the secrets held by the man whose house she shares. And as the Nazis’ deadly efforts intensify, her intention to protect those around her may put them all at risk instead.

With Anita Abriel’s “heartfelt and memorable” (Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author) storytelling, Lana’s War is a sweeping and suspenseful tale of survival and second chances during some of the darkest days of history.

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About The Author

Anita Abriel was born in Sydney, Australia. She received a BA in English Literature with a minor in Creative Writing from Bard College. She lives in California with her family and is the author of The Light After the War which was inspired by her mother’s story of survival during WWII.

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My Review 

  Horrible circumstances bring young Lana to the French Riviera, where she is now using her heritage to help the resistance. Her mother fled Russia before she was born, but she uses this to her advantage and becomes Countess Lana Antanova, and begins her work as a spy.
This is a riveting page turning read, that you will need answers from one page to the next, and not know whom you can trust.
Unfortunately, this is a fictional story, but based on what really happened during these dark times in history.
We know the outcome of the war, but this book put faces on those who give the ultimate, and more, and there are surprises, yes, all the way to the last page. I never anticipated the ending, but thinking back to those times, yes, very possible!
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Atria Books, and was not required to give a positive review.