** Blog Tour ** The Lost Daughters of Ukraine- Erin Litteken

I’m honoured to be one of today’s stops on the blog tour for ‘The Lost Daughters of Ukraine.’

A story of the strength of the human spirit, the personal cost of conflict and how love can be found even in the darkest times.

Summer 1941. War rages in Europe. The Germans march towards Ukraine. Halya, Liliya and Vika are no strangers to sorrow. They lost family during the Holodomor, loved ones in Stalin’s purges, and war
looms once more on the horizon.

Vika lives in fear for her children. She and her sister survived the terror famine by leaving their whole family behind. Now, years later, many believe the Germans will free them from the Soviets, but she’s
not so sure. Should they stay in Volhynia or flee the approaching Eastern front?

Liliya has lost too much in her 17 years. As those around her join the resistance, Liliya wonders how she can fight for her friends, family, and country. When the choice is made for her, can she find the will to survive and protect those still with her?

Twelve-year-old Halya is struggling to discover who she is. But as the war escalates, can her mother Katya’s tactics keep her safe from the Nazi soldiers rounding up slave laborers? How can a child
survive the horrors of war on her own?

These daughters of Ukraine will face devastation and loss as they fight to survive and protect the ones they love.

A gripping page-turner of love, loss and resilience for fans of The Tattooist of Auschwitz.

Purchase Link – https://amzn.to/3w1lXnT

Author Bio –

Erin Litteken is a debut novelist with a degree in history and a passion for research. At a young age, she was enthralled by stories of her family’s harrowing experiences in Ukraine before, during and
after World War II.

She lives in Illinois, USA with her husband and children.

Social Media Links –
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorerinlitteken
Twitter https://twitter.com/ErinLitteken
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/erinlitteken/
Newsletter Sign Up: https://bit.ly/ErinLittekenNews

Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/erin-litteken

Review-

Following on from the success of the hugely enthralling “The Memory Keeper of Kyiv’, Erin Litteken is back with another masterpiece chronicling more key moments in the history of Ukraine and its’ people in a way that is utterly compelling and heartbreaking in equal measure.

(Full review pending)

With thanks to the author, Rachel at Random Resources and Boldwood Books for the opportunity to participate in the tour.

Further stops can be found here:

** Blog Tour ** The Memory Keeper of Kyiv- Erin Litteken

I’m delighted to be one of today’s stops on the blog tour for ‘The Memory Keeper of Kyiv’.

In the 1930s, Stalin’s activists marched through the Soviet Union, espousing the greatness of collective farming. It was the first step in creating a man-made famine that, in Ukraine, stole almost 4 million lives.

Inspired by the history the world forgot, and the Russian government denies, Erin Litteken reimagines their story.

In 1929, Katya is 16 years old, surrounded by family and in love with the boy next door. When Stalin’s activists arrive in her village, it’s just a few, a little pressure to join the collective. But soon neighbors disappear, those who speak out are never seen again and every new day is uncertain.

Resistance has a price, and as desperate hunger grips the countryside, survival seems more a dream than a possibility. But, even in the darkest times, love beckons.

Seventy years later, a young widow discovers her grandmother’s journal, one that will reveal the long-buried secrets of her family’s haunted past.

This is a story of the resilience of the human spirit, the love that sees us through our darkest hours and the true horror of what happened during the Holodomor.

May we never forget, lest history repeat itself.

A share of proceeds will be donated to DEC’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

Purchase Link – https://amzn.to/3MTkVBr

Author Bio –

Erin Litteken is a debut novelist with a degree in history and a passion for research. At a young age, she was enthralled by stories of her family’s harrowing experiences in Ukraine before, during and
after World War II.

Her first historical fiction title, drawing on those experiences, will be published by Boldwood in June 2022. She lives in Illinois, USA with her husband and children.

Social Media Links –

Twitter https://twitter.com/ErinLitteken

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/erinlitteken/

Bookbub profile: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/erin-litteken

Review-

This is a story that will live in the memory long after you finish reading it. Particularly poignant given the current situation in Ukraine, this is an important narration of a time in history likely to be unfamiliar to many, as it was to me.

Based loosely on events which took place in the author’s own family history, this is a tale of brutality and dictatorship but one where, love, strength and resilience triumph in the face of extreme adversity.

Told in a dual timeline, Katya’s tale is revealed through a journal she kept during the 1930s in Ukraine which she shares with granddaughter Cassie in the modern day.

There are some obvious parallels between Cassie and Katya’s lives in terms of love and loss but it is Katya’s storyline which is utterly engrossing and keeps the reader hooked throughout.

Although a work of fiction, it is impossible to ignore the real-life events on which it is based. There are many echoes with modern day Ukraine and only by telling these stories, can we hope to stop history from continuing to repeat itself, making this a must-read novel.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

With thanks to the author, Rachel at Random Resources and Boldwood books for the opportunity to participate in the tour.

Further stops can be found here: