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

“War will break you, Katyushka. Don’t make me see the light in your eyes grow dim.”

Aimie K. Runyan, Daughters of the Night Sky

Review:

I’ve realized over the past year that I’m inexplicably drawn to books about aviation (bonus points if it’s set in WWII). I’ve read Aimie K. Runyan’s book Across The Winding River and enjoyed it, so I was happy to see she wrote this one as well (something I only realized after I started reading). Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy Daughters of the Night Sky nearly as much. Things happened way too fast, especially Katya becoming an aviator and then her relationship with Vanya in nearly the same breath. Most of the book kept this pace and I couldn’t connect with the characters or situations at all. On top of this, some lines and attitudes were unrealistic being set in the Soviet Union (and in the service in general). By the end, I was skimming it. I just couldn’t take it seriously.

All of that said, I’m not deterred from reading more from this author in the future. I think this would have been better with a slower pace and more research. And the cover is gorgeous!

Afterthoughts:

I compared the publication dates and was glad to see Across The Winding River came two years after Daughters of the Night Sky. The writing improved considerably even though I remember finding parts of Across The Winding River too predictable, convenient, and a bit unrealistic. However, the setting was different. Having studied Russia and the Soviet Union quite a bit I know that many of the characters would not have gotten far with some comments made toward Stalin. I understand the modern day urge to include distaste toward dictators such as him, but if you’re going to write a book set in this place and time and have the characters fighting for Russia, it needs to remain congruent with the beliefs of the people at that time (unless it’s a book about resistance, which this book was not).

Where to buy the book: