The Huntress by Kate Quinn (Review and GIVEAWAY)

Looking for a new WWII historical fiction adventure to sweep you off of your feet? The Huntress is a story in three parts about the hunt for a Nazi war criminal.  The Huntress lived on a remote lake in Poland with her Nazi lover and used Jews, refuges, and captured Allies as prey to hunt.  After the war she escaped from Germany, but where did she go?  How can she pay amends for her war crimes?

Ian Graham is a British war correspondent who has a personal vendetta against the Huntress, his brother was one of her victims, and his wife, Nina, only narrowly escaped her.  Together with Nina, and American veteran and linguist Tony, the trio works on tracking down the Huntress.  Will they be able to find her?

Nina Markova grew up half wild in frozen Siberia. After seeing a plane for the first time, she is bitten by the flying bug and travels away from her native home to learn how to fly.  When World War II breaks out, Nina becomes a part of the all-female night bomber regiment and is honored by Stalin himself.  How does Nina the fearless flyer become Nina the victim after the war who marries Ian? 

Jordan McBride is a teenage girl growing up right after WWII in Boston.  After her widowed father meets the mysterious Anna and they become engaged, Jordan can’t shake the feeling that there is something wrong and dangerous about Anna.  Even as Anna and her daughter Ruth become a part of her life, she never feels settled.  What is the truth behind Anna?  Will Jordan be able to chase her dreams of becoming a photographer or will she marry her high school sweetheart?

The Huntress was a truly wonderful historical fiction novel.  I loved the viewpoints switching between Ian, Jordan, and back to the past with Nina.  It made for a riveting story, especially as all three stories masterfully converged together.  Kate Quinn does a great job with this character driven story.  I cared about all of the characters, but the history behind them was particularly fascinating.  Although I am a fan of WWII history and of aviators, I had never heard of the all-female “Night Witches” bomber regiment.  I was fascinated.  I can’t imagine how heroic these women were flying bi-planes over Germany.  Even better was the author’s note at the end. Kate Quinn details how she used real facts to craft Nina’s story as well as the overall story of the hunt for Nazi war criminals.  It was fascinating.  I loved the action-packed conclusion.  This would make a GREAT movie.

I also loved how Quinn wrote Anna as an evil, but also a caring person.  Jordan was confused on her feelings for her stepmother as she thought, how can this woman be evil when she has really been a great person to me, helping me to achieve my dreams?  I loved that about the character, although I would have liked to learn even more about Anna and why she did what she did.

Favorite Quotes: 

“Soldiers get made.  Hunters get born.”

“No one likes to talk about their war, after it’s fought.  They want to forget.  And what happens when they die, and they’ve taken all their memories with them?  We’ve lost it all.  And we can’t.”

“How pleasant to enjoy a man who was not official, not in the slightest.”

Overall, if you love riveting, character driven historical fiction, this is the novel for you!  If you love World War II fiction, The Huntress has a unique story that I have not read before in other WWII novels. I highly recommend this book!

Book Source: Review Copy from William Morrow.  Thank-you!

GIVEAWAY
I was accidentally mailed two Advance Reader Edition's of The Huntress so I am going to give one of them away! If you would like to win this book, please leave a comment on what interests you about this book.  Have you read any books or watched any movies about WWII aviators or war criminals?  If so, what was your favorite?
 

As part of your comment, you must include an email address. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner.

  For an additional entry, blog about this giveaway or post it on your sidebar. Provide a link to this post in your comment.

I will be using random.org (or a Monte Carlo simulation in excel) to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is only open to addresses in the United States.

The deadline for entry is midnight on Friday April 26th!

Please make sure to check the week of April 29th to see if you are a winner. I send emails to the winner, but lately I've been put in their "junk mail" folder instead of their inbox.

Good luck!