BOOK REVIEW:  Marina 

 

Marina cover/purchase link

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by: Laura V. Hilton

Dancing Word Reviewer

 

Title: Marina

Authors: Susan K. Downs and Susan May Warren

Publisher: Barbour Books

ISBN: 1-59310-350-6

Genre: Inspirational/Historical/Women/Fiction

Widowed and pregnant, Marina Shubina is forced to fight for her basic needs as Hitler’s Third Reich invades Russia. Feeling God has abandoned her; Marina changes her name to Mara, which means bitter. She aligns herself with the partisans who save her life after a German soldier shoots her and is forced to trust an American OSS agent who may lead her to an early death.

American Edward Neumann has a Russian grandparent, so he is fluent in the language. When his military commander sends him to take out a bridge leading into Russia, he sets out from Estonia to do as he’s commanded. But he isn’t counting on stumbling upon a band of partisans who are surviving on wits alone. Edward isn’t sure he trusts some of these members, fearing they might be German spies.

When Edward discovers that he can’t blow up the bridge without their help, Edward and Marina form passionate friendship, unusual in the troublesome times they live in. But someone is spilling secrets. Are Edward’s suspicions right and someone in their group a spy?

I loved Marina, the third book in the Heirs of Anton series. It was non-stop action from the get-go, drawing the reader into the story completely and holding attention to the end. Edward is a wonderful hero, considerate to others, though sometimes I wondered how he stayed alive as long as he did because he didn’t seem to be very observant. Marina is a loveable heroine, bonding with her unborn child and yet fighting for her survival in a war time situation. I had to admire her grit.

The first book in the series, Ekaterina, is set in the present day. This is followed by Nadia, set in the 1970s, and Marina, set in the 1940s. The ending of Marina is sad, and if you have read Nadia, as I have, you will know the sad ending is coming. However, it still bothered me when it did. A chapter of the next book in the series Oksana is included at the end of Marina. I would like to start over with this series, but read them backwards so the timeline will go forward instead of backwards. Still, this is a great story. $12.95. 287 pages.