En 1942, después de la invasión alemana a la Unión Soviética, se formó un escuadrón compuesto exclusivamente por mujeres. Bautizadas como las Brujas de la Noche, se convirtieron en uno de los grupos más temidos por el Ejército alemán durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
Año 2000. Los restos de un avión de combate de la Segunda Guerra Mundial aparecen en un bosque cerca de la frontera entre Ucrania y Rusia. El avión pertenecía a Natalia Azarova, una de las Brujas de la Noche. Pero su actual paradero sigue sin respuesta. ¿Era realmente una espía alemana que fingió su propia muerte, como afirma el Kremlin? Su amante, Valentín Orlov, ahora un general condecorado, se niega a creerlo.
Lily, una joven australiana, se traslada a Moscú en 2001. Allí descubrirá toda la verdad sobre Natalia Azarova.

Sapphire Skies by Belinda Alexandra is a historical fiction novel loosely based on the life of Russian female fighter pilot, Lydia Litvyak, who disappeared in combat and was denied the distinction of being labelled a hero of the Soviet Union until her body was discovered in the late 1970s. This novel jumps back in forth in time, to Natalya who become a fighter pilot and battles the Germans in Russian skies, to the year 2000 and to Australian Lily, daughter of Russian refugees who has come to Moscow to work and meets a derelict old woman and her dog.

Overall the story is quite touching and although I thought there were far too many sub-plots, I did enjoy my read of this book. In particular the information about the terror and uncertainties of living under the control Joseph Stalin. The story was well researched and did a good job of covering both time periods and I was happy to learn that the modern day plot about the cat-rescue operations is based on a real life organization called Moscow Animals.

Sapphire Skies was the first book by Belinda Alexandra that I have read and I look forward to picking up more of her interesting historical romance books. ( )

2000: The wreckage of World War II Soviet pilot Natalya Azarova is found in the forests near Russia’s Ukrainian border, but there are no remains. Australian women Lily is now living in Moscow, rescuing cats and trying to rebuild her life after her husband's death. When she helps an elderly woman, she is fascinated to learn that she knows the truth of Natalya's story. This is certainly a sweeping saga and provides much insight into the evil that was Stalin, the horror of Germany's concentration camps, and the shocking acts by the Russians upon their countrymen after the liberation of those camps. The story slips back in forth in time with a strong female main character and doesn't hide the brutality of war. Well done! ( )