The Sniper's Kiss

I loved it! Saracen's stories continue to captivate the mind in her telling. The Romance and Historical pairing of events throughout her books bring to life places, events and people you may or may not have heard of before and in so doing transports the reader to the same places, making you feel a part of the story and bringing you closer to the characters. I truly enjoy the historical aspects of the stories and recommend them to people I know, as I love discussing the "what if" of the thrillers. Great Read.

Reviewed by Anja Schindler

Although my preference for wartime stories tends to lean toward the 1914-1918 conflicts, there’s a lot of excellent lesbian fiction out there set during the Second World War. I’m also a great fan of Justine Saracen, no matter what era or location she writes in, so this book was pretty much an auto-read for me. Throw in the complications of a relationship between a Russian and an American – from countries technically on the same side, but with very different political outlooks in so many ways – and you can see why I was very excited indeed about the prospect of this story.

Mia Kramer is the American-born daughter of Russian immigrants, who has been brought up by her father and brother since the death of her mother. When her father dies as a result of a drunken fall from a rooftop, Mia falls under suspicion due to both her turbulent upbringing and the gossip spreading that she and her father were having affairs with the same married woman. Cleared of all charges, Mia takes full advantage of the possibilities opened up by the war in Europe to apply for a government job in Washington. She is soon noticed by one of the President’s advisors and moves again, this time to live and work in the White House where her knowledge of the Russian language and her ability to think quickly and logically are much in demand.

Also facing upheaval and the chance of previously unimagined opportunities due to the war is Alexia Mazarova, a schoolteacher and loyal member of the Communist Party. Having seen too many of her neighbours killed and their homes and businesses destroyed, she decides to join the army sas a combatant, rather than in a non-lethal role, much to the disappointment of the old priest she regards as a friend. Alexia’s striking looks lead to her selection for the Kremiln’s Honour Guard, and that posting leads to her path first crossing that of Mia, who is acting as translator on a diplomatic mission.

Mia and her bosses suspect that supplies the Americans are sending to Russia are being diverted to the black market, with the proceeds lining the pockets of unscrupulous members of the supply chain. Mia sets out to investigate, though not without a degree of flirtation between her and Alexia, which ends when Mia’s party returns to the States and Alexia requests a transfer to the front.

On a return visit to Moscow, Mia’s expressed suspicions raise those of the culprits, and she is snatched from the street and taken away to be disposed of in a staged ‘accident.’ Fate intervenes, however, and Mia finds herself flung into the same warzone Alexia is fighting in. Mia joins Alexia’s group under an assumed name and with false papers, but the pair will face many adventures and separations before the war is over and they can begin to consider whether either woman’s home country will offer a permanent welcome to the other.

This book was a truly thrilling read from beginning to end with just enough real history interspersed amongst the fictional exploits of the two women and their compatriots to ground it in the period. One that I may have to track down in print, I think.

Reviewed by Sandra Marlow

‘The Sniper’s Kiss’ is an epic tale of one woman’s love for another and what she is willing to go through to be with her. It is a beautiful love story between two characters that pulled at my heart strings. Mia is American and works for the White House during World War 2. When she is sent to the Soviet Union to investigate the lend-lease programme she meets Alexia, a stunning Kremlin guard. One kiss is all it took to change their lives. The adventure they both end up living takes place among famous figures of history such as FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hicks, Stalin and Churchill. Justine Saracen has researched this period so well and her writing made me feel as if I was there amongst the noises, smells and tragedies of war. A truly fantastic book that I highly recommend.

Reviewed by Karen McIntosh

I'm going to start with a disclaimer that I'm a huge, unabashed and hopelessly addicted fan of historically accurate lesbian romances. I'd snap up in an instant any halfway decent book that gets published in this teeny, tiny sub-genre of lesfic. So tiny that the only consistent producer of it that I know of is Justine Saracen.

The author has a distinctive style. Expect high adventure (since she has a particular fascination with women in wars, it often turns out to be misadventure ;)). Expect historical figures (or religious/mythological ones, when she strays into religion) to figure into the story. Expect our leading ladies being dropped into the thick of the action in actual historical events. And best of all, expect a happy ending. I worship a couple of historical fics (Code Name Verity and The Nightingale) because they are just so damn well-written, but alas, I could never bring myself to re-read them, because..well, they broke my heart! And while I appreciate a good, one-week cry (yep, the books were that good!), the idea of going through that again and again... my heart couldn't take it. Anyway...I'm digressing. So, the bottom line is, Saracen will put the lead characters through the wringer, both physical and emotional (but especially physical!). She'll do everything humanly (and inhumanly) possible to break them, torture them, starve them, and basically, whatever crazy people actually did to women before. But no matter how bleak and how desperate it becomes, she's gonna pull back from the brink and pull out a HEA from her rabbit's hat of tricks. It's a comfort and safety I trust in. Sort of like being a helplessly tied-up sub in a bdsm scene...lol.

So...how's the book? Typical Saracen. If you know her style. More action than introspection. Some name-dropping, or more accurately, encounters with historical figures from the past. The fun there is trying to figure out who's fact and who's fiction...without cheating with google or turning to her usual glossary at the end. As always, it's a fascinating, 'what would they have been like close-up', behind-the-scenes look at famous names. In this aspect, the book is a departure from the usual Saracen because she goes all-out. Unlike her previous plots where her lead characters move in relatively obscure circles and occasionally encounter a big name, the author placed the main character Mia Kramer, right smack into the inner circle of wartime US President FDR, and dropped her thick into wartime negotiations with the Soviets. So she has close encounters with three world leaders (FDR, Stalin, Churchill), a feisty first lady (Eleanor) and her bff, and some other White House insiders. It's a daring plot, no doubt. The initial setup could have been done better. But I grew to love how she connected the incredibly tricky and convoluted dots. Not all of it worked flawlessly. Some eye-roll moments and the occasional plot hole. But overall, it was a wild and wonderful way to bring Mia from the inner sanctums of power AND then throw her into the trenches with the lowliest troops. It's a huge stretch that was both fantastical yet plausible. And the journey both ways made for really entertaining theater, not to mention a fascinating historical trip back in time to one of Russia's darkest moments. Throw in the bonus love story and I'm in lesfic heaven.

Mia Kramer is one of a number of Russian immigrants who, upon reaching the shores of the US before the war, had their names changed to Americanized versions. She's an accountant by profession. Bored in her shoe company job and hardly able to stand her domineering father and an ill-advised affair with a married woman, Mia high-tails it out of town and goes for where all the action is: Washington DC. Volunteering for FDR's campaign gets her a toehold into the sanctums of power. But it's her Russian-speaking skills that ultimately land her the big gig, being assistant to FDR's negotiator with the Russians. Her trips with him to Russia brings her into visual contact with a gorgeous and alluring Stalin guard, the epitome of a classic Russian beauty. Mia can only admire from afar, of course. But an unfortunate turn of events (fortunate for us!) for Mia finds the two stuck in some of the worst and certainly deadliest moments in Russian times. The rest, as they say, is history....

I'm not as big a fan of history as I am a fan of reading about the people behind the headlines. Even in high school, the footnotes about historical figures always made far more interesting reading for me than the text itself. Saracen takes her research into little known events about big people, and big events involving little people, and weaves these magical tales around them. And it all feels so real because they're grounded in reality--they actually happened...to someone, to maybe a number of people. But they did happen. And that's what I love most about Saracen's books. This one fits the bill perfectly, if you're looking for a realistic look at a dark and largely forgotten time in Russian history, about some amazing women who went through hell (and maybe a few who made it back to talk about it), but can't be bothered to pick up a history book or wouldn't know where to look. There's action galore, politics, intrigues, some romance, and lots of amazing women snipers.

Reviewed by Allison Never

Justine Saracen writing is very in-depth. You know going into them they are superbly well researched and you most likely will be a bit smarter by the time you finish. Saracen’s attention to detail and an inclusion of historical facts in her novels, help make the stories and characters riveting.

Mia Kramer immigrated to the United States as a young girl. Mia, 29, comes into the story with a lot of baggage. She was raised by an emotionally abusive father, upon his highly questionable death, (was it murder or suicide), Mia takes control over her life and flees her father’s home to work for the government to support the war effort. Her vast knowledge the Russian language and culture ends her a prime job as an accountant for the Lend-Lease program under Harry Hopkins and right inside the Whitehouse.

The other main player in the book is Alexia Vassilievna Mazarova. A former teacher, Alexia enlists in the Red Army to help her country anyway she can. Striking good looks leads her to a plush assignment guarding the Kremlin and or course, Joseph Stalin. This is how she meets the Mia, and they strike up an unlikely friendship.

This book is a fascinating tale of history and relationship’s born out of horrifying circumstances. A historical fiction with just a hint of romance...overall this was a fantastic read.

Reviewed by Tiff Johnston