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Sisters of the Storm: Don’t miss this emotional and heart-warming World War II novel, based on true events – brand new in 2026!
Not yet published
Expected 8 Dec 26From the USA Today bestselling author of Sisters of War, this is a heart-stopping story of lost love, family drama, resilience and courage in World War II – perfect for fans of Heather Morris, Mandy Robotham and Kate Quinn. Pre-order now!
'Kortchik has penned a raw, unflinching account of wartime survival.' Susan Meissner
Albania, 1943. When US Army nurses and identical twins Andrea and Nicole find themselves stranded in a remote area of the war-torn country, their only route to safety is a perilous trek through the mountains with the Germans on their tail.
On the long and risky journey, the treacherous conditions push both of them – and Andrea’s marriage – to the limits.
When a chance encounter brings Darren, Nicole’s first love, back into their lives, a long-held secret threatens to tear the sisters apart. As the enemy moves ever closer and the danger continues to mount, will the chance to rebuild their relationship be lost forever?
Readers love Lana Kortchik
‘Absolutely wonderful! I recommend all Lana’s books, but I believe this one is my favourite and her best yet! TEN STARS!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘This book packs a powerful punch… [it] makes your heart soar with every flight, pound in every battle, and break with every loss.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘A story I won’t be forgetting any time soon… I highly recommend this book.’⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Beautiful novel. Loved the way it is written. The characters and the era are well portrayed, wrapped in the history of WWII.’⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Lana Kortchik has a great writing style and the historical elements were everything that I was hoping for.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'Kortchik has penned a raw, unflinching account of wartime survival.' Susan Meissner
Albania, 1943. When US Army nurses and identical twins Andrea and Nicole find themselves stranded in a remote area of the war-torn country, their only route to safety is a perilous trek through the mountains with the Germans on their tail.
On the long and risky journey, the treacherous conditions push both of them – and Andrea’s marriage – to the limits.
When a chance encounter brings Darren, Nicole’s first love, back into their lives, a long-held secret threatens to tear the sisters apart. As the enemy moves ever closer and the danger continues to mount, will the chance to rebuild their relationship be lost forever?
Readers love Lana Kortchik
‘Absolutely wonderful! I recommend all Lana’s books, but I believe this one is my favourite and her best yet! TEN STARS!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘This book packs a powerful punch… [it] makes your heart soar with every flight, pound in every battle, and break with every loss.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘A story I won’t be forgetting any time soon… I highly recommend this book.’⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Beautiful novel. Loved the way it is written. The characters and the era are well portrayed, wrapped in the history of WWII.’⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
‘Lana Kortchik has a great writing style and the historical elements were everything that I was hoping for.’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
288 pages, Paperback
Expected publication December 8, 2026
About the author
Lana Kortchik
10 books460 followersLana Kortchik grew up in two opposite corners of the Soviet Union – the snow-white Siberian town of Tomsk and the golden-domed Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. At the age of sixteen, she moved to Australia with her mother. Lana and her family live on the Central Coast of NSW, where it never snows and is always summer-warm.
Lana studied IT at university and, as a student, wrote poetry in Russian that she hid from everyone. For over a decade after graduating, she worked as a computer programmer. When she returned to university to complete her history degree, her favourite lecturer encouraged her to write fiction. She hasn’t looked back, and never goes anywhere without her favourite pen because you never know when the inspiration might strike.
Lana’s short stories appeared in many magazines and anthologies, and she was the winner of the Historical Novel Society Autumn 2012 Short Fiction competition. She is the author of USA Today bestsellers Sisters of War and Daughters of the Resistance, published by HQ Stories, an imprint of Harper Collins UK.
Lana also writes psychological thrillers under the pen name of Lana Newton.
To find out more, please visit http://www.lanakortchik.com.
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lanakortchik
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/lanakortchik
Lana studied IT at university and, as a student, wrote poetry in Russian that she hid from everyone. For over a decade after graduating, she worked as a computer programmer. When she returned to university to complete her history degree, her favourite lecturer encouraged her to write fiction. She hasn’t looked back, and never goes anywhere without her favourite pen because you never know when the inspiration might strike.
Lana’s short stories appeared in many magazines and anthologies, and she was the winner of the Historical Novel Society Autumn 2012 Short Fiction competition. She is the author of USA Today bestsellers Sisters of War and Daughters of the Resistance, published by HQ Stories, an imprint of Harper Collins UK.
Lana also writes psychological thrillers under the pen name of Lana Newton.
To find out more, please visit http://www.lanakortchik.com.
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/lanakortchik
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/lanakortchik
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 23, 2026
I love historical fiction and I really enjoyed reading this story based around Albania from both of the sisters perspective. I hadn’t read anything by this author before and I enjoyed that there are alternating chapters told by each sister, and that there were flashbacks to before the war, which I thought was really well written. I enjoyed the storyline and the concept, and was pleased with how things were wrapped up at the end of the book.
However, I did think that the writing was a bit stop start in places and jumped around a bit so was hard to follow at times.
I am really grateful to netgalley for this ARC of the book and for having the chance to read it.
However, I did think that the writing was a bit stop start in places and jumped around a bit so was hard to follow at times.
I am really grateful to netgalley for this ARC of the book and for having the chance to read it.
August 17, 2026
Nurses and the survival during World War II
Sisters of Storm is a historical fiction novel based on a true event during World War II. It tells the story of nurses and four crew members whose plane crash-landed in Albania. They survived for 63 days, often hungry and afraid, and walked nearly 650 miles trying to escape and reach safety.
At the heart of the story are twin sisters, both nurses, who love each other deeply but are separated by the war. The book also explores romance, lost love, and the way difficult experiences can change how people see their relationships and their lives. After going through some of the worst experiences of their lives, they begin to understand what they truly want if they ever make it home.
I liked that this story focuses on people other than the soldiers fighting on the front lines. The nurses also had to deal with fear, lies, uncertainty, and the terrible consequences of war. It shows how greed and the desire for power can destroy families and take innocent lives.
Sadly, even after all these years since World War II, it sometimes feels like we still haven’t learned enough. People are still hungry for power, and innocent people continue to suffer because of it.
I have read some excellent historical fiction set during the World War II era, especially stories focused on women. This book didn’t quite reach the same level for me, but it was still an important story to tell. I appreciated learning about this true event through fictional characters and seeing a different side of the war.
Rating: 3.8/5 ⭐️
@lanakortchik @harpercollins
#historicalfiction #worldwarII #albania #truestory #bookstagrammer
https://www.instagram.com/p/DcHzgt5sN...
Sisters of Storm is a historical fiction novel based on a true event during World War II. It tells the story of nurses and four crew members whose plane crash-landed in Albania. They survived for 63 days, often hungry and afraid, and walked nearly 650 miles trying to escape and reach safety.
At the heart of the story are twin sisters, both nurses, who love each other deeply but are separated by the war. The book also explores romance, lost love, and the way difficult experiences can change how people see their relationships and their lives. After going through some of the worst experiences of their lives, they begin to understand what they truly want if they ever make it home.
I liked that this story focuses on people other than the soldiers fighting on the front lines. The nurses also had to deal with fear, lies, uncertainty, and the terrible consequences of war. It shows how greed and the desire for power can destroy families and take innocent lives.
Sadly, even after all these years since World War II, it sometimes feels like we still haven’t learned enough. People are still hungry for power, and innocent people continue to suffer because of it.
I have read some excellent historical fiction set during the World War II era, especially stories focused on women. This book didn’t quite reach the same level for me, but it was still an important story to tell. I appreciated learning about this true event through fictional characters and seeing a different side of the war.
Rating: 3.8/5 ⭐️
@lanakortchik @harpercollins
#historicalfiction #worldwarII #albania #truestory #bookstagrammer
https://www.instagram.com/p/DcHzgt5sN...
July 16, 2026
Easy ready but anti-climatic.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Sisters Of The Storm by Lana Korchik is a powerful World War II novel that I just couldn’t put down.
The reader joins twin sisters, both of whom are nurses, doing their bit for the war effort. The plane carrying them across Albania crashes and the book tells of their fight to survive in enemy-occupied land. They are befriended by partisans and by the people of Albania who are kind, sharing what little they had. “You stay in my house, you are family.” The Albanian people were kindness personified. “What they lacked in material possessions, they more than made up with unconditional love.” With no thought to personal safety, they helped the crashed Americans. “Every step of the way, they were met with kindness. They were welcomed by strangers like they were family.”
We learn about the daughters lives before the war. “Marrying his daughters off was a business deal for their father.” A daughter is cast out when she marries the man of her dreams, who turns out to be a nightmare.
We witness domestic abuse. It’s not always punches; it can be words. “Since they got married, there was a voice inside her head that sounded just like his, hissing and angry and terrifying, telling her she wasn’t good enough or smart enough.” A character believed the lies her husband spoke over her, and is determined not to be that person again. “One of these days I need to stop making excuses for him.” It takes guts to stand up to her husband, and to refuse to be brow-beaten any longer.
You never forget your first love. Although miles from home, there is a chance meeting for a couple who vow never to be parted again.
There is much fear in war. “What scared Nicole the most wasn’t the war or the explosions or the Nazis in pursuit. Her greatest fear was not coming home to her boy.” The hope of being reunited with her son is the impetus that pushes her forwards.
We witness the bonds between twins as they support each other through it all.
Sisters Of The Storm is fiction but based on facts. I thoroughly enjoyed the tale and will leave you with my favourite quote:
“Despite the war and the suffering and the darkness… The world was still a beautiful place… There was kindness everywhere.”
I received a free copy from the publishers. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.
The reader joins twin sisters, both of whom are nurses, doing their bit for the war effort. The plane carrying them across Albania crashes and the book tells of their fight to survive in enemy-occupied land. They are befriended by partisans and by the people of Albania who are kind, sharing what little they had. “You stay in my house, you are family.” The Albanian people were kindness personified. “What they lacked in material possessions, they more than made up with unconditional love.” With no thought to personal safety, they helped the crashed Americans. “Every step of the way, they were met with kindness. They were welcomed by strangers like they were family.”
We learn about the daughters lives before the war. “Marrying his daughters off was a business deal for their father.” A daughter is cast out when she marries the man of her dreams, who turns out to be a nightmare.
We witness domestic abuse. It’s not always punches; it can be words. “Since they got married, there was a voice inside her head that sounded just like his, hissing and angry and terrifying, telling her she wasn’t good enough or smart enough.” A character believed the lies her husband spoke over her, and is determined not to be that person again. “One of these days I need to stop making excuses for him.” It takes guts to stand up to her husband, and to refuse to be brow-beaten any longer.
You never forget your first love. Although miles from home, there is a chance meeting for a couple who vow never to be parted again.
There is much fear in war. “What scared Nicole the most wasn’t the war or the explosions or the Nazis in pursuit. Her greatest fear was not coming home to her boy.” The hope of being reunited with her son is the impetus that pushes her forwards.
We witness the bonds between twins as they support each other through it all.
Sisters Of The Storm is fiction but based on facts. I thoroughly enjoyed the tale and will leave you with my favourite quote:
“Despite the war and the suffering and the darkness… The world was still a beautiful place… There was kindness everywhere.”
I received a free copy from the publishers. A favourable review was not required. All opinions are my own.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Sisters of the Storm is based on a true event, but it was new to me. The story begins in November of 1943 with a nail-biting, terrifying flight carrying a team of American nurses and medics to Bari, Italy, where they intend to pick up the most seriously wounded soldiers for medical evacuation. The weather is violent, tossing the plane around, when the Luftwaffe attacks them and ultimately forces them to crash in Albania. Miraculously, not a single life was lost, but they are in Nazi-occupied territory, and woefully unprepared for survival in brutal winter conditions in the mountains. The story is told through the voices of identical twins, Andrea and Nicole, nurses from Detroit. Andrea's husband, Brian, a flight surgeon, is part of this team too. Told with flashbacks, we slowly learn about their lives in Detroit. Many readers will recognize the signs of domestic abuse and victimization by a controlling husband. I found the descriptions of Albanian culture fascinating. The generosity of strangers, sharing what little they had with the Americans, warmed my soul. My favorite characters were Gina, the leader of the Albanian partisans, who took the Americans under his wing, and Agnesa, the kindly grandmother in Berat. I cried when she gave Nicole the kitchen towel with a map of Albania she had embroidered, so Nicole wouldn't forget her. I also loved that Andrea's comfort book was Anna Karenina, which she kept with her at all times. Sisters of the Storm is everything I love about well-written historical fiction: the opportunity to painlessly learn new information and to feel what it was like to live through it. I'm grateful to Lana Kortchik for her research on this little-known event and her gifted writing skills, which allowed me to vicariously visit Albania.
My thanks to NetGalley and HQ Digital for the opportunity to read this ARC. This review and all opinions are entirely my own.
My thanks to NetGalley and HQ Digital for the opportunity to read this ARC. This review and all opinions are entirely my own.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Twin sisters serving as Army nurses on the frontlines of WWII when their plane is shot down and the end up in Nazi occupied Albania their lives, and relationships are put to the test. Andrea is serving with her twin sister, and surgeon husband what more can she wish for. While so many have had to leave their families behind to serve she has everyone she loves the most with her. So, why isn't she happy? Why doesn't her husband act like the devoted man she thought she knew and what would her sister do if she knew the secret she has been harboring for years?
Nicole was happy to go to the front and serve with her sister. Leaving her beautiful boy Leon behind was the worst but at least she is helping. The loveless marriage she left behind is certainly no reason to stay behind. But when her first true love Darren shows back up in her life she feels for the first time that things may actually be changing. That her life may actually be hers again. But when Nazi's invade the town they are hiding in will either of them survive?
I found this novel interesting. WWII is one of my favorite subject areas to read about, and I have never read a book where so many of the female characters where wives and mothers who have left behind their loved ones to serve and protect others. I have also never read a book set in occupied Albania. Seeing the Albanias struggling with occupation and civil war helping those they could was heart warming and sweet.
Nicole was happy to go to the front and serve with her sister. Leaving her beautiful boy Leon behind was the worst but at least she is helping. The loveless marriage she left behind is certainly no reason to stay behind. But when her first true love Darren shows back up in her life she feels for the first time that things may actually be changing. That her life may actually be hers again. But when Nazi's invade the town they are hiding in will either of them survive?
I found this novel interesting. WWII is one of my favorite subject areas to read about, and I have never read a book where so many of the female characters where wives and mothers who have left behind their loved ones to serve and protect others. I have also never read a book set in occupied Albania. Seeing the Albanias struggling with occupation and civil war helping those they could was heart warming and sweet.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Sisters of the Storm is based on a new to me true story. The story begins in November of 1943 with a terrifying flight carrying a team of American nurses and medics to Bari, Italy, where they intend to pick up the most seriously wounded soldiers for medical evacuation. The weather was bad causing the plane to crash in Albania. This story is told through the voices of identical twins, Andrea and Nicole, nurses from Detroit. Andrea's husband, Brian, a flight surgeon, is also part of the crew. We learn thru flashbacks that Andrea and Brian’s relationship is not the best, and there are signs of domestic abuse. Throughout the book the generosity of strangers, sharing what little they had with the Americans made me smile. Overall I found the writing of this book to clunky and not well polished. I liked the story and concept, but thought the writing could be improved.
My thanks to NetGalley and HQ Digital for the opportunity to read this ARC. This review and all opinions are entirely my own.
My thanks to NetGalley and HQ Digital for the opportunity to read this ARC. This review and all opinions are entirely my own.
April 30, 2026
A very moving story
Sisters of the Storm is based on a actual event from World War II. It is a story of a plane load of medical personnel and others surviving in Albania after their plane is attacked by Nazi aircraft and has to land. It is also the story of two sisters and their experiences while trying to survive the harsh conditions and deal with their own personal conflicts and emotions. It is a really good story.
Sisters of the Storm is based on a actual event from World War II. It is a story of a plane load of medical personnel and others surviving in Albania after their plane is attacked by Nazi aircraft and has to land. It is also the story of two sisters and their experiences while trying to survive the harsh conditions and deal with their own personal conflicts and emotions. It is a really good story.
Review of advance copy received from Author
This book is amazing! I literally stayed up most of the night reading it, I literally couldn't put it down. An unbelievable story based on actual events. I loved all of the characters, the hardships they faced, the strength and courage of the Albanian people who risked their lives to assist these strangers and love between the two sisters. This is a definite must read for lovers of historical fiction.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I really enjoyed the book it certainly had everything romance and also sad bits and intrigue.
It was wonderful how the book ebbed and flowed also it was about discovering whether one of the main characters felt about their marriage whether she was happy in it. I also liked the ending did not expect that and was so good and wonderful.
It was well written and researched as the events were based on a true story.
It was wonderful how the book ebbed and flowed also it was about discovering whether one of the main characters felt about their marriage whether she was happy in it. I also liked the ending did not expect that and was so good and wonderful.
It was well written and researched as the events were based on a true story.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Two sisters caught in a perilous situation in World War Two when their plane crashes in Albania. Based on a true story, the novel follows the plight of two sisters as they make their way across enemy occupied territory to reach safety. The book has compelling characters with real insights into Albanian culture. This is a gripping read and most enjoyable. Thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy.
June 10, 2026
Way too much fluff about their past life Just would have liked the story but skimmed thru a lot of it to get to the ending
June 10, 2026
so good
Couldn’t stop reading this book. Wasn’t disappointed with the ending. Very good reading. Would highly recommend it to any one!
Couldn’t stop reading this book. Wasn’t disappointed with the ending. Very good reading. Would highly recommend it to any one!
August 12, 2026
Another WWII story with interesting story line and a happy ending.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews