This is the story of resistance fighter Antonia, her sister Lena, Lena's sons, and Antonia s fiancee Viktor as they are captured by the Nazis and try to escape. Antonia wonders what happened to Viktor and tries to find her way back to him and see if he alive.

I liked this because it was told from a Ukrainian perspective of the war which I have not read before along with the angle of the Russians to the Germans. .You care about these characters and will.route for them..Highly recommend.

In 1941, Antonia a university professor in Lviv in Western Ukraine was also a part of the clandestine Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, fighting to preserve her country's culture and traditions. She along with other members published a newspaper called Our Nation's Voice in defiance of the Soviet regime. When Germany invaded Ukraine, they collaborated with the Nazis against the Soviets. But instead, they fell right into the hands of an enemy from another's. After hiding and running from the Nazis and Soviets for a long time Antonia and her sister's family were eventually captured by Nazis and thrown into the labour camp.

The Woman at the Gates would resonate with the reader as Chrystyna has borrowed from her own family history and experiences to weave a story of struggle, hardships and loss. Real-life events add authenticity to her narrative. Antonia's character is of a strong-minded woman who wants to have an independent identity for her country. She endured everything thrown at her but stood strong in her beliefs and came out as resilient as ever and a survivor. This book gave me an insight into Ukraine's struggle for independence and a new perspective about World War II. My concern with the book is that it was extremely slow and there are a plethora of characters whom you can easily lose track of. It took a lot of time to build up the story. All in all an informative read.

I have a long fascination with Eastern Europe. So many of the borders were configured and reconfigured incessantly over centuries, I’ve noticed more books and novels are being published about the Ukrainian experience during WWII. They provide valuable insight into the plight of a people who struggled from two no-resort, Stalin and Hitler. The Woman at the Gates is an excellent novel. The author does a good job presenting the characters and the passion for independence and stamina. My favorite was Ivan. He is a hero and withstood many trials and was rewarded in the end. The novel has a resounding message about the value of freedom, no matter what the time frame.

I’m not sure that I’ve ever read a Word War 2 novel written from a Ukrainian perspective before. Although a work of fiction, it is based on real life experiences and is thought-provoking, harrowing and at times, horrific story.
A tremendous amount of research, in depth conversation and thought has gone into putting this novel together. A march across Europe that never becomes less than an exhausting ordeal for even so much as one moment.
It is quite difficult to read, so many place names and characters to get to know and a little bit of light amongst the dark shade, may have helped the story to zip along. Even writing these comments, seems close to belittling the journey that these characters went on and it is a novel that needed to be written and deserves to be read.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bookoutre for providing me with an Advance Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

This novel opens in summer 1945 at Castle Neubeuern, Bavaria where Antonia Kozak, her sister, Lena, and her two nephews, Konstantin and Nestor, are living in a displaced persons camp set up by the British after the war.

Then it flashes back to Lviv, Ukraine in 1942, where Antonia is a university professor. Ivan and Oksana Kovalenko, students of hers, and Viktor Gruber form a resistance group to save their country from the pull of the Red Army and Nazi Germany. As circumstances would have it, Antonia is forced to transition from fighter to survivor when she and her family are caught and sent to a labour camp.

Based on true stories, inspired by real events and real people, this is a unique look at WW2 from a Ukrainian family’s perspective. This epic journey chronicles the author’s family as they leave their homeland in 1942 and ends with their arrival in New Jersey in the 1950s as Ukrainian refugees from Germany. Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger recorded her oral family history more than 25 years ago and was encouraged to pen their journey. Her paternal grandparents are represented as Roman and Lena Mazur, and her great aunt, Antonina Remenet’ska, is the woman at the gate. Castle Neubeuern is where the author’s father (Konstantin in this story) and his family spent the first years of post WW2 in a Displaced Persons camp.

Because these characters are based on real people, it was easy to become fully invested in them. The author’s personal connection gave them life on the page. I really longed for their safety and ached at the torture and hardship they endured. The author successfully makes readers aware of the dangers of living in Ukraine at this time. I felt the tension of lives lived in constant fear of the secret police, of being caught, or of simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

You’ll need to read this story to find out how the author’s grandfather’s artistic talents helped to save his family in 1944.

Publishes September 2, 2021.

I was gifted this advance copy by Chrystyne Lucyk-Berger, Bookouture and NetGalley and was under no obligation to provide a review.

A powerful story set during World war 2 featuring Ukrainian Resistance fighters and their tug of war battle with the Russians and Germans. A story of love, loss and great courage in the face of adversity, this well written/researched story will appeal to hIstorical fiction readers. My grateful thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

As a big fan of historical fiction, especially in the World War 2 era, this book centralizes on Ukrainian Nationalists. The author perfectly writes about love surrounding the war. Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger's the Woman at the Gate - a story of resistance fighters in the Ukraine trying to save a country they love while caught in between Russia and Germany. All the characters are well-developed and the story plot well-written, I highly recommend it!

4-5 stars.

In the summer of 1945 in Castle Neubeuern in Bavaria, Antonia Kozak and her nephews Konstantin and Nestor recall the taste of apricots and cherries from their homeland. They, along with many others including Lena, Antonia's sister, are now Displaced Persons, a cacophony of different accents buzzing around them in this British camp. The novel then backtracks to Lviv, Ukraine in 1942 where Antonia is a University Professor. She, along with some university students, Ivan and Oksana Kovalenko and Viktor Gruber are members of a clandestine organisation of Ukrainian nationalists. Their one desire is to free their country from its never ending rule by a series of foreign invaders. This amazing saga is based on fact and the characters are composites of real ones which makes the narrative resonate even more.

First of all, I have never had to live under a foreign yoke and you can only offer sympathy and empathy to those who have or are. Right from the start the writing captures the never ending tensions, the ever present danger of the Soviet Union, secret police everywhere and the constant vigilance required as you don’t always know who your enemies are. The courage and bravery of these patriots is depicted very clearly and they are caught between a rock and a hard place once the Nazi invasion occurs from June of 1941. Antonia and many others have to survive and endure so much, torture by the SS for example, as well as deep personal losses. Your heart sinks on several occasions as this band of Ukrainians move around the fighting with one enemy against another. It becomes gripping, a story of such tragedy, a life of the uncertainty of exchanging one master for another equally ruthless one and moving to avoid the wrong groups. It’s the death of dreams, it shows all the political machinations, the deprivation and tragedy of war, the heartbreaking cruelty and fear. You become completely invested in the characters and hope against hope for their survival. The post war difficulties are clearly depicted with the changing political landscape as the threat of Stalin is perceived, the lines drawn on maps and resulting displaced people.

Overall, it’s an emotional, powerful, heart rending story of love and loss, a quest for freedom which demonstrates enormous courage, resilience and resistance. It’s well written and very detailed which helps with the historical context and the bigger picture. If you like historical fiction and especially those set in the Second World War then this is well worth reading.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Bookouture for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Sadly after 10 days if trying I can't get into The Woman At The Gates and have had to admit defeat.

It is well enough written and the characters are likeable, I just can't get hooked into the story.

As a lover of WW11 books this book tells the story of the Ukranian Resistance Fighters fight to save their country from the Germans and Russians in a very emotional story.5*

The Woman at the Gate, by Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger, is a gripping WWII story of Ukrainian resistance fighters’ brave efforts to save the soul of their homeland when they are caught up in a deadly tug-of-war between Russia and Germany. Exhaustively researched, beautifully written, and filled with a cast of memorable characters, Lucyk-Berger’s novel delivers a heart-wrenching tale of sacrifice, courage, and the unbreakable bonds of friendship and love in the face of unimaginable danger. Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of The Woman at the Gate in exchange for my honest review. I will be thinking about this book for a long time to come.

I am a huge fan of WWII fiction and have read many stories from many different angles. This one was different in that it included more technical details of the Ukrainian Nationalists. Still the element of love and all the true horrors prevalent in this genre, but also a devotion to a cause that continued beyond the love story. I highly recommend this to anyone who wants to incorporate knowledge and hope into their reading.

Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger writes of love, courage and selflessness during the horrors of war. She recounts in merciless detail the loss of a homeland, but also the persistence of humanity to survive the darkest of times. This is a beautiful and haunting book.
The emotional core of the story is fixed with friendship and love but also brutality and tragedy. The setting is Ukraine, sandwiched between the horrors of Stalin's Red Army and Hitler's Nazi murderers. Ukraine has a past we should never forget and a future we should all help guarantee is free of foreign intervention.
Love in perilous circumstances has never been evoked better than in this extraordinary novel.

Gripped me from the first page… Tearful at times, but equally filled with joy at others… I really enjoyed this book and once started I found it difficult to put it down!… A beautiful, intricately woven story, so charming!
Would definitely recommend!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

<b>Note:</b> I received an advanced copy of this book from Bookouture via NetGalley.

1944, Germany: Gazing through the barbed wire fence, up at the pale blue sky, Antonia dreams of her home in Ukraine: cherry orchards, golden fields, and the man she loves, whom she may never see again…

The Nazi soldier thrust the barrel of his gun between Antonia’s shoulder blades and she stumbled, still clutching the hand of her youngest nephew. Her sister lifted her other little boy into the back of the truck. Under the threatening gaze of the Germans, Antonia looked back at the village one last time before the flap dropped and locked them all in total darkness.

Before Antonia and her sister's family were surrounded by the Gestapo and sent to a concentration camp, she was a fighter rather than a victim. Her resistance group - made up of the young men and women she’d grown up with - risked everything to free their country from those who had turned it into a bloody battleground. By her side was the brilliant Dr. Viktor Gruber - the man she was to have married and help start an independent government with. His love and his intellect shone like a light even when dark and violent conflicts engulfed them.

Antonia does not know whether Viktor or the others have been caught or executed. Inside the camp, rumors are that the war is coming to an end. But she cannot wait to be saved. Her precious nephews will die without proper food. Her sister is ill. And her brother-in-law is somewhere out of reach. The Nazis need every able slave to push back the Red Tide, but Antonia also knows she and the others could be killed for any reason, at any moment.

Outside the gates lies salvation and promises she must fulfill - for her country and the people she has loved. But Antonia's first priority is to find a way to get her family to safety, even if means putting her own life at risk. The Nazis may have taken nearly everything from her - her country, her dreams, her passions - but they will never take away her fierce courage…

Overall the story was pretty slow to get through. The characters were well developed though and I did connect with a lot of them. The story itself was not exactly what I was imagining from the description but the reader did get a lot of background and history surrounding Antonia and her cause.