Guest Post: The Girl with the Silver Star by Rachel Zolotov

Please join me in welcoming Rachel Zolotov to Let Them Read Books! Rachel is celebrating the release of her debut historical novel, The Girl with the Silver Star, and I'm thrilled to have her here today with a guest post about the inspiration for the novel: her own family's harrowing history. Read on and grab the Kindle copy for only $2.99!

For the readers of The Nightingale and Lilac Girls, inspired by the true story of the author’s great-grandmother’s journey during World War II, The Girl with the Silver Star is the extraordinary story of a mother’s love and will to survive during one of history’s darkest time periods.

As a hailstorm of bombs begins to shatter the city of Minsk in Belarus, Raisa and her family run through the darkness of night to take cover. When Raisa, Abraham, and their daughters, Luba and Sofia, emerge from the bomb shelter, they find an unfamiliar city before them; chaos and terror burn in every direction. Fearing for their lives, they must leave at once to find the rest of their family. But before they are able to escape, Abraham is conscripted into the Russian Army and the family is forced to part ways. Raisa’s love and strength are put to the ultimate test as she finds herself on her own with her two young daughters in tow. How will she manage alone without her soulmate by her side?

Relying on hope, resourcefulness and courage, they walk, hitch hike and take trains heading for Uzbekistan, over 2,500 miles from home. Along the way they run from bombs, endure starvation, and face death.

Raisa finds solace in the women around her. Her mother, sisters, old friends and new help carry her through the difficult war years, but Raisa’s longing to reunite with Abraham still rages inside her heart. Will they ever see each other again? Will Raisa and her family find their way back to their homeland?

The Girl with the Silver Star is a captivating journey through war-torn Soviet Union as it illuminates a unique part of WWII history, the female heroes. Raisa’s journey is a tribute to the nameless women, their determination, bravery, grief and unwavering love during impossible times. Their stories shouldn’t be forgotten.  

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It was early winter of 2016 and I had just finished reading The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. As I turned the last page and closed the book, I started to think back to the stories my parents had told me about by family during WWII, and I suddenly realized that I didn’t really know much about what they went through. My family is Jewish, and they lived in Minsk, Belarus – I knew there had to be more to their story than just the few details I had overheard as a child. 

As a young girl, I could be often found evading bedtime by reading historical novels and memoirs from WWII under the covers with a flashlight. This fascination didn’t stop in adulthood, so how was it that I barely knew anything about my own family’s past?

I picked up the phone and called my mother, on a mission to find out more. I had my notebook ready to scrawl down all the details. A few minutes later, I had a page of notes, but barely any more information than I had already known. My mother explained that they didn’t talk about those times much. For obvious reasons, it was too painful of a memory to relive. There was, however, one detail that I didn’t already know. My great-grandmother Raisa and her two girls, Luba (my grandmother) and Sofia, evacuated to Uzbekistan during the war.

I was having a hard time imagining how many countless miles it took to get from Minsk to Tashkent. After a quick search, I discovered how incredibly far they had to travel; over 4,000 km. That’s about the same distance as New York to San Diego. They walked some of the way, and took trains for the rest. As a mother of two girls myself, I thought about taking that journey with them under those circumstances, and couldn’t fathom how they survived such a journey. I was instantly drawn to find as many of the puzzle pieces as I could.

That was all it took. One conversation and a few hours of research later, I was inspired. I needed to know more, and thus it began, The Girl with the Silver Star.

Blog Tour Review: Salt the Snow by Carrie Callaghan

From the Back Cover:

American journalist Milly Bennett has covered murders in San Francisco, fires in Hawaii, and a civil war in China, but 1930s Moscow presents her greatest challenge yet. When her young Russian husband is suddenly arrested by the secret police, Milly tries to get him released. But his arrest reveals both painful secrets about her marriage and hard truths about the Soviet state she has been working to serve. Disillusioned and pulled toward the front lines of a captivating new conflict, Milly must find a way to do the right thing for her husband, her conscience, and her heart. Salt the Snow is a vivid and impeccably researched tale of a woman ahead of her time, searching for her true calling in life and love.

My Thoughts:

I was really looking forward to reading this book. A pioneering reporter in a dangerous locale, going up against a terrifying regime to fight for justice and save the people she loves--sign me up. But unfortunately I had some issues with this story that prevented me from loving it as I'd hoped I would.

For starters, it's got a pretty slow-moving plot. There were long stretches where I felt like not much happened, and I found myself skimming to get to the more interesting parts. I'm also not sure the dual timeline structure served the story well. There's not much distance between the timelines as they alternate between the time Milly met her husband and the aftermath of his arrest, and so by the time they converged, it all sort of seemed anti-climactic.

But the biggest issue, for me, was Milly herself. I don't usually read up on unknown-to-me historical figures before I read novels about them because I like to be surprised by what's coming and go in without any preconceptions, but in this case, maybe I should have. Because it took me a really long time to warm up to Milly Bennett. She's selfish. She's a bit of a lush. She sleeps with married men. She does some other things that some readers may find morally questionable. But hardest for me was that she's a die-hard supporter of communism (though it is called socialism at the time). I understand the novelty of it during the Great Depression and the allure the ideal held for Americans who went to the Soviet Union in search of a better life. But very few of them actually found a better life there. Even in the face of desperate poverty, the lack of food, heat, and basic necessities, forced communal living, forced labor, and a tyrannical government jailing people who say things they don't like, Milly still defends the system. I found her very hard to empathize with until more than halfway through the book. Eventually Milly does lift the veil of idealism, and more of her underlying vulnerability comes through, allowing the reader to better understand why she behaves the way she does and to feel sorry for her in the situation she finds herself in. I finally started to feel her highs and lows, her triumphs and tragedies as my own and became invested in the outcome of her story.

Blog Tour Guest Post: We Shall See the Sky Sparkling by Susana Aikin

Please join me in welcoming Susana Aikin to Let Them Read Books! Susana is touring the blogosphere with her new historical novel, We Shall See the Sparkling Sky, and I'm pleased to have her here today with a fun guest post about Russian tea culture. Read on and enter to win a paperback copy of We Shall See the Sparkling Sky!

Set in London and Russia at the turn of the century, Susana Aikin’s debut introduces a vibrant young woman determined to defy convention and shape an extraordinary future.

Like other well-bred young women in Edwardian England, Lily Throop is expected to think of little beyond marriage and motherhood. Passionate about the stage, Lily has very different ambitions. To her father’s dismay, she secures an apprenticeship at London’s famous Imperial Theatre. Soon, her talent and beauty bring coveted roles and devoted admirers. Yet to most of society, the line between actress and harlot is whisper-thin. With her reputation threatened by her mentor’s vicious betrayal, Lily flees to St. Petersburg with an acting troupe–leaving her first love behind.

Life in Russia is as exhilarating as it is difficult. The streets rumble with talk of revolution, and Lily is drawn into an affair with Sergei, a Count with fervent revolutionary ideals. Following Sergei when he is banished to Vladivostok, Lily struggles to find her role in an increasingly dangerous world. And as Russian tensions with Japan erupt into war, only fortitude and single-mindedness can steer her to freedom and safety at last.

With its sweeping backdrop and evocative details, We Shall See the Sky Sparkling explores a fascinating period in history through the eyes of a strong-willed, singular heroine, in a moving story of love and resilience.

AMAZON | BARNES AND NOBLE | BOOKS-A-MILLION | INDIEBOUND

RUSSIAN TEA & TEA PARTY CULTURE

by Susana Aikin

Tea is one of my favorite beverages, and when I first visited St. Petersburg I was delighted to find out that Russia has a very long standing tea-drinking tradition. I learnt that tea was first introduced to Russia in 1638 by a Mongolian ruler, who gifted Tsar Michael I a chest of tea. By the end of the 17th century, tea had become so popular that treatises were drawn up to establish regular imports from China via camel caravan in exchange for furs. These caravans traveled up to 18 months to reach Moscow through the Siberian Route, which later became known as the Tea Road. I also found out that one of my favorite teas, Russian Caravan, supposedly acquired its distinctive smoky flavor from the caravan's campfires along the journey.

Wooden box for the transportation of tea circa 1893, Imperial Russia

I also came across a very important element of the Russian tea culture: The ubiquitous Russian tea brewing device, known as a samovar, became a true symbol of hospitality and comfort.

Russian Samovar
circa 1860

Tea in Russia, especially afternoon tea, has traditionally been enhanced with a variety of goodies like jam, syrup, lemon, cakes, cookies, candies, and other sweets. And tea is, of course, at the very center of another very Russian tradition: garden picnics.

Blog Tour Spotlight: The Romanov Empress by C.W. Gortner

The Romanov Empress by C.W. Gortner

Publication Date: July 10, 2018

Ballantine Books

Hardcover; 448 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

Even from behind the throne, a woman can rule.

Narrated by the mother of Russia’s last tsar, this vivid, historically authentic novel brings to life the courageous story of Maria Feodorovna, one of Imperial Russia’s most compelling women, who witnessed the splendor and tragic downfall of the Romanovs as she fought to save her dynasty in the final years of its long reign.

Barely nineteen, Minnie knows that her station in life as a Danish princess is to leave her family and enter into a royal marriage—as her older sister Alix has done, moving to England to wed Queen Victoria’s eldest son. The winds of fortune bring Minnie to Russia, where she marries the Romanov heir and becomes empress once he ascends the throne. When resistance to her husband’s reign strikes at the heart of her family and the tsar sets out to crush all who oppose him, Minnie—now called Maria—must tread a perilous path of compromise in a country she has come to love.

Her husband’s death leaves their son Nicholas II as the inexperienced ruler of a deeply divided and crumbling empire. Determined to guide him to reforms that will bring Russia into the modern age, Maria faces implacable opposition from Nicholas’s strong-willed wife, Alexandra, whose fervor has lead her into a disturbing relationship with a mystic named Rasputin. As the unstoppable wave of revolution rises anew to engulf Russia, Maria will face her most dangerous challenge and her greatest heartache.

From the opulent palaces of St. Petersburg and the intrigue-laced salons of the aristocracy to the World War I battlefields and the bloodied countryside occupied by the Bolsheviks, C. W. Gortner sweeps us into the anarchic fall of an empire and the complex, bold heart of the woman who tried to save it.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

Praise for The Romanov Empress:

"Gortner’s mesmerizing historical novel (following The Vatican Princess) depicts the remarkable life of the mother of the last Russian tsar. This insightful first-person account of the downfall of the Romanov rule will appeal to history buffs; at its core, it’s the powerful story of a mother trying to save her family and an aristocrat fighting to maintain rule in a country of rebellion, giving it an even broader appeal." —Publishers Weekly

“A sweeping saga that takes us from the opulence and glamor of Tsarist Russia to the violent, tragic last days of the Romanovs. C. W. Gortner breaks new ground here, skillfully painting an intimate, compelling portrait of this fascinating empress and her family.” —Stephanie Dray, New York Times bestselling author of America’s First Daughter

“The Romanov Empress has all the glitter and mystery of a Faberge egg, the outer decadence and beauty of Imperial Russia unfolding to reveal the mysteries and horrors within. The waning days of a doomed dynasty are recounted by the vivacious but tough Danish princess who would become one of Russia's most revered tsarinas, only to see her line end in war and revolution. Gortner pens a beautiful tribute to a lost world, weaving a tale sumptuous as a Russian sable.” —Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Alice Network

“A vivid, engaging tale of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna, the mother of Russia's last Tsar, her loves and her heartbreaks, bringing the troubled final decades of the Russian Empire to life.” —Eva Stachniak, author of The Winter Palace

Blog Tour Q&A: How Did I Get Here? by Jane Marlow

Please join me in welcoming Jane Marlow to Let Them Read Books! Jane is touring the blogosphere with her new novel, How Did I Get Here?, and she's here today discussing her inspiration and research into the Crimean War.

In the 1800s, two events altered the course of Russia’s future—the emancipation of the serfs and the Crimean War. Author Jane Marlow takes readers back to this significant time in Russian history, journeying 800 miles south of Moscow to the frontlines of the Crimean War, in her second novel, How Did I Get Here?

Andrey Rozhdestvensky enters his final year of medical studies in 1854 with an empty belly, empty pockets, and secondhand clothes held together by wishful thinking. When Russia blunders into the misbegotten Crimean War, Tsar Nicholas recruits medical students to the front. Andrey grabs at what he believes to be free passage out of his vapid life—a portal to a new identity.

Volunteering as a surgeon for the Russian army, Andrey travels to the frontlines in Sevastopol and Simferopol on Russia’s Crimean Peninsula, where he discovers the atrocities of war, and fights to keep death and disease—scurvy, typhoid, typhus, cholera, gangrene and frostbite—from decimating the troops. As the war progresses, Andrey fears his mind is becoming unhinged as he witnesses the most senseless disregard for human life imaginable.

But even after the ink dries on the peace treaty, the madness of the war doesn’t end for Andrey. He scours city and countryside in search of a place where his soul can heal. Emotionally hamstrung, can he learn to trust the woman who longs to walk beside him on his journey?

A war story told in intimate human terms, How Did I Get Here? is the result of Jane Marlow’s lifelong interest in 1800s Russia and extensive research into the Crimean War. The second book in the Petrovo series, this novel follows Who Is To Blame? A Russian Riddle, reacquainting readers with several of their favorite characters.

In How Did I Get Here?, readers witness the war’s frontlines from a Russian surgeon’s perspective (as compared to the well-known accounts of British nurse Florence Nightingale of the enemy’s forces). The book also examines unrecognized and untreatable Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder a century before it was given a name, and explores the precariousness of war—why one man lives, the one beside him dies, and another is impaired for life.

A timeless story of human self-discovery and connection, How Did I Get Here? is hard-hitting historical fiction for serious readers.

What inspired you to write How Did I Get Here?

While I was conducting research for the first novel in the Petrovo series, Who Is to Blame?, I kept bumping into this thing called the Crimean War. Eventually, I realized it simply had to be the backdrop of my next novel for two reasons. First, the Crimean War was the guinea pig for a myriad of innovations that forever changed the face of warfare. The second factor that grabbed my attention and wouldn’t let go was the War’s magnitude as a gruesomely ugly historical reality.  Not only was the carnage on the battlefield hideous, but an even greater number of fatalities were attributable to disease, malnutrition, winter exposure, and lack of competent leadership. Not until World War I would more people die as victims of war. 

What led to your fascination with Russia in the 1800s?

I trace my interest back to 6th grade when mother dragged me kicking and screaming to a professional stage performance of Fiddler on the Roof. But as my feet began tapping with the music, I experienced the proverbial smack-to-the-forehead. I was just at the right age to gain an inkling of understanding about prejudice, suppression, rural culture, and the deep-seated role of religion.

Blog Tour Guest Post: Daughters of the Night Sky by Aimie K. Runyan

Please join me in welcoming Aimie K. Runyan to Let Them Read Books! Aimie is touring the blogosphere with her new release, Daughters of the Night Sky, and I'm pleased to have her here today with a guest post about how she discovered the "Night Witches," the inspiration behind the novel.

A novel—inspired by the most celebrated regiment in the Red Army—about a woman’s sacrifice, courage, and love in a time of war.

Russia, 1941. Katya Ivanova is a young pilot in a far-flung military academy in the Ural Mountains. From childhood, she’s dreamed of taking to the skies to escape her bleak mountain life. With the Nazis on the march across Europe, she is called on to use her wings to serve her country in its darkest hour. Not even the entreaties of her new husband—a sensitive artist who fears for her safety—can dissuade her from doing her part as a proud daughter of Russia.

After years of arduous training, Katya is assigned to the 588th Night Bomber Regiment—one of the only Soviet air units comprised entirely of women. The Germans quickly learn to fear nocturnal raids by the daring fliers they call “Night Witches.” But the brutal campaign will exact a bitter toll on Katya and her sisters-in-arms. When the smoke of war clears, nothing will ever be the same—and one of Russia’s most decorated military heroines will face the most agonizing choice of all.

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Finding Inspiration

by Aimie K. Runyan

The origin story of Daughters of the Night Sky wasn’t the romantic tale you hear about from other writers. It didn’t come to me in a dream or a vision. It wasn’t that thunderclap “aha!” moment that sent me scribbling in a mad dash. My first two books took place in 17th century Canada, which is not a time and place that many readers deliberately seek out (though they have enjoyed it when they happen upon them). I knew that if I wanted to boost my career, I needed to pick a story that compelled me that was from an era that would attract a larger readership. In an ideal world, I’d be able to write about 15th century court politics and become a mega-bestseller doing so, but the reality was that I need to create a readership before I could broach topics that were less familiar to the public. Right now, the early 20th century, especially the world wars, are a subset of Historical Fiction that is doing well, and I decided that would be the smartest place to hunt for inspiration. Thankfully, there is no shortage of great material to be mined from, and I could find something that really moved me as an artist.

So, as I was pondering what world war-era topics I could transform into a novel that fit those criteria, the last of the famed Night Witches, the Soviet female fighter pilots, passed away. She was a hot topic in the news cycles for a day or so, and I had several friends forward articles about her to me with subtle missives like “this could be the idea you’ve been looking for” or “WRITE THIS BOOK NOW.” Let it never be said I can’t take a hint. I shot off that idea, along with half a dozen others, to my amazing agent. She homed in on the concept right away and encouraged me to tackle the book. I began delving into research, and it wasn’t long before my main character emerged and weaseled herself into my affections. It isn’t until I have a main character in mind that I can really take ownership of a book, and she was a vibrant one who came to me very early in the process. I was able to find a publishing home for Katya even before the manuscript was finished, and it has been a thrill to see her story out in the world!

Daughters of the Night Sky is on a blog tour!

View the tour schedule ~ Add it to your shelves on Goodreads

About the Author:

Aimie K. Runyan writes to celebrate history’s unsung heroines. She is the author of two previous historical novels: Promised to the Crown and Duty to the Crown, and hard at work on novel #4. She is active as an educator and a speaker in the writing community and beyond. She lives in Colorado with her wonderful husband and two (usually) adorable children. To learn more about Aimie and her work, please visit www.aimiekrunyan.com.

Blog Tour Review: The Lost Season of Love and Snow by Jennifer Laam

From the Back Cover:

The unforgettable story of Alexander Pushkin’s beautiful wife, Natalya, a woman much admired at Court, and how she became reviled as the villain of St. Petersburg.

At the age of sixteen, Natalya Goncharova is stunningly beautiful and intellectually curious. But while she finds joy in French translations and a history of Russian poetry, her family is more concerned with her marriage prospects. It is only fitting that during the Christmas of 1828 at her first public ball in her hometown of Moscow she attracts the romantic attention of Russia’s most lauded rebel poet: Alexander Pushkin. 

Enchanted at first sight, Natalya is already a devoted reader of Alexander’s serialized novel in verse, Evgeny Onegin. The most recently published chapter ends in a duel, and she is dying to learn what happens next. Finding herself deeply attracted to Alexander’s intensity and joie de vivre, Natalya hopes to see him again as soon as possible.

What follows is a courtship and later marriage full of equal parts passion and domestic bliss but also destructive jealousies. When vicious court gossip leads to Alexander dying from injuries earned defending his honor as well as Natalya’s in a duel, Natalya finds herself reviled for her alleged role in his death. 

With beautiful writing and understanding, Jennifer Laam, and her compelling new novel, The Lost Season of Love and Snow, help Natalya tell her side of the story—the story of her greatest love and her inner struggle to create a fulfilling life despite the dangerous intrigues of a glamorous imperial Court.

My Thoughts:

I knew nothing about Alexander Pushkin other than that he was a famous poet, I knew nothing about his wife or that he died in a duel defending her honor, so of course once I saw the blurb for The Lost Season of Love and Snow, I had to read it. What a subject for a novel!

Despite being bound by the constraints of historical fact, this is very much a character-driven story. In the prologue, I was a bit put off by Natalya. Her husband has literally just breathed his last breath and all she can think about is how she is going to repair her reputation. But I told myself that I did not yet know what had happened to make this her first reaction, and as her past unfolds, the way her light is dimmed by the expectations of marriage and society, the way she bears the blame for the transgressions of others, the way she is robbed of her own destiny, witnessing her despair and regret, I could not help but feel for her.

We first meet young Natalya as an idealistic sixteen-year-old whose love for romantic novels shapes her expectations of love and courtship. A celebrated yet humble beauty with writing aspirations of her own, she catches the eye of Russia's favorite poet shortly after her introduction into society and quickly weaves grand dreams around a life with him. Eventually she will get that life, and though it will bring her passion and love, it will also bring her disappointment and heartbreak. The pressure of being Russia's greatest poet often takes a toll on Alexander, and Natalya often finds herself putting her husband's needs above her own. Never achieving the success she hoped for with her own attempts at writing, she begins to indulge in what she thinks are innocent pleasures where she can find them, mainly amidst the glittering and "courtly love" atmosphere of St. Petersburg society, where she has become the belle of the ball. But she unwittingly sets in motion a chain of events that will forever alter not only her own life, but the landscape of Russian literature.

Book Blast! Sown in Tears and Where Do I Go by Beverly Magid

Sown in Tears by Beverly Magid

Publication Date: September 18, 2012

Paperback & eBook; 194 Pages

ISBN-13: 978-1478104575

Genre: Fiction/Historical/Jewish

READ THE FIRST CHAPTER.

Russia, 1905: The Jews are restricted to the area called thePale of the Settlement and the target of anti-semitism fomented by the government and exacerbated by the laws and the economy. After an attack on the village of Kortitz, Leah Peretz must find a way to survive and protect her young children. Her life is complicated by the unexpected attentions of the Russian officer, Captain Vaselik. Can she trust him? Should she join the burgeoning worker movement? Suddenly her path to self-discovery has become one of drama, revolution and courage.

"I read this story in ONE day. I could not put the book down!" - Impressions In Ink Book Blog

"Sown in Tearswill have you gripped from the first sentence. This exciting, fast-paced novel takes all the elements of romance, family love, friendship and loyalty and places them into the fascinating setting of a small Jewish settlement in Russia in 1905. Magid creates a wonderful atmosphere of stifling terror and poverty in the Jewish community and the courage and survival instincts of Leah or so expertly created that you are willing her on, even when her actions could have serious consequences for her family. This novel truly stands out in the ‘chick lit’ category as a brave and exciting choice of subject matter written with real heart and finesse." - BestChickLit.com

Available in Paperback and eBook on Amazon

Where Do I Go? by Beverly Magid

Publication Date: October 9, 2017

BeWrite Press

Paperback & eBook; 138 Pages

Genre: Fiction/Historical/Jewish

READ THE FIRST CHAPTER.

It's 1908 and Leah and her boys have immigrated to New York's Lower East Side to live with her brothers after surviving a pogrom in their Russian village. She is determined to find a home in America but the conditions are harsher than she expected. The garment sweat shops are brutal to work in and it's essential that her son Benny works after school to help with expenses. Unbeknownst to her he runs errands for the local bookie/gangster. Life isn't what Leah hoped for, but she's a fighter and not willing to accept the awful conditions at Wollowitz's Factory. She's on a journey to find her own voice, to find a place for herself and her sons, to find a little beauty and romance in her life.

Available in Paperback and eBook on Amazon

Quick Review: The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden

From the Back Cover:

At the edge of the Russian wilderness, winter lasts most of the year and the snowdrifts grow taller than houses. But Vasilisa doesn’t mind—she spends the winter nights huddled around the embers of a fire with her beloved siblings, listening to her nurse’s fairy tales. Above all, she loves the chilling story of Frost, the blue-eyed winter demon, who appears in the frigid night to claim unwary souls. Wise Russians fear him, her nurse says, and honor the spirits of house and yard and forest that protect their homes from evil.

After Vasilisa’s mother dies, her father goes to Moscow and brings home a new wife. Fiercely devout, city-bred, Vasilisa’s new stepmother forbids her family from honoring the household spirits. The family acquiesces, but Vasilisa is frightened, sensing that more hinges upon their rituals than anyone knows.

And indeed, crops begin to fail, evil creatures of the forest creep nearer, and misfortune stalks the village. All the while, Vasilisa’s stepmother grows ever harsher in her determination to groom her rebellious stepdaughter for either marriage or confinement in a convent.

As danger circles, Vasilisa must defy even the people she loves and call on dangerous gifts she has long concealed—this, in order to protect her family from a threat that seems to have stepped from her nurse’s most frightening tales.

My Thoughts:

Looks like I'm going to be the voice of dissension on this one. I'm sure you've seen the hype surrounding this book. It's hard to miss. Ads were everywhere when it was released, featuring one accolade after another. And the description sounds amazing, doesn't it? I so wanted to love it. I love Russian historical fiction, and I went into it expecting to love it, to be wowed, to be swept off my feet. Alas, none of that happened. While it's not a bad book, at the end of the day, I honestly found it to be just plain boring.

I loved the folklore and magical elements, and I liked Vasilisa, but the pacing is soooo slow. Agonizingly slow. And the omniscient style means we get the point of view of way too many characters, some who don't even have a name, that's how insignificant they are to the story, yet we get their fleeting thoughts anyway. And if you know me, you know I'm a stickler for a tight, focused point of view structure. The author's writing has been described as beautiful and lyrical, but I thought it was rather on the simple side. And then when I got to the end and discovered this is the first in a trilogy, I couldn't help but note that the story would not need to be a trilogy if this book had been trimmed down, the pace quickened, and the rest of the story added in. I actually groaned at the thought of reading this story stretched out over two more books at a snail's pace.

I don't mean to sound harsh, and I know plenty of readers are loving this, but it just didn't live up to my expectations. I'm still giving it three stars because I did stick with it till the end, and I did find some things to admire about it. But not enough to continue on with the other books.

My Rating:  3 Stars out of 5

*Please Note: This review references an advance digital copy received from the publisher via NetGalley, and therefore the final published copy may differ. Though I received this book from the publisher, these are my honest and unbiased thoughts, and I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book.

Spotlight: The Girl Who Fought Napoleon by Linda Lafferty

The Girl Who Fought Napoleon

by Linda Lafferty

Lake Union Publishing

September 20, 2016

Paperback; 442 pages

In a sweeping story straight out of Russian history, Tsar Alexander I and a courageous girl named Nadezhda Durova join forces against Napoleon.

It’s 1803, and an adolescent Nadya is determined not to follow in her overbearing Ukrainian mother’s footsteps. She’s a horsewoman, not a housewife. When Tsar Paul is assassinated in St. Petersburg and a reluctant and naive Alexander is crowned emperor, Nadya runs away from home and joins the Russian cavalry in the war against Napoleon. Disguised as a boy and riding her spirited stallion, Alcides, Nadya rises in the ranks, even as her father begs the tsar to find his daughter and send her home.

Both Nadya and Alexander defy expectations—she as a heroic fighter and he as a spiritual seeker—while the battles of Austerlitz, Friedland, Borodino, and Smolensk rage on.

In a captivating tale that brings Durova’s memoirs to life, from bloody battlefields to glittering palaces, two rebels dare to break free of their expected roles and discover themselves in the process.

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The Girl Who Fought Napoleon is on a blog tour!

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About the Author:

Linda Lafferty was a teacher for nearly three decades, in schools from Madrid, Spain, to Aspen, Colorado. She completed her PhD in bilingual special education and worked in that field; she also taught English as a second language and bilingual American history. Linda is the author of four previous novels—The Bloodletter’s Daughter, The Drowning Guard, House of Bathory, and The Shepherdess of Siena—all of which have been translated into several languages. The Drowning Guard won the Colorado Book Award for Historical Fiction. She lives in Colorado with her husband.

Q&A with Marina J. Neary, Author of The Gate of Dawn

Please join me in welcoming Marina J. Neary back to Let Them Read Books! Marina has a brand new novel out, The Gate of Dawn, a novel of Czarist Lithuania, and she's here today with answers to some common questions she receives from readers interested in learning more about this time in history in the region that would become Lithuania. Read on, and feel free to leave your own questions or comments for Marina!

Welcome to 1880s Vilnius, a volatile Northeastern metropolis where Balts, Germans, Poles, Russians, and Jews compete for a place in the sun. After sustaining fatal burns in a fire instigated by his rivals, textile magnate Hermann Lichtner spends his final days in a shabby infirmary. In a hasty and bizarre deathbed transaction he gives his fifteen-year-old daughter Renate in marriage to Thaddeus, a widowed Polish farmer who rejects social hierarchy and toils side by side with his peasants. 

Renate’s arrival quickly disrupts the bucolic flow of life and antagonizes every member of the household. During an excursion to the city, Renate rekindles an affair with a young Jewish painter who sells his watercolors outside the Gate of Dawn chapel. While her despairing husband might look the other way, his servants will not stand by and watch while their adored master is humiliated. 

Taking us from the cobblestone streets of old Vilnius, swarming with imperial gendarmes, to the misty bogs of rural Lithuania where pagan deities still rule, The Gate of Dawn is a folkloric tale of rivalry, conspiracy, and revenge.

*****

Jenny, thank you for hosting me on your blog and giving me an opportunity to talk about my latest novel The Gate of Dawn, set in 19th-century Lithuania, the land of my paternal ancestors. At that time in history, Lithuania did not exist as a country. Most of it belonged to Czarist Russia, and a small portion in the West was under Prussian rule. Despite the compulsory Russification, targeted at destroying the indigenous Baltic culture, old customs were still very much in effect in the rural areas. I will continue using the term Lithuania.

In modern American culture, young people are taught that picking on your peers, using unflattering terms, and making sexual comments is a big no-no. There are massive anti-bullying campaigns. And yet, peer aggression finds new forms to manifest itself. How was this issue handled in 19th-century Lithuania? Young people were given specific time slots, usually tied to seasonal holidays, during which they could practice immature, lewd, and cruel behavior. Those antics often had a theatrical quality and were accompanied by thematic songs and costume pieces. Outside those allotted time slots, discourteous behavior was not tolerated. Maybe there is some wisdom to that? Because 19th-century Lithuania is such an unusual setting for a historical novel, my readers have asked me some questions about it. I am happy to give you some insight into the culture and value structure of that particular society.

Spotlight: The Tsarina's Legacy by Jennifer Laam

The Tsarina's Legacy

by Jennifer Laam

April 5, 2016

St. Martin's Griffin

Hardcover, Paperback, eBook; 352 pages

ISBN-13: 978-1250091512

Laam’s first book, The Secret Daughter of the Tsar, imagined an alternative history for the Romanov family; her second continues the tale of the lost heiress doing her best to transform her beloved Russia by completing a project that Empress Catherine and her prince began two hundred years ago. Unexpected connections are revealed as they struggle to make peace with the ghosts of their past and help secure a better future for themselves and the country they both love.

Then... Grigory "Grisha" Potemkin has had a successful long association with the powerful Empress Catherine of Russia. But Catherine and Grisha are older now and face new threats, both from powers outside of Russia and from those close to them. Haunted by the horrors of his campaign against the Muslim Turks, Grisha hopes to construct a mosque in the heart of the empire. Unfortunately, Catherine's much younger new lover, the ambitious Platon Zubov, stands in his way. Grisha determines that to preserve Catherine's legacy he must save her from Zubov's dangerous influence and win back her heart.

Now... When she learns she is the lost heiress to the Romanov throne, Veronica Herrera's life turns upside down. Dmitry Potemkin, one of Grisha's descendants, invites Veronica to Russia to accept a ceremonial position as Russia's new tsarina. Seeking purpose, Veronica agrees to act as an advocate to free a Russian artist sentenced to prison for displaying paintings critical of the church and government. Veronica is both celebrated and chastised. As her political role comes under fire, Veronica is forced to decide between the glamorous perks of European royalty and staying true to herself.

In Jennifer Laam's The Tsarina's Legacy, unexpected connections between Grisha and Veronica are revealed as they struggle to make peace with the ghosts of their past and help secure a better future for themselves and the country they both love.

Amazon  ~  Barnes & Noble  ~  IndieBound

Spotlight: Midnight in St. Petersburg by Vanora Bennett

Midnight in St. Petersburg

by Vanora Bennett

Thomas Dunne Books

January 19, 2016

Hardcover, eBook; 384 pages

ISBN: 978-1250079435

St. Petersburg, 1911: Inna Feldman has fled the pogroms of the south to take refuge with distant relatives in Russia's capital city. Welcomed by the flamboyant Leman family, she is apprenticed into their violin-making workshop. She feels instantly at home in their bohemian circle, but revolution is in the air, and as society begins to fracture, she is forced to choose between her heart and her head. She loves her brooding cousin, Yasha, but he is wild, destructive and devoted to revolution; Horace Wallick, an Englishman who makes precious Faberge creations, is older and promises security and respectability. And, like many others, she is drawn to the mysterious, charismatic figure beginning to make a name for himself in the city: Rasputin.

As the rebellion descends into anarchy and bloodshed, a commission to repair a priceless Stradivarius violin offers Inna a means of escape. But which man will she choose to take with her? And is it already too late? A magical and passionate story steeped in history and intrigue, Vanora Bennett's Midnight in St. Petersburg is an extraordinary novel of music, politics, and the toll that revolution exacts on the human heart.

Praise for Midnight in St. Petersburg:

“A tale of thundering passions set in the Russian Revolution . . . Historical fiction at its best.”
―Kate Saunders, The Times (UK)

“A rich gorgeous broth of passion and danger . . . I was swept away by the meticulous set-dressing, epic plot, and unashamed romanticism.”
―Saga Magazine

“Bennett’s sophisticated grasp of historical realities and psychological complexity gives power and depth to what might easily have been a cliched romance.”
―The Sunday Times (UK)

“Engaging tale of life in pre-revolutionary Russia. The author’s style is easy on the eye, and the story is both fascinating and illuminating.”
―Books Monthly

"A thoughtful read for those interested in Russian history or historical dramas."
―School Library Journal

Guest Post from Marina Julia Neary, Author of Saved by the Bang

Please join me in welcoming author Marina Julia Neary to Let Them Read Books! You may remember my Q&A with Marina from last year when she was touring the blogosphere with her historical fiction novel, Never Be At Peace. Now she's back with a brand new book, Saved by the Bang, a blend of humor, tragedy, and romance in Cold War-era Russia. She's here today to talk about the inspiration for this novel and the misconceptions that still exist about this time period. Without further ado, here she is!

Saved by the Bang: A Nuclear Comedy

by Marina Julia Neary

Taking a break from Dublin slums ...

For years my readers, friends and fellow-authors have been nagging and bullying me to write something autobiographical. So finally I broke down and gave them what they wanted. Most of my work deals with the Anglo-Irish conflict. I've written a series of novels revolving around the Easter Rising of 1916. Even though I'm not Irish by blood, I am an avid scholar of early 20th century Irish history. The subject of national identity happens to be very dear to me. That's what I gravitate towards naturally. That subject springs up in all my novels, whether it's the Irish fighting to break away from England, or Belarusians /Lithuanians trying to detach from Stepmother Russia. Saved by the Bang is set in the picturesque radioactive swamps of Central Europe, so far from the City Hall of Dublin, but it's not that different from my previous novels. You still get smoke. It's not pouring from the General Post Office in Dublin but rather from the nuclear reactor in Chernobyl. You still get the same offensive gallows humor that you've come to expect from my works -- only taken a few notches up.

There are still so many myths and misconceptions about that era, namely the tail end of the Cold War. It's horrifying how many people derive their ideas about life in the Soviet Union from James Bond movies. Crushingly disappointing as it sounds, we do not have bears walking on the streets, drinking vodka. I anglicized certain names and translated certain slag expressions and colloquialisms into English. The characters are based on real people, so I didn't need to exert my creative streak too much in that regard.

Review: Secret Daughter of the Tsar by Jennifer Laam

From the Back Cover:

In her riveting debut novel, The Secret Daughter of the Tsar, Jennifer Laam seamlessly braids together the stories of three women: Veronica, Lena, and Charlotte. Veronica is an aspiring historian living in present-day Los Angeles when she meets a mysterious man who may be heir to the Russian throne. As she sets about investigating the legitimacy of his claim through a winding path of romance and deception, the ghosts of her own past begin to haunt her.

Lena, a servant in the imperial Russian court of 1902, is approached by the desperate Empress Alexandra. After conceiving four daughters, the Empress is determined to sire a son and believes Lena can help her. Once elevated to the Romanov’s treacherous inner circle, Lena finds herself under the watchful eye of the meddling Dowager Empress Marie.

Charlotte, a former ballerina living in World War II occupied Paris, receives a surprise visit from a German officer. Determined to protect her son from the Nazis, Charlotte escapes the city, but not before learning that the officer’s interest in her stems from his longstanding obsession with the fate of the Russian monarchy.

Then as Veronica's passion intensifies, and her search for the true heir to the throne takes a dangerous turn, the reader learns just how these three vastly different women are connected.

Q&A with Jennifer Laam, Author of The Secret Daughter of the Tsar

Please join me in welcoming debut author Jennifer Laam to Let Them Read Books! I have been itching to get my hands on The Secret Daughter of the Tsar ever since I saw that cover and read the description! (Click here to read my review :) Jennifer was gracious enough to sit down and answer a few questions for me. Check out her awesome answers and then enter to win your own copy of The Secret Daughter of the Tsar!

From the Back Cover: In her riveting debut novel, The Secret Daughter of the Tsar, Jennifer Laam seamlessly braids together the stories of three women: Veronica, Lena, and Charlotte. Veronica is an aspiring historian living in present-day Los Angeles when she meets a mysterious man who may be heir to the Russian throne. As she sets about investigating the legitimacy of his claim through a winding path of romance and deception, the ghosts of her own past begin to haunt her.

Lena, a servant in the imperial Russian court of 1902, is approached by the desperate Empress Alexandra. After conceiving four daughters, the Empress is determined to sire a son and believes Lena can help her. Once elevated to the Romanov’s treacherous inner circle, Lena finds herself under the watchful eye of the meddling Dowager Empress Marie.

Charlotte, a former ballerina living in World War II occupied Paris, receives a surprise visit from a German officer. Determined to protect her son from the Nazis, Charlotte escapes the city, but not before learning that the officer’s interest in her stems from his longstanding obsession with the fate of the Russian monarchy.

Then as Veronica's passion intensifies, and her search for the true heir to the throne takes a dangerous turn, the reader learns just how these three vastly different women are connected.

Blog Tour Review: Enchantments by Kathryn Harrison

From the Back Cover:

St. Petersburg, 1917. After Rasputin’s body is pulled from the icy waters of the Neva River, his eighteen-year-old daughter, Masha, is sent to live at the imperial palace with Tsar Nikolay and his family—including the headstrong Prince Alyosha. Desperately hoping that Masha has inherited Rasputin’s miraculous healing powers, Tsarina Alexandra asks her to tend to Aloysha, who suffers from hemophilia, a blood disease that keeps the boy confined to his sickbed, lest a simple scrape or bump prove fatal.

Two months after Masha arrives at the palace, the tsar is forced to abdicate, and Bolsheviks place the royal family under house arrest. As Russia descends into civil war, Masha and Alyosha grieve the loss of their former lives, finding solace in each other’s company. To escape the confinement of the palace, they tell stories—some embellished and some entirely imagined—about Nikolay and Alexandra’s courtship, Rasputin’s many exploits, and the wild and wonderful country on the brink of an irrevocable transformation. In the worlds of their imagination, the weak become strong, legend becomes fact, and a future that will never come to pass feels close at hand.

Mesmerizing, haunting, and told in Kathryn Harrison’s signature crystalline prose, Enchantments is a love story about two people who come together as everything around them is falling apart.

Review: The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges

From the Back Cover:

St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888. As she attends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: she can raise the dead. No one knows. Not her family. Not the girls at her finishing school. Not the tsar or anyone in her aristocratic circle. Katerina considers her talent a curse, not a gift. But when she uses her special skill to protect a member of the Imperial Family, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue.

An evil presence is growing within Europe's royal bloodlines—and those aligned with the darkness threaten to topple the tsar. Suddenly Katerina's strength as a necromancer attracts attention from unwelcome sources . . . including two young men—George Alexandrovich, the tsar's standoffish middle son, who needs Katerina's help to safeguard Russia, even if he's repelled by her secret, and the dashing Prince Danilo, heir to the throne of Montenegro, to whom Katerina feels inexplicably drawn.

The time has come for Katerina to embrace her power, but which side will she choose—and to whom will she give her heart?

Review: Russian Winter by Daphne Kalotay

From the Inside Flap:

When she decides to auction her remarkable jewelry collection, Nina Revskaya, once a great star of the Bolshoi Ballet, believes she has drawn a curtain on her past. Instead, the former ballerina finds herself overwhelmed by memories of her homeland and of the events--both glorious and heartbreaking--that changed the course of her life half a century before.

It was in Russia that she discovered the magic of the theater; that she fell in love with the poet Viktor Elsin; that she and her dearest companions--Gersh, a dangerously irreverent composer, and the exquisite Vera, Nina's closest friend--became victims of Stalinist aggression; that a terrible discovery led to a deadly act of betrayal--and to an ingenious escape that eventually brought her to the city of Boston.

Nina has hidden her dark secrets for half a lifetime. But two people will not let the past rest: Drew Brooks, an inquisitive young associate director at the Boston auction house; and Grigori Solodin, a Russian professor who believes that a unique set of amber jewels may hold the key to his own ambiguous past. Together these unlikely partners find themselves unraveling a literary mystery whose answers will hold life-changing consequences for them all.

My Review:

Nina Revskaya, a reclusive, retired ballerina living in Boston, has donated the wealth of jewels she's collected over a lifetime in the spotlight to be auctioned for charity, but when the auction house's representative, Drew Brooks, attempts to learn more about the jewels, Nina is cold and uncooperative. When Grigori Solodin gives the auction house an amber pendant that he believes once belonged to Nina, she becomes downright hostile. As Drew and Grigori work together to determine the true origins of the magnificent pendant and to discover why Nina refuses to admit it belonged to her, Nina is reluctantly drawn back into a world of memories from a part of her life she has tried to forget.

Through Nina's recollections, her whirlwind life as a young rising star of the Bolshoi Ballet is revealed, along with her romantic memories of the early days of her marriage. She seems to have it all, which is no small feat in Stalinist Russia. But Nina is never satisfied, and continually chooses her ambition to be a star over her relationships with those she holds most dear: her husband, her mother, her best friend. Her inattention to those relationships leads to a sort of semi-awareness of what's going on around her and by the time she wakes up she can't see the whole picture and she rushes to conclusions and actions that have a devastating effect.

I thought I had this book's big secrets figured out from the start. I was pretty sure I knew all along why Nina refused to help Grigori and who he really was. I was sick to my stomach as the story reached its climax because I thought I knew what was coming, which was exactly what Nina thought, too, but then the reader learns the whole ugly truth, and so does Nina, and I felt sick again. This story is a pretty good testament to the power of jealousy and mistrust, and the ability of one simple action made in a split second to alter the lives of many.

This book starts out a little slowly, but it builds momentum and races along to the fateful moment when Nina decides to defect and carries out her daring and dangerous plan, while in the present-day storyline Nina realizes that the bitterness and sadness she has carried in her heart all this time has been for naught, and she must accept responsibility for the consequences of her rash actions.

Based on story alone I would have given this 5-Stars, because I became completely emotionally involved and I was engrossed by the descriptions of the ballet and life in Russia and the history of the jewels. I was fascinated by Nina's memories of Stalinist Russia. I never would have thought that artists were given preferential treatment by a government regime that was determined to stamp out creative thought. But it soon becomes apparent that these artists: poets, composers, authors, and dancers, are expected to create in the name of the country, to produce art in line with Stalin's ideas, to inspire the populace to be dutiful citizens. And that preferential treatment also puts a spotlight on them, along with a lot of pressure to comply or face Stalin's wrath.

However, I couldn't ignore some awkward transitions to huge chunks of backstory in the present-day story arc that were very distracting and seemed unimportant to the plot, and I couldn't find a lot to get excited about in Drew's and Grigori's characters, although they are instrumental in bringing the different elements of the story together and forcing Nina to relive those last days in Russia and to confront the truth she's hidden from for so long. But I can get over those complaints to enjoy a good story, and Nina's story is an excellent one.

Rating:  4.5 Stars out of 5

*Please note: This review references an advance copy received from the publisher, and therefore the final published copy may differ. Though I received this book from the publisher, these are my honest and unbiased thoughts, and I was not compensated in any other way for reviewing this book.