So Many Books, So Little Time

Castle of Concrete by Katia Raina Publication Date: June 11, 2019 Young Europe Books eBook & Paperback; 304 Pages Genre: YA Historical Fiction In 1990-1991, when the history of Russia and the entire Soviet Union is being revisited and the rules are changing, a fifteen-year-old Jewish girl, Sonya Solovay, reunites with her dissident mother after twelve years of hiding out in Siberia--her life's dream realized. Still, she sees herself as a typical Soviet citizen: a shy, quiet, obedient, barely-there girl, dissolving into the past, her country's and her own. Determined to break into her new existence, Sonya tries out a shining new persona, but most of her efforts backfire. One mysterious boy notices her, wants to hear her stories, makes her feel like she is the shiniest part of his world. Everything else might as well fade away--her distant and hungry-for-gossip classmates, the equally shy Jewish friend who doesn't always seem to understand her, the growi...

I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhorn I will read anything about Anastasia.  She was my gateway drug into Russian history and I'm kind of obsessed.  I Was Anastasia is one of my new favorite fictional books about her and a possible escape.  I loved the story; it went back and forth between Anastasia experiencing the revolution and captivity and Anna Anderson trying to bolster her claim that she was the Grand Duchess.  Both periods were super intriguing and I was completely sucked into the story, never sure where things would end up.  The end was so good and not what I expected at all.  The fact that it was a surprise was awesome and just solidified my feelings towards this book.  I would highly recommend it! 4 stars. The Pines of Winder Ranch by RaeAnne Thayne It looks like The Pines of Winder Ranch contains two RaeAnne Thayne novellas but my review copy only had a A Cold Creek Reunion so that's what  I am reviewing.  This was c...

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, fami...

I, Eliza Hamilton by Susan Holloway Scott I so badly wanted to love this book but it just didn't do it for me.  I was expecting to get to know Eliza Hamilton in this story: her life before, during and after her marriage to Alexander Hamilton but that's not what this story was really about.  This was a more a story Alexander through Eliza's eyes and it got boring after a while to see her gush over Alexander non-stop for the whole book.  I did learn a lot about Alexander from the story but I don't think I really knew Eliza.  It was all completely focused on Alexander and I think the story made Eliza into a lovesick puppy.  Also, Eliza lived for 50 years after his death and there was nothing about that part of her life.   I feel bad for not loving the story but it really didn't work for me. 2 stars.   Sugar Pine Trail by RaeAnne Thayne   Sugar Pine Trail is the 7th book in RaeAnne Thayne's Haven Point series and I'm pretty...

The Unwomanly Face of War by Svetlana Alexievich This is one of my favorite books of the year.  Pevear and Volokhonsky (the best Russian translators!) have created a wonderful translation of Ms. Alexievich's amazing oral history.  The author interviewed Soviet women who fought in World War II and recorded their stories.  These stories were beautiful and heart-breaking and such an eye-opening look at the Soviet experience in World War II.  The translators did such a good job and making it seem as thought the book was written in English; it wasn't choppy or weird, it flowed exactly as it should.  I would highly encourage anyone interested in this part of history to read this book.  I will definitely be buying a copy for my home library.  5 stars. The Last Tudor by Philippa Gregory I have such a love/hate relationship with this author but I can't turn down a book on the Grey sisters.  I find them to be so fascinating!  Tha...

  Not a Sound by Heather Gudenkauf I love Gudenkauf's books!  Not a Sound was an excellent mystery made even more compelling by the fact that the main character is deaf.  I did figure out who the killer was before the end but I thought the story as a whole was so good that I didn't mind.  It was as much a mystery story as it was a story of the main character dealing with being deaf and growing from that experience.  Excellent read! 4 stars . After Anatevka by Alexandra Silber Fiddler on the Roof is one of my favorite musicals so when I saw this book, I had to read it.  I've always wondered what happened after the movie ended and this book tried to do that.  After Anatevka tells the story of Hodel as she traveled to, and lived in, Siberia while her husband was in prison.  I thought the story was pretty slow and at times I honestly had no idea what was going on.  The ending was really rushed and overall, I just wasn't a f...

  Synopsis:  Nestled within Paris’s historic Palais Royal is a jewelry store unlike any other. La Fantasie Russie is owned by Pavel Orloff, protégé to the famous Faberge, and is known by the city’s fashion elite as the place to find the rarest of gemstones and the most unique designs. But war has transformed Paris from a city of style and romance to a place of fear and mourning. In the summer of 1918, places where lovers used to walk, widows now wander alone. So it is from La Fantasie Russie’s workshop that young, ambitious Opaline Duplessi now spends her time making trench watches for soldiers at the front, as well as mourning jewelry for the mothers, wives, and lovers of those who have fallen. People say that Opaline’s creations are magical. But magic is a word Opaline would rather not use. The concept is too closely associated with her mother Sandrine, who practices the dark arts passed down from their ancestor La Lune, one of sixteenth century Paris’s m...

  The Imperial Wife by Irina Reyn I love Catherine the Great.  She is one of my favorite historical figures so I was really excited to read this book.  It focuses on a Russian art specialist named Tanya Kagan in present times and the young Catherine the Great in her early years in Russia.  I was completely sucked into this story and I could not put the book down.  I enjoyed reading about Tanya's work and her life as a Russian immigrant.  I loved this book until the last few chapters.  The ending was awful and so unexpected.  It made me hate Tanya in so many ways and it was just really disappointing.  I had so much hope for Tanya and to have all of that crushed in the last few pages was so frustrating. I'm giving this book 3 stars because 90% of it was really good. I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The Virgin's War by Laura Andersen I LOVE this series so much.  I am so s...

The Tsarina's Legacy by Jennifer Laam This book is the sequel to The Secret Daughter of the Tsar (which I really liked) and follows Veronica as she travels to Russia to claim the role as the heir to the Romanovs.  The story flashes back and forth between Veronica's story and the story of Grigory Potemkin who was one of Catherine the Great's lovers.  I really enjoyed the Potemkin story line; it was unique and intriguing.  The rest of the story was just okay; Veronica's story was slow and I had a hard time staying interested in what was happening to her.  I also found the past and present stories to be poorly connected so it almost seemed like they were two separate books.  3 stars. I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye This was a fun read and I loved the combination of historical fiction and fantasy!  The magical aspects were neat and I really enjoyed the descriptions ...

  The Three by Sarah Lotz This was the strangest book I have read in a long time.  I'm still not one hundred percent sure I understood the whole thing.  I expected it to be a lot scarier and while there were creepy parts, it really wasn't scary at all.  It was just really weird!  I feel like I'm still trying to process what happened.  I will say that it was well-written and was a quite the page turner; it just ended very strangely and I didn't feel like I had all my questions answered.  I'm giving this 3 stars as a neutral rating because I can't decide if I liked or disliked this book. The Good Girl by Mary Kubica I'll start by saying that I didn't dislike this book but I was disappointed in it.  It seemed like there was a lot of hype surrounding it and I just thought it fell flat.  The story did suck me in and keep me interested but most of the characters were not likable at all so it was hard to relate to anyone or feel...

From Goodreads:  World War I and the Russian Revolution together shaped the twentieth century in profound ways. In The End of Tsarist Russia, acclaimed scholar Dominic Lieven connects for the first time the two events, providing both a history of the First World War’s origins from a Russian perspective and an international history of why the revolution happened. Based on exhaustive work in seven Russian archives as well as many non-Russian sources, Dominic Lieven’s work is about far more than just Russia. By placing the crisis of empire at its core, Lieven links World War I to the sweep of twentieth-century global history. He shows how contemporary hot issues such as the struggle for Ukraine were already crucial elements in the run-up to 1914. By incorporating into his book new approaches and comparisons, Lieven tells the story of war and revolution in a way that is truly original and thought-provoking. My Thoughts:  The End of Tsarist Russia is an incred...

Synopsis: The Grip of God is the first novel in an epic historical trilogy, The Tiger and the Dove. Set in the thirteenth century, its heroine, Sofia, is a young princess of Kievan Rus. She begins her story by recounting her capture in battle and life of slavery to a young army captain in the Mongol armies that are flooding Europe. Not only is her life shattered, it is threatened by the bitter rivalries in her new master's powerful family, and shadowed by the leader of the Mongol invasion, Batu Khan, Genghis Khan's grandson. How will she learn to survive in a world of total war, much less rediscover the love she once took for granted? Always seeking to escape and menaced by outer enemies and inner turmoil, where can she find safe haven even if she can break free? Clear eyed and intelligent, Sofia could be a character from The Game of Thrones, but she refuses to believe that life is solely about the strong dominating the weak or about taking endless revenge. Her story is ...

The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva I love a good spy story!  The Kill Artist is the first book in the Silva's Gabriel Allon series and it is really good.  I had picked up book 9 and 10 in the series and really enjoyed them so I decided that i needed to start from the very beginning.  Gabriel Allon is a fascinating character; an art restorer by day, an Israeli spy by night.  He's a killer with a conscious which makes for good reading.  There was a lot of detail in this book which was boring at times but I think was probably necessary to set the scene for future books.  3 stars. Anastasia's Secret by Susanne Dunlap I know I've said this before but I will read anything that is about Russian history.  This story is told from Anastasia's point of view as her family's world collapses.  I really enjoyed it even though I knew how it was all going to end.  I liked that the author gave Anastasia a love interest and some happiness in her ...

The Morning Star by Robin Bridges This is the third book in the Katerina trilogy and I was a little disappointed by it.  I really liked the first two books but I just struggled to get into this one.  There was a lot going on and it was hard to keep track of things.   I did like the way the author wrapped things up between Katerina and Georgi but the whole thing just seemed kind of anticlimactic.  3 stars. The Secret Daughter of the Tsar by Jennifer Laam I really enjoy alternative histories as well as anything about Russia so I was really drawn to this book.  I love the idea of a surviving Romanov no matter how fictional the story may be.  This book is based on the idea that Nicholas and Alexandra had a fifth daughter who was spirited away from the palace and raised in Europe.  It bounces between past and present and I especially loved the parts of the story set in Imperial Russia.  The way the author set up the story of the fi...

From Goodreads:  Catherine the Great muses on her life, her relentless battle between love and power, the country she brought into the glorious new century, and the bodies left in her wake. By the end of her life, she had accomplished more than virtually any other woman in history. She built and grew the Romanov empire, amassed a vast fortune of art and land, and controlled an unruly and conniving court. Now, in a voice both indelible and intimate, she reflects on the decisions that gained her the world and brought her enemies to their knees. And before her last breath, shadowed by the bloody French Revolution, she sets up the end game for her last political maneuver, ensuring her successor and the greater glory of Russia. My Thoughts:  I was really excited to read this because I think Catherine the Great is a very cool historical figure.  I remember enjoying Stachniak's first book about Catherine, The Winter Palace, and was looking forward to the second....

  The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley I think this is one of the best books I have read in a long time.  I was completely sw ept away by the characters and the story.  I love how Kearsley's books weave the past and the present together so beautifully.  Kearsley is such a great writer; the setting and characters are always so magical.  The romance was epic and overall this was a fantastic book!  5 stars. The Firebird by Susanna Kearsley The Firebird is amazing in that it contains characters from both The Winter Sea and The Shadow Horses.  The present characters are from the latter and the past characters are from the former.  It was awesome to find out what happened after The Winter Sea as there was a lot left wide open at the end.  I also loved to getting see Robbie from The Shadowy Horses all grown up.  It is actually because of this book that I wanted to read Kearsley's books.  The fact that it was about Russ...

The White Princess by Philippa Gregory I am not a huge fan of Philippa Gregory and yet I just keep reading her books.  I am so intrigued by the War of the Roses that I just can't stay away from her Cousin's War series.  Elizabeth of York is a fascinating historical figure and I can't help feeling bad for her in both real life and this story.  I must say that I really enjoyed this book.  This is probably the first book I've read where Elizabeth Woodville seemed like a pretty nice person and a very loving mother; she was portrayed in a completely different manner in this book than in others I've read.  I enjoyed that but I'm not sure if it's an accurate depiction or not.  Also, while I loved the fact that Gregory had one of the 'princes in the tower' survive, I was annoyed that she asserts in her author's note that she believes that this version of the story is correct.  I feel like sometimes she makes a lot of assertions that she doesn...

I've decided to start posting mini-reviews every now and again.  A lot of times there are books I read that I just don't have enough to talk about to warrant a whole review or even a shorter 'quick review'.        Six Days in Leningrad by Paullina Simons   I loved The Bronze Horseman and this memoir chronicles the trip that Paullina Simons took to Russia to do research for it.  Simons is originally from Russia and this trip was her first time back after leaving when she was a child.  It was a sad but fascinating look at what it's like to revisit one's childhood.  Her memories didn't always coincide with reality and it seemed to be quite shocking for her when this was brought to her attention.  I want to visit Russia so bad and this book only encouraged that desire.  It's only available as a kindle ebook which is kind of a hassle and there were a lot of typos but I would still recommend this book.  4 stars. T...