Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I just love a well-researched, historical fiction based on true events.
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Eliza and Sofya are schoolmates who are now adults with their own families. Eliza, an American, lives in New York and Sofya, a Russian aristocrat, lives in St Petersburg with her family. The Russian Revolution and World War II is looming in 1914 when Eliza and Sofya last see each other. Varinka is a peasant girl trapped in a bizarre arrangement with her mother, father and her father's young apprentice who is newly returned from prison and involved with the Russian rebels.
These three women live through tragedy and loss over the next six years all the while trying to reach their final goals - Eliza to find Sofya and reconnect with her daughter, Sofya to find what is left of her family and Varinka to find freedom. It wasn't always pretty and some terrible things had to be done along the way but they make it the other side.
I loved this book. Much like Lilac Girls, I sympathized with all of the characters even when one was clearly not doing the right thing. The story started off slow for me, especially Eliza's story, but picked up midway and I couldn't put the book down after that.
Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy.
These three women live through tragedy and loss over the next six years all the while trying to reach their final goals - Eliza to find Sofya and reconnect with her daughter, Sofya to find what is left of her family and Varinka to find freedom. It wasn't always pretty and some terrible things had to be done along the way but they make it the other side.
I loved this book. Much like Lilac Girls, I sympathized with all of the characters even when one was clearly not doing the right thing. The story started off slow for me, especially Eliza's story, but picked up midway and I couldn't put the book down after that.
Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
It took a little while for me to get into it. It began with such lives of privilege. But after a while I was always interested in what would happen next. Learned a lot about that time period - it really brought it to life.
Many thanks to Ballantine Books for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review
Yes, I am dnf-ing this. Even so, I really want to stress that this is not a bad book. Martha Hall Kelly's writing is amazing and captivating. That said, this book just isn't working for me. I have never been a fan of historical fiction. I was really hoping this would be the exception. It wasn't. For those who love historical fiction, this book is for you. It just wasn't for me.
| Goodreads | Blog | Pinterest | LinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram
I was definitely stepping outside of my comfort zone reading-wise by reading Lost Roses, and sadly, I ultimately thought that this book was incredibly disappointing. What really killed my enjoyment of Lost Roses was the fact that I wasn’t really able to truly connect with any of the characters in this book. I especially hated Varinka by the end of the book; even though I hated how her boyfriend abused her throughout the book. Even though I ultimately thought that Lost Roses was extremely disappointing, I’m still glad that I read it, because of how it got me out of my comfort zone when it comes to the kind of books that I usually like to read.
My Goodreads Rating / Score: 2 out of 5 stars on Goodreads’ rating system. 4 out of 10 on my own personal scoring system.
My Goodreads Rating / Score: 2 out of 5 stars on Goodreads’ rating system. 4 out of 10 on my own personal scoring system.
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
An interesting story that doesn't deal with viruses at all. Phew. Sadly, yes, this is part of my reviews now.