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winnieismydog's review against another edition
3.0
I appreciate historical fiction but it felt like it took too long to set up the stage. I almost bailed a couple of times. It wasn't until about three quarters of the way through that it became interesting and really addressed the "Between Love and Honor."
mdezrin's review against another edition
4.0
Emotional book with complex characters. The conflicts are deep. The fact that it is a true but tragic story makes it that much more of a compelling read. It is an area and era that most of us don't study and have little familiarity with. And yet, those conflicts are somehow playing out almost 175 years later. The end is draining and wow.
amelie5m's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
cher_n_books's review
1.0
1.5 stars - I didn't like it.
DNF - Only made it through the first 80 pages (about 15%) before throwing in the towel. I picked up this book as it is part of the Kindle Unlimited program with narration by one of my favorite narrators, Nick Podehl. It starts off as a steady stream of graphic violence and prejudices. The synopsis reports that at some point it becomes a love story, which is interesting given that the beginning is nothing but hate.
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First Sentence: As the coffin of Czar Nicholas I descends into the crypt of the Romanovs in Saint Petersburg, two groups of horsemen gather on the banks of the Mitchik River, in Chechnya.
DNF - Only made it through the first 80 pages (about 15%) before throwing in the towel. I picked up this book as it is part of the Kindle Unlimited program with narration by one of my favorite narrators, Nick Podehl. It starts off as a steady stream of graphic violence and prejudices. The synopsis reports that at some point it becomes a love story, which is interesting given that the beginning is nothing but hate.
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First Sentence: As the coffin of Czar Nicholas I descends into the crypt of the Romanovs in Saint Petersburg, two groups of horsemen gather on the banks of the Mitchik River, in Chechnya.
johannalm's review against another edition
4.0
An incredibly well researched and interesting adventure story based on the life of Jamal Eddin, son of a famous Imam from Muslim Chechnya (1830's - 1850's). The description of the insanity of fundamentalism and hatred for the other is terrifying and even more frightening because the fanaticism still exists today. The Imam's main enemy is Czar Nicholas, also a despotic ruler, who raises the Imam's son when the boy is given to the Russians as a hostage at age 6. The boy comes to love the Czar and is raised among the royal family and all the nobility who recognize and acknowledge his honorable and distinguished character. He sounds like he was a great person who eventually had to give up all he loved and cherished to go back to his father so that hostages taken by the Imam could be released. He was 26 when he went back to his "home" but did not succeed in bringing peace to the troubled area and dies a sad and depressed young man. Great historical details about the place and time.
mimima's review against another edition
3.0
There are many reasons I really enjoy Goodreads, but this book brought home one of them - because I'd scanned the reviews of this, I knew that it was a slow starter. I skimmed through the first section and then slowed up as I got into Russia with the main character. Although it was interesting, it never read like the fiction it is, more like a non-fiction. A sweet love story, though.
tylskie's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this book. I thought the scenery was beautiful and the characters compelling. True there is a slog of Russian names that you may still be a little confused by at the end of the book, but it didn't bother me too much personally. I don't know if I loved the ending so much, but to get into that I would have to give away too many spoilers. Worth a read if you are in the mood for some period fiction based on nonfiction, and don't wanna sit down with another English historical fiction novel.
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