I thoroughly enjoyed Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten, so when I saw The Tsarina’s Daughter was available I jumped at the chance to read it.
In this novel we are once again transported to the volatile inner workings of the Russian royal court—this time following the story of Elizabeth (daughter of Peter the Great and Catherine I). The young Tsarevna is living a charmed life as the story opens. She’s the daughter of a revered ruler and on the cusp of an engagement to the king of France. But as so many fantastically heartbreaking stories go, she soon finds everything she thought her life would be swept away and she’s relegated to the life of a pauper on the fringe of the royal court she was once destined to rule.
The stark realities of Elizabeth’s life are highlighted by the cold, harsh descriptions of Russia during this time. Cold winters, poverty, and famine feature as prominently as each character in the book. Ellen Alpsten has once again done an amazing job of building this world and transporting us into it. It was a hard book to read only because I felt the anger and disappointment for Elizabeth’s predicament so strongly every time I opened the book—but not opening it again was never an option because I had to follow her journey through to the end.
The Tsarina’s Daughter is a fantastic historical fiction (and just a damned good book!). It will be released March 15, 2022 and I highly recommend it if historical fiction is your jam.
*I received a copy of The Tsarina’s Daughter from Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review*