Lost Roses
Fiction
Ballantine Books
April 2, 2019
Advanced reader copy
448
Free from publisher
The runaway bestseller Lilac Girls introduced the real-life heroine Caroline Ferriday. This sweeping new novel, set a generation earlier and also inspired by true events, features Caroline's mother, Eliza, and follows three equally indomitable women from St. Petersburg to Paris under the shadow of World War I. It is 1914 and the world has been on the brink of war so many times, many New Yorkers treat the subject with only passing interest. Eliza Ferriday is thrilled to be traveling to St. Petersburg with Sofya Streshnayva, a cousin of the Romanovs. The two met years ago one summer in Paris and became close confidantes. Now Eliza embarks on the trip of a lifetime, home with Sofya to see the splendors of Russia. But when Austria declares war on Serbia and Russia's Imperial dynasty begins to fall, Eliza escapes back to America, while Sofya and her family flee to their country estate. In need of domestic help, they hire the local fortuneteller's daughter, Varinka, unknowingly bringing intense danger into their household. On the other side of the Atlantic, Eliza is doing her part to help the White Russian families find safety as they escape the revolution. But when Sofya's letters suddenly stop coming she fears the worst for her best friend. From the turbulent streets of St. Petersburg to the avenues of Paris and the society of fallen Russian émigrés who live there, the lives of Eliza, Sofya, and Varinka will intersect in profound ways, taking readers on a breathtaking ride through a momentous time in history.
My review:
The precursor to Lilac Girls, where we follow one of that book character's mother Eliza. I had already read Lilac Girls (and loved it), but I've seen people question if there is an order to read these if you have not read either. I would say no. Other than Caroline (from Lilac Girls) being referred to as a child in Lost Roses, the books are their own stories and can be read as such. This book shed more light on the history of World War I, which seems to not have many historical fiction books written about (or maybe I'm just not seeking them out?). I found this book to be harder to engage in at the beginning. It may be because I had little knowledge of the Russian side of the war, and there were a lot of characters to keep track of (particularly in the aristocratic family). Once I got over what I thought was a slow start, this ended up being an engaging read. Told in alternating chapters by the three main characters (much as in Lilac Girls), the writing was captivating, well researched, and the story flowed well. It was interesting how my perspective changed with some of the characters as the story progressed. Did anyone else think Eliza was kind of a crappy parent to Caroline at the beginning? I loved learning about the work that was done to try and make a life here in the U.S. for the Russian immigrants. There were definitely some intense moments in this one to make you flip pages!
I'm going to admit that I still prefer Lilac Girls, but by all means read this one as it definitely has merit unto itself.
