Review: Lost Roses

Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

☕ QOTD: Would you rather know the history of every object you touched or be able to talk to animals? Why?

The story starts at the eve of WWI up to its end. It is the story of three women:
1. Eliza: an American
2. Sofya: a Russian related to the Romanov
3. Varinka: a Russian peasant working for Sofya

Eliza and Sofya met in Paris and became close friends immediately. While visiting Eliza in America, a very pregnant Sofya finds herself in labour hours before returning to Russia. She gives birth to a beautiful baby boy who she names Max.

Soon after her return to Russia, WWI starts and instabilities in the country force Sofya and her family to take refuge at their estate south of Petrograd. To help with raising Max, Sofya hires Varinka, a local girl. Crimes against the Russian noblemen and women escalate rapidly. Sofya and her family are attacked and made prisoners. During the attack, Varinka saves Max and takes him as her own. Sofya is heartbroken and in an attempt to save her family, she escapes and meets with the Tsarina to ask for help. But the Tsar has been dethroned and there is no help to have. Upon her return to the estate, Sofya finds her family murdered and her son taken to Paris. She will do all she can to find him and get him back.

Meanwhile, in America, Eliza will also do all she can to reunite with Sofya while helping Russian women refugees by providing them with shelters, care, and employment.

Beautifully written and engaging, this book is a gem. Thank you Penguin Random House Canada for sending me a final copy of this beautiful book. Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly will be available at your favourite bookstore on April 9th, 2019.

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