#fridayreads #bookrec

I’m behind with my #reading and reviews (when am I not really?!) thanks to round one of the crud. So before round two takes me out, I wanted to share my thoughts on this 5x (star) read, #LostRoses by @marthahallkelly (author of #LilacGirls also a 5x (star) read).

WWII #historicalfiction is one of my favorites, and now the setting of WWI is becoming a favorite as well.. This novel features the mother of Caroline Ferriday, Eliza, a generation before Lilac Girls, and follows three women from St. Petersburg to Paris and America starting in 1914. This is a beautifully written novel which transported me on an emotional journey with Eliza, Sofya (a cousin of the Romanovs), and Varinka. These women are given genuine voices for their stories, the settings vivid in my mind as I read, and I found this book to be “unputdownable." While technically a prequel to Lilac Girls, you can read either as a stand alone, or in whichever order you suits you. (I would still start with Lilac Girls - after reading it I think you’d be that much more interested in Caroline’s mother Eliza’s story but that’s my humble opinion - to each reader their own).

Lost Roses comes out in April. Have you added it to your TBR yet? #ThankYou to @randomhouse #BallantineNooks and #NetGalley for this e-ARC!

(Note: Blog post includes NetGalley synopsis)

The author really make the book come alive! It started off pretty descriptive, but ended up being a book I just could not put down. It is beautifully written and I would recommend, even if you have not read the Lilac Girls.

Lost Roses, similarly to Lilac Girls before it, had me desperate to travel to every location described in the book. In the height of the Russian Revolution, the story unfolds in New York, Russia and Paris. Told through three narrators, the story unfolds beautifully, leaving your emotions and your heart on the line.

A world on the cusp of war brings Eliza Ferriday together with a cousin of the Russian tsar, Sofya Streshnayva. The two are fast friends, but lose touch with each other when Sofya has to flee back to a crumbling Russia. Introduced into the mix is a local Russian girl, Varinka, who is brought into the Streshnayva household to care for Sofya’s young son. The three women’s lives unfold separately but delicately intertwined over the course of the revolution.

What I liked the most about Lost Roses was the strong and fierce female characters throughout. In all three stories, the women persevered through their own wherewithal and courage. The Ferriday-Woolsey women, in particular, deserve a much bigger mention in American history!

Like any good reader, I was attached to these characters from page one of Lilac Girls, and was happy to read in the Author’s Note that we’ll be going back to the Civil War in a third story.

I loved the Lilac Girls so I knew that I had to read this latest book by the same author. It delivered!!!
I was so glad to get to read about Caroline’s mother as she was one of my favorite characters from the first book. I loved this historical story of Eliza and her life, love and friendships in a war torn country. The landscape of this book was powerful with real characters and strong heroines. It has everything I love in s historical fiction. This book was rich and engaging and you will fall in love with the writing all over again!

Thank you Random House - Ballantine and Netgalley for the chance to read the ARC of Lost Roses. My friends were trés envious! I would give Lost Roses a solid 4 stars. The history of Russia in the early 20th century is tragic for all sides you look at, and Martha Hall Kelly does a good job of providing characters from every walk of life affected by the Russian revolution. I believe stories set in WW1 will be the hot ticket sellers this year, and for good reason.

The only issue I had with the novel was the few moments of dialogue that felt very "give the readers a history lesson" rather than a natural voice. However, it's not as though this time period is very well known (compared with WW2) so readers may need some hand holding when it comes to the nuts and bolts.

This historical fiction story is jam packed with action. Sometimes the action is glazed over, making it feel a bit rushed. I highly recommend Lost Roses to readers who want a new historical period to obsess over, and who don't need much character development.

I read “Lilac Girls” back in 2016 and loved it and I’ve been anxiously waiting for the next book from Martha Hall Kelly. Let me just say that she did not disappoint with this one. “Lost Roses” left my heart reeling, set against WWI and the Russian revolution.

This book checks all my favorite boxes: historical fiction, richly drawn characters, and a compelling plot that kept me turning the pages. The author employs an alternating chapters technique with Eliza, an American socialite (and Caroline’s mother from “Lilac Girls”) and several characters in Russia – Varinka, a peasant girl, and Sofya and her family -- relatives to the Tsar. Eliza and Sofya are friends and their lives intersect, both in the US and in Russia.

I’ve come to expect Martha Hall Kelly to firmly plant me in an historical time period and she does that so well again with this book. We see how the events in Europe affect Americans and what the Russian Revolution entails for both the upper classes and the peasants in Russia.

I loved seeing the lineage for the strong American women -- the Woolsey women – and the background on how Caroline became such a philanthropist and advocate for women. The stories are so well told, but definitely heartbreaking in a few parts. Kudos to you Martha Hall Kelly for creating another masterpiece!

*I will update my Goodreads review on publication day

Like a million other readers, I fell in love with Martha Hall Kelly's captivating writing while reading best-selling Lilac Girls. I was thrilled to dive into Lost Roses to learn more of the backstory of the Ferriday family. Lost Roses takes place against the backdrop of WWI and the Russian Revolution. It's a sweeping tale of friendship and family. The book stands alone without having read Lilac Girls, but I loved the familial connection between the two. A must read for fans of historical fiction.

Lilac Girls was one of the best books in historical fiction and completely mesmerizing. This book was a close second, an historical fictional book about WWI. Martha Hall Kelly can just keep them coming.

#LostRoses #NetGalley

This is the story of three women and how they survived the !st World War, specifically the Russian Revolution. Eliza, an American heiress, and Sofya, a Russian aristocrat are friends in school. Eliza spends time with Sofya in her Russian home and they become lifelong friends. Shortly after the visit, the revolution begins and the girls lose touch. The book follows the lives of these two women as they marry, care for their families and face specific problems of life during wartime. Being a Russian aristocrat, Sofya must deal with the take over of her family and childhood home by the revolutionaries. She finds her family imprisioned and her your son adopted by Varinka, a Russian peasant and member of the revolutionaries. Varinka has a secret of her own and must hide the kidnapping from those around her for fear of what will happen to the child. Eliza living in America must face her own conflicts with life in general, and trouble in her family. Throughout the story, the women Eliza and Sonya continue to try to reconnect with one another. As you read the story, you will be introduced to many war time experiences, the history of "White Russians" and the horrors the aristocracy experienced living in Russia during the Revolution. This book is a prequel of "Lilac Girls", which I can't wait to read. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Thank you Martha Hall Kelly, Random House-Ballantine and Netgalley for an advanced readers copy of Lost Roses.
Lost Roses is a prequel to The Lilac Girls. Lilac Girls is on my list of all time favorite books and I was so looking forward to reading Lost Roses. It was not a disappointment. Kelly's writing makes you slow down and savor every word.
This is the story of Eliza Farraday, the mother of Caroline Farraday from Lilac Girls. It also is the story of Eliza's best friend Sofya and Varinka, the "nanny" for Sofya's son, who becomes someone dangerous to Sofya and her family. Each chapter focuses on one of these three interesting women. WWI breaks out and Sofya and Varinka are right in the cross hairs of the violence and horror of war. Eliza is in New York but makes sure to do everything she can to help Sofya and the other women of Russia.
The story moves from New York to Russia and then to Paris. As the three women find themselves in Paris, although separately, their lives and happiness depend on what happens in Paris.
Although I still like Lilac Girls better, this story was no disappointment and I can't wait to read the next installment of this family, as previewed by the author, as being about Eliza's mother during the Civil War. These characters (and real people) stay with you long after the last page.

A special thanks to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC of this book. I had read and loved Lilac Girls and was really excited to receive access to Lost Roses. I will say that, for me, this book got off to a slow start. But it redeemed itself and became my favorite type of book- a well written, slow burn that has a developed, involved plot. I was also pleasantly surprised to read about the Romanov families in Lost Roses. I love learning more about that family. Overall, a wonderful book that I would recommend.

The Lilac Girls was so overwhelmingly popular that I thought that perhaps this book would have a lot to live up to and for me, it didn’t meet the expectations. I still love this author and the books maybe just cane too close on the heels of each other for me to really separate the two as individual works to be appreciated on their own. The book is good, just not as good as Lilac a Girls.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of the novel. This was a historical fiction that takes place around the time of WWI and involves the lives of three main characters. I really enjoyed lilac girls and was excited to read this semi prequel novel but found the characters not as intriguing as those in Kelly's first novel. I will definitely keep reading this author.

I thought Lilac Girls was one of my favorite books of 2018. Now, it seems that Lost Roses has taken the lead in 2019.
A prequel of Lilac Girls, the story focus on three courageous women, one being Eliza Ferriday, the mother of Caroline, in Lilac Girls. It takes place at the start of WWI and the Bolshevik revolution and overthrow of the Tsar. We follow Eliza in NY, Sofya, a relative of the royal family and Varinka in Russia, as they all deal with the troubling times in their own stories.
This is a story of tragic loss, struggle, violence and deep love. It will draw you in from the first words, spoken by Eliza.
Martha Hall Kelly had a gem with her debut novel and has continued so with her second. She is a superb storyteller, bringing the lives of real women to us, in her unique way. My thanks to the author, #NetGalley and #Ballentine Book for the ARC for my honest review.

It's hard to follow a novel as wonderful as Lilac Girls, however this author was able to pull it off! I will admit that initially it was harder for me to get into it, and I struggled to keep all the characters straight. Once I got through that, I really enjoyed the story. One of my favorite aspects is that this book followed Russia during WWI, which is not as common in historical fiction novels of this time period.

The book alternates between perspectives of three female characters, each with their own story but all intertwined. There was so much depth to each, but I could have used even more. At times I felt like I would've like more attention on some of the bigger events.

Thank you to Random House Publishing and Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book.

Martha Kelly’s debut novel Lilac Girls was one of my favorites. So, it was with much anticipation that I dove into Lost Roses.

Set on the precipice of World War I, Lost Roses is the prequel to Lilac Girls. It follows the life of Eliza Ferriday, mother to Caroline, the heroine from The Lilac Girls. Suffice to say, Caroline got her iron will, strong sense of purpose, and dedication to service from her mother.

Eliza’s life story was fascinating. Her stateside and international efforts to help displaced Russian royalty was nothing short of heroic. Equally interesting were the backstories of the other two main characters, Sofya and Varinka.

Kelly weaves a spellbinding story, taking the readers along Eliza, Sofya and Varinka’s harrowing journeys throughout the east coast of the US, St. Petersburg and Paris.

Although by no means a historian, I was astonished by Kelly’s command of time, place and social and economic climate with rich descriptions of people, challenges, and topography. I especially enjoyed Kelly’s use of period language and culinary details.

I am jealous of those who can read Kelly’s creations in sequential order, however, each stands on its own. An enthusiastic five-star rating.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine Books for an ARC of Lost Roses in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

I was a huge fan of Lilac Girls even though I have never been a huge fan of history fiction. Lost Roses is a prequel to Lost Roses and while Lilac Girls dealt with Caroline Ferriday, the Lost Roses is Caroline's Mother's story and what a story it is.

This is the beautiful story of Eliza, Sofya and Varinka and how they want to help others. Set in Russia and US Such a wonderful book!.

Happy to have snagged an advanced copy of this prequel to Lilac Girls. I loved it so so much. I found reading about the fall of the Romanov’s and the Russian Revolution so satisfying and it left me aching for more. I don’t always do non-fiction well, so having a novel bring these events to life (and also manage to leave me craving to do my own research) is such a gift.
Also: I am completely stoked that the author will be writing another novel about the Woolsey women, this time during the Civil War. I can’t wait!

Popsugar Challenge: A book with a two word title

Lost Roses is historical fiction that follows the lives of three women, Sofya, Varinka, and Eliza, during the years immediately preceding and throughout the Russian Revolution. Told through the alternating POVs of these three women, we see how the Russian Revolution affected them and their families, following them from New York to St. Petersburg to Malinov, Russia to Paris, to New York. Much of the story centers around Max, Sofya’s son, born in New York, taken to Russia as an infant, and brought to Paris as a toddler. It is in Paris where the issue of his custody is ultimately decided.

These are three strong women who, at times, are forced to make difficult decisions that can mean the difference between life and death. I found this to be a fascinating story and is a prequel to Lilac Girls. I loved this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Lilac Girls and Lost Roses, which is a prequel to Lilac Girls, did not disappoint. I highly recommend reading the Author’s Note at the end to learn more about the characters and suggested further reading. From well-developed characters to a building storyline with intrigue and suspense, the novel was excellent. And I learned more about WWI. Looking forward to her next novel!