I thoroughly enjoyed Lilac Girld so I was very confident that I would love Lost Roses by Martha Hall Kelly. Lost Roses is the prequel to the Lilac Girls. It is the story of three strong women during WWI and the Russian Revolution. The story is told in the three different viewpoints of Eliza, Sofya and Varinka. They describe the hardships and the despair they suffer. I do not feel that it would be necessary to read the Lilac Girls first. I would highly recommend this book!

This a wonderfully written historical novel. Most of the setting is during WWII but continues to the beginning of WWII. The women in this novel are fighting for freedom themselves and their families. Their lives intersect, through the story, in America, Paris, and Russia. The story shows the strength of friendship and the fortitude it took for these women to overcome so many daunting obstacles. Thanks to #netgalley for the early preview. Readers of The Alice Network, Lilac Girls, and The Lost Girls will no doubt love where this story takes you.

I am sorry to say that this was just a chore to get through. I really did not like any of the characters and there were many times that I was lost about who was who. For instance, when Eliza is talking in the beginning of the book, we have no idea that she is married with a child. At some point a few pages (or a hundred, who knows) in she is talking about Henry and Caroline. Then, even later, we discover that she is married to Henry and Caroline is her daughter.

Timing is off throughout the book. It seems as if whoever was assisting Ms Kelly edit, they fell asleep while reading.

Because I enjoyed Lilac Girls so much, I really wanted to like this. I just couldn't.

I do thank Netgalley and Ballentine Books for this advanced readers copy.

“Poor lost roses. Like us, I suppose.” This quote describes two Russian sisters, Luba and Sonya, once wealthy with connections to the Russian royal family. The other main character is Eliza, a wealthy New Yorker.
This novel is inspired by actual events based around World War 1. Rather than a sequel to Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly, this is a prequal and there will be a third book going even further back in time.
Dissolution of the Russian royal ruling party sets the stage for this novel. There is much turmoil, murder and loss of thousands of lives.during the war.
The story is about Eliza and Sonya, friends since childhood, their separation due to the war and their attempts to stay in touch between Russia and New York.
The characters are well defined, some to be liked and others to hate for their unbelievable cruelty.
A rose is symbolic. Can it survive?
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From the author of Lilac Girls comes a powerful and emotional story of two women bound together by friendship, even when war threatens to tear them apart. On the cusp of the Russian Revolution, Sofya and her family find themselves held captive in their own home. Able to break free, Sofya makes her way to Paris where Russian emigres are migrating, in the hopes of making contact with her American friend Eliza. On the other side of the Atlantic, Eliza is worried when she stops receiving letters from Sofya, and fears the worst. In response, she starts helping other Russian families find security as they make their way to America.

I enjoy historical fiction based on or inspired by real people/events. This novel, based on the life and experiences of Eliza Ferriday, a New York socialite. During and after WWI, Eliza helps to relocate Russians escaping the Communist Revolution. The story is also told through the perspectives of Eliza's Russian aristocratic friend and a Russian peasant. The characters and sense of place are well-defined.

I enjoyed the beginning, slowly getting to know the characters. I loved Luba; so sure of herself and confident. I wished we got to hear more of the story from her perspective. I instantly loved Sofya and Eliza and their friendship. They cared so deeply for the other and it was touching how fiercely they set out to find each other when the war ended. It took a while to get through the middle, but I deeply enjoyed the ending and loved how the story wrapped up.

The character I couldn’t stand was Varinka. She was so naive and childish and that relationship she has with Taras is just cringeworthy. Her actions in the book made it hard to feel empathy for her and even as things started looking up, those actions come back around and it made me mad at her all over again.

Another issue I had with the book was that all the characters sounded the same. Even though we’re getting three different POVs at different age ranges, the writing for all three was repetitive, to the point where Kelly used the same phrases over and over again. It got real old, real quick.

Despite my mixed feelings, I would for sure recommend this book. I found it refreshing to read a historical fiction not about WWII. I love those kinds of books, but they’re a dime a dozen.

As soon as I saw Martha Hall Kelly had written another book, I knew I had to read it. Lost Roses takes place a generation earlier than Lilac Girls (during WWI), and it follows Caroline’s mother Eliza Ferriday. At first I wasn’t sure if I would connect with the characters as much as I had in Lilac Girls, but I found myself reading any chance I could get. I loved getting to know these deep characters and learning about a time and place that had little knowledge of.

You don’t need to read Lilac Girls to love this book, but I can almost guarantee—if you’re like me—you’re going to want to read anything Martha Hall Kelly writes!

(Also another little gem at the end of the book says there will be another book about Caroline’s great-grandmother during the Civil War. I can’t wait!)

Loved Lilac Girls... this also was an amazing novel. I was savoring the last few chapters, for I didn’t want the book to end.

Ohhhh my goodness!! If you are a historical fiction fan, Lost Roses should be required reading!! I haven’t read Lilac Girls, but when I was only 20% into the Lost Roses, I went onto Amazon to 1-click Lilac Girls because I was that wow’ed by Martha Hall Kelly’s writing style! And if you find yourself in the same boat, no worries because Lost Roses is a prequel to Lilac Girls — Lost Roses takes place 1912- 1920 (WWI) and Lilac Girls takes place during WWII. In all honesty, I haven’t read a ton of books that takes place during WWI and of course the brilliant plot hooked me, but also I felt I learned a lot more about that time period because we get 3 very different character perspectives—loved that! Before going into Lost Roses, I knew it wasn’t a short read, but trust me every page is necessary and after finishing I wish there was another couple hundred more pages because I truly didn’t want it end (ever lol)! This novel is both heartwarming and heartbreaking and everything in between! Lost Roses is 5+++ star novel that will stay with you! This book is absolutely a 2019 favorite!

Excellent novel about three young women: a White Russian struggling to survive the Communist Revolution, a Russian peasant struggling to find her way in a new world order, and an American socialite in New York City. The differences in the circumstances of these three women is vast, and it's amazing that they lived at the same time and that their lives intersect. I really enjoyed this novel. It moves quickly and keeps your attention until the end.

I actually liked this novel much, much better than its sequel, Lilac Girls. Although a zillion books have been written about the Holocaust and World War II (the subject of Lilac Girls), stories of the Russian Revolution are just now being told here in the West.

Well written, great characters, great plot!

This engrossing historical fiction is billed as the prequel to Lilac Girls, a breakout hit of 2016. Martha Hall Kelly introduces readers to another generation of the Ferriday family, this time featuring Eliza Ferriday and her dear friend Sofya. These young women are set to take on the world, daring travelers with enough wealth and connections to satisfy their wanderlust. World War I looms, and cuts short a visit to Russia by Eliza. The women separate, with promises to write often and resume their friendship once the dust settles on turbulent times.
Sofya and her family leave the city of St. Petersberg for their summer estate. Once there, another strong willed woman enters the Sofya's life and changes it dramatically. Varinka is hired as kitchen help for the family, but her involvement with radicals endangers Sofya and her family.
Across the Atlantic, Eliza has taken up championing the cause of female Russian emigres as she waits to hear from Sofya. She suffers personal losses during this time as well, and finds comfort in providing for the Russians as she awaits word from her friend. All three women converge in Paris, where wrongs are made right and as the war ends they can move on with their lives.
This beautifully written story unfolds with rich detail and finely drawn, strong female characters. While told from multiple viewpoints, it progresses steadily to a satisfying conclusion.

Thank you, NetGalley and Ballantine Books, for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. And if anyone has ever wondered whether these "honest" reviews are truly honest, this one is proof. Because I hated this book.

Where to begin? The pedestrian writing. The slopping timekeeping (for instance, a character notes that it had been two years since she'd seen her American friend, then a few paragraphs later says her son is 16 months old... except the son had been two months old when she'd last seen said friend. I wasted way too much time trying to figure out how old the kid throughout the rest of the book). The cardboard characters. The pile-up of coincidences that outnumber those in the entire oeuvre of Charles Dickens. The informed attributes (we're repeatedly told how smart Sofya is, but she does some amazingly stupid things. The classism that is seemingly condoned; when the White Russian emigrees are forced to live in the Bowery, Eliza springs into action to help them, because living there is too, too horrible. Not too horrible for the poor Irish, Italians, and Russian Jews who've been suffering there, but definitely too awful for the cosseted Russian nobles. The hand-waving of implausible events.

Perhaps my biggest beef, though, is the use of three narrators, given that every one of them tells her tale in the same voice with the same plodding sentences, limited vocabulary, and frame of references. Sofya was a star botany student, but she describes the scent of incense as "sweet and flowery." Someone with her background would not use "flowery" but would instead detail which floral notes made up the fragrance. The young peasant narrator would use different points of comparison than the privileged cousin of the tsar and maybe would speak in shorter or even fragment sentences.

If you'd like to read a truly evocative novel set during the Russian Revolution, choose The Revolution of Marina M. by Janet Finch instead (which I'd also received from NetGalley, fwiw).

A strong novel about the white Russian emigrees and the Bolsheviks. through the three main characters all sides including the Americans is represented. There are a few twists and surprises and the Afterword is interesting. A prequel to Lilac Girls, this author proves herself in historical women's fiction.

Copy provided by the Publisher and NetGalley

This story begins at the brink of the first World War, a New Yorker named Eliza goes to St. Petersburg Russia to visit a friend, who is a Romanov cousin. Once war breaks out and the Romanov dynasty falls, Eliza is able to return to America while Sofya and her family flee to their country estate. Eliza tries to help her friend and other Russians, and when she stops hearing from Sofya she fears the worst.

Lost Roses is a beautifully written novel. Lilac Girls was one of my favorites of 2018, so I was very excited to get an early release of Lost Roses. In the beginning, the characters are somewhat confusing and hard to keep straight, but as you keep reading, it all becomes more clear as the story unfolds. 1/4 of the way through, I literally could not put this book down and read for hours straight. It is beautifully written and I highly recommend.

Martha Hall Kelly has delivered another powerful story of loss, love, and resilience. Lost Roses is set during World War I, and is the prequel to her novel Lilac Girls. The three main characters all have different perspectives and experiences, and each an important place in history. Their stories are intricately woven together with superb writing, and fascinating detail. Once again, Hall Kelly has given us Historical Fiction at its finest!

Lost Roses is a prequel of sorts to Lilac Girls. In Lilac Girls we met Carolyn Ferraday, Lost Roses is the story of Carolyn's mother, Eliza Ferraday and two other women. Sofya Streshnayva is a Romanov cousin and friend of Eliza's, and Varinka is a young peasant girl that ends up working for Sofya. These three ladies have very differing paths through World War I and the Russian Revolution. Lost Roses travels from the US and Russia to Paris at the end of World War I. It is mainly the story of the Russian Revolution and how the tide turned against Little Father and anyone associated with him. In the chaos that ends at the end of the war and the revolution some friends are mourned and some are found. Another beautiful story By Martha Hall Kelly.

Martha Hall Kelly has done it again with Lost Roses. It took me a couple of chapters to get the relationships down between the three main characters and their relationships. during the Great War. Sofya, Russian aristocracy and her loss of status without understanding completely why but knowing change must be made. Varina, Russian peasant, being caught up in the Revolution through her relationships and then Eliza, the wealthy New Yorker being life long friends with Sofya and how this change affects her life. This is about amazingly strong women who deal with death, hardship and come out on top through hard work and standing up for what is right. #LostRoses, #NetGalley.

Eliza Ferriday and Sofya Streshnayva have been friends since girlhood, meeting in Paris and spending months at a time visiting each other in St. Petersburg and New York. On her last visit to Russia, Eliza feels the discontent of the Russian people and sees signs of brewing unrest to which her Russian friends seem completely oblivious. Eliza and Sofya have written each other daily since school and once WWI breaks out, followed by the Russian Revolution, the two lose contact. In the US, Eliza sets up refugee centers for Russians fleeing their homeland, hoping that Sofya will have fled. In Russia, Sofya fights to survive and find refuge somewhere. From there, she can contact Eliza and escape Russia.

Martha Hall Kelly writes a compelling story of a friendship tested through adversity and world uproar. There's lots of action and excitement with minimal horror in a time of widespread terror. She keeps the story taut until the end, when it slumps to a resolution.

However, "Lost Roses" will inspire me to seek out "Lilac Girls." Using the example of multiple strong women in one family to explore seminal events in history is certainly appealing. I look forward to more from Martha Kelly.