This is the story of Catherine I of Russia. It’s the story on how she rose from poverty to power. I loved this book so much! From the beginning of the story of a young and innocent girl Catherine, you can see that she has a fighting spirit. Here are some of the things that stood out for me in the book:

-There is never a dull moment, it’s fast paced, and so much has happens from the start.
-There is war, romance, and the scenes leave nothing to the imagination.
-Well written! I love the descriptions of the cities and the people in that time of history.

I can't wait to read more from this author!

I tried to enjoy this book - the subject matter is fascinating and I wanted to know more about Catherine after seeing Hulu's Catherine the Great show. But I couldn't slog through it - despite trying multiple times. I eventually put it down, and didn't pick it back up. The prose is beautifully written, but it wasn't for me.

This historic fiction is set in the early 1700s in Russia and has a strong female protagonist as the name of the book suggests. We go through Martha’s story from when she was young, through her trials and tribulations to when she rose in ranks to become the Tsarina of Russia. It started off strong, and then there were moments in there that I didn’t know or rather couldn’t fully empathize; it’s all the intrigue and back stabbing and the behind the scenes scandal type of deal. The book brings to light issues of friendships and loyalty. Yes, this is a rags to riches story, if you like that sort of thing. Some of the sexual circumstances and scenes were graphic and had me raise an eyebrow or two. If you love Russian historic fiction, and you love stories about the struggles to rise to power, then this one is for you.

Thank you to NetGalley for offering this book. I requested this book as I love historical fiction. This book surely read like fiction, but according to the author, it events are all based on well documented history. That made the book even more incredible. The beginning was a bit slow but once it took off, it was a great rollercoaster ride. The writing/story was a bit disjointed at times, but easy enough to follow. I love when a book doesn't follow a linear timeline. This goes back and forth between Marta's humble beginnings and Catherine's unbelievable rise. I'd recommend this to anyone with a love of history. And romance ;-)

I loved the feeling and vibe of this novel. Ellen Alpsten does a wonderful job not only created the lush rich palaces of Russia, but the snowy cold villages of Tsarina's youth. You feel as if you are there with her through each twist and turn.

As an enthusiast of Russian royalty and historical fiction Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten hit so many marks on why this novel should be on my must-read list of 2020 and I am glad I did. The structure to Tsarina is assessable as it showed Marta’s growth and journey to become Catherine Alexeyeyna, Empress of Russia. There were elements within the first chapter that set up Marta’s eventual rise to power as Alpsten explored life within the Russian gentry and depicted the reality Marta experienced before chance, or destiny transformed her into Russian royalty. Marta as a character was someone who I was able to empathize with and root for. Marta’s passionate and ambitious nature made her resiliency and ability to endure despite experiencing many hardships believable. It was around the 200-230 page range that I had to research some of these facts and was astounded at the circumstances in which she went through. For example, navigating life as an impoverished woman in the 1700’s and utilizing many types of intelligence to ensure her survival. Another fact being she was the mother of 14 children and only had two grow into adulthood. The novel explores Catherine’s relationship with Peter the Great and depicts it as ambitious, thrilling, and above all passionate. The romantic liaisons that would occur between them were the stuff of Game of Thrones. The novel can be graphic at times in terms of language, sexual assault, violence both physical and sexual. These qualities added strength to the reality in which the characters experienced their lives and added substance to the character's story arc.
Overall I enjoyed this novel and am glad to read that a sequel to this novel is coming out in the next year following Tsarina’s daughter. Out of five stars on GoodReads, I give this novel a strong four out of five stars.

This book is impeccably researched historical fiction about the life of a washerwoman named Marta who rechristened herself Catherine Alexyevna, gained the notice of Peter the Great, and became his second wife. Her cunning and ambition helped her to become the first woman ruler of her country after Peter's death.
I love the story of this strong woman in history who I've never heard of before. Her history is fascinating and the author spares no detail when it comes to the violence, murder, and rape scenes (sometimes a bit too much detail).
Thank you to Ellen Alpsten and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this book. I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The views and opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

Thank you net galley for the advance reader copy of this novel. Wow! What a read! This was such a well written novel filled with a lot of historical information but the plot action never made it feel like it was a history lesson.

'St. Petersburg, 1725. Peter the Great lies dying in his magnificent Winter Palace. The weakness and treachery of his only son has driven his father to an appalling act of cruelty and left the empire without an heir. Russia risks falling into chaos. Into the void steps the woman who has been by his side for decades: his second wife, Catherine Alexeyevna, as ambitious, ruthless and passionate as Peter himself.

Born into devastating poverty, Catherine used her extraordinary beauty and shrewd intelligence to ingratiate herself with Peter’s powerful generals, finally seducing the Tsar himself. But even amongst the splendor and opulence of her new life—the lavish feasts, glittering jewels, and candle-lit hours in Peter’s bedchamber—she knows the peril of her position. Peter’s attentions are fickle and his rages powerful; his first wife is condemned to a prison cell, her lover impaled alive in Red Square. And now Catherine faces the ultimate test: can she keep the Tsar’s death a secret as she plays a lethal game to destroy her enemies and take the Crown for herself?

From the sensuous pleasures of a decadent aristocracy, to the incense-filled rites of the Orthodox Church and the terror of Peter’s torture chambers, the intoxicating and dangerous world of Imperial Russia is brought to vivid life. Tsarina is the story of one remarkable woman whose bid for power would transform the Russian Empire."'
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Tsarina is a historical fiction by Ellen Aplsten set in Russia during the rule of Peter the Great. The edition is actually a republication and was originally published in 2004 and it very much follows the style of historical fictions published in the early 2000s.

I don't think this book was really for me, I found it to be overly long and at times felt a bit repetitive. I think the most simplified description is a brutal and sadistic rags to riches tale(and this book certainly doesn't shy away from the darker parts of this history, but I do appreciate that is wasn't cleaned up and handled with kid gloves, because history is often dark and it shouldn't be glossed over. There are times when Catherine seems to really fade into the bakgroud and it seems like the book isn't really heading in a solid direction, getting lost in too many details and drowning in overly descriptive phrases.

I did find some of the book to be fascinating though and I learned quite a bit about this time in Russian history that I wasn't previously aware of. I feel like many historical fictions based in Russia focus on the fall of the Romanov family, so it was great to see this one focus on another period and the first women to rule Russia.

Forewarning though that if assult and violence are triggers for you, give this book a pass because each occur numerous times throughout the book.
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I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing an eARC of Tsarina with me. This is my honest review.

This story is based on the life of Peter the Great's second wife Catherine, not to be confused with Catherine ths Great. I learned a lot about the rise of the Russian Empire in the 18th century, but it reads like more of a historical romance than historical fiction. It was a fast read if I don't count the time I spent reading Wikipedia to separate truth from fiction.

"Before there was Catherine the Great, there was Catherine Alexeyevna: the first woman to rule Russia in her own right. Ellen Alpsten's rich, sweeping debut novel is the story of her rise to power.

St. Petersburg, 1725. Peter the Great lies dying in his magnificent Winter Palace. The weakness and treachery of his only son has driven his father to an appalling act of cruelty and left the empire without an heir. Russia risks falling into chaos. Into the void steps the woman who has been by his side for decades: his second wife, Catherine Alexeyevna, as ambitious, ruthless and passionate as Peter himself.

Born into devastating poverty, Catherine used her extraordinary beauty and shrewd intelligence to ingratiate herself with Peter’s powerful generals, finally seducing the Tsar himself. But even amongst the splendor and opulence of her new life - the lavish feasts, glittering jewels, and candle-lit hours in Peter’s bedchamber - she knows the peril of her position. Peter’s attentions are fickle and his rages powerful; his first wife is condemned to a prison cell, her lover impaled alive in Red Square. And now Catherine faces the ultimate test: can she keep the Tsar’s death a secret as she plays a lethal game to destroy her enemies and take the Crown for herself?

From the sensuous pleasures of a decadent aristocracy, to the incense-filled rites of the Orthodox Church and the terror of Peter’s torture chambers, the intoxicating and dangerous world of Imperial Russia is brought to vivid life. Tsarina is the story of one remarkable woman whose bid for power would transform the Russian Empire."

Don't deny it, I know you're just as obsessed with the opulence of Tsarists Russia as I am.

Loved this book! The whole fictional tale of a true person always catches my fancy! I actually was not familiar with this time period so it was a bit of learning which I found quite interesting! I hope they write more books like this

DNF. Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy! I decided to not keep reading this one, it was not for me. Thanks!

5 Stars! More of this, please!

I love learning about strong women in history and Catherine I of Russia is a fantastic subject to write a book about. I think more casual fans of historical fiction or Russian history will enjoy the front half more than the second, but I found both parts riveting. With my Russian history classes in school, I remember spending a long time on Peter The Great. He was responsible for pulling Russia out of the dark ages, by trying to modernize them in ways more like Europe. I may have, but what I don’t remember is learning anything about his second wife, Marta (or Catherine as she was later renamed). Her life is absolutely remarkable and Ms. Alpsten did a phenomenal job of bringing her to life. Tsarina was meticulously researched, but was also masterfully condensed for how much ground she covered in time.

If you're newer to historical fiction or only somewhat interested in Russian History I could see where this would be a struggle. This book goes into a LOT of detail. However, I was pleasantly surprised. My only slight criticism is that the jumps from present to past were a little jarring, until the timelines became a little more clear.

Overall, I would highly recommend this and it definitely is one of my favorites of the year. I look forward to the next book written by Ellen Alpsten!

Thanks to St. Martins and Goodreads for the giveaway win in an exchange for an honest review.

Review Date: 12/08/2020
Publication Date: 11/10/2020

There is something about Russian tsarist history that continues to fascinate me as much as it repels. So I selected Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten with the hope that it would afford me the opportunity to learn more about Catherine the First and immerse me into the brutal but exciting world of feudal Russia. While Ms. Alpsten paints a vivid picture of historical Russia, the image of Catherine the book presents leaves a lot to be desired.

The strength of Tsarina lies in its portrayal of Russia in the 1700s. Ms. Alpsten excels at showing the brutal life of the serf as well as the complete lack of options available for women at any level. She does not shy away from showing the near-constant violence towards women at any level in society, which is not surprising considering the extremely patriarchal society that was Russia at this time. The picture Ms. Alpsten paints is one of abject poverty and near-constant violence alongside the shocking excesses of the elite.

While the purpose of Tsarina is to show how remarkable Catherine the First was, she failed to impress me. Instead, to me, the image Ms. Alpsten presents is simply a girl who caught the eye of the Tzar and who used her understanding of the shifting politics of the court to her advantage. She used liberal amounts of sex and emotional manipulation to keep her relevant even though the tzar could and did literally sleep with any woman/girl he wanted. I have no doubt that there was genuine feeling between the two, but I don't think it makes her impressive. If anything, it makes her an opportunist and nothing more.

Historically speaking, we don't know much of Catherine's serf origins. It appears as if Ms. Alpsten took the most scandalous of the hypotheses to create Catherine's backstory, complete with a sale to a new master, rape, murder, escape, war, and being in the right place at the right time. Sure, it makes for an interesting story, but to me, that is all it is.

Tsarina is too much fiction and not enough history. I did enjoy the parts where we get to see Peter the Great exert his will into modernizing Russia and establishing St. Petersberg. Unfortunately, these scenes are few and far between. For too much of the story, we see Catherine having sex and flirting her way into power and influence. While I recognize there were not many other options for women at that time, Catherine's story leaves me unimpressed and questioning her so-called brilliance.

Born into very modest circumstances, Marta was gifted with beauty and allure that were both a privilege and a curse. Attracting the attention of powerful men brought her woe in her early life, but eventually she meets Peter, tsar of Russia. Mercurial, troubled, and exceedingly selfish, Peter stays with Marta—who he renames Catherine—for many years and 12 pregnancies, none of which produce a surviving male heir.

Catherine knows all too well how easily Peter is distracted by nubile young women and watches helplessly as he takes other lovers (contracting syphilis). Although her early life taught her how to scheme, she truly loves the cruel tsar, so she is destined to get hurt.

A sweeping historical novel that shows the reality of late seventeenth and early eighteenth century Russia, with disease, illiteracy, and corruption. Peter was not a very likeable person, and the descriptions of his festering sores do not make him more so. I would have enjoyed more history background to explain where Peter was always going to fight, but I’m weird that way. Despite the novel’s length, it’s a fairly quick read and those who like historical novels will enjoy it. #Tsarina #NetGalley

This book is just not for me. The writing is lovely and rich, but there was a very graphic rape scene that I wish I hadn't read fairly early on in the story. After looking at other reviews, it seems that there is more like that throughout the book, and knowing that her story is so harrowing and upsetting...I just can't read that kind of story at this time.

I wanted to love this one. As I love Russian history, but there was something with the writing that I couldn't get into. And to top it all off, I couldn't stand the main character. And considering that she is the biggest part of the story. The Story is about her, that could be a bad thing. I made it about halfway through the book before I ended up DNFing the book.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this book from NetGalley and St Martin’s Press in exchange for an unbiased review.

In 1725 Catherine Alexeyeyna although born into extreme poverty rises to become a powerful force in Russia as tsarina. Formally known as Marta, she was given to Vassilley to work as a maid. He was a powerful and cruel man who uses people for his own purpose. Her life within that mansion was traumatic yet becomes a turning point in her life. The story begins with Catherine dealing with imminent death of the tsar her husband Peter. The treachery of his brother left no heir to his throne as he lie dying since his living children from Catherine were daughters Anna, Elizabeth and Natalya.

Archbishop of Novgorod, Feifan Promopivich had helped Peter draft his will and stands to read it at Peter’s deathbed. Many are anxious to the future of Russia given there is no direct transfer of power. Catherine wishes to keep his death a secret to avoid disrupting the current balance of power in Russia.

Peter’s first wife Evdokia banished to a convent 30 years ago leaving her son Alexey whom Peter always despised for his timid nature. Although Petrushka, Peter’s grandson, is the rightly heir to throne he is not present at death bed which has Catherine jostling to arrange her role as Peter’s successor.

The story proceeds to describe in excruciating detail the history leading up to this day. The novel clearly explains the strength and determination of Marta who becomes Catherine a great and influential Russian woman. About half way through I found all the day to day details dragging the story to a snail’s pace. While some of the events seem pertinent to explain the atrocities of war in Russia, much of it felt too cinematic in nature.

This book would most likely appeal to those with an extreme interest in Russian history. It was just an overwhelming story for me to totally enjoy in its entirety.

Alpsten's historical fiction about the life and rise to power of Catherine is well-written and highly enjoyable. Usually, such factually stretched historical fiction bothers me, but this pulled me in from the beginning and didn't let go. I enjoyed it simply for the prose and the plot rather than getting hung up on the historical inaccuracies. For me, that is a sign of a great writer and a really good book. The language is adult, and several of the sexual scenes were difficult to mentally handle, but not so much that I wanted to stop reading. Well done!