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.

This is a difficult book to review. The author has certainly created a realistic portrait of Russia in the 1700's and Peter "The Great" and Catherine's reign. I knew nothing of the time or the history and learned a great deal but what despicable people. I ended up loathing both of them and wondering if the Russian people are really so different from us.

Peter wanted nothing more than to modernize his country and emulate Western culture. He just had such an odd way of going about it. He taxed the people to death while he lived in outrageous wealth. At one time he and Catherine were sitting around discussing new ways to raise money and laughed that all that was left was to tax the oxygen they breathed. I am not sure they weren't serious.

Catherine was an illegitimate child of a washerwoman. She was sold several times and endured a lot of physical pain. She could neither read or write or had any desire to do so. She was rescued several times by the kindness of others and used her unique beauty to advance her circumstances. She became the second wife of Peter and the first woman Tsarina to actually rule. She endured a lot from Peter to rise and you would think it would make her kind. But no. She and her children would throw things like food at her "fool", an elderly Princess. She and Peter used to sit at their windows and laugh at people trying desperately not to drown in a flood. Peter actually chopped people's heads off himself. He often left the heads in jars on people's bedside tables.

Catherine was pregnant 12 times but only 2 survived to be adults. I am not sure it was the times, the lives they led or just bad luck. Trust me, Catherine was not mother of the year. It took all her time and energy to keep Peter happy. I could go on and on about their abuses but you get the general idea.

It was an interesting book and I learned a lot. The author certainly knew her stuff and I loved her food descriptions. The author made the time period come alive. Thanks to Net Galley for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.

'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 enjoyed the (not really) historical drama The Great earlier this year so when I was offered a chance to read Tsarina as part of a blog tour I was like sign me up! Especially seeing as how the book is about the first Empress Catherine and Peter the Great.

So the book is more so about Marta a poor serf whose sold early on by her stepmother whose not exactly a bad woman but she wants to eat and that’s just how it was done. And here I should say TRIGGER WARNING- Rape and assault which runs especially rampant before Marta meets Peter.

There’s also graphic descriptions of punishments the “nobles” doled out. What happens to the stable boy in the beginning… Stomach churning.

But then Marta meets Peter whose dragging Russia more toward the West and seemingly constantly into wars. This is a rough world and time period and also an outrageous place as far as the court is concerned. Peter had pretty much no filter and occasionally you’d get people at dinner parties just throwing down and having sex.
Oh the book is told through Marta’s POV and even when she goes Empress she remains a pretty likable character. I mean she makes some questionable choices at the end that are like, “Really? Really where have you been for the last two decades girl?”

But hey she’s human.

The girl starts as Marta a woman and serf with no power who can literally be killed with no one batting an eye and winds up as the Empress of Russia in her own right. Credit where it’s due.

Her relationship with Peter which does play as a true relationship for all the good and ill but Marta/Catherine also can’t really ever get away from the fact without his love she’s at best forgotten in a covent like the first wife and at worst a dead woman.

In other words there’s a lot to take in throughout Tsarina. And there is a big part of me that couldn’t help think maybe this should have been the Peter and Catherine in the Great cause it would have made a great television show… and somehow more outrageous.

Recommend: Yes

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!

Before there was Catherine the Great, there was Catherine I of Russia. An illiterate peasant girl, she became the mistress of Peter the Great, who eventually married her and when he died left her his empire, making her the first woman to rule Russia in her own right. Author Ellen Alpsten brings this remarkable woman, as well as Peter and his court, to life in her riveting novel Tsarina.

The book begins at Peter’s deathbed and Catherine’s life is told through flashbacks, occasionally returning to detail the machinations that will place her on the throne. As Alpsten mentions in her note at the end, virtually nothing is known about the early life of Catherine (neé Marta), so her childhood and adolescence are largely fictionalized, characterized by the kind of deprivations that would have been common for a girl of her class. Eventually, she ends up in the household of Peter’s friend and adviser Menshikov, who will play a crucial part throughout her story, and finally becomes the mistress of Peter himself.

Despite continual infidelity on Peter’s part and one near-disastrous affair on that of Catherine, their tumultuous relationship appears to be a true love story, in which her charm for him lies in her total honesty and refusal to show fear of him. He himself is portrayed in all his contradiction, eager to be accepted by the great powers of Western Europe and to bring his country into the modern age, tender and loving to Catherine, yet capable of breathtaking cruelty, including the murder of his own son by his first wife. The early eighteenth-century Russian court, as well as its army camps, as Peter spent a good part of his reign at war, live and breathe in Alpsten’s portrayal, but please be aware, there is a lot of sex and violence, including rape, so if that is a dealbreaker for you, you should probably skip it.

I enjoyed this book thoroughly.

I received a copy of Tsarina for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In St. Petersburg in 1725, the Tsar Peter the Great is dying. His second wife, Catherine, is by his side, but he doesn’t have a clear heir. As the Tsar dies, Catherine needs to keep his death a secret while she figures out how to rule the country as a Tsarina. This story shows Catherine’s life, from when she was a washing maid, to when she was saved by the Tsar and made Tsarina Catherine.

This was quite a “rags to riches” story. Catherine was born in a small hut, where she was later sold as a washing maid. She was abused, but after many attempts to escape this life, she stumbled onto the Tsar’s war camp. Her life was changed when she caught the Tsar’s eye and began a romance. It is mostly based on Catherine’s real life, though some parts had to be filled in for the story.

Some of scenes in this story were graphic and disturbing. There was rape, domestic violence, abuse, and murder. The women in the story experienced every kind of pregnancy complication, including most of the twelve children that Catherine gave birth to dying either at birth or shortly after. There were plenty of these scenes, which could be disturbing, but they showed how dangerous life was for a woman during that time period, no matter her social standing.

This was a long story that gave many details about Catherine’s life. However, by the end, I was glued to the page and wanted to keep reading more. The ending was intense and surprising to me because I wasn’t familiar with this time period.

I enjoyed this historical fiction story. It would be great for anyone interested in Russian historical fiction.

Thank you St. Martin’s Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book was a lot. Very upfront and raw with Catherine the Great. If you're into Russian Historical Fiction definitely pick this one up.

Thank you #stmartinspress for an advanced copy of this book!