The other Russian Catherine--Peter the Great's second wife!  TSARINA paints a rich and haunting portrait of the cruelty, ruthlessness, luxury and poverty of Peter's time. This is a woman most readers won't have heard of and a story worth reading, full of insight and crackling with tension.

An interesting novel that tells the fascinating story of Catherine Alexeyevna, a maid who rose to become Tsarina and the first woman to rule Russia in her own right (this is not Catherine the Great).  She had to survive the dangerous politics of the Russian Court and hold the capricious attention of the complex Peter the Great for 20 years.  Though, illiterate, she used all the tools at her disposal:  wits, intelligence, and her charm to survive and thrive.  In spite of horrors she witnessed and endured, she was also known to be compassionate, intervene on the behalf of others and able to calm Peter's lethal rages.  

Rich in historical details, from food, clothing, medical practices, battles to court events, Alpsten did not sanitize history.  It was a brutal time and those who have triggers may be disturbed by the rapes, torture, executions and untimely deaths of children.  But this was not a gloom and doom book; it celebrated life and making the best of one's circumstances.  There were parties, fancy gowns, friendships, generosity and compassion.  Alpsten made up Catherine's early life for there is no reliable detail about it and were else she took artistic license I don't know but there is a lot of research that went into the book and many things are accurate.

I thought in the later part of the book Catherine's emotional connection to other people got lost among the events of pregnancies and battles.  Catherine often left her children with Daria Menshikov yet they had little interaction in this part of the story though Daria was an important character earlier.

I was a little let down by the ending.  The book was told from Catherine's pov until she's named Peter's successor, then the Epilogue was told by a French diplomat with a short summary of Catherine's reign.  I wish there was more from her pov during her reign.  It would have done her more justice.  

There was one thread left hanging that I would have be interested in being explained:  Catherine said Peter could have been saved if the doctor's gave him some medication but it doesn't say what it was.  In fact, other than one sentence it is not brought up again.  If Peter was dying from syphilis, as suggested in the novel, there was no medication at that time which could have saved him.

I highly recommend this for people who like historical fiction and anyone who enjoys a good story.

I received a free copy of this book thanks to Netgalley.com and the publisher in return for a fair and impartial review.

Net Galley provided me with this ARC (Advanced Readers Copy) of Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten.  The book was originally published in 2004, and is being re-released in October 2020.

Let me just start by saying that I read historical fiction, but usually concentrate on books whose subject with which I am familiar. I know a little about Russian History and Peter the Great, but nothing of his wife, Catherine I. So all the real stuff in this book was new for me.

To be honest, I almost gave up reading about 25% through. Why?  The story goes something like this: Threatened rape, fear of rape, then blow-by-bow detailed description of rape, repeated rape, murder, attempted rape, another detailed description of a gang rape.  Yeah, not my cup of tea. So I decided to try and trudge on and then I was able to read a detailed description of incest!

Once Marta (to be renamed Catherine) meets Tsar Peter, which is about 30% in to the book, it gets more interesting. There's lots more detailed sex and debauchery (the author seems so have some obsession with describing a woman's breasts), and the relationship of Catherine and Peter is explored.

Catherine gave birth 12, or was it 13 times, I lost count, yet she still had to deal with Peter cheating on her.  They both live for the hope of a boy, to replace the son Peter had with his first wife.  But this is approximately 1700, and children living to adulthood is a rarity.  Only three children survive Peter, and they are all girls.  What I do know of my Russian history lessons is that Peter's middle daughter Elizabeth becomes ruler.  Beyond that, I'll have to do my own independent reading to find out if the author's portrayal of Catherine is even somewhat accurate.

I get it; life as a serf in Russia was rough, and life in Russia, even in a palace, was rough when you're married to someone like Tsar Peter the Great.  I think the book explored those deprivations well, but this sort of book with all the graphic sex was not for me.

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This is a historical fiction about the life of Catherine the Great and her rise from childhood peasant to the Tsarina of Russia. The book is well written and highly detailed giving a voice to Catherine the Great but I personally found it a bit boring. This book would be great for those interested in this time period or these historical figures.

I've always been fascinated with Russian history and always wanted to read more about Catherine the Great. I had no idea what to expect and was pleasantly surprised. I thought the writing style was great, the characters came across realistically and the story was integrated well. I highly recommend to anyone who wants to learn more about Catherine I and Russian history.

Received this from Net Gallery and I thank you so much! "Tsarina" by "Ellen Alpsten" is a very very well researched story of the woman who was at Peter the Great side for years until he died! Told by the woman herself from the time she was forced to leave home until the time of Peter's death,how all of this made her the person she turned it to be. Russian history is one of my favorite and so I love anything I can learn about how it came to be! The writing is fantastic,it draws you in into Marta's world as she saw it,what ugliness she saw,what beauty she saw,what loves she had and lost,what roads she traveled to get wherever it was that she was to go and all the adventures she had getting there! This is such a believable historical fiction story written in the first person and when you are finished,you will feel as though you were this very young girl starting out in the cruel world of Russia and end up where? Read the book,then you will know the trials,the adventures she had to find Peter the Great,will her life be better for the meeting of it or will it be  the worse? A very much read!!

This is a rerelease if a historical fiction novel that I missed the first time, it’s a great and immersive story of a time period and place I don’t read about much. Very much enjoyed this story!

Loved reading the engaging and enthralling historical novel.  The story begins with Marta's (Catherine Alexeyevna) family selling her to a merchant.  Then, a Russian General Shermetev takes Marta  under his wing until Menshikov, the tsar's most loyal and trusted friend meets her.  Finally, the Tsar Peter sees Marta and wants Marta for himself.  The relationship between Marta and Peter is close and loving at times, but Peter's cruelness and his mistresses are a hardship for Marta.  Read the highly recommended, wonderfully written, engrossing storyline, and captivating characters.
I reviewed a copy of the book through NetGalley.

This is a captivating and amazing story about Catherine I, the second wife of Peter the Great. Russian history is not pretty but the author does a wonderful job describing the political landscape and the characters themselves.
She brought to light a tsarina that I never heard or read about.

I thought this was a well written book. It kept my attention for the most part. I did think it was a bit too long . It seemed like the court of the Tsar, did nothing but eat, drink and screw. I guess they did a few battles too. 
Thanks to Netgalley for the early copy

Loved this book even more than I expected to. Brilliant job shining light on a lesser known part of history and captivating story telling. So pleased.

This is an amazing story of Catherine the great along with Russian history.  A must read for anyone who loves history and wants more information into the Russian royal family.

Tsarina details the life of Catherine I of Russia, from her humble beginnings as a serf to a life as the lover and eventually wife of the star of Russia. 
This book was brutally vivid in its depictions of the horrors Catherine, born Marta, endured before meeting Tsar Peter. She was raped repeatedly, sold to several different men, and generally encountered constant bad luck. 
The descriptions of rape are fairly graphic, and while that didn’t bother me that much, it did bother me that even once Catherine became Peter’s lover, most of the book was describing the debauchery that went on in the palace, rather than politics. This did bother me, because it became exhausting reading about party after party. 
Other than that, I think this book was a very interesting tale of Catherine’s life and rise to power as tsarina.

I received this book to read and give an honest review from NetGalley.
 If you enjoy 1700 historical fiction, this novel is definitely one to read. With many twists and complex interesting characters. It is a story told of Catherine Alexeyevna’s point of view. Of her early life, born into a harsh and desperate life of poverty and survival. Then down a path of misfortunes and events that would eventually lead her to becoming the second wife of Peter the Great, to whom she delivered 12 children, of which only two survived. She was eventually crowned tsaritsa of all the Russians and came to rule after her husband died. Romance, sex, infidelity, heartbreak, insanity and brutal violence, this story has it all!

Tsarina is the fictionalized story of Catherine I, second wife of Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia in the early 1700's. This was a captivating novel that immerses you in the world of historical Russia. Through this novel we learn about Catherine I's childhood, the beginnings of St. Petersburg, and the workings of 1700's Russian court. Tsarina is an engaging, entertaining novel perfect for fans of court-life and history. The writing is also well-done and lovely for a debut novel.

I knew nothing about Russian history before this book, other than hearing of Catherine the Great and Peter the Great. This is the story of Catherine I, the 2nd wife of Peter the Great, and who preceded Catherine the Great. 

This book is filled with a lot of sex - some violent, some consensual, all pretty graphic.  While you can debate the need for any of the graphic details, you can also argue that some of the violent sexual assaults she witnessed or endured early on shaped who Marta was,...before she became Catherine I.  Marta grew up a poor serf in what is now Estonia. After being sold to a violent lord for a mere silver coin, she escaped to find herself the house maid of a pastor, and then married off to a Swedish man only to have him die shortly after.  This is where the story turns, as she encounters Russian soldiers who try to rape her before she is saved and brought to the tents of the Russian army leaders...this is where she first meets Peter and their relationship begins and the most interesting part of the book seems to end. I found the rest of her courtship with Peter interesting to an extent, but it pales in comparison to her early life. 

This is a historical romance so the dialogue is a bit unbelievable at times, and as the author pointed out, there is not much known about her early years so some liberties were taken. But in the end, I learned more about Russian history from this book, and for that I'm thankful.


Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for an arc.

Tsarina covers the life of a woman that history appears to have left behind. Catherine I, not the more popular Catherine the Great (actually Catherine the II), but her predecessor, a former Serf, maid, and per this work of historical fiction, murderer. While little is known of Catherine’s upbringing, this richly detailed and well researched book provides an amazing story of survival at a time when women had no rights, rising above serfdom rarely happened, and death was everywhere. 
I enjoyed the historical detail and getting to know a “forgotten” Tsarina. The book is graphic with both violence and sex. The violence in the book was unsettling, however, I think it only fair that to remember that many rulers at that time did not maintain their position through acts of charity. The rape, torture, and abuse depicted in the book was common in those times. Overall I enjoyed the book and found that once I started I could not stop, despite knowing a bit of how her story would go!

This was a riveting book. As an avid fan of both Russian history and historical fiction, I was captured by Ellen Alpsten's take on Catherine I. Admittedly, the brutality of her life made for a challenging read, but ultimately, I was too captivated by the writing to put it down. 

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a galley copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

So first off, I have a thing for Russian history and this did not disappoint.  This story is about Catherine 1- I feel like we don’t hear about her often, and although her childhood in this book is fictionalized, it was truly fascinating to see Marta transform to Catherine. Trigger warning for rape. Thank you to netgalley for the arc.

3.5 to 4 for "Tsarina." I almost wish I could give this a 3.75.

Historical fiction tends to lean towards very popular subject matter. (The Tudors, the Tudors, and more of the Tudors.) In "Tsarina," Ellen Alpsten goes in a different direction, selecting for a subject the empress known as Catherine I in Russian history. Catherine I was Peter the Great's wife and successor; while she wasn't THE Catherine of Russia (that being Catherine II), she was nonetheless remarkable for rising from peasant/serf origins to her position--a virtually unthinkable jump in social class.

What's good: The unique topic, the fact the book does a good job of conveying Catherine's peasant roots, and the fact that the book doesn't hide the unpleasant characteristics of either Peter or Catherine. 

What's iffier: There are moments where Catherine appears to be a bit too wise, a bit too all-knowing, for her position. In short, she starts to head toward Mary Sue territory. In addition, one of her major character turns, a love affair, feels a bit out of the blue. As a result, the finale of the book feels a bit rushed.

Note: This review is based on a copy I received from Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.