This book had great potential as historical fiction. Unfortunately, the author too often resorts to cheap parlor tricks in lieu of an actual, coherent plot. Toss in a bunch of cartoonish characters and tiresome, predictable boors. Add heaping helpings of snow, war, debauchery and depravity. Try to pass it off as “historical fiction.” It just doesn’t work.

If you have to choose between watching paint peel and this load of horse hooey, take the paint.

(A one star rating is generous. Don’t waste your time.)

#Tsarina

Intensive story of Catherine the I., second wife of deceased and ruthless tsar Peter the Great. From modest beginnings as Marta to powerful ruler of great Russia. What she has to endure and do to get such a power is well written in this novel.
Characters and atmosphere are deeply described, the story is fascinating.

Highly recommend it!

This book goes from the humble beginnings of Marta to Catherine Alexyvana who started out as a poor washermaid and rose to Empress of Russia.
The book time hops from different places in her life and back again. It is a bit confusing at first then you get the hang of it.
One thing for sure that Russia seems to be known for in royalty bloodthirsty ambitious relatives who all want the throne.

This Arc was given to me by netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I want to thanks St Martins Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book and to give an honest review. This book starts off with Peter the Great dying and not finishing the note that says who will be his successor. With the lack of it in writing, Catherine becomes the Tsarina. This book moves fast and gives implicit details into what the characters are seeing. This book has many adult themes and would not be for the weak at heart. It is also a very lengthy book and I found myself skimming lots of it. I would recommend this book if you are a fan of Russian "Tsar" books.

Tsarina written by Ellen Alpsten captures the reader's attention immediately. It grabs us with the promise of what is to come. That's the wonderful thing about historical fiction; we may know the outcome but we still relish the journey.

Tsarina skirts quite closely to the "labeled historical fiction but really historical romantic fiction" but only just. The addition of battle accounts, political information and the like saves it, in my humble opinion from being what was called, in my younger days a "dirty old lady book". Of course, a "dirty old lady book" from back then is quite take compared to the extremely graphic "books" of today like 50 Shades of Gross. That is not say there isn't any adult situations, there are and they are described, sometimes in great detail. I just skip it as that isn't my bag. Also, described in some detail is the methods of torture used to extract information and confessions. It doesn't happen often and it is usually written of after the fact but those of us who would rather not know will want to skip over those sections.

Other than those trigger warnings, you can rest easy in the knowledge that Tsarina is a wonderfully written sweeping saga of a remarkably lucky woman. I read this book in a day and a half (hey, a gals gotta sleep!). I found I was picturing it all in my head as I read this book. The chill of the Russian winters helped keep me feeling cool during our current heatwave. I recommend all who enjoy historical fiction or stories covering many decades give Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten a try, you'll be glad you did.

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley. My opinion was not influenced by this fact.

This is a very long intense read. Peter strikes me as a Russian version of Henry VIII. Not quite as aggressive, but very determined to get a son (or more than one, if possible). This puts a LOT of pressure on his wife. I can only imagine how she felt each time she miscarried or lost a child in early infancy.
Peter wants his country to be great and wants Russia to be well-respected and represented. Throughout the book, I felt that he was much too harsh on his son (Alexey) from a previous relationship. Alexey is his own person. He's nothing like Peter, and it seems to upset Peter too much. So there's the tension between father and son. It never really improved as the book progressed and I was sorry for it. I think it's fair to say that Peter really failed as a husband and father.
Moving on...
The tsarina has to be cunning in her own way. She has to get pregnant...all the time, because of all these unplanned and unpleasant failures. She has to keep her wits about her when she's with her husband. Her job is to please him and give him living children. It must have been a non-stop headache. And when Peter fools around with other women, I can only imagine her disappointment, her anger, her resentment, and a vast array of other emotions that women feel when they are being cheated on by their spouse.

Aside from the story line, I felt that the writing style wasn't my preference. I'm used to another historian's style. While Ellen Alpsten does a good job of things, she's not my preferred author. However, I know many other readers will find this book to be up their alley and would recommend them to give it a shot and make their own judgments.

Special note: I received this book from NetGallery in exchange for an honest review.

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.

Want to read more reviews? Check out www.bargain-sleuth.com

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!