~~~ I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ~~~

WOW! What a saga! I really admire authors that take on heavy time periods and leaders like imperial Russia. This book and the story of Tsarina Elizabeth Romanova is riveting. The author has portrayed her struggles and the scene so well, I felt like I was there with her. The biographies of historical figures such as the Tsarina make natural soap-opera-esque stories. This book is full of drama, scandals, criminal acts, treachery, war, love.... in short is has all the requirements of an engrossing novel. Tsarina Elizabeth's story is both intriguing and amazing. This book may have been a tad long, but it was worth it. Also, the absolute inhumane treatment of "enemies and foes" is disturbing- but that's the brutal reality of imperial Russia. It is obvious the amount of effort and time that Ellen Alpsten put into researching and writing this novel (and I so appreciate it!) I understand this is the 2nd in a trilogy- (I did read the first and it was just as good) and I'm looking forward to the last!

Much like its predecessor, "Tsarina", this story is as epic as a Russian novel; fraught with incredible loss, betrayal, subterfuge, and despair. Yet it also speaks of opulence, the excesses of the rich and powerful and how one safely navigates such a world as that of a changing Russia of the 18th century. It is a riches to rags back to riches story of a plucky young girl, whose cleverness, sensuality, quick wit and tender heart guide her through the quagmire of aristocratic life with all of its precarious pitfalls and occasional shining moments. This is the story of young Elizabeth, the eventual Empress of all of the Russias.

Author Ellen Alpsten has crafted an incredible story of Herculean proportions about Elizabeth, the younger daughter of Peter the Great and his second wife, Catherine I. She cleverly provides a purely fictional yet believable account of the early years of this legendary woman. Relying on the available historical records of the Romanov court, Alpsten weaves a rich and epic story about this strong, courageous and religiously devout woman. In one stroke, she captures the beauty of the Russian landscape as well as the soul of the Russian people with her painterly writing style. In another, she captures the shear brutality of aristocratic life and its associated struggles for power.

Trigger warning: scenes from the boudoir as well as those of horrific brutality are quite graphic. This may all be closer to the truth than one would hope.

Regardless, the book was interesting, well researched, well written and most informative regarding Russia's history and this amazing woman's place within it.

I am grateful to St. Martin's Press for having provided a complimentary uncorrected digital galley of this book through NetGalley. Their generosity, however, has not influenced this review - the words of which are mine alone.

After having recently read several historical fiction books surrounding the Romanov empire, I was really looking forward to reading The Tsarina’s Daughter. Overall it was alright. The prologue was hauntingly beautiful, but the rest of the book dragged on, the writing fell flat and I struggled trying to keep track of the timeline. I did appreciate the list of characters presented at the beginning and the authors notes at the end. I’m sure this story will appeal to many readers, it was a miss for me.

An advance digital copy was kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own and this is my honest review.

3.5 This epic Russian history we go back to when the Romanovs were on the throne. We follow Elizabeth as her life is turned upside down again and again. This book is full of political intrigue and did a really good job of bringing Russia to life. I really enjoyed this book and it made me want to learn more about Russian History. The only downside is I felt at a disadvantage not knowing the history prior to reading this book.This book is full of characters with many nicknames and many times I was pulled out of the story trying to figure it out. I feel that Russian History Lovers will really appreciate the detail of the events are included in the story. I do want to thank the publishers and Netgalley for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

The Tsarina's Daughter by Ellen Alpsten
I like how this novel merges well with Tsarina. Moving from Catherine I to her daughter Elizabeth fluidly. Each character has background, persona and motive. The court is full of those looking to move up and most times it's at the expense of others. The struggles Elizabeth endures to maintain what is hers kept me riveted.

I especially enjoyed the touch of magical realism based on prophecy for the sisters. Not only does Alpsten flesh out these historical figures, she adds touches like the prophecies that fit local superstitions. However, I did feel it was longer than I'd like and the plot was choppy in places that interrupted the flow.

Alpsten has done an excellent job with representing the Romanovs in both novels. She's quickly become an author I'll be continually looking for more from.

Thank you St. Martins Press for the gifted digital copy in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

Alpsten expertly re-tells the story of a historical figure, and makes her sympathetic and relatable through a modern lens. This would not be my first personal choice of a historical era to explore. However, the story is captivating. The romance deserved so much more, but perhaps the real people did as well. While this book may not have a high level critique of the relationship between the Russian monarchy and ordinary people, it's clear how insular the Russian aristocracy always was.

This was a fascinating view into the early years of the House of Romanov. It is told from the view of Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great and Catherine, who fought for her right to ascend to the throne. Her life was a roller coaster falling in and out of favor with the Russian Empire due to her legitimacy and her social habits. I found the writing to be so beautiful and descriptive as the characters came to life. As the reader, I could feel Elizabeth’s frustration when denied what was inherently her’s and felt the emotions of her turbulent times. I didn’t expect the flair of fantasy but reading the Author’s Note, gave me a better understanding of this element.

If you like Tsarina, you will probably like The Tsarina's Daugher. I unfortunately did not like either. One thing I appreciated about this book was that it did feel very consistent with the first in the series. The things I liked this book were things I liked in the first one but the things I didn't like in this book were also things I didn't like about the first one. Ellen Alpsten provides really vivid descriptions which make this book easy and fun to visualize. However, sometimes the book meanders a little too much and it's hard to keep track of how much time has passed/where you are in the story. Sometimes too much time is spent on things that don't really add to the story and plot points that should be exciting just kind of happen with no fanfare.

I absolutely loved this book. The writer made Elizabeth come alive for me - I connected with her and became invested in her story. This is one book I could not put down and I look forward to reading the author’s next work.

This was a great jump into the period of the Romanovs! Technically this is a sequel but I read as a stand-alone and still enjoyed it.

I was definitely impressed with this book after finishing it. Historical fiction is my favorite genre of books to read, and I was excited to give this book a try after reading the synopsis of it. The Tsarina's Daughter follows the story of Elizabeth, the daughter of Catherine I and Peter the Great. I was not aware that this book was a sequel, and it did not really read like one to me. I was a big fan of the author's writing style and her descriptions of the characters and settings of the novel. This story does not come across as the author just telling us the facts of history; it is an interesting and engaging account of Elizabeth's life. The only issue I had with this novel was the pacing, because it seemed a bit slow at times. I think fans of the historical fiction genre will enjoy this book, as I definitely did.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this novel.

Ugh. I hate when I get a book and it’s part of a series. I didn’t realize this book took place after Tsarina. It sounds great, but I obviously need to read up on the first one in order to know everything going on and mentioned. The folklore is right up my alley. Trying this again after reading the first.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this title. It's the follow-up novel to Tsarina that was about Catherine I. This book is about her daughter, Elizabeth. It can definitely be read as a standalone novel but if you don't know much about Russian history like me, I think it would be better after reading the first book. It's a very tumultuous time for the Russian throne during this book - the throne needs to be filled several times in a pretty short period of time. That was quite exciting and seeing Elizabeth's position shift from leader to leader was interesting as well. The writing didn't quite draw me in as much as it did in the first book though and I found parts to feel slightly repetitive but that may be because of the aforementioned turnover of the throne! I didn't find Elizabeth in this novel to be as strong in character as Catherine and I quite missed Catherine! This book is about the daughter but it also felt more YA to me at times. I still think it's quite an addition to the historical fiction genre - makes this period and this family accessible to people who aren't as familiar with this part of history.

I didn't realize this was a sequel until after I read it, but I enjoyed it so much that it makes me want to go back and read book 1. I'm a sucker for historical fiction about royals, especially royals that aren't from the British isles. Alpsten wrote such a beautiful story full of depth and character, and I felt like I was right there experiencing life along with Elizabeth.

I cannot help it, but I found this book very hard to read. It was not the story, it was purely the writing. I had to reread sentences to grasp their meaning, which completely disconnected me from the story. The book held such a great promise.

This was an interesting book about Tsarevna Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great and his wife Catherine. I don't know much about Russian history and this was a way to get a glimpse.

This was pretty long though. I listened to it on audiobook and I listened at twice the speed so I didn't have to commit nearly 18 hours of time. That might be my one complaint. The length. And there were some pretty graphic descriptions of violence. But it was interesting.

I probably wouldn't recommend this to others unless they were big into Russian history though.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book spoke to my love of historical fiction, court maneuverings, and the aristocracy. I was not aware that this book was technically part of a series so I felt like I was missing something every once in a while. However, I think it still works well as a stand alone. The writing was beautiful and rich creating a constant feeling of tension and anticipation that helped me stay engaged despite how long the book was. I appreciated how closely tied to real history this book was. It was like watching names and facts from history books come alive around me. I will probably go back and read Tsarina to add more context to my enjoyment of this book. I expect I will enjoy it just as much as I did this one. The length and heavy nature of the story make it a book I wouldn't recommend to everyone, but for anyone interested in learning more about the Russian aristocracy this will be perfect.

Peter the Great's daughter, Tsesarevna Elizabeth, tells her story in The Tsarina's Daughter. This book follows the novel Tsarina, Alspten's tale of Tsar Peter I and his second wife Catherine and Elizabeth's mother. Although Tsarina has been published in the U.S. after The Tsarina's Daughter was released, the reading experience suffers if you read them out of order. Tsarina's Daughter overlaps some when Elizabeth recalls her home life with her powerful, ruling parents, the dilemma of succession, and the death of her father. The illegitimacy of her birth is always brought into question because of the circumstances of her parent's marital status. The question of who inherits the throne creates a lot of conflict and one of the driving forces of this narrative. Elizabeth expected to marry Louis XV as her father desired, when this doesn't happen, at age 17 she falls deeply in love with a Holstein princeling, but he dies just before the marriage. Elizabeth's life is full of sorrow, lots of enemies plotting her demise, court intrigue, vast wealth that turns suddenly into extreme poverty, a passionate love affair with her courtier, and so much more. This saga is all engrossing and vast. I loved it! The times she lived in were extremes of poverty and wealth. The brutality and cruelty towards anyone who falls out of favor with the current ruler was unimaginable. This also portrayed so much of Russian culture and mind set of the time. I am looking forward to the third book in this planned trilogy.

I'm not a big historical fiction person, but I was intrigued by the synopsis of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed getting to learn about a country and a time period that was so different from mine. My only problem was that my knowledge of Russian history is a bit rusty, but that's my own fault. A great book!

Thank you Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Ellen Alpsten for free e-ARC in return of my honest review.

This is the sequel to Tsarina by Alpsten, the story of Tsarina’s eldest daughter, Elizabeth, that turned out to be the Empress of Russia for 20 years. Being a Russian and history lover, I could not pass this one. I did enjoy the first book, so I assume that the second would be fine as well.

It is fine, plot-wise it was interesting and intriguing at parts (though I know the history quite well, I enjoyed a few twists by Alpsten). I found it a bit too long and at parts too detailed, though it was still quite compelling novel to read.

I understand that Tsarina’s Daughter is a fiction based on true events, however, I found that the character of Elizabeth was not historically accurate. Alpsten made Elizabeth not only strong willed female character (which she undoubtedly was in real life as no weak person can held power in Russia for that long), but also compassionate towards her people, towards Russians. Let me be clear on that - Elizabeth, Yelizaveta Petrovna was a true daughter of Peter The Great and Katerine the First. She was cruel, vail and mean. She did not care one bit of her people and left Russian Empire bankrupt with a palace full of dresses and costumes as she was a fan of balls and masquerades. She didn’t hesitate to kill in order to gain power and make the rest of elite afraid of her. She was a disaster for Russian Empire.

On the other hand, Alpsten was completely right on how power-hungry people were not afraid of blood baths they created in order to obtain power. How cruelly imaginative they were toward everyone, including elderly and children. Alpsten created the atmosphere of Russia in the middle of 1770s so clearly and vividly, it is astonishing.

I am wondering if the next part would be about Katherine the Great and I am looking forward to it.