In 1958 Russia, Svetlana is a resident of an orphanage for children of Enemies of the People. Sveta is also an incredibly passionate and talented ballet dancer, and she's determined to be a star of the Bolshoi Ballet. Her road to stardom is hindered due to the black mark on her family's record. But Svetlana has other talents that the government finds useful; talents which a certain KGB agent promises will help erase that scar.

Orphan, Agent, Prima, Pawn is part of Elizabeth Kiem's series that follows three generations of dancers in the Dukovskaya family. I haven't read the second book in the series, but I did read the first, Dancer, Daughter, Traitor, Spy several years ago. I don't think that you need to read the other books in the series in order to enjoy this one. I haven't read the middle book, and, although I admit I may have missed a few things, it didn't feel like my enjoyment or understanding of the story was hindered at all. When I saw that Kiem had a book coming out that was from Sveta's perspective, I was very interested. I've been reading a lot of books about Communism recently, and I always love books about dancers, so this book definitely checked off a couple of my current interests.

I really enjoyed this addition to the series. Svetlana's story is really where it all begins in the heart of Cold War Russia. I thought all the historical elements were really well done. The general atmosphere of the Cold War was conveyed very well. I liked the side characters a lot, and it just felt good to have Sveta's decisions explained. In the first book, I was a little iffy about the whole psychic aspect of the tale, but I thought that it worked so well in this addition.

Orphan, Agent, Prima, Pawn is out August 22, 2017.

Review copy from NetGalley.

Orphan, Agent, Prima, Pawn has a lot going for it from the integration of Russian words and phrases to the incorporation of meticulously researched historical fact, and from the beautiful imagery to a complicated love story that could have entertained on it’s own. But what I love the most about this book is how strong and prominent the female characters are – very rarely do we see a damsel in distress, and the only mention of hormones comes from the protagonist herself in a completely understandable situation.

I really enjoyed this book and can’t wait for it to hit the shelves later in August as I have a whole host of little ballerinas that I think will absolutely love it! I loved Orphan, Agent, Prima, Pawn as a stand alone text as it was easy to follow, but I have no doubts that I will be tracking down the first two texts in the series ASAP. If you love Ballet, the Cold War, and the KGB and their alternative warfare this might just be the book for you!